As the colossal mass came further and further into sight, something dawned on me. All my life I had hidden myself away, immersing myself in esoteric tales of conspiracy and urban legend. And now, in this very moment, and in every moment leading up to this, I have been experiencing it directly.

Somehow in my exhausted, broken mind, I had only just stumbled upon this very thought. Everything was over, and only I remained. Where was humanity?

• • •

Upon a blackened abyss, where light sought refuge upon the souls of the few, a solemn ritual took place.

Hundreds of figures dressed in black slammed rods of unknown metal ceaselessly against the indescribable mass. Day and night had ceased to be. The sky above had ceased its birthing of stars long ago. Upon these lands, only one purpose remained.

Rhythmic drumming continued to send ripples through the ground. The constant undulations slowed the rising of the black toward the upper abyss. When I was further away, the black rain rose steadily. Now, there was a stillness to the rhythm. Although the ground moved, the rain did not. It was like a peaceful quiet falling upon a sudden summer rain.

The torrential downfall stopping in a heartbeat. The stillness born only from a sudden lack of great motion. What was I witnessing..

"Ya know kid. Before the world went to shit like this, I used to love visiting the big festivals they'd throw downtown."

Memories flashed before my eyes. Again I was reminded that no matter how dark and scary it was trapped in that room, Sam always shone a bright, warm light, warming my soul.

As the echoes of pounding thuds reverberated through my body, I felt myself losing my grip on reality. The world began to sway, and before I could realise it, everything went black.

• • •

Two robed figures carried a body gently through a corridor. The corridor walls writhed to the beat of every step, occasionally twitching eagerly to the clinking of gold and swaying of thick cloth.

As the figures made their way deeper, they arrived upon the main chamber. The walls in every direction were a mix of deep, muted purple, and an indescribable abyssal black. Candles nestled themselves in the darkest corners, forbidding the shadows their respite; only the natural black of this room was allowed. The room was giant, almost giving off the vibe of an ancient cathedral. There were no windows, no stained glass, and no bricks. And yet, in this solemn, dark pit, there was an unspoken reverence.

Every member present was silent. The landscape reverberated only that which the sentients allowed.

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The two figures paused. Three other figures nearby began a deep, guttural chant. Alone, amongst a raised central feature, a bed of wriggling organic tendrils excitedly emerged. Their red, a crimson brilliance.

The two robed figures waited for an exact amount of time, before they carefully climbed the raised ground. Clinks and echoed steps added percussive depth to the guttural tones. As if every step was planned, as if every movement was calculated, the resonating echoes from their intricate ornaments produced a harmonic, unified fullness of sound.

The two figures approached the bed of tendrils, and began to lower the body carefully down toward it. As the body grew nearer, shades of oxide and teal in the form of extremely thin filaments, like a web woven by a spider began to extend and embrace the body.

The two figures released the body upon this gesture, and made their way back to the lowered ground.

The mysterious tendrils reacted vividly to the red veins of the body. And then again, to the much smaller body presented with it. The bodies were dry and malnourished. Every groove and crevice was carefully examined.

In time, their entire bodies became wrapped in a cocoon. Upon this critical moment, every member present dropped to their knees. Rhythmic thumping could be heard, as the figures' heads met with the ground.

The guttural sounds had ceased, and soon, the thumping had too. Complete silence enveloped the chamber. Outside, thumping continued. The thick outer walls undulated the dark abyssal sea, quelling the inverted rain. Within this chamber however, there was a silence among the silence. The tendrils worked, carefully and meticulously, within the cocoon. Not a single sound escaped from within.

An unknown amount of time later

A shattering crack, painting the stillness of the chamber, resonated out through the corridors. A lone figure stood up. And then another.

The empty chamber filled once more with reverence, as figures emerged from pools of black in every direction.

KNEEL. A guttural, primordial voice muttered.

Every figure, without hesitance, fell to their knees with absolute adherence. The synchronised chorus of their robes as they knelt sounding like a military drill.

Upon witnessing this, the larger body raised out their hand directly forward. As the hand reached out, clothing began to enclose the nakedness of the two.

Teal cloth hugged their pristine figures as threads wove themselves into existence. Dark solid gold grew upon the teal landscape with undeciphered symbols and patterns. Brilliant crimson belts wrapped themselves around the waists and forearms. Two distinct crimson talons of cloth sharply pointed themselves toward the ground from behind, tipped with golden arrows.

The emerged beings took their first step. Not a single robed figure budged. Then a second. And then a third. The colossal chamber remained silent. It was a ghostly silence. The writhing had ceased. The tendril bed lay dormant. Signs of fossilisation had began to creep into every detail of the chamber.

The newly awoken beings made their way toward the corridor.

FOLLOW.

Every sentient present in the chamber immediately got up and began following.

• • •

Outside, the ground was dry. There was complete silence. The inverted rain had long dried up. The abyssal black sea, now revealing a dry, stone-like flatland. The once writhing mass, rivaling that of a mountain, was now still. Unfeeling, unmoving, all had been reduced to rock.

Something inside of the two figures stirred. They felt an indescribable welling up of deep satisfaction. The joy was so immeasurable, tears began to emerge from their eyes.

With a wide smile, bearing teeth of polished plaster, the larger being raised their arms to the sky.

"And no stars shall shine", Vincent said.

"Upon the waking of my new dawn", Fellabee said.