Alisson had long shaken off his joyful delirium. The environment was unsettling, and kept him on edge. The looming structures in the distance had turned out to be buildings. Tall, large, similar to what he’d seen with Rei, in the hive dubbed, Eigert-5. Except the snow here seems to have preserved these structures far better than the underground sludge.

Enhérejär kept on expanding as they progressed through the ‘streets’ of the city. If he could call them that. He didn’t want to be here, but from the increasing mana presence, as well as that purple light, this ‘city’ may very well be host of what Alisson was looking for: Some way to get inside that door in Freigat.

The buildings were made of some old, hard material. Alisson pushed one of the buildings with a hand, and heard a little too many rocks dislodge for comfort. Not fancying being buried beneath an avalanche of stone, Alisson decided it was best not to touch the structures, they seemed to be on their last legs. They were buried in the snow, the land Alisson walked upon now was probably hundreds of meters above the real bases of the structures, the reason why there were no debris of roads in these ‘streets’. He could only imagine the thousands of floors buried beneath the snow, completely still with ice, and permafrost. Alisson tried peaking in through one of the glassless windows in one of the buildings, but saw nothing but vague outlines and shadows.

It was eerie. Nothing moved but him and Celis. It’s as if the city was in a standstill.

They made their way to the building that had shone the bright purple light, but there was still a ways to go. Alisson realized just how large the city was as the distant fogs cleared away, revealing more structures, looming in the distance.

All of them were tall, none were wide, reinforcing Alisson’s guess that all the shorter, more normal sized buildings, were probably thousands of meters below his feet. Because of the nature of that light, it most likely being put on by some intelligent being - either that or a supernatural phenomena - him and Celis had only communicated telepathically, for safety’s sake.

Interrupting the silence however, the both of them started to hear a melody. It got louder and louder, and was evidently originating from one of the buildings. It wasn’t a complicated song, just what sounded to be a piano playing the same eleven notes every ten seconds at a normal tempo. Its melody echoed through the city. Alisson tried to pinpoint it’s location, to find where the hell it was coming from, but it was fruitless. The sound was loud, and reflecting off of every building in the area - there was no way to easily find out where it was coming from.

The way that piano sounded – Alisson knew music – It didn’t sound like a real instrument, there was something about the pitch, and something about a persistent static that faded in and out with the eleven notes.

Eventually, Alisson gave up on this endeavor, and continued on their way toward the origin of the purple light. To his relief, the piano melody eventually died down in volume, and became inaudible as they moved away from it.

Just as Alisson were relaxing, after that damnable melody had stopped dancing at the edges of his ears, him and Celis, the both of them, heard a loud bang. It didn’t resonate like a quake, and didn’t shake anything; it sounded like something heavy hitting metal, very far away, but very loudly. It was so loud and startling that Celis and him stumbled to the snow, Alisson clutching his chest, breathing heavily.

Judging from its direction, Alisson peered upwards, it came from somewhere above, in the buildings. Alisson clenched Enhérejär tighter, and they continued. It must’ve been one of those metal girders, perhaps falling loose, Alisson thought. It made the most sense from what he saw, but he couldn’t stop himself from imagining the source to be something else.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t as cold here as it was before. The winds were at a standstill. It was such a quiet place. Alisson could close his eyes, and never could he imagine that such a large space, was attached to absolutely no sound. The snow crunched underfoot as they made their way to a pair of lone buildings. They were the tallest in view, and the tallest of the two was the one where the purple light had originated from. Alisson’s eyes darted around, wary for something, anything to disturb the stillness of the city. He was expecting to raise his head, to find something watching them in the distance, to see a face peeking out at him in a window, far above.

A few times, his mind played tricks on him. He’d glance to his side, to find a Roamer, standing on its hind legs, staring at him from down a block, only to blink and have it disappear the next instant.

His gaze drifted to the tallest building, the one now before them. He couldn’t help but feel that something was staring back at him.

Alright, let’s find a way inside. Be ready for anything.

…Not hearing Celis reaffirm his orders, he turned to his side to make sure she acknowledged him. When he did however, her presence was gone. She wasn’t there. Not even her tracks in the snow existed now.

Alisson quickly flew into a bout of panic.

“Celis! Celis!?”

He had just seen her out of his peripheral vision not seconds before! He clenched Enhérejär, prepared for anything as his eyes darted everywhere, eating up the environment for any traces of his apprentice.

He blinked. In that instant, the bright, white snow, the surrounding buildings, even the sky above, blackened into a void. Alisson was shocked for a moment, now cloaked in darkness. He couldn’t even see his nose.

He formed a dozen light spells, and swiped his arm, sending them scattering around him. With the advent of his light spells, it became immediately apparent that the world in fact did not just end. He was underground. Twisted bits of debris littered the ground, cracks were in the stone floor, chunks of metal lay immobile around him. It wasn’t dissimilar from the other instance when he was within one of these structures with Rei.

He was either hallucinating, or he’d been teleported. From the way Celis’s tracks in the snow ceased to exist, it was most likely something illusional. Or, perhaps Celis had been an illusion from the start, and this was where he really was.

Alisson shook his head, and resolved to link back up with Celis. He sent out the telepathic handshake mana stream, but nothing reciprocated it, so Alisson picked a direction and started walking, constantly sending out the handshake signal to perhaps get a read on Celis.

Stone walls were everywhere, it was almost psychopathic in their placement. They made no sense. This was unlike the buildings he had seen previously - It was like the entire place was an unending maze, and he was at the center of it. Of course, it just had to be cloaked in darkness, shielding outlines and visages from just out of his view. He tried to spread out his lights as far as he could to make sure there were no blind spots around him, but he never could shake the feeling that there was some specter, hovering backwards as he advanced, staying just outside of his range of light. Out of spite, he sent one of his lights forward in a surge, to perhaps catch anything doing just that, but alas, it yielded no results.

Alisson swallowed heavily.

Where was Celis? Where was he? It took a lot to make Alisson panic, Celis missing was a sure shortcut, but the longer he stayed wandering in some sort of underground, untouched prison, the more and more his sense of dread built.

Alisson’s gut wrenched as he had the sudden thought: Perhaps he was under the snow? In some building or another, with hundreds, maybe thousands of meters of snow piled atop him. What a rotten place to be teleported to, if that was case, and what a rotten place to die, if he didn’t find a way of here.

“Damnit!”

He shot forward a Pictun spell in anger, but it nothing other than shatter some debris and leave dust swirling through the air. It had only been about five minutes, but Alisson was already starting to get deeply worried. He hoped that every blink he would just return back up to the surface, and see Celis by his side, and then see a Darkwalker in the distance, a sure, and known, perpetrator of an event like this.

Then, all of a sudden, the handshake signal Alisson had been sending out, was suddenly reciprocated. Alisson felt the tingling sensation at his ears, and with gasp, he called out,

“Celis, is that you?”

Celis, is that you?

But nothing answered. He clenched Enhérejär tighter. As he was just about to curse out in anger, a sudden voice entered his head, through his telepathy connection.

So, that is that child’s name. And, you are Alisson, I take it?

Alisson’s eyes widened. That was not Celis’s voice. That the voice of an older woman, someone much older and more mature than Celis. The voice oddly reminded of him of Sidonia for its serenity, calm, and maturity.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Where is Celis! Who are you!? What do want!

Alisson replied quickly. He held Enhérejär up, turning around at random intervals, watching the darkness at the edges of his lights like a hawk, wary of this being some kind of distraction.

I should be asking that. But, those are the first things you say? You don’t ask where you are, if you’re in any danger, but where your companion is. How-

I do not busy myself with idle chatter! Fiend! Answer me!

Alisson stared angrily into the darkness around him, a scowl on his face.

A minute passed, and no reply came.

Alisson cursed aloud, kicking the floor. It was less a gesture of anger, and more an act of terror. His heart beat quickly, he breathed raggedly through his mouth, his brow cringed. He continued forward after it became evident that no reply was coming.

He started running without thinking. He lights couldn’t keep up with him and at times Alisson ran into and grazed walls in his dash. He didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know if he could ever go anywhere anymore. Then, his heart jumped. He something new, something in the environment to signal to him a hope at escape.

There was a light. Alisson ran toward it, determined. It seemed to be a spotlight of sorts, where exactly the source of the light was, Alisson didn’t know, it seemed to come from above, however, there was no ceiling, or at least, it was so high that light couldn’t reach it.

Alisson’s sprint slowed as he approached the light. Until slowly, he walked, and then, he completely stopped. His mouth agape, he stared at what the light was illuminating, splayed out across the ground.

There was Celis, laying on the ground, her eyes closed, her mouth parted, like she was asleep. Alisson sunk to his knees, and shook her.

“Celis. Celis! Wake up!”

No matter how hard Alisson shook her, she wouldn’t get up. Her body lay loose, and lifeless, no matter what.

That’s because she wasn’t breathing. She had no pulse. She had no breath. She had no life.

“…Lies…” Alisson’s eyes lightened in anger. “Lies! Deception! Obfuscation! I will not fall to such petty tricks! Do you hear me!?”

Nothing answered him. Alisson stared at Celis’s body for a moment, before he made up his mind. He wasn’t leaving her here, vision or not.

He lifted her body over his shoulders. She was fairly heavy, being as large as him. With her on his back, Alisson walked forward, his eyes sharp, when suddenly another message came to him through his still-open telepathy spell.

What you carry there is but a corpse. Why? Why is that?

I will not falter!

Alisson replied angrily, his eyes twitching, thoroughly in disbelief of the situation.

I will not! I will not falter! Lies! Lies! Lies! Deception!

His eyes glinted blue for a moment.

Heresy!

Oh? Oh my. Perhaps Sidonia has really found me…?

…

Yes master.

With that, I stepped forward, about to properly examine the building, when suddenly, I felt something was off. I turned to my side, and with gasp of disbelief, I saw that Alisson was gone. Not that he had walked off or something, but that his very being was gone, the tracks he had left were gone, the air he occupied, like him, seemed to be missing.

Alisson! Alisson!

After a moment, I cuffed my hands over my mouth, and shouted.

“Alisson!”

Nothing. My voice echoed through the city, bouncing off and through the buildings, before eventually coming back to me from multiple angles, as if to mock me.

I stared in disbelief for another moment at my surroundings, before eventually cursing out in anger.

Why does this shit always happen to us!? Why!?

My fists clenched around my weapons.

What are my options?

Stay here. Wait for Alisson. I stepped back and took a look at the building, and indeed, it was the same one we’d been walking too, the tallest one in the area.

Or, I could venture out. Where exactly too, I don’t know. I looked down my tracks in the snow. Maybe he could be lagging behind or something. Maybe I was hallucinating him walking alongside me. I can just backtrack until I see his tracks in the snow, and I’ll be able to tell if they divert.

In the essence of not wanting to do *nothing* as a first reaction, I started backtracking.

Seriously. Why does this shit. Always. Happen. To us.

No, don’t give me the whole ‘You go into these dangerous places you should expect it blah blah’

I’d understand once or twice, but this is getting out of hand. How many bait and switches does the world like to pull on me? Maybe a few more, that’ll do it. You know what? Too few. A couple more will do. Oh oh, and don’t actually hurt anyone outright, no, that’d be too simple, just leave them hanging with that possibility, that’s good for their hearts, being completely bewildered at every step like chickens with their heads cut off.

I shook my head from my daydreaming. As much as I complain and try to be witty, there’s no shaking that this is one big, empty, place. There was nothing inherently scary about it, there was just something off, something wrong, something that gave you a gut feeling that you should never step foot here.

Speaking of never stepping foot here,

My tracks are gone.

I stared in disbelief at the road before me.

There were no tracks. Nothing. Even the ones that I’d just made, were now gone, as if the snow shifted to fill my steps like one big middle finger to me.

Damnit! I made a promise. I made promise to Alisson that I’d stay by his side. What’s that mean if the next day I go and can’t even find him!

I kicked up the snow. In doing so, I remembered some of Alisson’s words:

‘The world is a mess. Everything is chance. Promises aren’t ironclad rules. People die.’

My shoulders slump. I can hope all I want but…My gaze drifted to the road before me. If the world wills it, if the flow of reality is skewed correctly, my promise means nothing, no matter how hard I try. I clenched my fist. I hate feeling so powerless.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye, up, in the sky, clouds thickening and rolling in, under the much larger canopy already present. A blizzard is coming. A heavy one. If I don’t find Alisson soon…

I pictured his pitiful face in my vision, begging for someone to reach out to him.

I flourished my blades, and with a newfound determination, I ran forward.

If it takes checking every building in this city-! I’ll find him! I’ll save him! I’ll protect him!

A Sequitur cropped up right in my path, as if to spite me. I sunk low, and with a scowl, against my inner terror, I lunged forward toward it, my blades poised.

It stood tall, double my height, thinly white, and with that horrifying visage that’s long been burned into my brain of it’s wide grin.

I sliced through its center. My blades passed right through it with no effect. I turned on my ankle, and struck from above. I sidestepped, slicing once more before diving into another lunge through its body.

No effects.

It was when I passed through its body for the second time that I noticed another Sequitur before me. I sliced through this one as well, with no effect. Another two were ready to greet me on the other side of the second. I sidestepped out of the way of presumed attacks, that never came, with counter attacks of my own that passed through what seemed to be phantoms of my mind. But I knew they weren’t.

I kept on fighting as more and more cropped up. They just stood there, staring at me with their wide grins and large, pupilless eyes. They didn’t make any moves as I weaved around them, retaliating the only way I knew how.

Eventually, around me were two dozen of them. I slowed to a stop, sighing. They were in a tight circle around me, and all of them were facing me; even though I hadn’t seen any of them turn - like in between my blinks, they had reorientated themselves to face me when I wasn’t looking at them.

Is this really the only way I can fight back? I looked to my weapons. If that doesn’t affect them then…

I launched off a spell at the nearest one for good measure. It passed through with no effect. I shook my head.

There’s just no winning with these guys. I dropped my weapons. I cracked my knuckles. I flexed my neck side to side. I strode to the closest Sequitur, sizing it up with a frown. My hands were shaking in fear at its wide smile, a mere few feet from my face, but I didn’t let it get to me. I sighed, and was about to lift my hand to strike it with my fist when-

“Ugauh!”

The wind was blown out of me as two forces crashed in on either side of me, keeping my arms glued to my body. I realized in horror what had happened. For the first time since I saw them, a Sequitur moved. The one before me, had swung out both its arms in a lightning fast motion, and had caught me. Its arms were straight, and like stone. It was touching me. A Sequitur was touching me.

My heart began to race and I struggled for dear life. But there wasn’t any budging; Its grip was indomitable. Slowly, despite my best efforts to shake out of its arms, the Sequitur began to lift me up off my feet. My legs kicked helplessly, as it brought be higher and higher, and closer, to its gaping wide mouth.

“N-no! No!”

I shook my head, wrestling my body as best I could. It was happening so fast I, I couldn’t believe my eyes, I didn’t want to believe my eyes.

-! I need to-! Now if I wish to survive!

“For the wolf to live-!”

It has to chew off its own leg!

A yellow aura wafted at my abdomen. A moment later, I reconsidered.

Am, am I really going to dissect myself just to fight back? To, to fire spells that won't even do anything?

I, I-!

My eyes darted back and forth, in terror and in hesitation. But, a moment of hesitation was all it took. My hyperventilation reached a breaking point. There was no Alisson around to save me. There wasn’t any fighting back. All I saw, was that damned smile, encompassing my entire vision.

The storm that had been far off, was now in full effect, blowing harsh winds across the city, depositing more snow upon the ground with a thick flurry of white. Tears were welling in my eyes.

“Oh my, oh my…What a poor girl.”

I heard a womanly voice in the distance,

“Friede. And begone, you filth of the earth.”

Before I knew it, I was oddly sleepy, my eye lids heavy and my vision blinking black every other second. The Sequitur holding me suddenly vanished, and I fell to the snow limply.

“Perhaps I have left this one alone for too long…You seem to be the target of an unfortunate fixation.”

My eyes twitched. I wasn’t going to lay down. That voice…she casted a peace spell on me, which is a spell with a long cast and high mana usage that can knock people out at close range. Me, going unconscious, is bad news…I need, I need to…I need to kill her! So that she can’t hurt me or Alisson while I can’t do anything!

I didn’t know how to explain it, I just had the feeling, that she was behind Alisson’s disappearance.

I shakily stood against my heavy body’s wishes, grabbing my blades. I saw in the distance, a figure, made wide by several strands of floating, undulating hair.

“You…Die!”

I broke into a weak sprint toward the vague visage, on shaky steps, my body in the process of falling asleep.

I lifted my blade as I neared, and…swung…forward…

I fell into the snow face first, out cold.

“So feisty you children are. Such resistance you can muster. It’s admirable, yes, admirable. I see Sidonia lives, still. She is stubborn, that she is.”

***