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Chapter 17 - Cosmic Wonderland
Zeke was the first to notice. The coldness of the air and the stiffness of the ground he stood upon were one hint, while the subtle tilting of his weight against gravity was another. "Run!" he ordered, waving frantically with one hand. "Go back the way we came!"
The worm whirled up in front, gnashing the ground like a giant lawnmower. Though it left an ugly gash, it did very little to stop the group. Eira, leading the pack, fired off several arrows consecutively at the creature's body, piercing it to bits while slowing it down. Elora shot her crossbow while running to its side before hurling it away; it clattered noisily on the ground as she bolted without looking back. From the front, Ashen heaved Kai to his feet before tucking him onto his remaining shoulder, racing toward the only way out of here—their way back.
Suddenly, the ground ruptured below them. Shards of earth tumbled away, revealing a gigantic, gaping hole in the ground, deep enough for an enormous figure to sink into oblivion. Out of pure instinct, they leaped off the edge and over the chasm, one after another. Zeke tried to catch himself but lost his grip. A stream of rocks followed him, tumbling like pebbles before his robe snagged onto something and yanked his fall. With his staff pointed downward, a flurry of flowers sprouted forth and twisted around his fingers, supporting him at the last second. Even then, he wasn't able to hold it up any longer, and the stalks snapped beneath him, leaving him clinging to the chasm.
"We're gonna fall. We're gonna fall!!"
The tunnel's collapse silenced everybody's panicking voices and swallowed everything inside it. A dim amethyst light emitted far deeper below between the cracks, and as they grew wider, the ground threatened to burst under their weight. It looked like the Rift had grown its jaws and would swallow the lot of them at once. With the worm hovering like a hawk above, the situation went from desperate to impossible in mere seconds.
So they panicked. They shrieked at the top of their lungs, every face turned from grim to despair as the worm watched with eagerness, swerving its body toward them.
"The shitty worm must've dug some tunnels below," Kai cursed, gripping the bents on the wall, although barely conscious. "What's below here?"
"Sheesh, I don't know," Eira panted, slipping between the cracks. "I can't die here, not until I—" A rock from the ceiling hit her, knocking her out as she tumbled down.
"Eira!" Elora shouted. She caught herself, and her arm struck out for anything that might save them; the air pushed against her face as she plummeted. Her body smacked against the ground, jostling her bones. Yet, she gritted her teeth and pushed herself up, ignoring the sting in her shoulder and ribs. She whipped her head to scan for others, but they had already fallen down. "Goddamn... This isn't looking great," she grunted, holding her pained arm.
But willpower wasn't enough, and in the end, no matter how hard she tried, she joined the others in the abyss.
As Elora plummeted through the darkness, she instinctively clenched her eyes shut, curling her body like a protective cocoon. The sensation of weightlessness filled her stomach with butterflies, and her heart raced in dread of what awaited her. Yet, as the seconds stretched into eternity, her curiosity got the better of her, and she dared to peak.
Her eyes fluttered open, and a gasp escaped her lips, stolen by the awe-inspiring sight that greeted her. Her pulse skipped a beat as her gaze swept across the vastness before her. The celestial panorama ranged into the unending horizon as if painting the essence of dreams. Boundless mountains and valleys stretched like canvas, their majestic peaks brushing against the ceiling. The glimmering lights, like distant beacons, sparkled from unidentifiable sources, flickering like stars fallen to Earth.
[https://i.imgur.com/YV02sxW.png]
At that moment, time seemed to stand still as she became one with the cosmic wonderland.
"Are we even on the same planet?"
***
The melody of the sea harmonized with her alluring hum—a tune that resonated deep within Elora's being, evoking a rush of poignant memories. Her alabaster locks waved, flowing like cascading moonlight within the ocean's depths, revealing a prismatic earring—the same earring Elora now wears.
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As the last note lingered, she turned around and looked at her with a bewitching smile. And even through the haze that blurred her vision, Elora immediately recognized her as her older sister, Elincia.
"What are you doing here, sis?" She mumbled with a muddled look. "What's going on?"
"What do you mean? We're just home." Elincia said, tilting her head slightly. Her pointy ears playfully twitched, adding a touch of whimsicalness to her presence. "Did you hit your head? You're bleeding a little."
Elora's fingers grazed her forehead, and a sticky warmth met her touch. The faint metallic scent of blood tainted the clear water, though no pain followed. "I must've bumped it somewhere," she murmured.
Her sister giggled. "You're silly."
Elora's fingers brushed against her sister's hand, a desperate attempt to ground herself in the surreal scene. "Is it really you, Elincia? Or am I just imagining this?"
Elincia's laughter tinkled like wind chimes, both soothing and unsettling. "Imagination can be a powerful thing, sis. But I'm here now, aren't I?"
She searched her older sister's face. A whirlwind of emotions hid behind her eyes. "It's just… I've missed you so much. And suddenly, you're here, like a memory brought to life."
"Haha, what are you talking about, sis? I've never died," she chuckled. "You must've hit your head really hard. C'mon, the tribe is waiting for you. We don't get all day, you know?"
"Hm?" Elora's voice wavered, confusion mixing with the enchanting surroundings of her dream. "No, something… something doesn't feel right. Sis, this isn't right! This place, it's too vivid, too perfect." The dream-luster began to fade, and she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more beneath the surface.
Elincia's eyes, pools of familiarity, studied her with amusement. "You always were a little dramatic, sis. Just relax and enjoy the moment."
Elora shook her head, the fog of her dreamscape gradually lifting. "But you're not here, Elincia. You're gone. This can't be real. I don't know what happened to me either! Am I dead?!"
The dream wavered like a reflection in disturbed water, Elincia's image flickering like a mirage. Elora's heart quickened, a sudden urgency gripping her. "I have to wake up," she muttered to herself, her mind a tumult of doubt and realization.
Elincia's smile dimmed, her form beginning to blur at the edges. "Remember, Elora, I'm always with you, no matter where your path leads."
Two fatigued voices were calling out her name as the world around her began to dissolve and leave empty fields in her vision. A flood of bittersweet emotions surged through her heart as the dream world trembled. She clung to the fading image of her sister's fragile whisper. "Thank you."
***
“Elora! Elooooraaa!!”
The grinding of stone against stone resonated before the astral lights blazed through a crevice. Rough fingers gripped between the gap and widened it until she could see the two figures standing above.
"Found ya!" A voice shouted. "You sure are good at hiding."
"Shuddup Kai," she murmured. Her body was too exhausted to produce a louder sound. "Get me out of here, won't you?"
He jumped down, hitting the ground beside her with a solid thump. Sharp red lines ran through his eyes, and he had a few bruises on his chest, but otherwise, he was uninjured.
"Why the hell do you look so sad? Did the fall mess up your mind?" Kai asked with a genuinely confused tone, lifting her out on his shoulder effortlessly as if she were a bag of feathers. "Aww, I wanted to joke about your weight, but you honestly weigh nothing."
Zeke got down on one knee and inspected her body with furrowed eyebrows and puzzlement across his face. "I thought I had to spend my remaining mana to heal you, but you're hardly hurt. There is barely a scratch on your body."
"So, I'm okay?"
He paused and thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. The fall split us up, so I couldn't conjure a landing platform for you. Was there anything that broke your fall?"
"Not at all. Something might have knocked me half unconscious, but I'm sure it was a totally free fall. I even remember the loud crash when I landed," Elora replied.
Zeke gave her a quizzical glance. "Maybe you landed on something soft?"
"Stop talking about these stupid things! What has happened has happened," Kai interrupted. "Instead, why don't you explain that infinite energy or whatever that you stressed you so much back then? If we all attacked the worm without worrying about some hogwash, Ashen wouldn't have lost his arm. Who knows if we would've fallen down here either."
Zeke avoided eye contact, not wanting others to see his face. "I don't know. Its presence felt immortal. Or at least, its mana was different."
"Huh? That doesn't make any sense. You're just looking for excuses now. Ashen is probably depressed now or something."
"This doesn't bother me. I can still fight," Ashen muttered, clenching the remainder of his ripped-off shoulder. He hastily put on his mask to avoid speaking again.
"You literally wield two katanas; how are you not bothered?" Kai babbled, still confused over what Zeke meant. "What are you gonna fight with your feet? Your mouth? Heck, even your buttcrack might work."
"Haha, good to know that Kai is back to his senses," Eira chimed in with a soft giggle. "Maybe he wasn't as bad as I thought. Anyway, how do we escape this place? I refuse to believe the world doesn't know about a colossal space like this."
Zeke looked at the others, sighed, and then at me. "Eira and you others, I hate to tell you this, but I can't imagine leaving this place. We fell into an undocumented part of our world—a place no one has explored. Either that or they haven't survived to tell the tale."
For some reason, those words had a profound effect on Elora, making her feel more alive than ever. She leaned back and looked up at the ceiling, her smile searing with a warm thrill. "So what if we're stuck in the netherworld? We could be the very first—the pioneers of the Rift.