Have you ever been to a place that made you feel strange emotions? Not a sensation you can name like joy, disgust or arousal, but rather something primal? Something beyond human understanding?

Try to imagine the last place you visited before being born. You can't, right? You were not aware back then.

What if you were to visit that void once more, but this time with a conscious mind? What would you feel?

An emotion outside time and space.

As they finally entered light again, Katsumi felt the same mysterious force in her heart. They've been walking for ages with darkness as their only ally. Echoes of their footsteps haunted them for miles, finally quieting down as they entered a faint mint blue light.

– We're finally here. The Shrine of Noctis.

This bell-shaped room felt like an underground checkpoint. Glowing flowers hung from the dark stone walls, illuminating the room with a ghostly shade. The beauty of this secret was enhanced by a clean statue towering in front of a waterfall. Four roads met by the sculpture, each coming from a different tunnel leading through a flowerbed of forgotten dreams.

– This place feels off. – Katsumi observed the calm ambiance. – Who's Noctis?

– A dead god. One of my kin.

– No wonder you find the statue of a titan in 'Titanland'…

– He wasn't just any titan, but one with the blood of elders running through his veins. It's a gift that allows one to practice magic on a much higher scale than nature allows. Legends say he was capable of moving the moons, bringing darkness wherever he wanted to.

– How did he die?

– Another god overthrew him. Seeking revenge, he brought down one of the moons, crashing it to the planet. The valley Titannica was built upon is a crater left by the impact.

Stopping below the elevated statue, he pointed at its feet.

– He stood exactly here in his final moments. This statue is the heart of this forest. It's also a one-way teleport.

– Wait, what? – Aeren looked up from the flower crown he was making.

– When we're done with the mission we'll use it to go home. It's easy! You just sit down and meditate in front of the shrine. You won't be able to teleport again for a while, but it's not like we'll come out here often.

– Ay-ay, captain! As you say! – Katsumi yawned. – It's been a day since we hit the road. I say let's camp here.

– Hate to agree with her, but my dog senses are getting dull by the minute.

– Tsh, we fought no enemy and you're already exhausted? – Tarax sat below the statue.

– Speak for yourself, I got jumped by a group of those fuckers!

– Yeah, sure. – Chase left to set up camp.

Pissed off as hell, Katsumi decided it would be best to take a nice cold shower. She dressed down to just her boxer shorts and bra, then sat in the small pond the waterfall led into. It was lukewarm, surprisingly hot for something in the underground. Come to think of it, she just now realized that the forest was way warmer than it should've been.

– Yo, guys! Isn't it weird how warm the whole forest is?

– It is quite weird indeed.

– Yeah! Like, when you think about it, the forest doesn't get any sunlight so it should be... wait...

Katsumi paused as a chill ran down her spine. That voice was unfamiliar! She turned around to see her teammates were on the other side of the area trying to light a campfire.

A moment of confusion followed by extreme panic. She tried to jump out of the pond, but something grabbed her leg. It swiftly pulled her underground before she could've screamed for help.

– Hehe, hello there beautiful! – an old man's voice greeted her. – Thought you'd go for a swim?

– Wrbrbr, wrelpr! – she fought ferociously to catch the others attention.

– No worries, baby! Sad how I'm the one to take your life, but hey! I take no chances. A possible ally of the titans is a sure enemy of my!

– Spwirih Phow! – particles glowed around her hand as a pot appeared.

– What are you going to do with that? Try hurting me? Here's a tip: you're just wasting air!

The pot broke out of the pond. Katsumi used it to trap air inside, then bring it under water. It wasn't much, but still enough to help her survive.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

– Whoever you are, I'm an enemy of Gladiolus! You got your info wrong, we're on the same team!

– Nope. You're a curse user, just like that wicked druid!

– So what if I am? Mine is from Esidezhu, an independent god! Not from some random fart cloud!

– Fart cloud? You mean spirits? – he gasped. – You dare disrespect the dead?

– Ah shit, here we go again…

A strong force swung her to the other side of the pond. She tried bringing down more air, but something stopped the pot. There wasn't anything blocking the way, yet she couldn't raise the pot.

The bubbles of her shouting flew up and stopped before penetrating the surface. An invisible wall covered the surface like a bars holding a prisoner. Although innocent, she was on death row.

The surface reflected light as a mirror would. It was just her and the bubbles floating up.

'Shit! Shitshitshit, I have to do of something!'

Observing her surroundings, she noticed something quite peculiar.

'My reflection… my belly… it's not fat? Wait, when was the last time I looked in the mirror? Last day of school? No, I was too afraid. That's when Granny's sickness worsened and my stress eating began. Crap, that's not what I should be thinking of now! But man, wish I would've noticed this sooner. I look okay. Guess some might even say I look…'

A revelation! Eyes widened as she saw an escape from this morbid cage!

'Hot! I look hot!'

– Did you give up already? How boring. – the voice tried taunting her, but she wasn't listening.

Instead, she raised the pot towards the invisible wall blocking the surface. She closed her eyes and focused. Her weapon heated up.

She pushed upwards and the water began to boil.

– How classy! A final supper before the inevitable death. Don't forget the salt! – he laughed but confidence left his tone as the pot began breaching the invisible wall. – What? Hey, quit it!

'This voice… it's coming from the water, yet I can clearly hear it. It doesn't belong to a man, not any ordinary man, but a dead man! This is the voice of a spirit! A water spirit!'

Her ascension gained momentum. The head of the pot got outside. She felt the air on her fingertips.

A force tried pushing her underwater but couldn't. That pot is an extension of the user's soul, inseparable from her. If it gets stuck on the other side of the wall, the user gets stuck too.

– Impossible! Cease this at once!

Lightheaded and dizzy, Katsumi didn't give up. Water got into her nose and mouth, splashing left and right with an unnatural force. But even that wasn't enough.

– What is this magic? Your pot… the burning heat of your pot… it transferred to your body! You stole the heat of your weapon!

– You're damn right I did!

Bursting like a bubble, the water exploded as her face got outside. The voice screamed in pain and tried to bring her down again but couldn't. Katsumi rushed out of the pond, catching the attention of her teammates.

– Yo, are you alright? – Chase calmly asked while watching Aeren try lighting the campfire.

– Run away from the water! Stay away the pond!

Her movements were weak and she fell not just once while rushing to safety. The others watched in confusion as she wobbled around the shrine.

– There's a spirit in the…

A sharp pain struck her lungs. She fell on her knees coughing. A murmur resonated in her chest.

– You really thought you could just get away so easily? If this is the last thing I do, then so be it! Say you prayers, whore!

The water violently shook in her lungs, beating around like drumsticks. The girl immediately tried to do copy the Heimlich maneuver, putting a fist to her stomach and pushing upwards. The voice laughed at the weak attempt.

– Aeren! – she could hardly speak from the water blocking her throat. – Can your potion heal cuts?

– Yes, why?

– Do you have any?

– Hold on! What are you planning to do? – Tarax in front of the boy. – It's a valuable resource! We can't just fool around, treating our potions like beer!

– So we still have some… thank you for answering.

Flying through the air like a speeding bullet, she jumped up and ran back to her clothes. The savage beating in her chest worsened as blood came up with her coughs, staining the green uniform. Searching its pockets, she found her knife.

– Stop that! What do you think you're doing? Hey!

Chase shot the grappling gun at her hand, but Katsumi was too fast. She stabbed herself in the chest and screamed in pain.

Her body tried to resist, but she rotated the knife around. Blood broke forth from her wound. She pulled the blade out and stabbed herself again in the other lung. Her screaming shook the walls of the place.

– So... this is the end. – the spirit's voice remained calm. – I fought all my life against Gladiolus and his followers. Even in death, I killed dozens of titans. And now, my soul mets its end by a human. How tragic...

Water came forth form her lungs, mixing up with the pool of blood her lifeless body sat in. Did she die? Did her brain turn off from the shock? Her heart wasn't beating and she wasn't breathing. Her head just hung there, looking down at the weapon.

She fell to the side with a loud thump.

– She's unreasonable! She doesn't listen to orders and lies to the kid!

– There has to be a reason for this. We first have to hear what she has to say.

Blurry. Foggy. The world is a fast roundabout, spinning round and round like a coin. She felt numb, yet tried to speak.

– The water… it had a spirit…

– A spirit?

One of the tall figures went out of her vision and shortly after returned with something in his hand. He took a sip of whatever that was at his friend.

– See? I told you! She's a madwoman! A danger to the mission and a danger to us!

– No! I'm… I'm serious! There was an evil spirit… but I killed him! I saved all of you!

– This bullshit again? You saved us? Should we clap or write you a poem, Miss Hero? – the figure crouched down to her. – Do you know what I think of you? Huh? Do you know? That's what!

The last thing she saw was something coming at her face, followed by a boy's scream and silence.

It felt like watching a broken television. Strange images suddenly popped up, only to be blurred out by others. The noises were all muffled, unintelligible to her broken mind.

Gradually the world turned into nothingness. Dark silence filled her mind, screaming and echoing from the walls of nothingness. Everything was numb. Time became non-existant.

At the end of this eternal void she heard something's approach. She waited, unable to move closer or further away from the sound. It was violent, relentlessly rushing forward with the same motion, breaking ground and splitting the air into two.

She was scared. She tried to move. She couldn't. It became louder as it got closer. She could see light. She could hear the sound clear now. She could move. Panicking, she tried to jump away.

– Wahh! – her shaken voice filled the air as her head met the edge of something solid.

It was the shrine of Noctis. Next to her was a pool of blood and a piece of paper.

– Guys? Aeren?

Silence.

– Hello?

She reached for the paper. It had one simple sentence carved into it.

'Don't talk to us ever again.'