Right before me, a massive black entrance opened up in the streets of rubble. I could feel it in my chest, lulling me in without realizing it. My feet slowly walked across the rubble mindlessly, as I staired into the massive expanse of space, yellow and white lights twinkling everywhere. Looking behind, I could see the sky itself tearing apart, demons pouring out like the blood of a wound. Standing at the edge of the entrance, I could feel all the air being sucked in, filling my ears with its rushing sound. Before I could think, my body was pulled in by some mysterious force, everything was instantly surrounded in pure darkness.
It felt like days could have gone by, as I watched small dots of varying color ever so slowly move behind me, as my body weightlessly floated around. After a while, I was able to figure out how to twist my body the right way to turn myself around, however all that was behind me was all that I could see in front of me. This endless expanse bores me to no end, as I sit here watching the universe crawl past me- or I passed it. I fell asleep a few times, however, waking up did nor free me from this new prison. My stomach never hungered, yet I could see my fingernails growing practically before my eyes.
Using my knife, I was able to shorten them to a degree, but now my hands look like I have gone feral. Twisting around the endless expanse, I could see it out of the corner of my eye, my saving grace. A bright red light shone in the distance. As I grew closer, I became enveloped in the light, blinding to look at from even behind, forcing me to keep my eyes closed. As my body entered the light, I could feel a weight drag down on my body, yet it felt like it was filling a hole I have been missing all this time.
As the weight grew, I could feel a heavy force pushing at me from another direction, as my ears cleared up to sounds slowly enveloping from all around. I could hear, footsteps, my heart was beating fast as I jumped to my feet and quickly opened my eyes- ready to pounce on my enemies from wherever they come from. Trying to open my eyes to look around, my vision was all white, as I kept my ears open. Hearing a foot step to my left, I quickly turned and saw a shadow fill up my vision, walking towards me.
I quickly jumped towards the shadow, grabbing at its arms as we fell down - “AAHHHHHHHH! You demons will never take me alive!” I could hear it yelp in pain, as I grabbed my knife from behind my back. Stopping mid-way to slash the foul demon’s throat, I was stunned to hear a clear young man’s voice, “D-Don’t kill me! Just take my wallet! It’s in my side pocket just take it!” Demons, they don’t sound so clear, so I held my knife there in the air as I began to rub my eyes.
Between blinking and rubbing my eyes for several seconds, I felt a shove of two hands against my face, forcing me to fall on my back as the mysterious entity could be heard running away. Eventually, rubbing my eyes enough has brought my vision back slowly, as colors filled the blurriness, eventually clearing up to a crystal-clear view. It was a beautiful sight to behold, another human in a red plaid shirt was running away, and the buildings were standing perfectly still all around.
Trying to stand up, I could feel my legs give way, shaking uncontrollably like I had ran a marathon of marathons. Gripping my fingers in the mortar gaps between the bricks, I pulled myself up to lean against the wall. Closing my eyes, I focused on pulling my magic around my body, and I felt emptier than ever- shocking me as my eyes shot wide open. Putting my hand between my collar bones, I tried again, and I could feel the emptiness and a weird feeling, like the world itself was rejecting my existence as I tried to pull magic from the air itself like I used to.
Using magic inside myself, I was able to heal myself rather quickly with little magic, but it felt like a waste. Ever since I exited that black hell, nothing as looked right. The buildings were standing tall, there are people around walking in broad day light, the sun is a bright yellow as I look up, and I could hear sirens off in the distance growing closer. Looking to my left, a giant window sat in the wall. Slowly taking a couple steps, I looked at my own reflection, and my mind felt blank.
My brown hair had gone snow white and grown down to my waist, while my clothes have begun to fall apart at the seams. Have I been stuck in that strange zone for this long? Police sirens grew closer, and I could see blue and red lights growing down the street. Cutting around the corner of the building, I put my strength into my legs, and jumped between the two walls of the alley way, making my way to the roof tops. While I may have had magic to support me, my legs felt like they were going to give way at any moment, as I sat down on the edge of the roof.
Looking far into the distance, I could see tall buildings everywhere, there was no sign of any demons having come into this city ever. Was this area secluded from the attacks? Have they just not gone this far out yet? Where even is ‘here’, and how long has it been that I was in that never ending black zone Leaning across the edge of the roof, I fell asleep rather quickly. It may have been a flat concrete bedding, but it was the best rest I have had in ages, since before the demons came.
When I woke up, the moon had already taken over the sky, as the world had descended into night. Off in the distance, I could see the lights of hundreds of cars slowly moving inch by inch. While it felt like I was not in some fantasy, I could only assume this was reality. Everything is, too peaceful, and I felt on edge at every second- expecting the next demon to take advantage and kill my mood.
I decided to jump off the roof, back down to the streets, to try and figure out what was going on. Walking down the street, it only took one block for me to turn my world even more upside down. Written right on the window was ‘Bjorgen Coffee House – Best Coffee in NYC’. New York... City. This is not MY New York. MY New York City, was nothing but a wasteland, a giant bed of trash and rubble from the demon invasion. This city, its beautiful, life is everywhere, and no one is worried that an eight-foot-tall demon will pop out of the sky and skewer them. Nothing makes sense.
A young lady popped out of the coffee shop, she locked the door and slid down a metal gate as I stared and watched. “What are you staring at?” she asked me, as she looked in disgust at me. “Wh-What is the date?” I tried to asked her, yet she continued to walk away. Taking steps after her, I grabbed at her shoulders with a little weight, “Wait! What is, the date?” I held her shoulder, locking her in place as she tried to struggle. She was clearly scared as she asked “What do you want from me?!”, struggling to get out of my grip.
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“Just tell me, what is the date?” I demanded in a stern voice. She stopped struggling as she shakingly pulled out her phone, lighting her face up and tapping around. Trying to shove the phone over her shoulder, I could see the date nice and big, ‘July 20, 2021’. My hand slowly let go, as she scurried off into the night. Could this be real, it is the year 2021? 17 years, IN THE PAST?! Was I in the black abyss, for 17 years?
I could feel tears roll down my face, chilling me face from the cold breeze running down the streets. Why- How did I end up in the past? Does this mean, I can stop the demon invasion? In 3 years, the demons will start coming into our world, to try and claim it as their own if things go as I remember. I tried to pull in magic from the world again, but it felt like it was still repelling me. If I cannot get more magic, there is no way I could possibly win against the demons.
My only choice, is to try and find her, if she exists in this world. If I traveled back in time, then she has to be here. If we fight together, then maybe we could fight together, and she could fix my magic problem. Thinking back on the past, I think she graduated high school 3 years ago? Last year? God, I have been fighting demons for so long, I can barely remember the past as it was experienced. I continued walking aimlessly down the streets, as I tried to remember the long forgotten past.
I was deep in thought, not even noticing that the sun had already risen to the middle of the sky as my stomach began making familiar noises. All that time in the void, and not one ounce of food needed, and now I feel like I have been starved for several life times. In my old world, I was pretty much the only human alive, so money was pointless- thus I have not even a shred of a penny on my body. I needed food now, or my body may just give out on itself, but thankfully I have a couple tricks up my sleeve.
Just a bit further down the street, I could see a shop with an unforgettable icon, a giant slice of very cheesy pepperoni pizza. Walking out the door, was my trip to a satisfied stomach, as 12 boxes stacked above a delivery boy’s head, as he went for his car. Stepping into the alley, I held my hand to my upper chest, and used as little magic as possible. Instantly, the pizza box at the top of the stack had teleported itself in front of me, floating to grab. Looking inside, was the most boring pizza to most- but pulling out that slice of cheesy pizza looked and felt like I had laid my hand on the riches of God himself.
With a single bite, I could feel my body give into the calories and flavor it has missed all these years. Folding the slice in half, I took a massive bite, and by the time I looked down to check how much pizza was left- the last slice was already in my hand. I took my time eating this last slice, savoring its greasy goodness, I have no idea when I will get to enjoy a pizza ever again. Down the alley, I threw away the pizza box in an open dumpster, this place was already trash enough- there was no need to make it worse.
Alright, collect my thoughts. I need to find her, Clara Orbsan, I believe she must be in Boston still, we did not leave until for some time I believe. Think, think, THINK. Wait, think, that’s it! She worked in a library for many years in, Boston- there were fantastic cannoli's there, I miss those so much. I shouldn’t use my magic much, so I need to find another way down.
I stepped out of the alley, and just hooked it left, walking till I could find a magic-cheap way down to Boston. Taxis were constantly going in every direction, but those are far more expensive than my wallet could afford. A small thundering roar could be heard in the distance, as I looked over my head to see a small grey object flying in the sky.
It honestly scared me for a second, but I quickly realized it was not a flying Cerberus demon lord but just a plane. Those are definitely more than my pockets can handle, and frankly, I don’t think they would just let me on one either since I lost my ID ages ago. I wish I could just fly down there, but the amount of magic that I need is far too risky right now.
I continued walking down the streets looking for answers while trying to dig into my own memories. The years of fighting had taken a toll on what I could remember, and I don’t even remember if I had a family anymore at this point. Did I have a brother, a sister, family pet, mother and father? Maybe I was an orphan, I don’t remember any fond family moments, let alone any.
People seem to remember ‘that one Christmas they got engaged’, while I remember the first demon lord that I killed, watching its body turn to ashes and disappear into thin air. I don’t honestly remember many good moments, outside of a few reprieves from the demons.
Down the street, I watched as people slowly entered into a city bus, and I had my first option to get up to Boston. Maybe I can sneak onto a bus heading towards Boston somehow. Where even is a bus station? Down the street, a man missed the bus as angrily shouted as he sat down to wait for the next. I sat next to him, and I could feel the heat of his anger emanating from him.
I scared the last few people, so I have to be cautious with this one, and try to not use my strength to get information out of him. I have not earnestly talked with another human before; they were incredibly rare after the demons took over most of the world and obliterated many cities. Twisting my fingers together in nervousness, I softly asked, “Where, is the nearest bus station?”
I stared down at my hands, not hearing a response for a good minute before I looked up to my shoulder. The man had left already, when did he leave?! I even acted as cute as I look, it was embarrassing. I let out a large sigh, as I stood up and looked for the nearest person. Two blocks down the street, a girl was walking in my direction, eyes super glued down to her phone.
I stood against the wall as she continued walking my way, until she took an unexpected turn instead of crossing the street. Damnit. I quietly and quickly darted across the street, slowly getting closer to her. One has called me an assassin for being too quiet, a skill garnished from hiding and sneaking among the demons. Reaching within half an arm length of the blondie, I looked around to look for anyone around.
With a quick and instant motion of my hand, I hit the back of her head perfect enough to instantly knock her unconscious- without causing her any damage- quickly catching her and her smartphone before it broke on the ground. I leaned her up against the wall, to sleep safely as I began opening up the Global Search Engine.
‘Nearest bus station to me, 4.3m results found. 4.5 miles away.’
‘Bus to Boston from New York, 251,523 results found. Earliest bus leaves in 2 weeks’
WHAT? Two weeks? I could probably walk the distance in the time I wait. I gotta find something else, every day matters.
‘Common long distance travel methods, 5.4m results found. Planes, trains, and automobiles’
I slapped my face, I felt like an idiot. Trains. Is there any nearby going that way?
‘Train to Boston from New York City, 132,920 results found. Earliest train leaves in 6 hours’
Yes. This is it! I grabbed the train station’s location, and held the phone out as I face lined the little me on the map to the train station. Facing north west, I must travel about 15 miles out of New York City to reach the train station- I can do that, I have done worse in less time. I slid the phone back into the girl's pocket, and no one would be the wiser, as I set off on my small journey to ride a train. Now that I think about it, I have never ridden on one before; and by the time the demons arrived, no type of vehicle was safe.