Ansel gently helped Heka to his feet and guided him through the quiet streets toward his house.
Heka's movements were stiff, almost mechanical, as if his body was weighed down by an invisible force. Ansel's mind raced with questions, but he kept his voice calm and steady.
Once inside, they settled on the worn but comfortable couch in Ansel's living room. The soft hum of the city outside was a stark contrast to the eerie stillness that seemed to cling to Heka. Ansel looked at his friend with concern, his brow furrowed.
"Heka, what happened? Why is your body frozen?" Ansel asked, his voice low and filled with worry.
Heka's eyes were distant, clouded with confusion. He replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know why my body has become like this?"
Ansel's heart tightened. He had never seen Heka like this, so vulnerable, so lost. He wanted to help but felt powerless. The confusion in Heka's eyes mirrored his own. Hence, he didn't know how to explain.
Then, a memory flickered in Ansel's mind something he had overheard at Geiser Coffee and Market earlier that day. Ansel urged gently, hoping to piece together the puzzle. "Can you tell me about everything that happened lately? Before the wedding."
At first, Heka hesitated. He had wanted to keep the strange events to himself, fearing disbelief or worse, rejection. But now, with Ansel's steady gaze and genuine concern, he felt compelled to share. Maybe Ansel was the only one who could help him unravel this mystery.
Heka began, his voice trembling. "I have absolutely no idea what really happened. I'm so confused. This all happened so fast. I feel like I'm going into the future, time traveling."
Ansel blinked, struggling to grasp the concept. Time travel? That was impossible for ordinary humans. Yet, Heka's expression was earnest, desperate for understanding.
Heka took a deep breath and continued. "Something strange happened when I saw you with someone at Geiser Coffee and Market. But you didn't see me at all. My reflection in the mirror disappeared. No one can see me. Then, someone led me to a house in the middle of the forest. I entered the house. There was a big cocoon inside."
Ansel's eyes widened. Suddenly, everything clicked into place. The strange training Mr. McVeigh had forced upon him practicing control over crystal water. It made sense now. It was preparation for something far greater than either of them had imagined.
"In the cocoon, there was a rope that came out. It dragged me into it. When I come out, I'm already in the future." Heka's voice grew steadier as he described what happened next.
Ansel's breath caught. The Immortal realm. That was the only explanation. No wonder Heka's body had frozen, crossing into that realm was no small feat. It was a place where time and reality bent in ways humans could barely comprehend.
Ansel wondered what made Heka enter the Immortal realm easily. Even so, opening a portal between realms was so difficult to do.
Ansel lost in is thoughts. "How did he get into the Immortal realm alone? Hence, the most important thing right now is to make his body warm. Back then, I just got cold after entering the Immortal realm, and so did him."
Heka looked at Ansel, searching for reassurance. The strange sensations still lingered within him. The faint echo of a world unlike any he had ever known.
"Ansel, can you understand it?" He asked, his voice trembling slightly, a mixture of awe and uncertainty.
Ansel smiled gently, placing a hand on Heka's shoulder. The warmth of his touch grounded Heka, offering a small island of calm amid the storm of his thoughts
"Of course. You just visited the Immortal Realm." Ansel said softly, his voice steady and comforting.
"Immortal realm? What is it?" Heka asked, his voice tinged with curiosity and a hint of disbelief.
As the two friends sat in contemplative silence, the air around them seemed to hum with unseen energy. The boundary between their world and the Immortal Realm had been crossed, and nothing would ever be quite the same again.
Ansel leaned forward, his eyes reflecting the weight of knowledge he had carried for some time. "It's like a spirit world. The time dimensions of the human realm and the Immortal realm are very different. Time in the Immortal realm runs slower than the human realm. I can't determine the difference in time."
Heka's brow furrowed, his expression blank as he tried to grasp the concept. Seeing this, Ansel felt the need to explain more clearly, knowing that Heka might have to return there again someday.
Ansel continued carefully. His voice measured as if revealing a delicate truth."You are in the Immortal realm just for a second. When you return to the human realm, you will go straight for an hour or a day after that."
Heka's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. The pieces of his confusing experience was beginning to fall into place.
"Oh... no wonder when I left the house, Stacy's wedding day was. I was just stuck in the house all night. But when I left, I felt like I had spent a week of time." He murmured, his voice tinged with both surprise and a touch of frustration.
Ansel nodded. "Not just that, the temperatures of humans and the immortal ream are so different. It's so cold there. When you're still in the Immortal realm, you probably don't cold. However, you will feel it when you return to the human realm."
Ansel's mind flashed back to a previous conversation he had tried to have with Heka about the dimensional differences. "I've said this before. Maybe Heka does not understand it at all. Now, he has experienced it for himself, he will definitely remember it."
Heka shivered slightly and asked. He looked up at Ansel, his voice barely above a whisper, tinged with a mix of hope and discomfort. "Can this cold go away?"
"Of course it can. I also feel cold after leaving the Immortal realm. It is like you have?" Ansel gave him a reassuring smile, his eyes warm despite the chill in the room.
Ansel stood up, a determined look on his face. "Heka, can you endure it for a while?"
Heka nodded, though his teeth chattered faintly. He replied, his voice steady despite the shivers. "Don't worry. How to get rid of this coldness?"