Ace POV

I think I've been consuming too much horror media. Or all the stress of everything is finally getting to me. All I know is that I'm seeing things. If I wasn't, people would surely mention that thing and panic. Well, people are panicking, but not because of that monster. It's because we've been summoned to another world. That very quickly became the least of my problems.

I gaze out into the far distance at the beast. I feel my stomach sink. The hairs on my arms stand on end as my blood cowers. I remove my glasses, rub my tired eyes, and put them back on.

It's still there.

I wipe my glasses.

It’s still there.

I’ve been reading a lot of Lovecraft and Cthulhu mythos recently. A problem I’ve always had with the monsters in those stories is that they are apparently so terrifying the human mind breaks just trying to comprehend what it’s looking at. The author would write two pages of vivid descriptions and purple prose of what is usually some fish thing and have a character say, “It was so big and scary, bro, I can’t even describe it.” The problem I have with “a monster so terrifying you can’t even fathom it” is how I always come back to thinking, “Yeah, but…”

In this case, yeah, this nightmare probably predates this world by aeons. Yeah, it most likely has immeasurable cosmic strength and knowledge that’ll bring this universe to ruin on a whim. Yeah, that thing was probably born of methods so foul the universe shivers at the thought.

But… it looks hella goofy.

Just look at that dollar store Big Ben-looking-ass abomination.

If I had to hazard a guess, it was four hundred feet tall, give or take a few hundred. It was shaped like an obelisk, stretching impossibly high into infinity. The main body was pitch black, but even from miles away, I could tell that it was flesh and blood. It even had a face. A human one. It was a crude and abysmal imitation of a human face, but uncannily human nonetheless. The face was pale, gaunt, and long. It had two abyssal pitons for eyes that blinked once every one hundred and fifty-three seconds exactly. I… don’t know why I know that. Its equally empty mouth was frozen agape as if singing. In fact, it was. I don't know why, but I’m certain it is.

I could even hear it. An entire choir sang softly in the back of my mind in a language I can only describe as a maddening amalgamation between pig Latin and a word salad full of nonce words. It's almost comprehensible, yet utterly nonsensical. As soon as I think I've made sense of one word, it slips out of my grasp and falls into the realm of utter absurdity as a dozen others flood its place, all equally out of reach.

It’s taunting me, goading me into going over to it. That thing's song is filling my mind with little pieces of information, baiting me to come over and learn more. It’s tempting me towards enlightenment, and it is frighteningly compelling.

I know it's a Chorist.

A Spectator.

What choir is it singing in? What is it spectating? What more is it willing to share with me?

I want answers.

I need answers.

Against my better judgment, I step towards it.

Following my better judgement, I punch my cheek and literally knock some sense into me. Next thing I know, I’m back in line.

“A-Ace?” My friend Evelyn yelped as I punched myself. “W-What are you doing?”

“Sorry, Evie.” I apologised for startling her as I bent down to pick up the glasses I punched off my face. A quick look let me know they weren’t broken, so I put them back on. “I was, uh, fuckin’, trying to see if I was dreaming.”

“You’re just supposed to pinch yourself for that.” Evie began to berate me under her breath. She’s a timid little thing, small in height and confidence. Her short, wavy hair was light brown, which just seemed to make her ooze macadamia nut vibes. “I really need you to keep your cool, Ace, because one of us has to, and it is not going to be me.”

“You’re absolutely right, kitten. Daddy’s gonna lock in now.” Evie stared up at me, tears swelling in her horrified eyes. She turned back around.

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“I’m gonna die here.” Her voice quivered. I snort in laughter.

“Nah, we’ll be fine.” I look back towards the Chorist. The sun began to dip past its head, yet it cast no shadow. It’s like it’s not there. Or maybe I’m seeing another plane of existence overlapping the one I’m on. I don’t know. I need to know. I can still hear it singing to me. It’ll show me. Teach me. I only have to join it.

But I know better than to follow its promise of enlightenment. Enlightenment is a drug, and it will kill.

After some time, Evie and I were up to be measured. Evie went first, eager to get it over and done with. She placed her tiny, shaking hand on the crystal ball. The wizard in charge leaned in closer to inspect the magic ball. I squint my eyes from behind Evie’s shoulders as I try to catch a glimpse. It was faint, but there was a tiny mote of a dull grey light.

“It’s barely there,” the wizard said, “but you have the bare minimum affinity for magic. No attributes.”

Evie sputtered. “Okay, cool. I’m useless. Can I go home now?”

“Not yet.” Princess Amaryllis spoke, and Evie almost jumped out of her skin. “You may not be entirely useless. Put on the bracelet and go join your friends.”

“U-Um… May I stay and wait for Ace?” Evie shakily asks, letting a knight place the bracelet around her wrist. The princess said nothing but seemed to relent with an exhale.

She then gestured toward me with a nod of her head. “You’re up.”

Evie steps behind me. Following the wizard's directions, I place my hand on the crystal.

There was nothing.

No reaction.

But for a split second, somewhere in my core, deep in my spirit, something cracked. Like a dam bursting, a torrent of magical force flooded my veins. My entire being felt as if it was being filled to the brim with a golden, radiant light as a violent, caliginous vortex swirled throughout it all. These opposing forces fought and shredded each other apart like packs of rabid wolves, only to fuse the broken pieces together and intertwine, all condensing into a single point right behind my solar plexus. This single point weighed nothing, yet it felt so heavy and dense that I worried a black hole would form inside me. What is this high I’m feeling? Was everything always so vibrant?

Something’s wrong…

Is something wrong?

…No.

Nothing’s wrong. Not yet. I’ve just opened my eyes for the first time. As the wizard looks confusedly at the crystal, I look up at the Chorist. It hasn’t changed in the slightest. I look toward Evelyn. I could see her magic through her, right behind her solar plexus. It was small, but it wasn’t without attributes. All eleven a human could possibly have were there: The red fire. The blue water. The brown earth. The mint green air. The cyan ice. The yellow lightning. The psionic pink. The black umbrous. The white radiant. Even the purple space. It was all there, just mixed into that dull grey associated with attributeless people. Then I noticed that magic inhibitor bracelet on her wrist.

I saw pink. Psychic magic. What kind? Enchantment. Limited mind control. Why? I follow the trail. It led to the princess. With a quick glance, I could see she had an attribute for psionics, but mostly lightning. With that bracelet on, your magic is inhibited, yes, but if she wills anything of you, you do it. That item disregards consent.

“There’s… nothing.” The wizard uttered. He looked to the princess for guidance. But there wasn’t nothing. The radiant and umbrous magic within existed in equal parts. They cancelled each other out, presenting nothing. I wasn’t going to tell them anything. Maybe they won’t put the bracelet on me. I need to keep my cards close to my chest.

The princess furrowed her brow at the crystal and held her hand to her chin in thought. “An outsider without any capacity? Considering the circumstances, I was expecting some lemons, but to have someone spurned by the gods?” She asked the people around her if they had heard of a precedent for this, and all she got in return was a bunch of unsure negatives. After an instance of silence, she addressed me. “You’re useless to us. Leave.” It looked like she was going to say some more, but she was cut off by Evelyn borderline howling.

“No! No, no, you can’t just get rid of Ace!” she screamed. Right next to me. I’m flattered she cares for me enough to squeal threateningly at a princess with her royal guard nearby, but she’s surprisingly loud. Not expecting such a sudden outburst, Princess Amaryllis fell silent in confused shock. Evelyn’s shouting caught other people’s attention. Word spread and several people raised their voices to object.

“What? They’re getting rid of Ace?”

“You can’t just do that! Not Ace!”

“No, not my study buddy!”

“Yeah, I need her to cheat off! You can’t dump her dead in a ditch!”

I didn’t realise I was so popular… It’s honestly very embarrassing. Thankfully, Amaryllis had enough very quickly. She commanded everyone with a thunderous shout. And I mean it literally.

“Silence!” A lightning bolt cracks and whips across the sky as roaring thunder rolls over and through everything within a hundred feet. The angry mob fell silent, though not because of the bracelet’s magic. It was out of fearful obedience. The princess pinched the bridge of her nose and mumbled. “I wasn’t- whatever. I don’t care enough to explain.” She lifted her head. “Just go join your friends.” As Evie dragged me away from the princess and towards the others, I vaguely heard her speak to one of her knights. “Annette, we can’t let the taxpayers know we’re housing a forsworn. I swear to whatever gods are still on our side that they will riot.”

“I’ll do my best to ensure word doesn’t get out, Your Highness.”

“I don’t want your best. I want you to–” Amaryllis held her tongue. She calmed herself with a deep breath in and out. “Sorry. I suppose one's best effort is all I can expect from people these days.”