The world around Mill was bathed in indigo as it shifted around them. One moment they were standing in the middle of a hidden dungeon room, and the next they were in midair, falling towards a crystal-covered landscape. The wind buffeted them as they fell, the ground approaching closer with every second.
Mill felt they probably should have been surprised, but with all the close calls with death they’d had that day, they just felt more annoyed than anything.
Oh yeah, sure, just teleport me right into the FREAKING SKY why don’t you? Well, guess I’d better figure out how to survive this now too. Sigh.
Slipping their backpack off one shoulder, they rustled around in it until they found what they were looking for, which was much harder than it sounds when you’re falling at near-terminal velocity. Nevertheless they managed, pulling out a spare shirt. They slipped their backpack back on, and in their other hand they focused their magic towards their staff to cast a spell.
“Crafting: Alteration!” The shirt began shifting, stitching itself together in some places and coming apart at others. Soon, Mill held what could tentatively be described as a parachute-like object.
It’s a bit shoddy, but it’ll have to make do! They slung their staff across their back and grabbed onto the parachute with both hands, holding it above themself. The wind caught the cloth they were holding onto and it ballooned upwards, slowing their fall.
Unfortunately, they hit the ground mere seconds later at a still considerable velocity. There hadn’t been enough time remaining before landing for the parachute to have full effect.
“Owww…” they lay on the ground, groaning in pain. After a moment, they got up to check for injuries. Despite having the wind knocked from their lungs in the landing, it seemed like they hadn’t broken any bones.
After being satisfied they weren’t hurt, Mill took a look around at their surroundings. “What a weird place this is, though…” Everywhere they looked, there were crystals. Colorful crystalline structures rose up from the ground all around them. Some of the structures only went up to Mill’s knee height, while others were as tall as a six-story building! Each of them tapered to a point at the top, and Mill shuddered as they realized they had been lucky to land on a flat piece of ground. Even that was crystal!
They looked up into the sky. It was a clear day, and there were hardly any clouds overhead. There was no trace of the indigo spatial magic that had taken them here.
Huh, so there’s no way back… wait, does that mean I’m stranded!? Oh well. Better stranded than dead. Now that I know there’s an evil army hanging out where I came from I wouldn’t want to go back that way anyways! Let’s see if I can find anyone around here who can help me get back home.
With that thought, they set off in a random direction, traveling through the forest of crystals. It was serenely quiet and the only sound was the clinking of their boots against the ground.
----------------------------------------
A few hours of walking later, the crystal structures began to thin out. Maybe they were coming close to a road or something? Excited, Mill sped up their pace.
Soon they reached the edge of the crystal forest. A sheer cliff face dropped down in front of them, and beyond it Mill could see a vast landscape. A verdant forest stretched across the land beneath them, and beyond it there was a wide-open plain covered in beautiful wildflowers. Past that, they could see the ocean waves glittering in the sunlight. It was a gorgeous view, but Mill frowned.
I don’t recognize any of this geography. I mean I guess it makes sense. If there was any place like this nearby where crystals grew straight out of the ground, I would already know all about it! I must really be far from home…
A cloud drifted by below them. Heh. Well, nothing I can really do at a cliff like this. I don’t think I trust my little parachute here enough to make a leap of faith like that. Although it would make a nice place to take a break.
They began to unpack some food from their bag. The sandwich they had packed had gotten a bit squished in all the chaos they’d been through today, but it was still edible. They folded the parachute they made earlier into a cushion and sat down to eat.
“WRRROOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRR!”
Just as they had finished half their sandwich, Mill heard an earth-shatteringly loud noise. They jumped to their feet, looking around. It had sounded like an animalistic roar crossed with the noise of all of the windows in a house shattering at once. They couldn’t see the creature it came from, but it sounded like it had come from nearby. Mill quickly packed up everything they had taken out, putting away the half eaten sandwich. There would be time to finish it later. For now, they would have to stay alert.
“WRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!”
The roar came again and this time, the sound was definitely closer. Stray crystal pebbles vibrated from the sheer noise, and even after the sound faded away it left Mill’s ears ringing.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
I should get away from the cliff. If this thing is hostile, I don’t want to be in a position where I can get knocked down there. They hurried back into the forest of crystals. Hopefully the extra cover would provide adequate protection.
A flash of light in their peripheral vision had Mill turn their head, but when they looked, there was nothing there. Heart pounding in their chest, they continued forward. Their eyes flit from side to side in anticipation of an attack.
Clinking footsteps sounded out behind them and they whirled around, staff at the ready. To their surprise, rather than any sort of horrifying monster, a young man with long red hair stood there.
“Uh, hi,” he said uncertainly. “You’re a person, right?”
Mill raised an eyebrow. “What kind of question is that?”
“Yeah, I guess the answer is kind of obvious. Sorry, I’m not really used to talking to people. Heck, you’re the first person I’ve ever talked to other than my pa and- right! My pa! You heard that roaring, right?”
“Well, yes,” Mill responded dryly, “It would have been hard not to. Why? Actually, just to check, it wasn’t you who made that sound, right?”
The red-haired man blinked. “Huh, me? No. I don’t think I could make a noise like that if I tried. Oh, but we shouldn’t just stand around talking! It’s dangerous out here! Come on, follow me. I know a safe place.”
“Huh? Wait, but who— GAH!” Mill was interrupted mid-sentence when all the crystals around them shattered at once. “What was that!?”
The red-haired man dropped into a fighting stance. “Watch out! He’s here!”
“What? Who’s ‘he?’”
Whatever he was about to say went unheard, as another earth shattering roar tore through the air. Mill winced and put their hands over their ears, and something stepped out into the newly-made clearing.
Mill had seen a good number of monsters in their life, but none of them truly embodied the word ‘monster’ as this thing did. It was huge, standing about ten feet tall despite being down on six legs. Its hide was made of broken, clinking shards of glass that each reflected their surroundings, scattering light in every direction. A whirlwind of broken glass swirled around its head like a mane. As it walked forward in a strange gait, shards of broken crystal rose up from the ground to join the storm of shrapnel.
Suddenly, the thing leaped forward! Mill flinched back, but the red-haired man sprung into action. He ran towards it, his stance low to avoid the whirling glass, and grabbed it by its back leg! The monster struggled against his grip, growling in a way that sounded like stones grinding together, but was unable to break free.
“Take THIS!” With a yell, he hefted the thing up, planted a foot behind him for stability, and threw it across the clearing! It landed with a discordant crash.
“Now’s our chance to get away! Follow me, while he’s still trying to get up!” He ran forward through a particularly dense patch of crystals and beckoned Mill to follow. Mill turned to look back at the monster. It was struggling to get up, and much of its cloud of shrapnel had fallen to the ground inert.
What the heck!? He just THREW that thing! I didn’t even think something like that was possible! I’m glad he seems to be on my side. Mill ran after him, and the man led them through a winding path through the crystal structures. Before long, Mill heard the sound of growling behind them once more and the uneven sounds of a six-legged creature’s footsteps.
“Keep going! We’re almost there!” The two of them burst out of the crystal forest into a flat area. A crystal larger than any other Mill had seen sprouted up out of the ground before them, its size comparable to a mountain. They wanted to stop for a moment to take it all in, but the sounds of growling behind them spurred them forward.
“Here!” The red haired man ran into a small cave on the side of the mountainous crystal, and Mill followed after him. At that moment, the broken-glass monster caught up with them and pounced! They jumped back, but it was unnecessary as the monster just crashed into the entrance to the cave as if there was an invisible wall.
“This cave is safe. He can’t get in here, so he should go away soon. But anyway…” he sat down. “Who are you? How did you even get here? Are you from the surface?”
“Huh? The surface? What does that mean? Well, whatever. My name’s Mill. There was this whole… thing… and I got teleported into the sky above this place.”
The man looked down, as if deep in thought. “Huh. Teleported… that’s when someone is instantly transported from one place to another, right? I think one of my uncles can do that. Oh wait, but that means you could be from anywhere!”
“Yup,” Mill nodded, “But aren’t you forgetting to introduce yourself too? I’d like an explanation as to what that thing is as well,” they said, motioning towards the monster outside that had seemingly given up at scratching at the invisible wall and just walked off.
“Oh, yeah. My bad. I haven’t needed to introduce myself in… well, ever, actually. My name’s Raze. And as for him,” he pointed at the monster, “He’s my pa.”
“You… he… what?”
“Yeah. I know it’s surprising.” He sighed. “He wasn’t always like that. In fact, he only changed into what he is now about a year ago. Before that, he was really kind! But he did warn me that this might happen. Something about ‘the world’s corruption’ catching up with him. He told me to flee to the surface when that happens, but I… I don’t know. I can’t just leave him like this. I do want to see the world beyond, but first… I need to put him out of his pain.”
Mill’s eyes widened. “Wait, do you mean… by ending his life?”
Raze sighed. “Yeah. I don’t know if I’ll be able to, but I have to try. You saw how he was. I can’t just leave him like that.”
Mill thought back to the encounter with the beast— no, with Raze’s dad. At the time they weren’t exactly in the best mindset to think about much of anything except how terrifying he was, but after thinking about it… those weren’t roars of anger, were they? They had sounded more like screams of pain. They remembered his broken and shattered appearance, and something within their mind shifted into place.
“There might not be any need for that.”
Raze tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“I think I might be able to fix your dad.”