“Seems like you’ve made some friends.”
Terra looked up to gaze into Alter’s dark eyes. It had been a week since she’d seen last seen Alter in the small mirror when she’d first arrived in this new world, and she had to admit that she felt a little lonely without her companion. Not that she didn’t have any new friends to keep her company now that she had started growing into her role in this new life, she had missed having someone around that had solutions to her problems.
“Where have you been?” Terra harshly whispered, not wanting to wake the sleeping bodies in the next room.
It was 5 in the morning and everyone was exhausted from a long training day. Plus, the hours worked differently in this new world; the reds sun seemed to sit lazily in the sky and only set every fifty hours, while the smaller sun zipped around twice. By pure luck, they set at the same time, but that meant that days were fifty hours long and nights were twenty-five hours. It really threw Terra for a loop when her internal clock struggled to adjust. Now, standing in the bathroom, she had only slept for four hours after being awake for the majority of the daytime, making her sleep deprived and snappy.
“Awww, did our little princess not get enough sleep? Don’t you hate it how such a small part of your body controls when you wake up and need to go pee?” Alter’s eyes shone in amusement, contrasting Terra’s dark and weary irises.
“Shut up. Why am I here?”
“Isn’t that a question we all ask ourselves, why are we really here? Maybe it’s to fulfill some sort of cosmic purpose or find happiness. We’re talking about the meaning of life now.”
“Stop avoiding the subject. Why did you send me here to this place.” Terra’s was slowly waking up and her anger at Alter’s rambling simply added fuel to the fire.
“Ohhhh, that’s what you meant. I didn’t send you anywhere. Honest! You were already going there, but took a detour and stayed in the Void. I simply gave you little push out. You were in there for two years you know! Jesus, talk about a pity party.”
Two years? Had Terra been in the dark place for two years? How was that even possible? She couldn’t deny that she looked older in the mirror, but how could she have physically been in that place for such a long time without starving or sleeping or eating? It didn’t make any sense.
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“I know right?” Alter continued speaking after reading volumes on Terra’s face. “Two years lost in that place because you just couldn’t get over yourself. Yes, Roger’s death was your fault. Yes, more people than you know died because of you and yes, more people will die because of you. Now get over it because I’m sick and tired of you sitting around doing nothing but moping and crying as if you were the only one who’s ever hurt. Fucking do something about it!”
Alter’s aggravation and irritation hit Terra, and she felt some of her own annoyance rise to the surface.
“Then you should tell me what I’m doing here! And why do they have a black crystal? I thought it got used up to fulfill John’s wish. And what was his wish and why did it dump me here?”
“John simply wanted to go home, and this was home for him. I suppose we can all relate to that feeling. And didn’t it ever occur to you that there may be more than just two crystals in the universe? Plus, that crystal is dead, so it can’t be purged. Which is actually why I’m here.” Alter sat down on the bathroom counter and settled in and motioned for Terra to do the same.
“When a crystal gets used, it dies. It’s a one-time use thing, although if you gather up enough you can create an unlimited one, but that’s another story. This black crystal is used, so it can easily be manipulated. Remember that creature thing that we fought in the snow?” Terra nodded--as if she could ever forget. “That was a corrupted crystal, so anyone can manipulate it. Only you can manipulate the dead ones.”
“But why?” Was all Terra could mutter out at this new information.
“Why can you control dead crystals? That, I’m afraid, is something I can’t tell you just yet. I think in a few more world I can finally break it to you, but right now it’ll be too much of a shock to your system. Plus, someone needs to use the bathroom, so I don’t have time to explain all the mechanics of it. You need to learn how to manipulate that black crystal downstairs because your new friends’ lives depend on it.”
A knock on the door brought Terra out of her conversation with Alter, and when she turned back to the mirror, Alter was gone.
“Are you done? I don’t think I can hold it much longer.” Dexai insisted, a clear strain on his voice.
Terra jumped from the counter and opened the door. He was already going pee before Terra had a chance to close the door behind her. Crawling into bed, she wondered if she’d be able to fall asleep with the new questions that formulated in her head. Alter had said that she wouldn’t be able to a question for a few more worlds, did that mean there would more after this one? How many more? What was the deal with the crystals? An unlimited crystal? Dead crystals? Why couldn’t Alter just explain everything to her in one go and just be done with it?
Sleep must have taken hold of her sometime because she was woken up to Beiwot shaking her gently to get up.
“Wake up Terra, we’ve finally got a mission.”