The cave I was in mere seconds ago was gone. In front of me was a vast field covered in purple flowers. The same ones that blossom from my hands and feet. The sky was tinted a dark purple with beautiful stars shining throughout it. Other than the stars, a magnificent arura waved through the sky. The sky above was amazing, but the ground I stood on was strange; it was grass... Or can I even call this grass? It was very jagged and was pitch black with a shiny texture. The sky glistened and slightly reflected off the ground in spots where flowers didn't cover the soil. This entire place was just so wonderful. I could sense strange presences all over the place, but nothing was visible to my eyes. This place was so large that my senses most likely weren't even close to reaching the end.
"Jasmin... what is this place?" I heard Tayla's voice quivering behind me. She was pulled in with me! I looked back and noticed Tayla standing behind me while holding onto my clothes. Behind her, there was no portal but a massive lake. It glistened a beautiful glow and reflected the sky perfectly. It was so close that it felt like I was able to touch space.
"I don't know what this place is either," I said. I was telling the truth, but I sensed that this place was special. It was like I was connected to this land. This place reminded me of my dream, where I was inside the garden of misery.
"Big sister, how do we get out of here?" Tayla asked me. I looked at the lake again; the entrance was gone. With no exit, I was lost on what to do, until I started to have a feeling in my mind. Something in my mind told me that the only way out was to continue forward.
"Forward," I mutter as I grab Tayla's hand and start to walk.
"Huh?" Tayla says in a moment of confusion. I pull her forward, and we start to move deeper and deeper into the field. The lake behind us starts to get smaller and smaller. The beings I could sense before have all dispersed from my radius; at least they are staying away. There had not been a single living thing to be seen in a while, but strange noises started forming in the air as we ventured deeper.
"Ouch!" Tayla screams. Her elvish ears twitched, and she brought her hands to her head. She placed them on top of her ears and stood there with tears forming in her eyes. The noise started to get louder and louder; it sounded like screams of all types. Women, children, men—all of them seemed like they were being tortured. The noise wasn't affecting me, but Tayla seemed to be in pain. She began to curl up into a ball with her ears covered; the noise was loud but not to the point where it should be causing this much pain.
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"Stop, it! Grandpa, Grandma!" Tayla screams out loud. The sound wasn't hurting her physically, I guessed from the words that just came out of her mouth. If I recall correctly, both her grandpa and grandma died when knights came looking for her. Tayla was not at fault, but I can see why she would blame herself. I know that exact feeling; I still blame myself for Angie's death, and I haven't come to reconcile with it.
"Tayla! It's okay, I'm here. I'm right here!" I yell, grabbing Tayla and pulling her into a hug. I held her tight and rubbed her back. I tried my best to keep Tayla from breaking down. Her sobs echoed through the vast field—the sobs of a young girl who had lost everything. She cried and cried and I consoled her. The screams began to quiet, and they were getting less potent. Tayla's tears were beginning to lessen, and her sobs started to silence. The brunt of it seemed to have passed, and Tayla began to regain her composure.
"Are you okay, Tayla?" I ask
"Ya, I'm okay," she replies. I pull her close and pat her on the head.
"Do you want to take a break?" I asked. Tayla looks up at me and shakes her head no.
"Okay, lets keep going then," I lift her to her feet. We begin to walk again; after walking for such a long time, I started to realize things. This place was eerily quiet; there was no life once so ever, no bugs that used to climb all over my flowers, no little demon squirrels that clawed at my ankles! In this place, it was just me and Tayla; the only noises we could hear were the slight screams and a slight woosh from the wind in the north. I had no idea where this place was and how we could just be teleported here; it must have been some sort of magic that I am not aware of.
"Big sister, what is that? "Tayla shouted while shivering. I looked away from the the vast field of flowers I had been transfixed on while lost in thought. I haven't sensed anything so I didn't know what Tayla was seeing. I looked forward and saw why Tayla was so terrified. In front of us was a magnificent temple. It stood with walls surrounding each side, the bricks made of a pure black material. It had many windows with purple lighting emitting from each one. It was an amazing but also terrifying sight; as we got closer, the details got clearer. The walls seemed to be battered and destroyed; the temple itself was crumbling and windows were shattered. The long pole on top of the longest spiral was bent and hanging. I had no idea how such a fierce place could end up destroyed to this extent.
"Jasmin, should we turn back?" Tayla asked. My brain was telling me the same thing; I couldn't sense what lied within, but I could feel something, something terrifying. My entire body was quaking, but my heart was beating with a different emotion: excitement. I was excited... My heart ached, wanting to enter; that sensation clouded my judgment. My legs began to move; they trembled with each step, but they couldn't stop moving. As I reached the beautiful arched gate, I stood there admiring the patterns written across them. With a deep sigh, I pushed on the huge gate, and, with a groan, the massive obsidian doors opened.
!Ding! You have entered the Temple Of Misery