The Kim and Brody that had entered the place, the relationship that they took, maybe it wouldn’t survive the journey. The journey would be had though, and that was not an option.

They’d keep stride below the darkness of sky piercing spires while marveling at pools of space and molten stars. It was something of a distraction, for those that could see it, for those that were still sane.

They were not in a hurry, the guides, in fact, they were taking their sweet time. They stood at the banks of oceans looking out at impossible scenes, and they found the time to smile. They’d watch the celestial bodies tumble down streams, watch galaxies fold and break, yet, they had not arrived at their destination.

They did have to reach a river, but it didn’t look like the bastardized landscape they were on, it looked more like the one from before. They’d know it when they’d see it, and they weren’t quite seeing it.

There was still more to be had nonetheless, and some rules were only bent and not broken, but in such a new world, some rules wouldn’t be needed, nor did they apply to everyone.

The spires made something of a forest, and for a moment, they’d see the forest for the trees. Passing below one of the structures that disappeared into the cosmos, hopping from one jagged rock to another, scaling cliffs and shuffling across ledges, a chance at relaxation would present itself.

As they made it to the other side of the monument, they’d stumble upon a building, a hut. It was a stout structure, its top a cone of thatch and its body made of wood. It looked to be stitched together with crooked nails and vines, most of it covered in moss and said vines.

The wood had holes, and the windows were just voids with tied sticks. As for the door, it was a slab of rotten wood with a crooked branch for the handle. All the while, light shot out from inside the place, illusive, dancing even.

It was a warm orange, and the aroma that the place spat out was meaty, yet earthy, mouthwatering. So what if they went inside, they were hungry were they not.

The four would ascend creaking and broken stairs, watching their steps as they did so, and to be as polite as they could be, they knocked on the door, twice.

The crackling of a healthy flame was heard from the outside, but until then there was only that. That’d all change as the knocks echoed and a dragging and moaning let out.

There was something there, something screaming as its clawed hands, hundreds, no thousands of them, scraped across the floors getting closer. The sound was that of nails being dragged across a chalkboard, and yet, the guides never even flinched.

The thing would eventually lift itself off the ground, wet, meaty slaps sounding as it did so, as if its flesh was falling off its living corpse. Its feet would sound some time later, loud, solid, hooves.

It would all stop moments later, all of it, the screaming, the moaning, the howling, the moving, all of it. All except a singular sound, a heartbeat, one loud enough to sound through the door, then it opened.

It would swing open as if there was a light breeze that had pushed its hinges loose, but despite that fact, there was something there. It was tall, so tall in fact, that its head was hidden behind the door’s frame, it was built wrong perhaps.

The thing, even as it stood in front of them, seemed to be in shadow, illusive and foreign. That was until it lowered itself, and as its face came into view, only one word came to mind, gorgeous.

‘It’ was in fact, not an ‘it’, ‘it’ was a woman, and a beautiful one at that. Her stark black hair was littered with huge spiraling curls, she had all thirty-nine pearly whites in her smile, her eyes were a welcoming purple and her pale skin, ironically, seemed to shine.

Her eyes washed over them, and moments later her joy was doing the same. She’d dip below the frame and take hold of them all, lifting them in a hug as big as she was. She’d bring them inside, slamming the door with her high heel.

She’d place them down, ready to accommodate them, and taking a good look at her, she wasn’t a shadow, she was simply wearing a black dress with a black veil. It was all a misunderstanding it seemed, as even the place itself, inside, it was that of royalty.

It was big too, but open, it had crystalline chandeliers on the gold trimmed marble ceilings, and furniture scattered across the checkered floors.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Even looking back at the door, it was white with golden trimmings, the cutlery, all gold and silver, furniture, only the best, leather and the like.

“It’s been so long you two, how have you been…?!” She’d wave them after her as she dashed across the floor in excitement.

“We’ve been… good… we’ve been good…” Kim would respond, butchering a smile as they followed the giant.

The giant would post up in her kitchen, searching her cupboards for the seasonings she knew she had, her cauldron ablaze in the fireplace. As for where the group ended up, the place was furbished, so they made their ways to the table and chairs

The furniture was rather grand though, seven massive chairs around the table. They could barely see atop the thing as they all sat, some even unaware of where they were.

“Well… you can’t be that good if you’re here…? Am I wrong...?” The giant would find what she as looking for, and as she passed them on the way to the fireplace she’d crumple her face in query.

“I—… its complicated… but at least we can be safe for a while…” Kim would rest her head against the table as she spoke.

“Yeah! You saw what happened earlier, right? The sky fell! Haha…! Must have been one of those human idiots, somehow, still kicking, and still stupid…. Am I right… or am I right…? Haha…” The woman turned to look at them with a smile plastered from ear to ear, brows raised.

“We—… A—… Actually…. The ‘thing’ finally worked… so… it was her…” Brody pointed at Kim.

“Wha—…!” Kim looked at him with her jaw hanging, then she looked at the giant that was as just as shocked as she was. “I—…!” She looked away as she thought about it for a while, then she closed her mouth as she realized. “So maybe it was my fault…” She didn’t look at them.

“Look…. Look at the bright side… it worked… yaaayyyy…!” The giant waved her hands in celebration, a criminal smile on her face. “S—… so anyway… what brings you here… since it worked and all…?” She turned back to attend to her pot, beating the inside of it with a spoon.

“’She’s’ playing hard to get… in fact, she doesn’t seem to care… and her aspects… haha… well they gave us a task to complete or—” Kim would be interrupted.

“They kill you…?” The giant was familiar with their games.

“Yeah… or they kill us… so we have to deal with that now… and because ‘it’ worked… we might really die this time… even in here…” Kim seemed to sink as she spoke.

“I see, so that’s why you have that ‘thing’ with you… it reeks of her…” The giant would shoot a look at a certain artifact, and from her eyes, it was almost blinding, she’d be forced to look away.

“Yup… maybe it should have all just stayed the same… I know you won’t agree… but you have no idea how it feels, none of you would… but the thought that none of this would have happened, and we’d a been fine too… it’s all just a massive headache…” Kim was over it seemed.

“Well… of course I don’t agree, more is always better after all… but I do sympathize with you… not even I can help you solve that problem… none of us could… even if we all came together… which is why were not all together… but that abomination has taken it upon himself… so let’s see what happens why don’t we… haha…” The giant mused.

“Speaking of ‘all’ of you… where is everybody else…?” Kim would raise her head to look around the place, to ensure she was right.

“Oh…! Them… or ‘them’. The giant’s face would twist and crumple at her own words.

“All of them…” Kim was curious.

“Well… you know how they are…? Some wanted to see it for themselves, some wanted to escape the conflict, some wanted to be alone, some wanted to be free… and some… well… some wanted to be gods… again…” The giant’s voice fell with her last word.

“Wait…?!” Kim reached back into her own memory for once.

“Yes…! Even if that means raining over a wasteland—I mean, I get that they already have the man power because of all their failed experiments, but come on...!?” The giant was basically scowling.

“They wouldn’t… e-even if their mindless… e-even if their monsters… their still… us…?” The girl would find an itch in her throat as she spoke.

“Well… in truth… we aren’t all the same… so…” Even the giant felt a churn in her gut saying such a thing.

“…” Kim opened her mouth.

“A-anyway… to achieve their goal, they’d have to be as far away from here and that island as possible… I’m not sure about the island though… because those on that island are selfish…? Breeding their own kind like cattle, it only mattered that they didn’t come from the island… So they should be fine with building their kingdoms or whatever… even if its relatively close to the island… it’s still dumb though… with those intentions, to claim themselves ‘puritans’ as if they weren’t born from the black womb… that island is a sick place.” She’d roll her eyes as she filled bowls of soup.

“Huh…? Okay… I don’t want to talk about that place, but I did see them, they looked like monsters. I even saw those six, well ‘saw’ no bodies and all, you know—but more importantly… How are any of us on the sidelines…? How can they be so far removed from our ideas…? Isn’t humanity the ultimate honor…? For anyone else but us of course…” She’d look at her wavering comrade in Brody.

“See… we aren’t the same… you might point to that revolutionary… but he doesn’t represent the bulk of us… becoming human… isn’t so simple when you’ve been around as long as us… we have power… the likes of which you could never fathom…” The light seemed to fade from the giant’s eyes.

“But ‘you’ are human… all seven of you were… and this power business, you have so much… and yet… you cower…? You all do…?” Kim refused eye contact with the woman.

“…You said you saw those six… right…?” The giant changed the subject.

“Yeah… but it was quick… it was around the same time we saw that ‘revolutionary’ for the first time over there… it made my heart skip a beat… being like this and all… he commanded the seas, and I thought I’d drown, but—” Her sentence would stop short yet again.

“Well! For the time that you’re here… none of that matters, just relax, you’ll need it…” The giant placed the bowls of soup on the table and the whole thing seemed to shrink for the two.

“Thanks I guess…” Kim didn’t quite have an appetite.