The Cosmic Mindscape: the rise of the hidden power

universe. A cosmic being, once a conqueror of realms, now reduced to a fading wisp of existence, clung desperately to the las

nd the one anomaly that could save it. Alex. A young human, insignificant by all measures, but bound to the same cosmic soul structure. By shee

the shattered one it had escaped from. The laws here were different, unforgiving. As the cosmic being drew close

. A fatal mi

power was reduced to a single fragment-the shard. With no other options, the being cast th

-

laptop screen, half-watching a random YouTube video. The hum of crickets outside his window and

uiet rhythm. He worked at a small bookkeeping company in town-nothing too stressful, just enough to pay the bills. His socia

at up, gasping for air, his heart pounding as though something was squeezing the life out of him. Before he cou

lowed his senses, and for a brief

-

of his bedroom, drenched in cold sweat. His heart pou

ike a weight had settled inside him. His mind was foggy, but there was something else-something

laptop was still open on the bed, the video still playing in the background. His phone buzzed on th

r's voice called from downstairs,

just happened, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with it right no

e dinner table, his younger sister, Amilia, was ranting about some group project she was working on for

lans. Alex picked at his food, nodding at the right moments but hardly contributing to the chatter. The warmth in hi

-

staring at the ceiling. He could still feel it-the warmth, the presence. Hi

as that?" he whi

lf somewhere else entirely. It wasn't his bedroom-it wasn't anywhere he rec

aw it: a glowing, blue shard, pulsing softly, suspended in the void. It was small, b

ure how he was even moving. The shard

ex whispered, his voi

lightenment, echoed in his mind. "The fragment of

t somehow, deep down, he understood them. The shard had fused

ed into his mind. Alex clutched his head, overwhelmed by the sudden influx of knowledge-fragm

he could shape. His mind, in a moment of panic, latched onto a familiar conce

red before him, display

m Init

n, wide-eyed. He wasn't

sought to merge with him had miscalculated. The universe could not accommodate it, and it had bee

eturn, the sinister plot against him had e