I was here again. This wide, empty expanse of nothingness on one side, and the towering wall on the other. Yet this time, something was different from any of the times before.
Being here, it felt… so real, and yet ethereal at the same time. It felt as if a strange pressure was bearing down on me, along with a subtle wind blowing through the infinite nothing. But where… where was it coming from? It was as if my body and consciousness were wholly present.
Then there were the whispers… echoing, quiet whispers that danced through the air. It was accompanied by a dark mist in the air, which formed enigmatic shapes as if it carried the whispers itself.
And the gate… the runes on the gate seemed clearer than before. There were glyphs that almost hummed with a subtle blue glow, and the sharp runes seemed intent on consuming the light around them. The worn ones, though… they seemed to have worn down much further.
I waved my hands in front of my face, and then shivered as I felt the air cool.
This… this was still a dream, right?
The wall though… it seemed to have been damaged since the last time I saw it? I couldn’t remember clearly… those dreams had always faded so fast. Since when was I able to even stop and think in them?
Perhaps… last time, when I touched the door and saw the dragon?
I couldn’t help but question myself again, if I really was dreaming this time. I… I didn’t want to touch that door again. Instead, I tried to look away, out into that infinite expanse.
But then, it felt like time itself began to slip away from me. The mist seemed to dissipate the farther out it got, but that space seemed to want to fill itself.
Memories began to dance through it. That execution… it… even with Auntie Rhyme covering my eyes, she reacted too late.
I saw them… and I could still hear them… and I hate this. Even if they deserved to die… to die like that, it was just horrible. But… they sided with those monsters… those demons… Then there was the smell. It struck my nose again as if it was fresh.
My body shook vividly, as I dropped to my knees… or was it more like folding them? I could hardly sense the reality of if there was even a floor to stand on.
I couldn’t stop myself from screaming… memory after memory ripped through my mind. The things I could bury around others… the peace I could cling to in Rhyme’s arms… at times like this, it was the worst. I cannot escape. These thoughts and memories haunting me.
But maybe… maybe it’s a good thing that I am here, alone in this expanse? At least… At least nobody can hear me. When they see me again tomorrow, I can smile for them and laugh. It will be a better day, right?
Then a terrible thought crossed my mind… will I even see them again tomorrow?
Uncle was drafted… and because Auntie was still sick, they let her go to the temple, saying she would be a hindrance to the work that needed to be done. We took her back to Maya, and she seemed happy enough that I was doing well. She seemed to get along really well with Auntie, and put her in the same room as Em.
Perhaps it was because the heat of the moment had passed… but there were so many parents who had to leave their children at the temples so they could prepare the city. Mothers and fathers who had begun to have fear… fear for themselves and their family’s faces…
And I… don’t even have Thistle here with me. Something seemed different, and… he had something to do, and I… I couldn’t even ask him to stay. Just me and Clover… and now, just me, all alone.
Hal… Hal… where are you? Why did you have to leave me?
I cannot escape.
I cannot escape.
I… I…
With a searing, visceral chomp, I ripped myself out of the spiral and twisted back towards the door. God damn, it hurt! It pierced my hand… but… what the hell?
I stared in disbelief. There was no blood but I could feel pain?!
And… as I looked up at the grand gate, it seemed to have gotten closer to me of its own accord. It loomed taller and taller, the nameless whispers chanting a haunting melody. This close, I could see it. A small crack had formed in the door, and from it came the slow flow of mist.
I felt… as if I had no other choice. I approached the crack, covering my mouth. It was so small in relation to the size of the door, and it was a thin crack, not much wider than a fingernail. But it was certainly long… several feet at least.
I reached towards the crack, but hesitated inches away from it. The last time I touched the gate, I saw it… a dragon, and one more real than anything I had ever possibly imagined. And then there was that mind-shattering spell, that felt like it burned itself and everything into my mind.
Could I go through that again?
Nothing… nothing… if I did nothing, would this ever end?
I grimaced, and braced myself. If I turned around again, I would probably go insane.
I reached forward and touched the crack, and almost immediately wished I instead opted for madness. A searing pain tore up my arm and straight into my head, as my veins bulged quivered in my fingers, arm, neck and head.
The mist erupted from the crack in a high-pitched furor and with extreme force, as I grabbed my arm with my free hand and desperately tried to rip it away!
I shrieked vehemently, as I began bashing my arm with fist, desperately trying to break away by any means necessary.
It entered my head! It was burrowing into my mind! A relentless wave of rage and hatred! An overwhelming desire to destroy, to raze and burn everything to the ground, to salt the earth and leave nothing behind, and to make them… all of them suffer.
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My screams turned to howls of incandescent rage! The rage was devouring me!
And then… a blackened hand gripped firmly around my waist, while another struck the door with a tremendous force, plied with magic I couldn’t even begin to grasp as fresh, sharp runes seemed to spread themselves across the crack.
And then… with a thunderous roar, we were launched far from the wall, back into the nothing as my body convulsed. My eyes watered heavily, as a shadow moved in front of them. That hand… I felt it pierce into my chest… no… my soul.
The pain… the rage… I felt it drain, as my breathing turned to ragged, sharp breaths.
And then… I gasped sharply awake.
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Sweat dripped profusely from Diane’s soaked nightgown, as Clover growled in the corner.
It appeared as if the soft light of dawn was beginning to creep over the horizon, just enough to illuminate the room. She was splayed out on the floor, beyond the foot of the bed. Diane leapt up and twisted herself to see where Clover was growling… and her heart dropped.
“Thistle! Thistle!” Diane shouted; her voice sounded almost faint in her own ears. She ran to her friend, and grabbed his shoulders tightly. He sat shoved into the corner of the room, as black blood streamed from his eyes and ears, and his skin had turned to a dark grey hue. He stared ahead, his eyes drilling venomous holes somewhere a thousand miles ahead.
The mark of the contract on her chest flashed a deep red, and she could feel it… such pure rage flowing through her. The mark on Thistleman’s hand glowed in tandem with hers, and without a single moment’s thought, Diane placed her hand on the mark.
The rage felt as if it was shooting through her head again… although this time, it was different. She could feel it… an incomprehensible mind, a presence beyond her imagination focused entirely on suppressing an ocean of unmitigated hatred. His mind.
Diane closed her eyes for a moment, and then refocused on Thistle’s face, focused on the pain, and focused on pushing together against the rage. Slowly, it began to subside. Push after push, it flowed less and less fiercely while the color slowly returned to the demon’s “human” skin.
The girl dropped back to the floor, exhausted, her face dripping… She moved her left hand to wipe the sweat off her face, and then opened her eyes wide in shock! A mix of red and black blood smeared its way across her hand. With a start, she looked to her right hand… and saw more blackened blood being pushed out by fresh red blood from underneath her fingernails.
“What… no… no…” Diane’s voice shook with her unsteady breaths. Clover stopped yowling, and practically crawled to Diane’s side. The creature seemed to ponder for a moment, and moved to lick her face. However, its nose twitched, and he seemed to change his mind to instead nuzzle the girl gently.
“Hey…” Thistle’s voice called out to her, exhaustion seeping deeply throughout his face.
Diane stared back at him, as she bit her lip. Then she silently launched herself at Thistle, wrapping him in a wide hug as tears poured from her eyes. Confusion and concern seemed to mix itself on his face, and he awkwardly patted Diane’s back.
After a long pause, she finally pulled herself away, her small frame still shaking. Diane’s eyes almost looked pitiful; tinted as they were with fear and plied with questions she couldn’t give herself voice to ask. Her mouth opened and closed a couple times, as her voice escaped her.
“I figure… you want to know what just happened.” Thistle began, and Diane grunted “Mmm” in assent.
The boy’s mouth twitched as he stared out the window, and his eyes narrowed. “I’m not fully sure myself, but… I think I have a pretty good idea.” Thistle then locked eyes with Diane, and held her hand firmly. “That door… is something that should never be opened. Its something that is hiding behind it a real monster, the thing the God of Darkness always wanted. Its probably the reason why I still got to keep this fragment of myself…”
Thistleman trailed off listlessly, his voice growing uncharacteristically quiet. He dropped his eyes despondently, “On the other side of that door is the rest of me, everything that was consumed by my own rage and hatred. All my missing memories, he is the one that has them: the true demon lord of destruction. Although… I can’t help but wonder what is stronger, my despair or his rage?”
A subtle smirk snaked its way onto Thistleman’s face, as Diane stared at him in utter disbelief. Then she scowled, bared her teeth, and bashed her forehead directly into Thistleman’s nose.
“NO! WRONG!” Diane shouted, as Thistle flopped backwards and stared at her in shock.
“What the he-“ His words were cut short again, as Diane headbutted him again.
“BAD THISTLE! YOU. ARE. MY. FRIEND. YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO BE ANYTHING ELSE! YOU AREN’T YOU AREN’T YOU AREN’T!” Diane shouted at him again, as the boy scrambled backwards and away from her onslaught.
“Alright, alright! I get it!” Thistle shot a look of dismay towards Clover, the big cat seemed to be finding some innate level of enjoyment out of his predicament.
After dodging her attacks a couple more times, Diane finally stopped her assault, trying to catch her breath.
Blood had managed to get itself all over the room, but it was thickest on her bed and in a couple pools on the floor. The black blood itself seemed to have started to fill the room with a slight haze.
“You good now?” Thistle asked, glancing about the room.
Diane nodded, huffing deeply as she tried to catch her breath.
He closed his eyes and sighed. “Go get yourself cleaned up and ready. I’ll clean up here. I’ve already checked with the guild this morning… we’ve got you assigned to join one of the security teams by the temples. You’ll get to be with Jotuun.”
“What about you? Where will you go?” Diane asked.
“The guild. I got a hefty order of some very specific potions… and I would disappoint myself if I didn’t provide them.” Thistle made a mischievous grin.
Diane pouted, before hopping up and glancing out the window herself. She scrunched her eyebrows, then asked “But… its dawn now? So how did you…?”
Thistleman just shook his head, and motioned towards the window. Diane’s eye opened wide again as she reached the window, and stumbled backwards.
“W-w-whats wrong with the sun?!” She twisted towards Thistle, eyes still wide.
“That… is a side effect of incredibly powerful dark magic. You’ve already seen similar things before, like when the moon turned crimson red or the storms clashed over the city… when powerful magic is used, it’ll often cause unpredictable environmental changes to the world around it. The more powerful the magic, the greater the effect. Although… it wasn’t quite this bad earlier.”
Diane nodded slowly.
“D-does that mean…?” she stuttered.
“Yeah. I figured there was a small chance they’d get here this soon, but I didn’t really expect them to rush that openly. How the hell would anybody miss the sun losing so much of its light?” Thistle scratched his head.
“W-well, I didn’t know until you told me…” The girl seemed almost ashamed at the thought.
“Right. I keep forgetting the scale is…” Thistle stopped part way at a glare from Diane. “Anyways, you might want to hurry. You’re already really late.”
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The sun shone weakly upon the city, as a cold wind descended from the North. The chill had steadily deepened over the course of the day, as the sun failed to share its warmth. Many streets had fallen silent, other than the hustle of formations making their way to the city walls.
Work had run relentlessly overnight and through the day, with additional fortifications set to shore up the outer walls, while hastily erected barricades filled the streets. Every shadow felt almost suffocating, as if trying to crowd out any glimmer of light.
There seemed almost a growing weight to the air, and with it an uneasy certainty in everyone’s mind. One scarce alleviated even when the Light of the New Dawn’s engines roared back to life, and the airship crawled its way to land back in the ocean just on the other side of the sea wall.
The sea gates were opened wide, as a small line of non-combat ships prepared to depart. Many of the city’s children were loaded aboard, quietly waiting while young babes wailed without the comfort of their mothers.
Even as the sun sank listlessly through the sky, people began to push themselves harder and harder as if driven by some unconscious, primal fear.
And then, with a somber, silent descent, the last rays of the sun disappeared beyond the horizon and a thick, palpable darkness descended upon the city. A darkness which devoured the stars in the sky, an oppressive darkness which pressed upon any and every light in its domain. The weakest lamps began to fail one after another, and the light from torches struggled to even stay lit.
And deep within the darkness, something began to stir.