“Welcome to the world, little one…”

Kyki heard the words echoing through their skull before they reached their destination. Ruins of a grand city, overgrown with vegetation stretched to the horizon. At the edge, great walls of stone and steel stood proud, cracked and consumed by plantlife but still rising defiantly against the gentle plains and forests that surrounded the human-built monuments of glass and steel.

“You seem to be in a predicament…”

The lilting voice seemed almost nonchalant, as if Kyki had not been kidnapped. They did seem a bit disoriented, though.

“Where am I?”

“Have you forgotten? Think back to the last thing you remember.”

“I can remember fog. Black fog. I think I passed out then.”

“Good. Your mental capacity is sufficient. You must know you are close to home.”

Kyki ran their hands over vines that scaled concrete and rebar, flowering high above where the skyscrapers reached their peak. The buildings were unrecognizable at this point; where were they?

“Home? This doesn’t look like home.”

“The question is not where, but when. Keep walking. Does this jog your memory?”

Then the cramped towers of artifice gave way to a plaza all too familiar. Surrounding it were the headquarters of companies they recognized, signs having survived the test of time. Mercenaries Union, Fertile Fields, Catgirls Inc, Automotive Industries, all buried beneath the creeping advance of nature.

“Oh. I remember now. This is the city. My city.”

“Turn to your right and walk.”

They had no reason to listen to the voice in their head, for they did not know who or what they were talking to. And yet, their legs carried them forward, like their mind was possessed by the instructions. It was as if they were in a half-daze. Now that they thought about it, they could somewhat feel the mysterious helper resting on the nape of their neck. It was a cold embrace, still and frozen as the impenetrable darkness of night in a world without light.

They passed blocks and blocks, flashing by broken street lamps in a moment. The world passed them by like a train going nowhere. Flashes of their reflection appeared in the windows as one step became, two, then three, then a hundred all at once. Did space really matter here? Distant lands became next door neighbors, and in seconds they had traveled faster and farther than any car or plane could have. Despite this, they felt no wind or pressure, none of the signs of someone moving at high speed.

In the time it took them to think all of this they had already arrived. In front of them stood the hotel so familiar to them. Or, that’s what they would’ve said, had it not been a pile of rubble taller than most of the surrounding buildings. Cracked concrete and the twisted remains of rebar formed a most garish monument at the end of the street. Hellclaws of warped steel and iron piled on masses of gray and soot and ash gave it a ruined portal type look.

“Oh. Too bad. I guess you were too late.”

Kyki spoke nothing, backing up a step or two, blinking in disbelief. The cold hands were back, lightly wrapping around their throat. Then tighter, tighter, as their chest constricted and every breath strained against their lungs.

“Better get a move on, unless you want to join them.”

The snarl turned their head around. Behind them! A Voidhound crept forth from between buildings, sluggish without the cover of the Dust that characterized their appearance. It was midday, and the heat of the sun beat down on the poor dog. But its instincts whispered to its brain: KILL. SPREAD. CONQUER. So it did.

Voidhound uses [Piercing Wail]!

Target is vulnerable! Kyki has been afflicted with Terror…

They ran like hell. Hands scraped on jagged blocks of cement, as overgrown as they were. The hound on their ass was fatigued from the bright rays of the sun overhead baking their dark, jet black body. But it would not relent. The purpose must be followed, fulfilled. Clambering to the top of the cement heap, the only thing Kyki could do was leap, heart in their throat, hands finding purchase on a fire escape covered in vines.

The dog not far behind clawed its way up. Huge chunks of reinforced concrete crumbled or fell, cracking as others toppled down the pile. It hunched for a second, preparing to leap after Kyki, only for little yellow orbs to pelt it in the face by the dozens. In each bubble were the happy times, the memories that held power and kept their feet moving forward every single day. Their outstretched hand unleashed volleys of bright marbles like a little hailstorm from their palm.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Unlike the monster of despair that prowled the halls of a forgotten school, this attack was wholly ineffective, bubbles popping on Dustknit skin and searing it with their warmth. A little burn wouldn’t stop it, so Kyki gave up and grasped for the rusted iron bars of the ladders to launch themselves ever upward, just in time to avoid the creature slamming into the wall just below where they had been. A second leap shook the ruined building, the bricks giving way for the Voidhound to crash right through.

Staying on the roof was a no-go with the deteriorating integrity of the building. Vaulting to another building didn’t stay the hand of imminent death for long, the Voidhound busting through the other side of the brick building it was in to pursue. Unpleasantly, dark needles came down upon it like a wave of torment, spines burying into the false flesh of the dust dog. For the first time it felt the pain and agony of what it meant to exist, and it roared in its own brand of terror.

But it would not, could not relent. It bulled through dozens of attacks as fast as Kyki could loose their needles of despair. They backed up, trembling, the Voidhound clawing its way up onto the roof. In a last ditch effort to stave off defeat, Kyki concentrated on both hands, dark gray veins pulsing beneath their skin while their worst memories coalesced into a great cone, tip sharpened to a molecular point. When the canine lunged for their throat, the cone blasted forth with enough recoil to blow them onto their back. The force of it blew a leg away as well as a portion of its torso, sending it catapulting backwards off the edge.

It hurt so much, but it would not give up. Despite the fatigue and the numbness of a limb it didn’t have anymore, it clung to life even as it flew through the air heavily injured. It roared its defiance, making its anger known as it plummeted down, down, down… directly onto the spire of rubble that remained of the Toothland Hotel. There was no sickening crunch, nor a splatter of gore. Its body just seemed to contract for a fraction of a second, before breathing out and dissipating entirely in a burst of dark dust to blind the eyes and choke the lungs.

Kyki crawled over to the edge of the structure, peering down below. Only a ghostly cloud of black dust haunted the gravesite of their friends now. Now, of all times, the voice came to them again, calming and quiet. The chill of it was almost comforting in a way.

“A close one. You have potential, don’t you?”

“Potential? POTENTIAL? POTENTIAL FOR WHAT??? ALL MY— they’re gone. They’re gone. Everyone’s gone.”

“Here, yes… but really not quite. You still have time to fix things.”

“There’s nothing to fix. I’m stuck wherever I am in the future. Everything’s abandoned. It has been for a long time.”

“The future? No, you think too outside of the box. Look inward.”

Their nails scratched on the dusty concrete of the building’s roof in frustration. Their whole body was tense as the words spilled out of them in a tumbling wave of regret.

“I don’t want to. How can I think of myself when the world is like this?”

They gestured to the ruins of Plainshold, and the voice sighed.

“What would you know of the world? You are not even awake.”

“I— what the FUCK are you saying? I’m MORE awake than I’ve ever been my whole life!”

“Your mind is. Your body… no. When was the last time you took care of your headspace?”

“I don’t know what you mean. My brain?”

“Yes. Look at it. All overgrown. How can you shine when your soul is caged in a maze of plants?”

Slowly, they stood up, turning one way and the other, head swiveling around to take in all the dilapidated buildings that threatened to fall apart.

“All of this is me?”

“Oh, but it doesn’t have to be. You know I’d help you.”

“I don’t. I don’t even know you.”

“How could you say that, Kyki? I’m right here.”

The voice was right behind them, mere meters away. In surprise they spun around to the sight of a familiar hand, outstretched. A gaunt white arm, wrinkled skin spiraling up into an opaque fog vision could not hope to pierce. With focus, they might even make out a hint of a white glow behind the smoke.

“You… Chasma?”

“Not in the flesh. I can’t be very active right now, with the Dust going on all about. But I’m here.”

“But this is my head, I was knocked out by someone. How are you here?”

“I keep my ____ on everyone in the hotel. It wouldn’t do for someone’s friend to just disappear. I can touch your dreams, even if I cannot touch you.”

“Can you get me out of here? I need to go back. Kat would be worried sick and everyone else I know would be panicking right now.”

“Ah, I have not the power. Not right now. It is something you must do yourself with the Empowerment you’ve found. Isn’t it wonderful to finally be special?”

On one hand, Kyki crafted a glowing globe of infinite depth, warmth and smiles and sugar and spice. In the other, a stalagmite sprouted from their palm, sucking in the light cast over it into an insatiable void of the soul. It was hard to look at for too long. To the unaware observer, it would’ve felt like an invisible weight that dragged the body down into an ocean of viscosity.

“I see you’ve already grasped the basics. The brightest lights and the deepest depths of yourself to be wielded at your command.”

“This isn’t all? I can have more?”

“So much more. You do not know your own potential. To show you, I will make it real.”

“How? I’ve never used my power before… not in real life. Only in this long dream… wait. If you can enter dreams, can you slip into the dreams of everyone else? Tell them that I’m okay.”

“Alas, I cannot. For most, a dream lasts mere seconds, not even enough time for me to begin to enter. But your dream has no end. You will have to make your own escape, and I will give you the tools to do so.”

Kyki sat down on the edge of the building roof, staring off into the distance. A flick of the wrist sent the orb of happy memories floating away, drifting on a breeze that didn’t exist until now. With the other hand, they chucked the dark spike right at it, watching it pop the bubble and absorb all the magic inside before spearing through the support pillar of a nearby skyscraper. Crack, went the rebar and cement. The weight of the upper layers pressed upon everything below, and the minor integrity failure spread. It grew outward wildly, the sturdy skeleton of the long dead tower rapidly decaying before their eyes.

The cracks gave way. The concrete sheared at awkward angles, and the whole thing came tumbling down with a heart-pumping shockwave that threw dust in all directions. As the whole thing fell, Kyki swiveled and dashed away, nimbly climbing up drain pipes and the stick-out edges of window sills to a bank rooftop a few dozen meters away. The crash of the skyscraper just barely missed them, blowing apart a few other helpless buildings when it came down. Was Chasma caught in the crossfire? No. They blinked and Chasma was right next to them on their right, as if they’d always been waiting.

“I suppose this is as good a place to start as any.”

“Start what? Training?”

Chasma picked up a particularly large chunk of debris and held it out in front of them. A little bit of concentration caused nearby rubble and dust to swirl in the air, neatly reassembling themselves upon the chunk until it was double its initial size. Kyki poked the thing. Then their eyes began to flick around to catalog all the ruins of the city around them.

“...wait. I have to fix all this?”

“It is your fault for not having a therapist.”

Damn. Chasma had them there.