X1.1.2 - The Shadow

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Nirvana's eyes filled with fear as they darted in all directions, searching for something.

"Did you look at the two men in the diner? Were you followed here?" she screamed.

Eralay froze, as the apparition materialized a few meters behind them. Towering above them stood a dark figure with his arms crossed. His feet hovered just above the ground, levitating with unsettling stillness. Menacing and silent, his height was one and a half times that of a man's, his black mantle billowing in the wind, obscuring his form. His face was hidden behind a pearly white mask, a crescent-shaped grin etched across it with eerie perfection.

"There you are," said the stranger.

His young voice was calm yet cold, carrying an air of presumptive authority. As he spoke, the wind picked up, swirling around them, as the sky darkened.

“Hurry up and appear,” thought Nirvana, noticing the weather changing, as her eyes shifted around.

"I had an odd feeling about today. I could not quite figure out why—but I understand now. You anomalies always find a way to disrupt the order of how things should be. It doesn't matter how silently your auras whisper; I always get a strange feeling when you are up to no good," the masked being explained.

Nirvana turned to them. Her heart was racing, and her breath was fast. She knew that she had to play her next moves correctly, or things would turn south for all of them. "Here! Take this." She placed something in Roa's hand. When he opened it, he found a crumpled piece of paper and a small vial filled with a clear liquid. "If we get separated, you must, without ANY deviation, follow the instructions on that paper. Some of the worlds after this one are absolute death traps. It's not the best way out, but it's the only one we could keep hidden from them," she paused, sighed, then continued, "hopefully the directions are mostly correct, considering how much we paid for them."

He shot a sharp, suspicious look at her, then placed the objects in the pouch tied to his belt.

“Face away from the sun—flower boy,” Nirvana added with a smile and a nod. “And don’t fall—or you’ll fall forever.”

His gaze then turned to the masked stranger, and something in him caused his eyebrows to furrow.

"I know you. I've—seen you before," Roa said, pointing at the dark figure. "You're like the ones who keep showing up in my dreams—"

"Those were not dreams," the pink-haired girl interrupted him. Her eyes narrowed. "Those were escape attempts. Each time you wake up back in your bed to the sound of your alarm—that's them resetting you."

"How many times will you attempt to escape from us? It is futile. When will you understand that you are not leaving," the enemy proclaimed.

Roa turned to Nirvana.

"Who is that man? Why do I feel like I know him?"

"He's one of the Lord's Shadows. We call him Mr. Briteside because of that stupid smile on his face,” she swung her index finger across her mouth, tracing an exaggerated half circle on it. "He's one of the guards."

The pink-haired girl dropped into a defensive stance, her body coiling with tension. She prepared to face the foe, every muscle primed for the fight ahead. Her breath was steady, her eyes locked onto the target. The dark figure raised his clenched fist to his forehead. With a swift motion, he extended his arm and hurled a ball of blue light away from them, leaving a faint trail of energy in its wake. Moving with such formidable speed that her own body blurred as she leaped forward, Nirvana swung her arm like a falling axe, intercepting it just in time. The blur of light vanished with a small flash, as it made contact with her hand.

"Your buddies are busy; they said they can't come," she said, her tone dead serious.

The smile on the mask seemed to mock her.

"It does not matter. I'm more than plenty to take care of you three," the Shadow answered back.

A blinding flash erupted, blinding everyone, including the enemy. The wind shifted direction, howling with an unnatural force. Nirvana turned toward the bright light, her breath catching as she gasped, her eyes darting to the ground. She reappeared behind Eralay and Roa, her hands pressing down on their heads, tilting them toward the floor with a sharp, urgent motion.

"Never look at an Exit in the eye, or it'll disappear. Go through it! I'll keep him busy."

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Before the enemy could shift his gaze toward the source of the flash, she blasted forward with explosive speed, crashing directly into him. The impact sent them spiraling into a fierce clash, their bodies moving in rapid, fluid motions, hitting and blocking with such intensity that they resembled a cloud of punches and kicks. The massive portal loomed behind the fray, its two towering columns—each as tall as a building—were crowned by a triangular pediment. Winds spiraled into the bright, white opening, dragging wisps of clouds and loose debris within. At the top of the Exit, a giant, wide-open eye stared straight ahead with a blank gaze, unmoved by the chaos below.

"This feeling—I remember it. It feels so familiar, as if—I've felt it many times before," said Roa, a genuine smile spreading across his surprised face.

The enemy faded away, reappearing several times until he was far enough from his opponent. He tried glancing at the Exit again, but a blast of light hit his face. Furious, he turned towards Nirvana, blasting off in her direction.

"You're not going to do that either, Shadow," she yelled, her hand pointed towards him in the shape of a gun.

She felt the energy within gathering, shifting to her arm. She closed one eye and aimed. A massive blast of light shot out of her index finger, the recoil sending her arm backwards, twisting her body as dust blew in all directions. Her foe vanished, evading it, her shot missing him by an inch. He appeared behind her, her eyes opening wide as she felt his presence next to her. He unleashed a brutal punch onto the back of her head. The force was so immense that it sent her flying across the field, causing her to hit the ground and flip repeatedly, until she crashed into a boulder.

“Who are these people?” an incredulous look appeared on Roa’s face as the boulder exploded.

Light flickered around Nirvana’s body. She was still in one piece. She looked up, lifting her head from the ground, coughed through the dust, noticing Eralay and Roa running.

"Damn it!" she said, forcing herself on her feet as Mr. Briteside materialized in front of the boy and his lover.

The two froze as he towered in front, blocking their escape. The enemy's hand shot out like a poisonous snake striking. He grabbed Roa by the neck, raising him up with unnatural ease. Gasping for air, the boy kicked and punched, but no matter how much he tried to break free, the enemy seemed to be made of steel, taking no damage.

"Let him down! You're going to suffocate him!" Eralay screamed at him.

"That's exactly the point," roared the masked man, pushing her away. "Stay out of it. Know your damn place, woman!"

The dark being placed his other hand on his victim's head, causing the boy's eyes to roll backwards. The air began to vibrate.

"Not this time." Nirvana said, making a gun with her hand again.

The Shadow's mask inched closer to the boy's face as he spoke with an ominous, mocking tone.

"Don't worry—Sunflower. Tomorrow, the alarm will go off again, as it always does, and you will think this was all just another, bad, DREAM."

Another blast struck the Shadow, but his body was protected by a shield that flickered around him like a cocoon of light. He released the young man’s head, pointed his hand at his rival unleashing countless rays of light, as her agile flips attempted to evade the barrage of attacks.

Explosions rocked the field, soon engulfing the area in a thick cloud of dust. She fired back through the smoke, in the direction of the foe. Grabbing his attention for enough time to lose his scanning eyes, she found an opening, reappearing underneath him, leaping up with the force of an exploding volcano. When her fist met his jaw, she forced him to release the grip on Roa's neck.

Mr. Briteside flew several hundred meters in the air. The boy’s head tilted back, his mouth open wide in disbelief, as he followed the enemy's body, shooting into the sky like a rocket. Nirvana's entire body glowed with a strange light. Turning to him, she yelled.

"We didn't spend all this time just to lose you again. Jump into the Exit, NOW!"

Eralay grabbed her boyfriend by the hand, pulling him up. They ran as she turned to him.

"You were never meant to live like this. Your heart will never stop being free. That's what I always loved about you." Her voice trembled, her breath coming in ragged gasps as they ran. Never give up, okay?" she smiled, a deep sadness in her eyes.

Nirvana followed closely behind them, until the enemy's strike sent her flying. She came out coughing from a small crater surrounded by a billowing cloud of dust. Her hair disheveled, limping in pain, her eyes darted around for the Shadow.

“Where the hell did you go, you faceless bastard,” she started blasting in all directions, attempting to keep the foe busy for as long as possible. "NOW! Jump, before he tries to close it!" Nirvana shouted a few meters away as she kept shooting erratically.

The air moved above.

Something fell at great speed straight down towards them. Nirvana turned her head and gasped, launching up in its direction to chase it, midair. The enemy was too fast, however. A violent gust passed her by, heading towards the young couple below. She had missed her shot.

"No!" she backflipped in the air, pivoting, flying down at full speed towards the ground like a meteor.

The boy held his breath, shut his eyes, held tightly onto his lover’s hand, and sprinted as fast as he could into the bright light of the Exit. It was too late, however. Mr. Briteside appeared in front, between Roa and Eralay, just as they were crossing the threshold of the magic door. Their hands separated from the momentum, as they hit the enemy's unmovable chest.

In a last-ditch effort, Nirvana pushed off the ground, her leg springing like a coiled trap upon impact, blasting forward with tremendous force, until her shoulder crashed into the boy's back.

"Get in there!" she screamed, forcing him inside the Exit, before the Shadow could grab him.

Time seemed to halt. Nirvana stared at the boy, with a satisfied look in her eyes. She smiled. The plan had worked. The Sunflower escaped. He was Free, again. However, as Roa plummeted into the abyss, Nirvana’s attention caught the direction of his gaze. His eyes weren’t on hers; they were locked on something else—Eralay. His arm stretched out desperately toward her, his fingers grasping at the ever-widening, empty space between them. Her name erupted from his throat, a raw and agonizing cry that echoed, resonating like a haunting refrain as he fell into the void.

Pain shot through Nirvana's arm, forcing her to turn her head, noticing the Shadow's powerful grip on her wrist. Behind, past the enemy's smiling mask, was Roa’s lover. Her long, white hair jerked forward as her body's momentum was also stopped by the enemy's powerful grip.

A tear from Eralay's face fell into the void, twinkling as it followed the boy into the unknown.