With what felt like a herculean effort, John slowly forced his eyes open. After blinking multiple times to clear away the blur, the strained movements seeming far more strenuous than they should have, he inhaled a deep breath as he gazed up at the stary night sky.
"Six, no seven days. But without knowing exactly how long each cycle is, I have no clue how long it's been."
Shifting his body slightly to alleviate the terrible ache in his muscles, John suppressed the feeling of nausea and surreality assaulting his senses while trying to focus his exhausted mind. While he had no idea how long the days were, he was almost certain that the nights we no longer than three or four hours long.
"Fuck my life. What I wouldn't give for a couple of hours more sleep."
Just as he was cursing his luck, John remembered the sensation that he believed had woken him. After shaking his head and muttering a few obscenities under his breath, he slowly pulled himself forward and stuck his head out of the wreckage he had been sleeping inside.
The box-like, grey metal debris appeared to have once been a flying vehicle of some time, capable of carrying six people. However, the one short wing sticking out of the sand nearby seemed far too small to create enough lift for flight. Now, half-buried at the summit of a large dune, it made an almost perfect shelter in which John could keep an eye out on all directions while being protected from the elements.
When he finished scanning the star-filled horizon, the light pollution from approaching dawn and nearby planets making only the brightest visible, John revealed a deep frown. The hint of the approaching sunrise to the east, dimmer than the one growing in the west, signified that the most dangerous time to travel the desert was almost over. However, instead of feeling the happiness that he could continue his journey and maybe escape his current predicament, John felt his stomach roll as his paranoid thoughts returned.
"Am I going crazy? Or are you out there somewhere?" John's voice, sounding extremely horse, shattered the surrounding silence.
Ever since he escaped the town and started traversing the desert, every time he drifted off to sleep for a couple of hours, John would abruptly wake to feel as if he had experienced the alien emotions of impatience and boredom. However, the moment he was conscious enough for rational thought, he wouldn't be able to find or feel any trace of the sensations.
At first, he was extremely vigilant, believing that one of the Void Lords had caught up. Yet, now the suns were rising on his seventh day in the Voidlands, he wasn't so sure. Half of him, as well as his rational mind, wanted to explain it as nothing more than a lingering nightmare created by his sleep-deprived state. In contrast, the other half expected a Void Lord or equivalent to suddenly fall from the sky at any moment and end his suffering.
There was also a tiny, almost insignificant, feeling of expectation. The strange behaviour of the Void Lords, how they seemed to treat him, made John feel as if there was more to his existence and banishment than he knew. That and after six days of complete isolation, he was starting to feel like looking for trouble just to interact with another living being.
"Why? Why me? Why here? Where am I heading, and why am I fucking talking to myself again?" As he spoke, John's voice increased in volume until he was almost roaring into the sky.
Taking a deep breath, he clenched his fists a couple of times before shaking his hands.
"Calm down. Its the lack of sleep, food and water talking..." John sighed as he relaxed his muscles and let himself lean against the cold metal behind before closing his eyes for a few moments.
He had asked the same questions many times over the last few days. This time, the one that answered him was the cold, moistureless wind as it blew across the desert. Luckily for him, his affinity with the ice element and cultivation meant that the freezing nights of the desert didn't impact him too much.
"I'm losing it." John chuckled, knocking the back of his head on the metal behind a few times. "Damn place. Full of nothing but endless sand, ruins and skeletons. Where are the damn Voidlings or beasts that scour the land? The tears in reality that storm across the surface? This place..."
John paused, failing to find any way to describe his emotions. "Did I die and go to one of the purgatories?"
After wetting his mouth, or trying to, with his parched tongue, John shook his head slowly. "Nah, like I would be lucky enough to run into a god that can manipulate souls and allow them into their domain. Plus, I would like to hope I would remember if I died. Unless if it was in my sleep..."
John snorted. "Great, now I doubt my existence."
As John tried to distract himself, his mind briefly travelling back to the silver-haired woman that he felt was the start of his bad luck. However, he couldn't feel any hatred towards her. "I wonder what happened to her?"
John shivered, the night desert air being almost too cold, even for his affinity with the ice element. As he did, the slight pounding in his head from his lack of sleep increased. "She... is probably suffering far more than me. At least I can escape this shit hole when I die.
After losing himself in his thoughts for a couple of minutes, John's shoulders fell slightly. "Get a grip man. Not like you can do anything about it anymore. It's not even certain you will see the next sunrise."
John sighed noisily as his hands moved down before taking the dimension pouch on his belt and taking out the ice core. After staring at it for a few minutes, he began to absorb some of its energy.
As a cold refreshing sensation washed over his body, travelling from his hand to his chest, John converted the precious energy that most would use to aid their cultivation into liquid. Then, even though he knew it was a slight waste, he circulated it towards his mouth until enough moisture had formed to wet his lips.
Looking down at the core, which was a lot dimmer and had a few cracks, he sighed again. "Two, three days at best. Then I'm up shit creek without a paddle."
Thinking about the mental imagery of a river filled to the brim with water caused John to swallow hard.
Putting the ice core back into the bag carefully, as if any mistreatment would cause it to shatter, John picked up the dark core and one of the light ones before crossing his legs and straightening his back.
As he absorbed their energy and purified it through his core as it circulated his body, John allowed his muscles and flesh to receive small amounts. While it was nowhere near what his body needed, it would provide enough energy to keep moving until he ran out of water.
Thinking this, John chuckled mirthlessly. "Death by, dehydration, hunger or Void Lord... oh, so many options. What a lucky man I am."
By the time the first sun was halfway over the horizon, John had finished cultivating and had put the cores away before carefully tying the back to a makeshift belt created by the arms of his prison jumpsuit. After giving the wreckage another once over, finding nothing of value, he continued his relentless march in the direction the yellow crystal tugged.
While at the start, nothing seemed different from the previous day's travels, it wasn't long before John felt subtle changes. The growing heat of the day, which had a long way to go until it reached its average peak, plateaued as strange clouds started to defaced the clear sky of the horizon.
Only frowning for a short while, wondering about the strangeness of the Void Lands, John bypassed an area of black cracks and continue to walk along the spines of the enormous, mountain-like dunes. Now and then, he descended one only to climb up another, exhausting his stamina at a terrifying rate, but he never paused as he regularly checked his surroundings.
"Still... baren as ever." At the start, he had noticed a few birds in the sky but strangely, against all the rumours he had heard, no animals or beasts. Even then, on the second or third day, the birds had vanished as an oppressive silence seemed to fill the land. Although he would have usually been warry of such an ominous feeling, after his experiences with the Void Lords, he felt that whatever it was wasn't a significant threat and carried on without fear.
Several hours later, while still under the glare of the twin suns, the clouds in the distant sky had grown significantly. At the same time, John could feel the dark and ice essence in his body churning, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. He had even paused for a couple of minutes, deciding if he should ignore the yellow crystal and change directions, before shaking his head and carrying onwards. "Fuck it, if I keep heading in one direction I've got to make it out of this damn place at some point."
As he carried on walking, the bright daylight gradually taking on a grey tint, the orange-yellow sand belief his feet also became paler. When he inspected it, he couldn't feel anything different but had the strange sensation that the world was becoming more monochrome. At the same time sound, including the ones he made, seemed to become more muted.
As John had nothing else to do, his thoughts would wander. However, the uncomfortable feeling often brought his focus back to the nature of the strange environment around him." The dulling of colour and sounds? Almost feels like those sense diluters used for those using long term, sensory deprivation cultivation techniques. But this feels different. I can feel the dark essence, but there seems to be something else. Well, something but nothing?"
"How weird. I wonder if this is something naturally created by the void or a Lord or something?"
Soon John's thoughts were distracted as he came across the occasionally ruined pillar, seemingly made out of some concrete-like material. They were slightly curved at the top, pointing in the direction he was moving in, making them almost seem like scorpion tails. When a couple of them appeared in the same area and lined up, their varying sizes would look like the rib bones of a carcass sticking out the sand.
Stolen story; please report.
John had tried getting close to one, only for him to lose control of the dark and ice essence in his body. Almost fainting, he had to crawl out of the column's range and rest on his stomach for a long time before he could gather the energy to get back to his feet.
The only thing John gleaned from his four subsequent attempts, was the strange runes that seemed to appear on their surface as his vision began to go dark. The brighter the runes, the more suppressed he felt.
Not able to get any useful information, John decided to bypass the strange obelisks whenever he came across them and continued onwards. As he progressed, he noticed that the number of columns, as well as their size, were gradually increasing.
It was only when his path was blocked by one that seemed to have toppled that John realised that only the columns still standing upright held any power. Those that had fallen or broken into many parts didn't seem to affect him. However, he wasn't even able to guess at what material was used in their construction let alone see any of the strange runes that flickered to life on the functioning ones.
Looking up at the grey clouds before looking at the blue sky in the distance behind him, John sighed. "Just... who am I meant to be meeting?"
"If this is the outer layers of their seal, what did they do to get this sort of treatment? Is it even safe for me to meet them? Great-Grandmother hasn't lost it and sent me on some suicide mission to unlock some great evil or something? right?"
His gaze moved to the ruins of one of the obelisks. Large portions of it seemed to have weathered away after losing its protective energy. "And are they even alive? These things seem to have been here for a long time."
Subconsciously, as the number of obelisks seemed to skyrocket and the gloomy sky became more foreboding, his steps seemed to slow. John glanced down, feeling that yellowy-white sand under his feet started to look more like ash. "This place... is really weird."
Just as he was losing himself to his thoughts, the sound of thunder rang out in the distance. Looking ahead, what seemed like a flash of blue lightning fell from a tiny black circle. As he strained his eyes, trying to make out what the black dot was, the sound of thunder finally reached his ears.
"I guess... I know where I'm going." Without knowing why he strangely felt that the strange black circle, with a slight blue ring around it, was his destination.
[Concern]
John flinched, turning around and scanning the dull landscape. However, no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't spot anything.
"I knew it." Glaring to each side, John carefully withdrew the essence blade from his makeshift belt.
"Come out. I know you're there!"
The wind, which sounded muffled, blew as another rumble of thunder echoed behind John. However, he didn't turn back. After chewing on the corner of his lip for a moment, he took a deep breath.
"Akarhia. Come out."
Suddenly, a thought sprung to mind. John didn't know why he felt that it would work, but from the underlying emotions he had felt and having realised the subtle difference between the Void Lords, he felt as if he could almost guess the personalities behind them.
John revealed a slightly playful smile, though it was awkward to the point of looking as if he had trapped wind. He felt like he was standing at the edge of a precipice, about to fall into despair.
Yet, unlike when John had met Sillithias, he strangely felt a lingering trace of hope. He had the strange feeling that Akarhia was more misunderstood than the other two Void Lords. That, and he had nothing to lose. "When you have no choice, why not take a gamble?"
John swallowed, feeling as if the sound was almost as loud as the occasional thunder behind him. "You lost. I found you."
[Shock, Amusement, Expectation, Defeat, Joy]
Movement, though it was more similar to the distortion of light, drew John's attention as he turned towards the remains of a nearby column. In less than a second, Akarhia's crouching figure appeared as she tilted her head and studied John with a curious gaze.
"I was right." John's smile stiffened for a moment before he placed the essence blade back in his belt. After the meeting with Sillithias and hearing the devastation as she fought with Baros as he fled, he knew that it wouldn't do him any good. "This is nothing but a game to her. If I do this right, I can escape this."
Akarhia said nothing, her tail lazily swishing behind her as she perched atop the ruined pillar. Now and then, her head would tilt from one side to the other in a similar manner to Sillithias. As she did, her eyes seemed to scan every inch of John's body as if she were trying to work something out.
[Acknowledgment]
After a long time, John felt as if Akarhia was looking directly into his eyes. Ever so slightly, to the point where John wasn't sure it happened, she nodded her head. "Human."
Akarhia's projected voice was somewhat childlike yet animalistic at the same time. While the sound gave the impression of playfulness, John could feel the predatory glint at its edges.
[Curiosity, Waning Intrest]
As John felt her interest waning, his mind rapidly tried to come together with a plan. However, coupled with the nagging question on why her domain wasn't effecting him, John's headache made it almost impossible to think.
He almost started talking about how he had discovered her presence, but after thinking about it, John shut his mouth. While he wasn't entirely sure, he felt that any advantage he had should be close to his chest.
Just as he was about to spin some sort of interesting story, his instincts screamed at him that he shouldn't lie. As he closed his mouth again, his smile becoming more awkward, he couldn't help but sigh.
[Amusement]
"Are you interested in how I knew you were there? That you have been following me since I left the town?"
[Curiosity] Akarhia tilted her head to the right as he eyes narrowed, and the speed of her tail slightly increased.
"Well~" John paused, now almost sure that she could understand him well, even if her speech sounded impaired. "I can't tell you..."
[Annoyance, Curiosity, Playfulness]
"...Yet! If I did..." John felt like he was dancing on the edge of a blade. One false step and the best outcome would be cutting himself. The worst would be death. "... then it would make the next round less fun."
[Intrest, Confusion]
"Yes, You found me first, then I hid, and you lost me. That was a draw. Then you found me but remained hidden. You were winning until I found you. Now, we need to play again, or else there won't be a winner, and that would be boring."
[Shock, Yearning, Joy, Sadness, Hesitation, Doubt]
"Play? With me?" Akarhia's voice echoed in John's mind as the confusing emotions bombarded him.
"Of course." John felt a cold sweat running down his back. He would have thought that talking to a Void Lord like one would a child was asking for death, yet somehow it seemed to be working. However, John never doubted Akarhia's intelligence. Instead, he felt she was only acting this way as he had not only drawn her curiosity but decided to talk to her instead of running.
At the same time, he felt that he had crossed a line. If he was to survive, it had to be an absolute victory. "Do not run, no matter what."
"Haven't we been playing for days already? You were good this time, I almost gave up looking for you, but I wanted to get better." John was cringing inside, half expecting Akarhia to attack him at any moment. Yet, he just felt her curiosity grow. "You only get better by playing with a stronger opponent. You are the best at hunting, so if I play against you, I can only get better."
[Pride, Joy, Loneliness]
"If... you live."
Akarhia's tail swung back and forth as what John assumed to be a smile crept upon her features. He wasn't sure why, as the shape of her head seemingly more reptilian than a mammal, but he felt like he was staring at a cat that had found something amusing to pass the time. However, even though it sounded like she was threatening him, John strangely felt safer. It was as if he had just past some sort of test.
"Interesting. No one has ever... chosen to play with me before."
"Its because they were boring and had no ambition." John wasn't sure what to say. Who would want to play with a creature that oozed predatory bloodlust? However, as he talked, he felt more and more comfortable. It was as if the creature before him wasn't some immortal killer from the void but an old acquaintance. "They must not have had eyes, who wouldn't want to play with such a beauty?"
[Amusement]
Akarhia's eyes narrowed into slits as the smile, or what John assumed to be a smile, grew.
"I am not my... sister."
"Of course not." John flinched slightly, hoping that Void Lords weren't like their female equivalents.
[Amusement, Familiarity]
"OK, this has somehow worked as long as I don't fuck it up anymore. Now what I need to do is try and set some rules which will keep me alive and the game interesting." John took a deep breath, but just as he was about to speak, a low humming noise appeared from his left.
[Annoyance, Reluctance, Bitterness]
Almost at the same time, John and Akarhia looked to John's right as they spotted a small, black dot rapidly growing. From experience, just from the sound, John could tell it was some sort of essence powered aircraft.
Akarhia's eyes narrowed as she released a small growl. At the same time, her tail's movements became jerkier as if she were trying to swat something in irritation.
"Leave. We are too close."
"Too close? Are we not meant to be here? A Void Lord has places they can't go in the Voidlands?" John's mind momentarily ground to a halt, not understanding Akarhia's sentence. However, by the time he looked back to where she was crouched, she had vanished.
Turning back, John could now see the silhouette of a box-like flying object hurtling towards him. While the metal outside was grey, the yellow humanoid shapes in the openings on each side reminded John of the group he had bumped into in the town.
"They... scared off a Void Lord?" Even though John had found Akarhia's behaviour extremely weird and unexpected, he still could sense her strength. She was a Void Lord, comparable to a lesser god. He couldn't start to imagen what force would be powerful enough to scare her off so easily.
[Intense Irritation]
The urge to stand and wave them down lasted only a moment before John flung his body in the direction of the nearby rubble. After moving behind it, he quickly dug himself a small hole before he started to bury his body.
As the hum had almost become a roar, John had covered himself near the base of the pillar. Due to its round shape, he was able to tuck himself in further than he initially expected. Just as he had done in the shop, John slowed his bodily functions as he suppressed the essence in his body.
[Shock, Understanding, Playfullness]
As his presence diminished, and he seemed to fade into the surroundings, John felt Akarhia's emotions and felt like swearing. He could only hope that after the new threat had passed, her discovery wouldn't have a negative consequence.
"Cheater." Even though he knew it would raise his presence for a moment, John forced himself to speak, feeling that Akarhia would be able to hear him over the roar of the runic engines nearby.
[Amusement, Slight fondness]
John's lips twitched into a smile as he felt the new emotions. The doubts he had in the town, while not completely gone, considerably eased as he realised that unlike the propaganda, the Void Lords were very similar to them. At least, he felt his gut feeling about Akarhia wasn't far off.
"We can carry on playing when they are gone," John whispered, not knowing why he felt like reassuring the huntress that he wasn't going to vanish or go back on what he had said.
[Shock, Confusion, Happyness]
Little did John realise that if it had been anyone else, without his origin, energy, soul fluctuations and mentality, they wouldn't have been so fortunate. That the familiarity towards, and ability to understand, the Void Lords wasn't a one-way street.