The Boundless Journey

"What is happening to my body? I don't feel very comfortable. It feels like my body is being torn to shreds and repaired at the same time. But I don't feel any pain; it just feels nauseating."

Everything around me is moving at high speed, filled with a myriad of colors. I can't move at all. Traveling at such speed makes me feel like I'm about to puke. Wait, it looks like it's about to end soon.

I see space curving outwards at a distance, and immediately beyond it, there's nothing at all. As I travel through the portal Arial made for me, I reach the end of this nightmarish place.

As soon as Echo and I reached the empty space, everything around us changed. I landed in a dark room.

I shouted for Echo, "Echo, where are you? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm all right, but what is this place? This doesn't look like a universe similar to your Earth. Also, why does it smell so bad in here?"

"I don't know. I think Arial must have messed up while making the portal. The space here is very small. There are some objects near me and beneath me as well."

"What do you mean by objects? Be careful, Max. If there are objects near you, they can be dangerous. Don't move at all; I'll do something," Echo said hurriedly.

"Alright, but be quick. I don't think I can handle this stench."

Echo, who had landed on Max's chest, was away from the objects and free to move. Echo thought about what he could do, but the only thing that came to mind was going up. Since they were surrounded on all sides, only one direction remained.

Echo readied himself and used all of his energy in his legs to jump up, hoping to reach something.

As soon as his paws left Max's chest, he hit his head on something and landed back again onto Max's chest. Confused by what had just happened, Echo realized they weren't inside a room but a box.

"This isn't a room—it's some kind of box. I'll try to break us out," said Echo.

Echo readied himself to break out. He pulled himself back, and suddenly, glowing energy began emanating from his legs. The energy looked similar to Arial's divine energy, but something was different about it.

Max noticed the glowing energy coming from Echo and, mesmerized, couldn't help but stare at it. Echo jumped with all his strength, bashing his head into something, which broke open.

Echo flew out of the box they were in and crashed to the ground, unconscious from hitting his head on the metal cover and landing hard.

"Are you okay, Echo?" Max yelled.

Some light entered the box they were in. Max quickly moved, stood up, and looked out of the box.

"Looks like Arial sent us to the right place. It wasn't a dark room but a huge garbage bin. But Echo must have hurt himself bashing into the metal cover."

Quickly pulling himself out of the garbage bin, Max checked on Echo.

"Echo... Echo, are you alright? Can you hear me?" asked Max.

Slowly, Echo opened his eyes, revealing a small bump on his head from the metal cover. As he tried to stand on all fours, he stumbled slightly, wincing at the sharp pain in his head.

"Are you alright, buddy?" Max asked sympathetically.

"Yeah, yeah, I think I'm alright. I should've thought this through," said Echo.

"It's okay. Next time, check with me before doing something so reckless. Anyway, it looks like Arial did send us to the right place. This world is similar to mine, but something feels off."

"Hmm... Arial did say this world would be similar to yours. We need to figure out where we are and what to do next. We'll also need food and shelter to survive."

"You're right. Let's move quickly. But before that, we need to do something about your appearance. You can't just waltz into the street looking like that—it'll draw too much attention."

"I think I can do something about it," said Echo.

Echo slowly closed his eyes as if trying to feel something in his body. Soon, glowing energy began emanating from him, but this time, it grew brighter and brighter until Echo was no longer visible within it.

A few seconds later, the light retracted into Echo's body, revealing a blackish-blue cat instead of a dragon.

"What the... How did you do that, man?" Max said, astonished.

"I can use the divine energy Arial gave me to change my appearance however I want. That's not all—I can also help you become stronger," said Echo.

Echo closed his eyes again, and this time, the divine energy flowed from his body toward Max. A blue board appeared in front of Max's face:

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[Name]: Max Benz

[Age]: 13

[STR]: 5

[INT]: 6

[STA]: 5

[Artifact]: The Traveller [Divine]

A divine artifact that allows the user to travel between worlds in this vast cosmos. Created by the God of Time, it holds unimaginable power.

---

"Awesome—a status board! It looks just like the ones in those animes I watch. But there's no level or experience bar," said Max, confused.

"I don't think this status board is like the ones from your overpowered animes. It won't help you get stronger; it'll only measure your progress," Echo explained.

Max's face dropped; he'd hoped the status board would help him gain power quickly.

"Damn, man. I thought this would speed things up," said Max in a low voice.

"Come on, Max, don't be so sad. It's not what you were hoping for, but it's better than nothing."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's better than nothing."

Cheered up by Echo, Max began examining his stats.

"So, [STR] must be my strength, measuring physical power. [INT] is probably intelligence, for how fast I learn. [STA] must be stamina, for physical activity like running," said Max.

"That sounds about right. Now that we know where we stand, we should check out this place."

"Yeah, no time to waste. Let's go."

Echo jumped up onto the garbage bin's cover and then onto Max's shoulder.

"I think I'll travel like this. It's more comfortable," said Echo.

"Alright, let's move out!"