Frederick prepared to follow her out of the sanctuary, but as her last words registered, he stopped. Memories returned of sinking through endless darkness as chilly pressure squeezed the air from his lungs. Did he want to revisit that again?

Lian Hai must’ve detected his concerns, for when she turned to him, her eyebrows furrowed.

“It won’t be like last time,” she said. “Certain passages that allow you to slip between layers provide more speed but are much harder to control. With what I’m showing, it’ll take longer, but you won’t have to worry about any unexpected layer slips.”

Despite hesitation, Frederick guided her out of the sanctuary and to the nearest stairs. They headed down a hall that provided enough room for small groups to linger or walk. The overhead lights remained off, but with moonlight streaming through the ceiling-high windows, Frederick had ample ability to see.

They walked through the lobby, and Frederick expected Lian Hai to inspect the mini cafe or stare out the window at the distant pond. Instead, she walked past them without a glance.

He caught up with her. “Wait. Do you want to slow down and look around?”

Without missing a beat, she replied, “Trust me when I say they don’t hold a candle to what I’m about to show you.”

Since he’d stopped by the lobby weekly for the past several years, he didn’t object and led her down another hallway to the second sanctuary.

This passage lacked the windows of the rest of the church, so Frederick prepared to slow down until he remembered he didn’t have to worry about bumping into furniture. He considered grabbing a candle from the sanctuary but shot the idea down, not wanting to risk a fire hazard, spectral over exertion, or the security team freaking out at seeing a floating candle if they checked the cameras. They already pushed their luck back in the sanctuary.

Before long, they reached a carpeted staircase leading to the second floor. A few steps away, an elevator provided an alternate route up. However, since Lian Hai mentioned slower methods up posing less risk of another eternal abyss plunge, he skipped them in favor of the stairs and waited for further instructions.

“Open stairs. Even better.” Lian Hai scanned them, then said, “I think for this demonstration to work best, there needs to be a contrast. You’ve been up these stairs before, right?”

“Yep,” Frederick replied. “Several times, in fact.”

“Well, first, we’ll go up them normally. I’ll explain why later.”

Lian Hai climbed the stairs two at a time. Frederick followed her, and as he expected, they reached the second floor with no issues. A door on the opposite wall led to the second sanctuary balcony. In between, two coffee tables with cushioned chairs allowed guests to sit. Potted plants stood next to the railings, and the open layout allowed people to see the ground floor below.

From what Frederick could see, nothing was out of the ordinary, which begged the question of why Lian Hai brought him up here.

“I’ll explain,” she said. “So, when you climbed up here, I reckon you were just walking like normal. As such, it functions like regular stairs. That means you don’t have to worry about warping anywhere unexpected, but you’ll have to focus more in order to travel elsewhere.”

She rushed past him down the stairs. Frederick sighed and turned back to follow. If learning about the astral plane meant running around in circles, he was tempted to pass. However, he’d come this far, so he wanted to see it to the end provided nothing went sideways. He returned to the ground floor and didn’t have time to ask anything before Lian Hai began explaining again.

“Okay, so we’re going to go up the stairs again. Stay with me,” she added, no doubt hearing him sigh. “Like I said, there’s a method to all this. There are certain areas that act as connection points between layers of the astral plane. Generally, the easier they are to travel through, the harder they are to control, and vice versa. Compare how you went up the stairs without anything unusual versus when you stepped into the lake.”

Frederick shuddered at the reminder. “Based on everything else that we’ve done, I’m guessing this is another case of me having to close my eyes and focus within.”

“Now, you’re catching on.” Lian Hai grinned before becoming serious. “Technically, you don’t have to close your eyes. I just find it helps me with focusing. Trying to parse through multiple layers at once is an eyesore, and the last thing you want when traveling between them is distractions.”

Again, Lian Hai mentioned layers, and Frederick struggled to wrap his mind around the concept. Previous experience suggested that she referred to the physical and astral worlds, which consisted of material objects and energy trails. It explained why she closed her eyes earlier when demonstrating how to use her powers.

However, given that even he could examine the physical world while scanning energy trails without having to shut his eyes altogether, he suspected there was more to it.

Eventually, Frederick asked, “So, these layers you keep referring to, are these somehow even more spirit-based hidden locations than what I’ve seen already?”

“In a way.” Lian Hai paused and glanced to the side. “It’s certainly much more different than what you’ve seen before, not including your slip into the lake, I’m guessing.” 

“You can say that again.” He was about to close his eyes, but a question made him pause.“Is there anything specific I need to focus on this time?”

“In addition to your spirit-based power, you’ll want to pay attention to the energies around you,” she explained. “Some of them will lead you where you want to go, but others can send you on the wrong path. If you’re not careful, you can end up somewhere you really don’t want to be.”

Although he understood what she was saying, he added, “Can you describe specifically what energy trail I should be looking out for this time?  Any special colors, feelings, sounds, or smells I should be on guard for? I don’t want to get mixed up and end up lost in the aether.”

“Let me think.” Lian Hai’s brow furrowed. “You know, I’ve done this multiple times, but I’ve never had to explain it to someone else. Now that you ask, I’m not quite sure how to describe it.”

“I’m all ears.”

A long pause followed before she said, “It’s not so much a specific color, sounds, or smells as a general atmosphere. You know how some places feel safe, energetic, lazy, or dangerous, and you can’t always explain why, but you know it when it happens? It’s sort of like that.”

Frederick tried to picture examples but failed to think of more than vague impressions. With all this talk about feeling and intuition, he had the sneaking suspicion that he should consult with Amara or Pastor Isaac for guidance. He tried to process what he needed to do, but more questions popping into his head prevented him from just accepting it.

His confusion and frustration must’ve shown, for Lian Hai extended a hand.

“Maybe it’s better if you just follow me,” she said. “You’ll know it once you feel it.”

After considering his options, Frederick put a hand on Lian Hai’s shoulder. He then waited for Lian Hai to close her eyes, did the same, and focused within. In addition to the familiar energy in his chest, faint warmth formed behind his eyelids. 

Before long, a vague outline of the stairs filled his mind’s eye. Even without looking, he detected Lian Hai standing next to him. A vivid green braid of energy leading up and down the stairs showed where she’d traveled, and a familiar blue trail followed close behind. More aural traces floated into view, but while Frederick took note of them, he didn’t fixate on them.

Lian Hai said, “Are you ready?”

Frederick nodded before remembering she couldn’t see him. “Yes.”

Lian Hai started walking up the stairs. This time, she went one step at a time, and Frederick had to pause every so often to not overtake her. Plush carpet squished underfoot, and if he reached his other hand to the side, his fingers brushed against the smooth wooden handrail. Nothing about this struck Frederick as unusual, and he was wondering if this were all some sort of trick.

Then, he recalled how Lian Hai had taught him how to interact with the physical world in spirit form and fought off the monster that had eluded his grasp. Since she hadn’t deceived him before, he didn’t have reason to think she would begin now. The thought allowed him to beat back any growing doubts and to focus.

The staircase leveled out at the halfway landing. Frederick was about to give a warning, but to his relief, Lian Hai rounded the corner and provided enough room for him to do the same. They  continued ascending the stairs, and Frederick counted the steps until they’d reach the second floor. 

Instead, the stairs kept going. They climbed double, even triple the steps that they had the first time, yet they didn’t approach anything resembling an end. Against what Frederick thought possible, his legs didn’t grow sore, nor did he lose his breath climbing so high up. Instead, his stomach lifted when the plush carpet floor morphed into a thin and light surface. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought he were walking on solidified air.

A cool breeze brushed past his face, and the air turned thinner and drier. His steps grew lighter, reminding him of how he felt when he first started astral projecting.

Eventually, Lian Hai stopped. “We’re here. You can look now.”

Frederick removed his hand and opened his eyes. He blinked several times, rubbed them with his fists, then stared out again, ensuring that his brain wasn’t hallucinating. When he confirmed that he wasn’t, his jaw dropped.

He stood on a rounded ridge that towered over the surrounding landscape. Before him, a grassy hillside sloped down to a lush prairie that stretched to the horizon. Ornamental grasses danced in the wind, and hearty oak trees dwarfed their surroundings yet appeared as a speck from so high up.

In stark contrast, when he turned around, rocky terraces that resembled steps zig zagged down to a drier and dustier flatland with only a few shrubs. Canals that may have once held water snaked across the ground in intricate patterns.

While these sights baffled him, they didn’t compare to the view that greeted him above. High in the sky, enormous islands floated between giant pillowy clouds.

Due to his lower vantage point, Frederick didn’t see much more than bedrock and soil, but the little glimpses he caught of the island surfaces intrigued him. Grasses, shrubs, and even trees grew in their own private biomes. Some of the islands were flat topped, while others had hills or miniature mountains. At least one mountain had a river with a waterfall pouring over the edge. 

To say nothing of how the clouds changed colors based on their surroundings or the many constellations decorating the indigo and dark purple sky. Despite not considering himself sentimental, the sight almost brought a tear to Frederick’s eye.

Lian Hai was also gazing out with widened eyes. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Incredible,” Frederick replied. “Mind blowing. How is any of this real?”

“That was my thought, exactly.” She stared into the distance. “To be honest, I’m still not sure how this place exists. However, what I do know is that this spot is where I like to go if I want to get away from everything. Something about the atmosphere and setting is so peaceful.”

Lian Hai sat on the grass before lying back. After some consideration, Frederick did the same. Cool and crisp grass brushed against his back, while a fresh breeze rustled his hair. As he soaked in his surroundings, he returned back to his initial relaxed state when he first astral projected to the lake.

In the darker corners of his mind, flashbacks lingered of plunging into abysses and shadowy monsters stalking him to kill. Although he kept tabs on them, he pushed them to the side and focused on the moment.