“Below the material plane, and above the burning hells, there lies another place. It floats, out of sync with the waking world. It is a land of dreams, of myths and legends far gone. Its form is fluid, shaped by the thoughts of every sapient that walks its winding paths. It borders many realms; the material world, the fey wilds, and the elemental planes themselves. Some fey call it home, some undead and shadow-touched dwell within. There are old things that lurk there, creatures lost in mind and soul that linger, vainly clinging to a semblance of life. The path to it is fraught with peril, and only sages and madmen know the way. The place has no formal name, but there are some who call it…
The Beneath.”
– Recorded interview from Patient #08201890, Lenorian Asylum for the Criminally Insane. AC 1639.
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“What… what happened?”
I just woke up in this strange place, covered in shadows. A thin purple light filters through the air, which only seems to deepen the existing shade. Gnarled trees loom everywhere I can see, twisted moss hanging from their branches. The vegetation hangs limply, trailing down into the murky waters below. Thinking hurts but as I try to figure out where I’m at something seems to click and I recognize the environment.
A swamp.
Okay, I’m in a swamp. And I am…
I am…
I… am…
A rising panic claws within me, screaming to get out. Concentrate, you can do this. What’s the last thing you remember?
FIRE
I immediately recoil backwards at the memory of titanic flames. A dull ache shoots through me from the recall. Where did that come from? Shuddering, I place the memory aside for the moment and go to shake my head to clear it. But instead of movement, the light around me just dims for a moment before returning to the regular twilight colors.
That’s strange.
I try to focus my awareness on myself. My memories are fuzzy, but I’m fairly certain I should have a body of some sort. My field of view slowly detaches in a strange manner and I’m able to look at myself from the outside. Or rather… look at where I should be. I don’t see anything there, just another patch of muddy ground, with reeds crowding the marsh. There are some pretty lights floating around though. I can see maybe twenty of them floating along, without a care.
Oh look! Two of them just bumped into each other! And hey, it looks like… well it looks like one of them is absorbing the other. Hmm, it seems that light has grown twice as big. Hmm, why do I have this foreboding feeling inside? And what is that regular blinking light at the corner of my vision? I focus past the background pain and confusion and orient my attention on the blinking light. As I do, my vision is almost shocked back to my starting position as a blue transparent window appears in front of me.
‘Ding.
***
[System]: Warning. If you can read this, you are at risk of permanent annihilation and dissolution. Think [Status] to know more.
***
I’m not sure what that all means, but I decide to go along with it.
“Status.”
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‘Ding.
***
Warning. Status is currently locked. You are a soul wisp, a fragment of a being. Reconstitute yourself to fully unlock your status.
Fragments Remaining: 15/23
***
A vague feeling of frustration begins to grow. What’s the point of telling me to do something and then telling me I can’t do it! What even are these frag…
‘Ding.
***
Fragments Remaining 14/23
***
As I watch, the remaining number goes down by one. Then, another of the lights blink out, absorbed by its brethren.
Oh oh.
I try to move, but my thoughts are still creaking along in pain. I think I manage to move forward just a little bit, as one of the wisps comes straight for me. I try to project my thoughts towards it, try to make myself heard but nothing happens as it collides with me.
Instantly, my surroundings disappear and I find myself in some kind of strange cloudy space. The other wisp is right across from me and I manage to say,
“Hey! Wait a second!”
Before it charges me once more.
We collide again, and my thoughts are immediately wrenched out of alignment. I can feel my memories being absorbed, and I instinctively try to fight back. My counterpart does the same, and images of running, of moving and dodging, of…. scuttling, knock my thoughts off balance. A small part of me realizes what’s happening. It’s a battle of memories, of will, to determine who is the strongest fragment.
As I struggle, I manage to project my memory of the burning fire, that all consuming flame, and the enemy is immediately struck dumb. It tries to disengage, to get away, but its subconscious surrender has given me the upper hand. With barely a whimper, the wisp is absorbed and I return to my surroundings.
Barely a moment has gone by, time passing oddly in that other place. I find some of my memories restored, and rediscover the joy and knowledge of movement. I begin floating towards another piece of myself, eager to learn more. The same thing as before happens, the other soul fragment not answering me before succumbing to the memory of fire.
This wisp has recollections of different types of earth, which is strange, but I put it aside for the moment. The same wary sense of panic has continued to grow. The large wisp I had seen earlier has not been idle this entire time. And comparing our relative sizes, I see it is basically a race between us to see who would absorb the most.
I race along, and in unspoken agreement my rival and I divide the remaining wisps until only the two of us remain. I glance at the remaining counter and feel a bit perplexed.
***
Fragments Remaining: 5/23
***
If we’re both fragments, then there are three that are still alive and unaccounted for. Quickly scanning around me I fail to notice them. I’ll have to track them down later. I must say that I am feeling better than ever though. My thoughts flow clearer, and even my pain has been tamped down. I surreptitiously try to organize all of the new memories I have, but am stopped by my counterpart’s charge.
I guess this is it then.
Him or me.
We enter what I now remember is my mental space and stare each other down. I float there, a multihued array of light colors; blue, red, yellow. Facing me is my counterpart, with an array of his own; black, gold and brown. So far, the fragments have been mindless and unresponsive, but I try anyway.
“Hey, we don’t have to do this!”
To my shock the other me actually replies. His voice reaches me and is gravelly, almost distorted.
“There…. Can…. be…. Only… one….”
With that announcement, he charges forward and we lock in mental combat.
I immediately lead with a tentative jab, a memory of crushing earth.
He counters with a feeling of cradling water, dodging the impact.
He’s obviously just as skilled as I am, and I try not to let him take the initiative, sending out memory after memory. Earth, mana, water, I even send out emotional impacts, faint memories of loss and pain to attack and take him off guard. He manages to weather through the barrage relatively unscathed. With nothing else working, I go in for the kill, sending the memory of the massive conflagration. I’m still not sure of its origin, but if it hurts to remember it, I’d hate to be on the other side of it.
For the second time, he manages to vocalize a response, yelling in pain at the memory of FIRE. Finally, after an interminable moment, he quiets down, as we both pant in exhaustion. He asks me,
“Is… that… all… you…. Got?”
And hits me with what must be his core memory. Strange coalescing golden light shimmers in front of me, fractal forms writhing in dissolution. Even without direct knowledge, there’s something within me that recognizes a divine power. My mind shudders away, twisting and refusing to acknowledge the terrible vision. I contract, huddling close to try to protect myself. I can feel myself starting to give up.
With some vague sense, I know what will happen next. The two of us will become one, and whatever core memory that forms each of us will become the primary basis for the reconstituted personality. I shudder to think what I will turn into with that golden fractal as my core focus.
In weak protest, I search through all of the memories I have, trying to find something, anything that would let me hold on. I feel myself fading away, parts of me already being absorbed. And as the vision of flame leaves me I find a piece of myself I didn’t know was there. It’s small, fluttering, and I realize that the fire wasn’t my core memory after all. It was this. I tap into it, and realize it’s hardly a memory at all, just a feeling attached to two simple words.
I share it with my other half, giving it willingly. Not as a weapon, but as a true reminder of what we used to be. The roiling black and gold light that comprises his form begins to dim, then fade, and then dissolve. He gives up, and we become one. We join together under a faint memory of a time long ago, when two people said the words,
“To Adventure.”