Chapter 11

Eleonor

The mental landscape was dark and endless, like a devastated land where ash covered everything to the horizon. Distorted shadows walked in the distance and, from time to time, lightnings passed through the clear and empty space-like sky, minus the stars. On the ashes, the two souls turned around each others like predators having met at the edge of their respective territory, not quite ready to fight, but attentive and respectful of the other.

... Host... ? Then asked the profound voice of the stranger that Eleanor had accepted in her body.

If you mean that we are in my mind, then yes. Replied the young woman.

... Yes, Benefactor. To this thought, the soul seemed to shrink slightly, like a cat that until then had bristles but that, the danger gone, could finally relax.

The red aura gradually subsided until the original blue had mostly regained its rights, and the soul seemed to sit down, making the metaphorical equivalent of hitting her cheeks to recover. What had only been a mass of unfocused emotions so far slowly took humanoid features, though only forming a silhouette, a ghost.

... sorry to have been … aggressive, let’s say, especially to my benefactor. Said the deep voice.

Eleonor shrugged her shoulders slightly, indicating that she did not hold it against her.

I’d just like to know what happened exactly. And what you are, too. Said the young woman to the ghostly soul.

Forgive me for this lack of etiquette. I am Sanakan, Matriarch and Grand Arbiter, delighted to meet you, benefactor. Sanakan replied while making a deep bow.

Or at least what’s left of it. A piece of which I was, incomplete. She added sadly.

The emotions of the spectre reverberated through this devastated space, creating a strange echo in the young woman’s heart. One second she was far from the soul, the next second she had laid her hand on the shoulder of the ghost, as if by a reflex marking her empathy with her. An air of surprise was then painted on Eleonor’s and Sanakan's face, and they felt their emotions mingle slightly. Sanakan felt fear, pain and euphoria buried deep in the young woman, and Eleonor felt anger, rage, and rampant corruption in the soul of the ghost. The contact lasted only one second before the young woman removed her hand, cutting the connection and leaving the two women slightly dizzy.

What happened to you ? Asked Eleanor.

I-I don’t know, m-my memories are fragmented. I think I stayed behind to... to buy time for my fleet, so she could get away.

Running away from what, the Sauriots ? Said Eleonor, asking a blind question.

No. Certainly not, we were winning, we had purified this planet deeply and then… I don’t know anymore. Pain, fear, anger, everything is confused. She replied while holding her head in her hands, red resurfacing here and there on her ethereal body.

I’m sorry, these questions are tiring, I would like to rest… She added, her form flickering like a flame left to the wind. She curled up in a ball and seemed to fall asleep, floating in the middle of this ravaged space.

Ho, yes. Here are your eyes, for now. She whispered before sinking entirely into sleep.

A headache stormed Eleonore and she was drowned by blue. The real world imposed itself on her once again.

Like last time, she saw everything in blue, up to fifty meters and in a circle around her. She realized, moreover, that she could not see either the walls or the ceiling of the place where she was, making the young woman slightly agoraphobic. Something then entered her sphere of perception. A head, a gigantic head, that of a dragon, descending towards her, looking at her with curiosity.

DiD tHe thiNG calM dOwn ? Asked the dragon with his always strange voice, doing his best to talk to her without touching her mind too much.

Yes. She’s asleep, it seems. Very polite, when she’s not in a raging trance.

YoUR DeaL, yOU kNOw it’S dangEROus foR YOU, riGHt? SHe’S CRazy, bROKen.

But thanks to her I can see. Alea jacta est, dear.

ha… haha… HAHAHAHA, I alrEAdy like YOU! I knEw I maDE tHe RighT deCISion wHEn I asKed YOUr hELp, KID ! He screamed in her mind with his hissing laugh.

Keep it down, you’ll wake her up ! She chewed him out with a bad expression.

Ho… SoRRy. He answered with a very small voice.

Where am I ? She then asked him, disoriented by her new vision. For God’s sake, she even saw through the ground !

She had a slight urge to vomit when she realized that the ground under her feet might as well not be there, lying head up and focusing on the dragon's head to calm her vertigo. The dragon moved his head above hers, looking at her with the draconic equivalent of the concerned face.

YOU’Re NoT doInG wElL ?

I just have to get used to this kind of vision, nothing serious. She replied by sweeping his worry with her hand.

And so… ?

Ha yEs, SoRry. YOU aRe iN mY DEn, GIRL, oNe oF The GAtes tHAt COnneCt ThIs PLace tO alL tHe OthEr WorLdS Of tHe LAbyrinTH, ANd I Am itS GUArdian.

The labyrinth ? She asked before exclaiming.

Oh my God. I finally have someone to ask things !

I’M nO…

What is the labyrinth ? And the voice that speaks from time to time ? Where am I exactly ? how did I arriv…

ENOUGH ! He roared in the head of the young woman, his voice also filling her ears and reverberating on the walls of the titanic cave.

WaIt tIll I teLL you the higHLights beFOre becomING aN hysteRICal haMSter !

... Sorry.

Good. I Am FürSSähfeN ! GrEAt SkY DRAGON, AnD I’M oNe oF thE gUArDiaNs Of thE LaByRinTh, buT onLy HaLf-WillInGlY.

YOU sEe, I coMe fROm A diFFerEnt woRLd tHAn tHIs oNe, A woRLd wheRE I diED. A choICe Was thEn pROPosed tO ME: tO dIe deFINitivelY, oR To suRViVe aNd tO Be BRougHt hERe, iN tHe LaBYrinTH, to bE OnE Of iTs gUArdiaNs, STatioNEd aT tHe JUNctionS betwEEn thE variOUs aREas of iT. I obvioUSLy chosE tHe seCoNd opTioN.

What about the labyrinth ?

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I’M coMing To It, I’m coMing. IT diDN’t sAy mUch tO ME, bUT fROm wHAt I cOUld gEt Out oF iT, tHIs pLAce iS soMe Kind oF arENa, a coLIseUm crEAteD In THe PuRposE oR CONfrontinG countleSS beinGs AgAinsT oNe AnoThEr. IT finDS WOrldS AdRift, coLLApsing on thEMselVes, anD It givES thEm a sECond chANce, juST lIKe ME. It sAVes tHEm ANd pUTs tHEm hERe, forcINg tHEm tO sUrVive wiTH eAch oTHer.

A memory then emerged in the mind of Eleonor, that of the very first voice she had heard.

I’m really dead, aren’t I ?

Where YOU coME fRoM, Yes, BuT hEre YOU’rE AbundANtLy aLive.

And so he saves people and throws them here to watch them kill each other ?

An It, NoT aN HE, aNd Yes, bUt nOt onLy peoPle, EntiErE CitY, CounTriEs, EvEn PlaNet lIke heRE.

Eleonor took a few minutes to reflect on his words. He did not like the idea of being at the mercy of a god, just like the idea of being dead. She was not yet ready to forget about her old life, especially her friends.

... Speaking of here, where are we? In which world, I mean.

YOU aRe In A DySon’S sPHere tHAt oNCe beLONged tO tHE HETAXEARKS, thEN conqUEREd bY tHe SAURIOT swARm, finALLy lOst by bOth sidES whEN a coRRupted cRYstal mERged wiTH thE stAr contAINEd iN iT, puSHing tHEm tO flEe. THE HETAXEARKS remOVEd thEIr fleETs aND tHE SAURIOTS abANDoned tHeIr haTCherY, leAVIng thE pLAce tO Be drOWned bY tHe maDNess oF A hEAdlEss sWArm aNd pervERTed bB thE ceNTral sTAr.

The terms were unknown to her but gave an impression of greatness, a kind of immensity to which her mind was confronted. She wanted to ask another question when something struck her: she was no longer alone. Now that she was with someone, something rather, capable of protecting her, the different things she had experienced in the last few weeks threw themselves on her like a wave on a beach, imposing themselves at once on her mind as if a mental barrier had broken. The wounds, the pain, the blood, everything that her mind had pushed under the rug to allow her to survive was coming back out now that she really felt safe for the first time. Her mind moved forward by instinct and logic, by curiosity, was suddenly no longer able to advance. If she had been able to, a torrent of tears would have started to flow along her cheeks just now, but her inability to externalize her feelings only reinforced the chaos in which her mind was sinking. She remained stunned by shock as she slowly sank into an unhealthy trance, reliving the traumatic experiences she had gone through, like a survivor with PTSD

LITTLE ONE ? little one ? Called the dragon with a manifest anxiety, yet without her answering, the voice of Fürssähfen becoming more and more distant while the delirium grabbed Eleonor and dragged her more and more deeply, trapping her in her own subconscious…

Syphony

The water flowed rapidly along her naked body, carrying with it the sweat and dirt she had accumulated during the last four days of confinement, rolling on her shoulders and arms with well-defined muscles, on her imposing chest with protruding nipples, on her flat stomach and her beautiful hips. She took her time to wash herself, the water cascading over her having always helped her to put her ideas in place, to reflect and clear her mind. She thought of her unfortunate companion who was stuck here with her, in quarantine, the one who had saved and helped her escaping a fate far more terrible than death, the one who, for a reason beyond Syphony, bathed her in affection and acted like a future bride with her. The young woman stroked her wet body, inspecting it with her hands to get a new idea of it. She changed a little bit every day, very slightly, sure, but it scared her. Her body was becoming more and more sexualized, her breasts wider, her hips more imposing, her hair longer, her body thinner, and she felt it, even though the changes were gradual. She didn’t know if it was a side effect of her infection, she didn’t know, and the unknown was one of the worst nightmares of any human being.

But, unable to do anything about it for the time being, she moved her thoughts from her body, recalling her discussions with Mellite, what the young woman had told her of her life, urging herself to think of something else in order to dispel the stress of which her mind was the prey.

According to her, she was 17, almost 18 years old and was born in Brussels, a city Syphonie had never heard of. In fact, the more they talked to each other, the more Syphonie realized that the world from which Mellite came and this world had nothing in common. Strange names were exposed to her, the United States, Europe, China, the Earth, all foreign concepts. What at first sight was only a jump in time due to her stasis seemed increasingly strange to the girl in front of her. The languages they spoke were the same, the dates, the calendars, the concepts, but everything else was different. The story, the countries, nothing seemed to correspond with what Mellite told her. She apparently came from a country called Belgium, the city of which she had spoken, Brussels, being its capital. She told her about her years of studies, her student life, her family, her friends, all with a joviality that seemed to be deeply rooted in her character. Mellite was a smiling optimist, it seemed, she radiated an almost palpable joie de vivre, her face expressing itself in nuance of smile without once having displayed sadness. Discontent sometimes, yes, but it was rare. In addition to her omnipresent joy, the young girl was also bursting with energy and, after four days locked up here, she was restless like a lioness in ca…

A small noise interrupted the meditation of Syphony. She opened her eyes, the pleasant sensation of water on her still naked body, and turned around to take a look at what had bothered her. She fell nose-to-nose with Mellite, the young woman glaring at her face through the door just half open. Syphony froze for a moment, processing the information, before becoming all red and covering her breasts and lower belly in a precipitous motion. Her gaze then crossed that of Mellite, and the words that the soldier was preparing to scream remained stuck in her throat. The peeping tom looked at her with an expression in her eyes that she had never seen before, a mixture of reverence, admiration and unabashed craving that kept Syphonie nailed in her shower.

The moment stretched, as if time did not pass, and the soldier had finally recovered enough to speak.

“M-mellite ? Can you p-please get out? I’d like to be l-left alone while showering.” Said Syphony weakly, totally different from her usual self which was normally imposing, authoritarian, decided, leaving here only a 21 years old young woman with her emotions as naked as her body.

The soldier’s words seemed to snap Mellite out of her kind of trance, and she soon turned her head back, becoming flushed red.

“S-sorry ! I don’t know what got into me !” She shouted and slammed the door with the force of embarrassment.

Syphonie once again stood there, frowning, trying to understand what had just happened.

I should really be mad at her. It’s not right to stare at people like that ! So why am I feeling like I feel right now ? She said to herself while tapping her feet in the shower tray, a heat different from the one of the water having spread through her body while Mellite contemplated her, especially on the side of her lower stomach.

... Well, it can’t hurt, can it ? She thought to herself, tense and resigned, while descending one of her hands to her fountain of pleasure…

Mellite

Syphony’s silhouette was standing out under the water that flowed on her skin, made shiny by the artificial light of the room reflecting on the liquid. The soldier’s chest, which a few days earlier was lying in the B’s, was now rather around the C, a small one, but still a C. And her ass…

Oh my God, her ass… She said to herself with the eyes of an expert.

Contemplating the human body had always been one of her passions, imagining what she could do with the shapes of the people she looked at, also loving to draw these curves in the drawing book she was taking with her everywhere. But of all the people she had admired, Syphony was clearly the one that pleased Mellite the most. Something in the young woman attracted her like a light attracts an insect. She imagined the extravagant fantasies she could undertake with Syphony, her body heating more and more.

Suddenly, Syphony turned around, and their gaze met. She covered her intimate parts as much as she could with her hands, yet she didn’t come out of the water even as her towel was hanging right next to her, and the two young women’s gaze melted into each other, contemplating each other for a long time before Syphonie said anything.

“M-mellite ? Can you p-please get out? I’d like to be l-left alone while showering.” She said to her shyly, kindling the fire that ran through the young stranger as she watched Syphony.

...What the fuck am I doing right now ? Suddenly thought Mellite, becoming red from head to toe.

“S-sorry ! I don’t know what got into me !” She screamed, turning around, slamming the door behind her, hurting her hand in the process.

She then went to bed, contemplating the immaculate ceiling, replaying the scene in her head, seeing the magnificent body of Syphony again, the curves of her back, her buttocks, her breasts, her face, and the beautiful feminine flower that lay between her fertile hips…

… Why ? Why the fuck can’t I get her out of my head ? She’s so sexy, I just want to see her squeal of pleasure, oh, that would be amazing. She said to herself, already back to fantasizing about Syphony’s body.

... shit, I did it again ! God, what’s happening to me ? She thought before she was assailed by a new wave of perverse image of her companion of misfortune. Not standing it anymore, she put one of her hands on the entrance of her warm cave, taking care of herself to release the pressure and the desires that were flooding her head.

***

The sleep had taken her after she had relaxed in depth, just feeling Syphonie slipping on the bed at some point while she was sleeping, and she had wrapped herself around the soldier, moved by an instinctive reflex. The rest of the night had passed calmly, each young woman rocked by the breath of the other.

Rahato

The condemned man was lying on the surgical table, his head and limbs tied by metal rings. His empty eyes did not even react to the blinding light that drowned him from the ceiling, his mouth was open and from time to time he produced an incoherent sound, a kind of gargling. A robotic arm approached the guinea pig, sticking a syringe in his arm to inject something into his veins.

Well hidden in her laboratory, Rahato checked in real time the information her devices provided, noting her observations and tracks using her old mechanical keyboard. She watched her guinea pig tremble slightly, checking his vital signs and confirming her hypotheses.

“Extraordinary. For some unknown reason, the extracted subject’s RV-a1 strain seems to commit suicide when it comes into contact with other living beings. If this reaction makes it particularly difficult to study, it gives more than a glimmer of hope for the two patients already infected by it.” She said in a small microphone before putting these observations on keyboards.

Now, I just need to test it on a subject with an healthy brain, and if the results are conclusive, I will finally be able to get the two girls out of there. She said to herself while rubbing her hands, already imagining with excitement all the tests that she was going to be able to make the two young girls pass for her.

If anyone had been there to see her, he might have noticed a little flame of madness burning in Dr Rahato’s eyes...