Cities. Buildings. Skyscrapers. Towers. Houses. As far as they eye can see. Not ubiquitous, but not dismissable either. Stretches of roads shrouding the planet in a dark web. All of this, housing lives.
Billions of lives, of people, living in these. Places built for something; to sleep, to eat, to go, to teach... Currently, a sleeping world. The sun has yet to rise, but is on its way.
A city getting its last hours of sleep.
In the sky, a hole opens. Big enough for a planet.
Yet the world sleeps.
Feaser opened his eyes. Light was shining through, finishing to rend his sleep. Still laying on his back, he felt around with his hand. He was on grass. He looked up. A blue sky, with sparse clouds. Sighing, he stood up.
A backyard. A backyard, with green grass, a blue sky, a white fence, shining sun, and a suburban house to go with it. And a dozen of pink flamingoes. Plastic, of course. He looked around more, and something felt off. Was it the house... ? It seemed... well it seemed fake. He approached it.
Must be my imagination, he thought. Still, he wondered how and when he got here in this lawn. He went to the house, and knocked on the door. No answer. Ok, something definitely feels off.
Nah, just a normal house. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. Of course, who would keep their door unlocked ? Maybe they're at work. Feaser turned around and looked at the yard again. That's when it hit him.
Oh. This isn't a yard. What he thought was the sky was just a wallpaper. The grass of the yard was fake grass, and the sun was a big lamp. The house was a cutout against the wall.
Was he being detained ? This was his first thought. He rushed to pick up one of the flamingoes, and lifted it up the ground. Surprisingly light, but still sturdy enough to swing around and smash into stuff.
❉
The window cracked but didn't break. He had to swing a few more times before the pink sculpture smashed through. Careful not to cut himself, the young man passed through the opening. Was he in a backstage ? It looked like it. The ground was a mole grey carpet, and the walls and ceiling were built out of composite wood.
He advanced through the area. Electrical wires ran through the room, and lighting was made using projectors. Regularly, on the walls, other windows showed other backyards. Some had pink flamingoes, some had traffic cones, some had elaborate barbeques.
He used that time to remind himself of who he was. His name was Feaser Dertar. He worked at a small convenience store, dreamt of making art for a living. Currently he was dressed with a hawaiian shirt and grey sweatpants. He often thought of himself as a kind person, or at least wished he was, but he often felt guilty over small things. In the end, this had made him complacent. He was not one to fight others for his goals, and trusted others on no basis.
Eventually, he reached something. The passage he had followed split up. Two sets of stairs presented themselves to him : one going up and one going down.
He went downstairs.
A living room. Yedor opened her eyes. She did not recognize this place. This made her stressed. She stood up and looked around. She was in a living room. Tall windows were covered with white curtains that let the afternoon sun shine through. The wooden floor was slightly moldy, and some of the boards no longer fit together. The sofa she was on was covered with a few off-white blankets. The white plaster walls were cracked, and mold was clinging on the bottom. Plaster moldings run between the walls and ceilings.
She looked in her pockets. Oh no. No phone, nothing. Oh god. She went to the window, and peeked behinf the curtain. The window showed nothing. Because it wasn't a window. It was a large diffusion lamp that emitted a soft white light. She went to the other windows and looked behind their curtains. They were all the same lamp.
Ok, she thought, Let's go back on what we know. First, her name. It was Yedor Asdaf. She was a circle programmer focused on... well she didn't have a specialty yet. She had just finished her studies and was still looking for what she wanted to work in. She was very nervous, liked science, metronomes, and hated fish. Not because it tasted bad, but because they're kind of gross, you know ?
And now she had just woken up in a strange room she didn't recognize that had no window, lots of mold and cracks, and in disarray. Maybe she was underground ? maybe she had been abducted ? Well, no use thinking about it. Let's just look for a way out.
She looked around, but found no door. That threw her off even more. No door ? She looked under the sofa. Nothing but dust. She looked in the sofa. A mobile phone ? It was an old model, one that had a liquid cristal display and used a ten-key keyboard. She recognized the model as one capable of basic circle creation. It couldn't display and use a circle, but it could compose one. If she found something to draw the circle on she could exit.
On a shelf, she found a dried bouquet in a vase. She removed its water, and Maybe could use the stalk of the flowers as a brush. She tried to mix dust in the water to use it as a pigment, but it didn't work. Maybe she could... Ew. She could, but did she want to ? She thought of another solution.
The "windowsill" was plaster. She put aside one of the flowers, then made a flimsy fire configuration.
It would have to do. She took one of the flowers, and pressed it against the light. Quickly enough, it started burning. She put it in the firewood, and quickly enough, it all started to burn. The fire was small enough that it didn't get out of control, and after a dozen minutes or so, it went out. She mixed the ashes into the bowl, and then started to make the architecture of the circle.
That circle should work. Using the stalk, she carefully drew the circle on a white wall.
As she finished to draw the circle, a square block of the wall around the circle disappeared at once. Behind it was a brightly lit corridor, in the same style of the room.
You might be confused as to what circles are. They have been mentioned previously, as well as their functionment, but never truly explained. This will remain that way. Cope.
Yedor entered the hallway. The curtains were flowing, as if there was wind coming from the lamps behind, but of course there wasn't. Was this a circle ? How would I code that... She started thinking, then suddenly remembered something. She had a PHONE. She hadn't even tried for signal. She looked at it, and immediatly stopped looking at it. Ok. So to the end of the hallway it is.
She continued down the hallway. The floorboards creaked as she walked along. She could feel a fresh breeze coming from forward. Then, all of a sudden, under a large hole in the ceiling, a figure was laying down, unconcious. They were dressed in grey, and their clothes were bloodstained. Next to them was an animal carcass, skinned.
Dirty white tiles. Neon lighting. Rusted pipes. A mechanical clatter. And, hanging from hooks, animal carcasses. Devan stood up. They did not look confused. They had no expression. They were not one for expressions. They stood up, and observed the carcasses. The hooks were mounted onto a rail.
Devan walked to the walls, to a set of button, and pressed a large one.
The carcasses started moving along. Devan silently followed them accross the room, until the bodies disappeared in a hole in the wall.
Devan grabbed onto a carcass and held dearly as it went through the wall. Behind the wall, another corridor stretched, this one also tiled in white and lit by neon. However, this corridor was rotated diagonally. Devan clung tighter to the carcass, as they began to feel the effect of gravity shifting to the end of the hall.
Devan held on to the carcass, but the carcass slipped from the hook and the two of them came crashing down the hall. Devan lost consciousness for a short while.
After a bit, they woke up in a puddle of blood. Not their own though, as the floor was covered in blood. They were in a large room, with a very high ceiling. Above, they could see the opening from which they had fallen. And, in the space in the middle of the room, like a grotesque attraction, a few hundred carcasses were passing along a few rails, from time to time letting a drop of blood accumulate on the floor.
Nearer to the floor, two or three metallic doors. One of the walls had been damaged, and behind it showed a foggy abyss, above which some of the rails disappeared into the blue mist, aong with their boons of bodies. Here and there, lights in the abyss hinted at other structures.
Wings of light appeared near Devan's back, and they flew to the nearest of the structure.
A carcass on a rail above Devan slipped off of its hook and fell down, hitting them in the head.
A richly lit hotel lounge. Golden fixture, red carpet on the floor. Cream sofas and armchair with glass tables. A bar. No one in it of course. Esgol looked at this scene with... perhaps not the disbelief you would have. She was used to waking up in hotel lobbies. What was wrong, though, was that she had no idea what hotel she was in. Even if she didn't remember going to an hotel, she should have recognized just from the lobby.
She tried to remember. She couldn't. Her name was Esgol Nessed. She was a politician. Not a very successful one. She had tried at a few points to use her charm, and now it was one of the only thing she was known for in this domain. Which explains waking up in hotel lobbies.
She stood up, and searched across the room. For anyone. There was no one. She went to the bar. The bottles were illegible, and mostly empty. She went toward the doors of the lobby, and was surprised. She opened the door.
Outside the lobby, was a simple scaffolding. Nothing more. A scaffolding that continued, in a clear sky. The poles holding the scaffolds extended down into the blue til she couldn't see them. Oh wow, she thought. I sure hope the room I'm in isn't held back by these flimsy things.
She looked down at what was holding the lobby and immediatly fell back on the ground, her heart beating.
The room swung from her fall. She stood up and jumped onto the scaffold. Just as she left the hotel lobby, it fell behind her, into the abyss. Down and down, and then WHAM ! The lobby hit one of the scaffolds below.
Esgol started running forward, but kept tripping on her feet.
She fell, and eventually lost consciousness. She didn't notice smashing through multiple layers of composite pannels, and did not notice slamming down in front of a man in a hawaiian shirt. She wouldn't have it any other way, anyway.
Yedor apprroached the figure on the ground. "H- hello ? Are you- are you ok ?" She looked up the hole. She couldn't see anything except mist. Devan stood up. They shook their head, still dizzy, then quickly noticed Yedor's presence.
Devan quickly jumped to their feet and pointed a finger at Yedor, threateningly. She backed away doing a "HHHH" sound.
"NOBUTYOUSEEITSBECAUSEYOUFELLDOWNTHECEILINGANDIWANTEDTOCHECKIFYOUWEREOKAREYOUOK" she blurted out at once. Devan raised their defenses.
After a few minutes of this kind of back and forth, Yedor regained her composure. "Sorry ! Sorry i startled you. Do you want me to check your wounds ?"
Devan relaxed their guard. Carefully, Yedor approached.
"I'm sorry, I can't find anything. Maybe you do have a wound, but if so it's an internal one. Does it hurt anywhere ?" Devan shook their head. "What's your name then ? It'll make it easier. My name is Yedor Asdaf." With a quiet voice that wasn't used to speaking, they answered "Devan Elsest."
"Then, Devan, let's look for a way out of... here." The two of them began to walk in the direction opposite to where Yedor had come from. "I woke up at the other end of that hallway, in a rundown living room. Where did you wake up ?"
Devan said nothing and simply pointed up, then to the carcass. "Oh, in a kind of... butchery place ? That would explain the stains." Devan nodded. Cheerfully, Yedor continued. "Im' glad I woke up in that living room then ! It was dirty but at least it wasn't full of dead animals."
Devan didn't respond. "Ah, sorry. I can be a bit of a... chatterbox."
They continued silentely.
❉
Meanwhile, Feaser poked Esgol with a flamingo. He looked up through the hole once again. It was so deep that he couldn't see anything except floors and floors of wood panels. "What are you looking at, boy ?" Said an annoyed voice. Esgol had just woken up.
"Oh uh, you fell through the ceilings.
-Did I now ?
-Pretty sure yeah. Are you hurt ?"
Esgol stood up with some difficulty. "'Ts ok I think. Who are you ?
-My name is Feaser Dertar. And you ? Wait... I think I know you... Esgol Nessed ?
-Yeah.
-Uh."
They stood silentely. I'm going to need you two to do something quick. "Well we better keep looking for a way out.
-Hold on, boy. Where did you wake up. And what's with the flamingo.
-Oh I woke up in a fake backyard. The flamingo is because it could always be useful, you never know. And you ?
-God. I don't think I want to remember.
-After a fall like that I don't think you can."
Feaser found another flight of stairs, and went down. "Why go down ?
-No idea, just a gut instinct. Besides, you came from upwards, so I doubt there's anything of value there."
Esgol looked at him with a shocked expression, then regained her composure and they continued down.
Feaser and Esgol went down yet another flight of stairs. Suddenly, they were no longer in what Feaser called the backstage. They had ended up in a villa. A seaside villa. The walls were a greyish white, and through large windows the sea shone its blue color. A great blue sky loomed above.
"Oh wow ! A villa ! this place is great huh. Think we should wait here ?" exclaimed Feaser. "No. Something is wrong. Look outside."
Feaser examined the outside for longer. Then suddenly it hit him. Just like before, the sky had been painted on the walls of a huge room. "Oh wow." "Look at the sea too." And indeed, the "sea" had been printed on a piece of cloth that was waving up and down by some unseen mechanism.
"What do you think this place is ?" asked Esgol
-Honestly ? I'd say a movie set. Or a studio.
-That would make sense for what you've seen yeah. Not really for mine though.
-You never did tell me where you woke up, by the way.
-A hotel lobby.
-That doesn't sound so bad
-A hotel lobby suspended by a flimsy scaffold in an all-blue sky.
-Oh. That explains the fall."
They started to look around. Quickly, they noticed a trapdoor on the floor, although it was locked. The floor they were on -the only floor- had a small living room with a fireplace and two white couches. There was a kitchen, with all common appliances, except for a fridge and an oven, and in the back there was a simple bathroom, with a shower, a sink, a medicine cabinet, and a toilet. There was no other way forward than the trapdoor.
"Well let's see. How could we open that lock ?"
"No idea." "Yeah, same here. Let's just look for a key."
They resumed their search. Feaser looked in the fireplace. "Hey uh, there's something here ! I can't see what though." Esgol took down one of the curtain poles and handed it to him.
Feaser tried to dislodged the stuck item, but hit the pole too hard and it broke. "I'll do that." Esgol grabbed Feaser's flamingo and dislodged the thing.
Said thing was... a skinned rabbit. Whole.
They stared at the rabbit for a few seconds. Then, Esgol took it and washed it in the kitchen. She took a knife and started to cut into the rabbit. "Are you checking if there's a key inside ?" "Yep."
Esgol tried to split the carcass, but didn't manage to. Something kept the knife from moving and cutting through.
"Hold on, I'll do that." Esgol stood up, and Feaser took her place. He started to slice, and eventually opened the rabbit in two. He had separated the inclusion that kept Esgol from succeeding into a separate hunk of flesh. "This is going to be a problem, he said. This looks like a key, we need a way to get it out without cutting too much."
They washed their hands, and started to look around.
"We could try to... erode away the meat ? As in, make it melt.
-And with what could we do that ?
-Uhm...."
Esgol went to the bathroom and looked in the cabinet. It was full of many bottles, all the same. Their label all said OXYGENTATED WATER.
"Well ! there we go. We should immerse the chunk in that and it'll work out." She took the bottles to the kitchen and slipped. The bottle fell. Thank god these were plastic bottles. They are plastic bottles right ?
Nope, they were glass bottles. Not only did she just break and spill ever single bottle, but now she's soaked in the thing. "Ah." "Ah..." Ah indeed. "Well no matter, I'll just do it with the knife. Just go uh, take a shower and change or something."
"Oh god I'm so so fucking sorry. Oh god. I'll do it, don't worry.
-No, no it's fine, really ! Just go clean yourself, I'll be fine !
-No no, but really, I'm so sorry. I should do this."
"No I insist. If you don't clean yourself up you'll... get hurt probably. This is oxygenated water after all.
-Fine..."
Esgol went to the bathroom to take a shower. Meanwhile, Feaser got started on the chunk.
When Esgol came back, Feaser had barely removed any meat. All there was were very thin strips. "I'm, uh, trying to be as precise as possible.
-I can see that. Hold on a minute, let me try."
After a lot of back and forth between Elgol and Feaser, they finally freed the key. Feaser washed it in the kitchen sink, then used it on the trapdoor. It opened. Below, a ladder lost itself in the void.
A nervous Yedor and an unfeeling Devan reached stairs going down. A metallic staircase that sticked out like a sore thumb. It was painted in bright orange, and on the edge of each step, a striped yellow and black band acted as a warning for the stairs. They went down.
After a few minutes of going down in near darkness- and of Yedor almost falling a few times (despite having been told, dog), they reached floor.
It was a great parking lot. The cement floor reached far and lost itself in the darkness. Here and there, concrete pillars held up the grey, glasswool covered ceiling. The ceiling itself was irrigated by a network of metallic pipes and vents. Of course, there were no cars in sight. No functional car, at least.
A few meters away from the staircase, a circle (presumably in red paint) had been traced. It was a simple pentagram, with a few runes here and there. All around, a small forest of candles cast an irregular warm glow over red paint cans and the remains of sacrified cars.
What does a sacrified car looks like ? how do you sacrifice a car ? Well, imagine an animal. Sacrifice it, then turn it into a car. Basically it ends up as an overturned car, with the internal mechanic spilling out, and often it being stabbed with multiple implements.
And, on a pole in the middle of the circle, a cow skull.
Yedor almost rushed back up the stairs, but Devan grabbed her arm. In the candle light, Yedor could see the stressed and uncomfortable expression on Devan's face. It was the first expression she had ever seen on that face.
"All right. Together, we're not going to be scared of anything," Yedor reassured. Devan nodded. "Evidently, we're not going to get anywhere by randomly wandering in this parking lot. I can probably do something with this circle."
Devan looked at Yedor with a puzzled face. "Oh, I didn't tell you, right. I'm... somewhat well versed in circle programming." Devan nodded.
They began to examine the installation. "So," started Yedor, while looking over the car remains, "to complete that circle, I should find out what it was made for in the first place. There aren't many runes there, so..."
"... nope. Can't make sense of it yet."
While Yedor was looking away, Devan took the skull from the top of the pole using their psychic powers. As they guessed, a rune was written inside. They put the skull on the floor.
"Ah ! Found something." Yedor came back from the car, holding an exhaust pipe with a rune drawn on it. She noticed the skull. "Oh you took the skull uh... really silently. Congrats anyway."
"Ohh, I see what they wanted to do. Ok ok, so... hmm" she took out her phone and started typing on it. "Ok... and then like that..." A sound from the darkness. Devan stood up suddenly and started to look.
"and then like that... and..." Devan shushed Yedor. "Huh ? What's up ?"Devan watched from the darkness, ready to jump at any moment. A metallic sound rang from the veil. And then a mechanical, drill like sound. BzzzzzzzZZzzZzZzzz...
"You are not yet ready, but neither are we." A voice had come from nearby. Yedor turned, and a pair of crows were perched at the top of the car pile. "Huh ?? Did they speak ??
-We will give you something. Use it carefully."
At once, the crows took flight, and passed over Yedor. Then, one of them threw something at her.
The birds flew into the darkness and quickly disappeared. And, just as they did, a figure started to emerge from it.
It was a wolf. A completely black wolf, whose head was not that of a wolf, but instead a large drill. It started spinning, projecting the same sound as before.
The sound was loud enough to make Devan take a step backwards. "Oh. Oh god, oh god uhh, uhhm..."
Yedor tried to plug the projector, but fumbled. She'll probably have to take some time to set it up afterward.
While Yedor was busy fumbling the projector, Devan stepped forward to the wolf. Fear is a strength. Using my fear I will succeed. Before Devan's determined eyes, the wolf took a step back. And then, without warning, Devan lunged, their body shifting to a dark, beast-like form. They hacked at the drill wolf.
The two disappeared in the darkness. "Devan ?" called Yedor, in a squeal. "Heww... no matter. I have to do this." She managed to plug in the projector.
She quickly wrote a circle on the phone, then activated it. A strong light filled the area, killing the darkness. She saw two dark beasts circling each other, one tall, standing on two legs, and one on all fours with a conic head. She pressed enter on the phone, activating the secondary effect of the circle.
A beam of light, sharp as a knife, pierced the beast with the conic head. It flew backwards. "Devan, come back, I'll make an exit while its stunned !"
The tall beast reverted back to Devan as it came running back Yedor. The light in the area subsided. "Ok, I kind of know what circle to make. I think. Ill just turn the inside of the circle into a hole."
"Actually I can do better than that, I can do a staircase." She took a paintbrush and red paint, and started completing the circle on the ground. As she put the last rune, the area inside the circel receded, leaving only a spiral staircase.
Not waiting for the drill wolf to follow, they went down.
Feaser and Esgol reached the bottom of the ladder. They were in a circular room with dark red ceramic tiles. The ground was tiled in smooth, black stone. From a distant room, the sound of trains could be heard. Two hallways stretched out from here. And, in the middle of the room, on the floor, three identical devices were on the ground. While Esgol examined the room further, Feaser went to the devices and picked one up.
But he couldn't tell what it was for. And then, from the darkness, they heard some steps. They turned to one of the hallways when...
❉
Devan and Yedor hurried down the spiral staircase. After a few flights, they reached a dark hallway. The walls were tiled with dark red ceramic tiling, and the floor was smooth black stone. The ceiling was arched, and in the same stone as the floor.
After a hundred meters or so, they saw the opening of a room before them.
She turned around while running, and tried to make a circle. A wall appeared in the middle of the hallway, behind them. They slowed down and entered the room and...
❉
The two groups met face to face. They were surprised. To even see anyone. After they had met and grouped in pair, they had assumed they would be alone.
Yedor stopped, panting.
Feaser started speaking. "Uhm.. Hi. I thought we were going to be alone, but it's good to see more people.
-O-oh. Hi. Uhm...
-We should, uh. Present ourselves. I'm Feaser Dertar.
-Right. I'm Yedor Asdaf, and this is Devan Elsest."
After a pause, Esgol presented herself. "And... how did you come here from your side ?"
They two groups explained how they had woken up, how they didn't remember how they had gotten here, how they found their partner, and how they ended up here.
"So, that wolf won't come for us ?
-If it does, either that wall was too thin, or it found a way around.
-Well I don't want to be here to find out which one happens. We should leave.
-Agreed, we have to find an exit.
-And what are these devices on the floor ?
-Oh, I inspected them but couldn't find anything."
Yedor picked one up.
But she couldn't make sense of it. "I think it's... Something to edit text ? Maybe a camera ?" Esgol took another one.
"Probably what Yedor said. It's been a while since I looked at computer stuff." They all took one anyway, except Yedor, who handed hers to Devan.
They continued down the other hallway.
They had been advancing in the hallway for a few minutes now. Their steps resonated under the curved ceiling, and the strangely sweet, sickly smell of subway grease had almost faded from their perception.
Coupled with the background noise of trains and subway, they were expecting at any point to stumble upon stairs to the surface, or onto a train station. And yet, behind every turn, only red tiles, only black ceiling, only smooth stone.
As they walked, their morale fell.
"How long is this going to go on ?" said Feaser, breaking the silence. "I mean. Shouldn't we have found at least something ?"
Nobody answered. "Where are we anyway ?"
"Let's say it is. Then there would be different sets, linked together by this... hallway. First of all, there would be doors to other sets. That much is obvious." Feaser nodded, not seeing where Esgol was going. "So the fact we wouldn't have doors in a while is because, simply, we would be between to large sets. Right ? Two really big sets, and they each have a door."
"Let's say it is. Then there would be different sets, linked together by this... hallway. First of all, there would be doors to other sets. That much is obvious." Feaser nodded, not seeing where Esgol was going. "So the fact we wouldn't have doors in a while is because, simply, we would be between to large sets. Right ? Two really big sets, and they each have a door."
"That makes sense." "Except it doesn't. We've already had a few turns. These two sets have a really fucked up shape. And, also,these would be really, really big sets. Like, we've been walking for nearly half an hour now, and still we haven't seen a door."
Everyone was silent. "And, finally, if that didn't convince you. We just turned left for the fifth time. We should have made a full turn. But we haven't."
Yedor spoke up. "Are we in a... a non-euclidian space ," "Explain. I'm afraid flamingo boy here is lost."
"The space we exist in normally is called euclidian space. You can visualize it as a flat piece of paper. If you draw a shape with right angles on that space, it will need 4 angles before it is closed. This is due to one of Euclid's law. This law, known as the parallel postulate, states that two parallel lines will be perpendicular to another line. If one of the lines is perpendicular, then the other is. Imagine it like traintracks, or a ladder. They continue in infinity, always at the same distance from each other.
"However, this kind of space isn't the only one. There are, basically, two other spaces. The first one is called elliptic space. You can see this space as the outside of a ballon. On this balloon, if you draw two lines so that both of them are perpendicular to a third one, these two lines will be parallel. And, despite that, they will intersect, as they will slightly curve toward each other.
"The third space is hyperbolic space. This space is like the inside of a bowl. It's different in that it is both finite and infinite. If you draw a railway on that space, the two line will divert from each other, and drift apart forever."
She made a pause. Esgol asked Feaser if he was following, and he answered a weak yes.
"Ok. This is fascinating but what does it mean ?" finally said Esgol.
"Right, right. Basically : in our space - euclidian space - a square will need four right angles to be closed. On the ball - elliptic space - a square will need three right angles to be closed. And, in the bowl - hyperbolic space - a square would need at least five right angles to be complete."
"I see. So... are we no longer on earth ?
-Maybe. Maybe we are no longer in our universe.
-No longer... In our universe ?
-It's impossible to modify space like that on our own universe. But at the same time... Something is weird. This is the first sign we see of no longer being in euclidian space.
-And with a circle ?
-With circles ? Hmm... It's complicated. There were multiple tests. In the end, it was possible to recreate elliptic space on a small area, but not hyperbolic space.
-What size ? What was the size of the area ?
-About... a few centimeters."
They were silent for some time, continuing to advance.
Again and again, the walls gave way to more walls. Red tiles and black ceilings and swmooth floors, forever.
After a few hours of walking, they arrived in a station hall. The glass ceiling of the hall towered above them, showing only white light beyond. A few train tracks arrived in front of them, empty. The sounds of trains started fading around them.
There was no one. The station was silent.
They looked around, demoralized. They had been walking around for a long time now.
"You know" started Esgol, breaking the silence, "we should stop here for a bit." The silence came back, wrapping them like a strangling embrace.
Then, a sound made the embrace loosen. It was an electronic beep. Three electronic beeps. And a vibration. The devices.
On the screen, a single line of green text was displayed over the black background. The line read
>>SBT: hello ?
Their morale soared. Finally someone else !
>>FLG: Hi ! oh it feels so good to be talking to someone else
>>CRC: thk god thrs someone :sob: i felt i was going 2 go crzy
>>CHM: Don't say that, come on. Yeah it feels good but still.
They sighed of relief, then they all sat down, either on a bench or directly on the ground.
>>SBT: we should present ourselves. my name is aria
>>CRC: im yedor asdaf
>>FLG: Feaser dertar ! glad to meet you
>>CHM: And I'm Esgol Nessed.
They looked at Devan.
>>STR: devan elsest.
>>SBT: soo... did you meet beforhand ? i can't go back earlier than my first message
>>CHM: Ha. we woke up in separate... rooms ? Then we all met.
>>FLG: Yeah where are you btw
>>SBT: oh uhh... i think im in some sort of control room ? big circular room with lots of screens and dials and panels
>>CRC: wht so the scrns show
>>SBT: uhmm
>>SBT: there are many, many charts. i don't get any of them. one of the screens is this chat. i think another one is a map ?
>>CRC: map ?
>>SBT: yeah
>>SBT: or a 3d wireframe
>>CHM: How do you know it's a map ?
>>SBT: "MAP : RED STATION" is written in big at the bottom
>>FLG: What does it look like ? as in what does it show
>>SBT: ah well... there are 4 dots in a big room. a long corridor is going to that room, and goes off screen. on the opposite side of the room, there are 6 other hallways that go in different directions.
>>CRC: cnt say i recognze tht
>>SBT: can you try moving around the room ?
Yedor got up, stretched, then paced from a wall to the opposite one.
>>SBT: oop, one of the dots moved. somehow this map can track your position.
>>FLG: That seems. worrying
>>STR: maybe they installed a gps chip in our skulls.
>>CRC: made us swllow a bomb lol
>>CHM: Let's make the most out of this anyway. Where do you think we should go ? From your description of the room, we came from the single corridor.
>>SBT: hmm let me see
>>SBT: ill be back in a few
Feaser lied down on his bench. He was getting tired. Everyone was. Devan also lied down. Yedor sat down again.
>>FLG: Ykw, i think ill go to sleep. im getting tired, we spent all day walking. id love to find something to eat tho, but too bad.
>>SBT: wait i just found it
>>SBT: you should go through the 3rd tunnel from the left. after some time it seems to start going down, and then eventually it reaches... something.
>>CRC: smthing ?
>>SBT: a... room
>>SBT: hundreds of corridors go to that room.
>>SBT: maybe thousands ?
>>CRC: wow
>>SBT: though... that corridor to get ehre seems reakky really long
>>SBT: it would take a few days of going down.
>>CHM: Is there another path ?
>>SBT: the other tunnels get lost in a maze. i can't follow them for too long. the 3rd one is the only one with something noteworthy
>>CHM: We'll go there tomorrow then. We should sleep, as Feaser said... and as he is doing.
>>SBT: good night then ! i think ill be awake for a bit more. ill try to figure out whats the deal here, and how to get out
>>CHM: Thanks.
One after the other, they put away their device and lied down. They were all hungry. The warm light of the glass ceiling made sleeping difficult, but not impossible.
Yedor woke up first. She looked at the others, and saw they were all asleep. Then, she noticed that although she was hungry, she wasn't feeling... feeble. Nor was her stomach grumbling. She was just a little bit hungry.
She took out the flip phone.
>>CRC: aria ?
>>SBT: yeah ?
>>CRC: oh sry ddnt mean 2 wake you up
>>SBT: i wasnt sleeping don't worry
>>CRC: well thn. i jst wantd to know
>>CRC: who R U ?
>>CRC: im a crcle prgrammer
>>SBT: oh hm...
>>SBT: i never... really thought of that.
>>CRC: ah, the othrs R wakng up. lts contnue this smtime else
>>SBT: yeah !
Eveyone except Feaser had woken up now. He was snoring loudly. Esgol shook him a little, and he started to wake up.
After a quick check of how they were feeling, they got a move on. They entered the 3rd tunnel from the left, and started advancing.
The tunnel was dark, much darker than the station. In that black, impenetrable shroud, they stumbled over the rails again and again. At some point, Yedor programmed a small circle, and lit up the area. And then, they noticed they weren't exactly stumbling on rails.
Or, rather, that the rails were covered in carpet. They were covered in a thinly striped grey carpet. The walls around them had shifted from the raw cement of earlier, and into a tasteful orange wallpaper. The more they advanced in this corridor, the less it resembled the tunnel. Little by little, the rails receded into the ground, and as they did, neon lights emerged bit by bit from the ceiling.
Eventually they were in what seemd like a corridor in an appartment complex. Yedor dispelled the circle. Some furniture started appearing, things like benches, chairs, closets.
And then, little by little, they felt the corridor shift. As they looked forward, they could see that it started to sink. They were currently on a very slight slope. And forward, the abyss gaped before them.
And then suddenly, the lights turned off.
A voice spoke, croaked, "Here you go : Come. Come, closer."
In the darkness, they felt compelled to approach. And in the darkness, they could see a starry sky through three tall, very tall windows. A faint light came, from somewhere. A church altar was before them. They were in a void, with only the four of them, the altar, and the three windows.
And the glyph. A complex, undefined, ever shifting glyph.
"I," the voice said again, "am : the SIGIL-11-10-01. I am : a dreambeast." The group didn't feel as if they were in reality anymore. "Details are : unnecessary for your goal. For now, you are to : Descend. Descend, with a capital D."
They were awestruck at the presence of the glyph. It seemed like something out of this world, something that couldn't possibly exist.
An object from a dream.
"You will descend to : the core of the earth. That is, the room connected to every room. Goodbye."
A shooting star passed through the window, and they were back in the corridor.
They were sweating.
And yet they continued. Ordained by a will higher than their own, they couldn't resist the tides that bound their mind.
They were descending in silence. The more they advanced, the more the slope became vertical. For now, however, they could still progress without too much difficulty. So they did. They advanced, slowly dreading the moment when the slope would be too harsh to walk on. They were trying not to think of what just happened.
Except for Feaser, who broke the silence. "What was that, by the way ?"
No one answered. The only sound was the hum of neons. "I mean, this probably isn't the weirdest thing we've seen but, you know, i didn't understand wh-
-'Not the weirdest thing'. Sure !" Esgol was starting to explode. "Not the weirdest thing. Yeah ! I usually see pan-dimensional entities that casually tell me to go to the center of the earth ! Just a normal thing !
-Esgol, please-"
-Please what ! I'm just... I'm tired of all this ! None of this makes sense ! Your non-euclidian space, the station, this hallway, Aria, and now this ? I'm just ! I'm so goddamn tired !"
A blip. They all checked their devices.
>>SBT: cmon esgol don't be so mad. at least you can move around !
>>CHM: HOW CAN YOU HEAR US
>>CHM: DOES NOTHING MAKE SENSE ANYMORE
>>CHM: IS THIS A NIGHTMARE
>>CHM: CAN I WAKE UP ALREADY
>>FLG: Esgol, we're all in this together. we shouldn't be getting so angry at each other
>>CHM: STOP
>>SBT: esgol
>>CHM: STOP ALL OF YOU
>>SBT: esgol please
Esgol ran ahead. The group followed. As they rushed ahead, they could feel the curvature of the hallway. And soon, they could no longer advance. The slope was very harsh, around 45 degrees. They had to jump from piece of furniture to piece of furniture, as it seems they were not affected by gravity, as if screwed in place.
Then, Feaser looked back. He couldn't see Devan. It was just him and Yedor.
Feaser stopped Yedor. "Where's Devan ? They were right behind us...
-Uh, uhm
-Did they go back or something ?
-Feaser... I don't think we should try to look for them.
-Huh ?
-We should... we should do as the Dreambeast said... and continue.
-Oh. Ok, then. Maybe we'll catch up to Esgol."
They continued in silence. After a short distance, the environment had begun to morph again. The furniture was fusing with the walls, forming a sort of giant staircase in the now near vertical shaft. Slowly, as they descneded, the walls were shifting to a uniform grey. Yedor touched one, confirming it was concrete. The furniture itself was looking more and more like concrete blocks.
After a very short time, they were in a staircase. Metal steps coming out of the walls bridged the way between the concrete blocks. When looking in the center of the well by peering over the edge, only a bottomless abyss revealed itself. From time to time, a passage way opened up on the side of the well. Sometimes above a concrete block, sometimes its doorway opened in mid-air.
As they were passing one of the corridors, they heard a voice. A man's voice. "Hello ? Is there anyone ?"
Yedor was almost ready to pass without looking, but Feaser stopped her. "Hi ? Do you need help ?
-Oh ! Not at all ! I heard footsteps and called out ! It's been a long time since I've seen anyone."
The owner of the voice exited from the darkness. It was a man, around 50 years old. His short curly hair was fading from ginger to grey, and his round face invited conviviality. He was dressed in a black robe, that of a priest.
"Hello, I'm father Brend of Criggion. I woke up in this... facility a bit ago. Do you know where we are ?
-Oh ! No idea, no. I'm Feaser Dertar, and this is Yedor Asdaf. We awoke here yesterday," Feaser answered immediately.
"Feaser, we have to go.
-... You're right. Father, would it bother you to come with us ?
-Not at all ! I would be delighted to have some company."
❉
And so, they began to make their way down. Along the road, Brend talked with Feaser. Eventually, Feaser told him about the Dreambeast, and their task to go to the center of the earth.
At first Brend was reluctant, but he eventually agreed, saying it was a "wonderful idea", and that he would come along all the way. He tried a few times to talk to Yedor, but she wasn't very verbose.
In fact, she was a bit scared. All in all, Brend excluded, she had met three other people, who had all awoken at the same time as her. But now, a fourth one arrived, having just woken up, a day after everyone ? It was suspicious.
After a few hours of going down, the environment had changed a few times. For now, wooden planks lined the walls, and a smooth white carpet covered the concrete blocks. They decided to stop here for the night.
>>CRC: hi aria
>>SBT: hi yedor !
>>CRC: can u fnd wR i am on th map ? i shld be wth feaser
>>SBT: hold on gimme a sec...
>>SBT: yeah, got you !
>>CRC: do u see any1 else near us
>>SBT: no, devan and esgol arent showing up at all.
>>CRC: hm. thx. good night
>>SBT: you're welcome ! have a good night too.
All around, blank concrete walls blocked the view. There was no decor other than the bleak neon lights and the wires that powered them, and the dark stains of humidity.
All around, blank concrete walls blocked the view. There was no decor other than the bleak neon lights and the wires that powered them, and the dark stains of humidity.
Esgol was shaking. The hum of the neons were interrupted rhythmically by her strained breath. She looked around. She had forgotten where she came from.
Then, she heard a sound. A footstep. She turned around quickly, though she didn't know where the steps had came from. And then, in the corner of her eye...
She screamed at the pale figure, and ran away.
Wings of light sprung around Devan, forming rings, and with that they rushed forward. Esgol, still running, and only saw a figure in grey surrounded by rings of light.
She fainted.
❉
Upon waking up, she stood up and looked around. She saw Devan, but this time managed to contain herself. "Oh god it was only you.
-...
-Do you know where we are ?
-...
-Or were Yedor and Feaser are ?
-...
-Right."
Devan started walking in a direction. "Wait wait wait !" Esgol rushed to their side. They continued together, in the damp and dark basement, with its unpercievable depths.
Then, Esgol noticed. Slowly, but surely, the ground was turning into a slope. And the more they walked, the more the depth seemed like not just a dark hallway, but like a deep abyss that drew her in, and from which she could never escape. Devan could sense her fear, but did not stop.
Although Esgol did not want to follow the dreambeast's instruction, Devan did.
"Hold on a minute." Devan stopped walking, watching the gaping maw of concrete. "Hold on a minute."
Esgol bent forward, took a deep breath, then suddenly sprang up and screamed her lungs out.
"Ok. How do I say this... You want to get outside, right ?" No, not particularly. Nothing great awaited Devan outside. They shook their head. "Well, if you want to follow what that... thing said, you'd end up outside, right ?"
"Well, i'm, uhm, ready to help you with that. Yep ! I'm ready to change my aversion and help you complete the task it gave us. Til the very end !" Devan turned around and locked gaze with Esgol.
Knew it, she thought. "But, in exchange..." Devan's gaze narrowed. "In exchange... you have to do everything I say. Everything feasible at least." Devan turned away, thinking. "And I will do all I can to execute the beast's orders."
Slowly, Devan turned around, and extended a hand. And, confidently, grinning, Esgol shook it.
Yedor woke up, and found Feaser still asleep. Father Brend was sitting on the side of the platform they were on, his legs hanging in the void. He heard her stand up, and did as well.
"Ah, Yedor ! I hope you had a good night's worth of sleep.
-Right. Uhm...
-Seems our friend Feaser is still having that worth of sleep, eh ?" Yedor did not answer. A silence lingered on, when she finally spoke again, in a hesitant tone.
"Father... did you really... wake up here ?
-Well of course, you saw me go to sleep !
-No, I mean yesterday.
-What do you mean ?
-Something seems... off. We had met with two other people two days ago, before we got separated. All four of us had woken up at around the same time. But you woke a full day later, and quite far away from us.
-What are you getting at ?
-I... don't know."
Feaser shuffled in his sleep. They stopped their conversation and turned around to look at him. He woke up. "Good morning father, good morning Yedor," he said in a sleepy voice.
❉
They continued their descent. The comfortable interiors led way to a metallic scaffold and staircase. All around, thin metallic pillars stretched into a forest that extended far into a deep abyss, full of mist. Some yellow lamps illuminated parts of the scaffolding, crushing all color into a dark grey.
It was scarier than the previous area. The scaffolds creaked and swayed in the air, and the darkness envoleped all, only stabbed here and there by stark yellow swords. But at least they were on real stairs, and didn't have to jump from step to step.
While they were descending, Feaser and Brend continued to talk. Yedor wasn't paying much attention to their conversation, as she was busy talking to Aria on her phone, but from time to time the other two tried to include her in the conversation by asking her her opinion on something. She usually replied with a single word then went back to her phone.
Eventually she got fed up. "What do you think about sunny side down eggs, Yedor, aren't they a terrible thing ?
-Sure. But, more importantly. Feaser, are you really going to just... talk away to this man ?
-What do you mean ?
-We met him yesterday.
-Someone's getting jealous !" butted in Brend
-Shut up.
-Yedor ! That's no way to talk to someone. Excuse yourself.
-No. This man is suspicious. First of all, I've never heard of a place called Criggion.
-Oh, that's not too unexpected. Criggion is a small village in the United Kingdo-
-I've never heard of this United Kingdom either.
-What about it ? Maybe it's just a small country we've never heard of before.
-My father was a geographer. I've never heard of him talk about this country, and he talked about most.
-Still !
-And also, yesterday, I asked Aria if she had maps.
-Aria ?" Brend again.
-I'll explain later. Yedor, where are you going with that ?"
Yedor took a breath. "I aksed Aria if she had maps of the area we were in. After some searching, she found multiple. I asked her if these maps showed our position. She found two maps that did. On one, she could count four dots in total, on another only three. After some figuring out, we found out what they corresponded to. On the first map, it listed our positions themselves, and on the other, the position of the devices, which didn't include my phone.
"But, in both maps, Brend did not appear. In the map with four dots, it only showed two, one for me and one for you, and on the map with three dots, it only showed one; your device."
She let this sink in. Seeing Feaser's dumbfounded expression, she told her conclusion out loud.
"Brend doesn't appear on either maps.
-And ?
-Don't you find that suspicious ?"
Feaser turned to Brend. Immediately, the latter started talking. He spoke with a sad tone, like a dejected dog. "Well, if you're not comfortable around me, what choice do I have but leave ? I understand I'm not welcome with you, and won't try to force myself onto you both any longer." He turned to leave on a scaffold that ran into the darkness from where they were.
"Wait, father ! Yedor didn't mean it !
-Yes I did mean it. He's suspicious ! I don't feel safe around him ! at all times, I feel like he's going to attack us !
-You're being ridiculous, Yedor !
-Do you not realize how weird this all feels ? All of this situation ? And now he comes along ?
-No, I don't ! I find you weird and suspicious, to tell the truth.
-Are you serious ?
-If that's how you're going to be, I'm going to go with father Brend. You can stay here, alone, if he's so susicious."
And just like that, Feaser followed in Brend's footsteps.
>>CRC : esgol ! devan !
>>CRC : wr ar u ???
>>SBT : what's happening ? they're both far away from you.
>>CRC : fuck
Esgol was walking straight towards the abyss. They had been for quite a while now. Slowly, steps had emerged from the slope, making their descent easier. Devan was walking a few meters behind her. They were still somewhat cautious of Esgol, but seeing her go first towards the bottom painted her as more trustworthy.
She broke the silence. "Devan. Feaser and Yedor will probably try to contact us. No matter what they say, don't answer. We're alone in this. All they would try to do is use us. So, unless I tell you to, don't answer them." Devan nodded. They still didn't trust Esgol too much, but it was better to agree and say nothing.
"Anyway, we're going to be together a while. It would do us good to try to know each other a bit. So, where do you come from ? What's your story, I mean.
-...
-I'll tell you mine, and you tell me yours. Ok ?
-..."
Devan stayed silent. Esgol turned around, and saw them looking elsewhere, avoiding her gaze. "Ok, ok, I get it."
They were now in a metallic corridor, with pipes running up the length of the corridor, and a red light showering everything. The corridor was sloped, still downward, but metallic steps slowly emerged from the floor as they went down. They guided themselves down the steps with a metallic railing.
"I'll start, then. I was born in a family of politicians. Since a young age, I was raised with the prospect of having to eventually follow in these footsteps. I didn't want to. I was fascinated by chemistry and physics. I teached myself a lot of it, and was a brilliant student. I loved, and still love, learning how our world was constructed. How molecules influenced each other, how they interacted, how the forces shaped our reality.
"Of course, despite indulging in this, and secretely hoping to pursue a career on this path, I knew I would have to leave it behind. My family forced me to become a politician as well. I was a small politician. Eventually, I... made some mistakes. I thought I was being clever. I wasn't. And now... Well, here I am."
She let the silence linger on. The sound of steam as it leaked from pipes filled the silence, along with the sound of their footsteps on the cold metal. Devan stayed silent.
❉
Yedor was out of breath. She had just caught up to Feaser and Brend. "Oh, so you came," remarked Feaser. They were walking down a wooden staircase, black curtains framing the path.
"You know," said Yedor, "I thought a bit, and I think I'm just being unnecessarily cautious.
-You don't say." Feaser was understandably pissed at her.
-So, I think we should tell more about ourselves. Like, what we did before, where we come from, and all that."
Brend stayed silent. Yedor wasn't even sure he had noticed she was back. He was walking decidedly at the front, with Feaser following, then Yedor, still a bit behind. "Yeah, good idea !" finally answered Feaser.
"Okay, I'll start. I'm Yedor. I was born in a somewhat poor family. Since very early, my father left our house, and my mother raised me alone. I was fascinated by circles, but we didn't have money at all. I had to join the circle programming club at school to even get access to a computer.
"Evenutally, my mom fell ill from working so hard to provide for the both of us. I started to take small side jobs, while still saving up to go to university. I managed to get in, but my mom died in the hospital shortly after. I continued to work both my job and university at the same time, til I got my degree. I tried to find a job with that degree, but since I was from a poor background couldn't find any. To this day I am- sorry, was searching for one."
Feaser looked at her. He was somewhat surprised. "That's... very similar to my story. Maybe not as tragic, though.
"I was also born in a somewhat poor family. I loved drawing since I was a kid, and always dreamed of pursuing an artistic career. Sadly, my family couldn't afford to have me not work as soon as possible, so I had to leave that behind to work in a convenience store. I still do art from time to time, but I've given up on making it my job."
Yedor continued walking, finally catching up to Feaser. They started walking side by side, a few meters behind Brend. "Yeah, these are... somewhat similar tales," agreed Yedor. She looked at Brend, her plan working smoothly. "And you, Father ? What's your story ?"
He finally seemed to acknowledge her. "Ah, uhm, my story. Well, as I told you before, I come from a small town called Criggion. This town is mostly known for its church, so I ended up becoming a priest there."
Yedor side-eyed him suspiciously. "Uh-huh. You ended up becoming a priest because your town was known for its church ? How big is that church ?
-Oh, the town isn't that big, about 700 inhabitants. So the church isn't too big either. The church is just the most noteworthy thing about this town.
-What's the church called ?" asked Feaser enthusiastically
-It's called the Church of St Michael and All Angels.
-So... does every kid ends up in that church ? Is there really no other reason that you became a priest that there was a church in your town ?
-Oh, no, no. My family was poor, so it was a good place to put me in. I didn't bring any money home, but I didn't take up any either.
-I see, I see. And your parents ?
-Well, my father was... a priest as well, and my mother owned a small shop."
Yedor smirked. "So, you say your father was a priest, yet your family begrudgingly gave you up to the church ? And wouldn't the church give your father some kind of alimony, or at least some goods and foods to feed his family ?"
Brend stayed silent. He didn't try to answer. Yedor felt suddenly afraid of the man. A shiver ran down her spine, as she thought his shadow was growing among the flimsy lighting, enveloping all, devouring the world.
"Whatever justification I give, You just won't ever be satisfied, will you ?" He turned to Yedor, his face engulfed in shadows. Only his eye stood out, casting an accusatory glare to Yedor. "Well, I guess I won't give any, then."
Everything happened very quickly. Brend turned around, and ran towards Feaser. Yedor noticed than even when exposed to linght, his face remained in the shadows. He picked Feaser up, and ran through a curtain, tearing it apart. He rushed down a hidden passage.
Yedor was quick to pull herself together, and ran behind him.
Walls rushed past her face, enclosing her sight onto her target. She was running as fast as she could, but Brend was running faster still. Running ? She wasn't quite sure. Whenever she caught a glimpse of him, his black robe covered his whole body like a hole in reality. He seemed to simply... move. Not run, glide, fly, float, or anything like that. Simply moving in the purest definition of the word. Or rather, instead of him moving, it was as if the whole world was rushing past him, while he was perfectly still.
She caught a glimpse of where she was. It was a long hallway, made of large and smooth, geometrically perfect blocks of black stone. The blocks, of different sizes, jutted out here and there, making her run more difficult. This wasn't the case for Brend. She wasn't even sure of that name.
He took a sudden turn to the left, too sudden and too perfect to be a real movement. Almost crashing into the opposite wall, Yedor followed. She saw an opening to a large room up ahead. Quickly, she started typing a circle.
She arrived in the room. It was a great square hall, with a tall ceiling. Not so tall that she couldn't see it, though. She immediately launched her circle. Black monoliths appeared on the multiple passages that led out of the hall, trapping the three of them in the cube.
"Playing your little games again, eh ?
-I'm just... Huff... tired of running, that's all... Huff...
-Right, right. Sorry about this quick jog, but isn't it the best way to get the blood pumping ?"
Brend considered Yedor, still catching her breath from the run. He was still carrying Feaser around, who had been knocked unconscious at some point. "I've been wondering, though. Yedor, why are you so suspicious of me ?"
His voice sounded empty. It sounded like it wasn't someone speaking words, but rather something inhuman making sounds that were similar to words. Yedor looked him in the eyes. His face was empty, completely relaxed, with not a shred of emotion behind it. His eyes were empty.
"You can stop the act." She stood up straight. "And you can gently put Feaser down.
-Can I now ? I wouldn't want to hurt him."
An image flashed in Yedor's head. Feaser smashed on the floor, painting it red.
Brend Smiled at her. "How about we negociate ? The way I see it, it would be in our best interest to work together.
-No. Put him down.
-Are you sure ?
-I've dealt with people like you before. You don't scare me. Put him down on the floor.
-But we both have the same interest ! We both want the same thing. Don't you want to get to the earth's core before Devan and Esgol get there ?"
Neither she nor Feaseer had ever said these names. "No. But, it's in your best interest to do what I say."
She showed the so far incomplete circle that was currently on the phone's display. Brend took a step back.
"That would be a very rash thing to do. Do you really want to hurt Feaser ? Is that really what you want ?
-No. But I want you gone more than anything.
-You won't do it. You don't know what you're doing.
-...
-You probably typed this by mistake. I'm sure there's an error somewhere."
How many times had she heard that ? She entered the final character.
❉
Far, far ahead, beyond the ceiling, a small red star sparkled. Yedor looked upon it. She knew the circle was correct. She had verified again and again. Brend looked at the star. His face was still as relaxed as before, and a placid wmile was forming.
"Yedor, Yedor, dispel this circle. Remove that rune. Yedor, Yedor." His voice was calmer than before. It was somewhat... abstract. As if it was breaking down. "Put him down," Yedor answered.
"You know I can't do that." The star grew brighter and brighter, its red glow distinguishing itself into a crimson halo. Yedor looked at Brend again. She locked gazes with him. "Put him down."
Brend was still calm. As calm as ever. "I can't do that. You know I can't." The room was bathed in the intense red glow of the star. It was now clearly a sphere, and no longer just a single pinprick. "Put him down."
"I can't. I can't can't I can't." His voice was slowler and slower. The smile he harbored on his face was wide, cutting a line from ear to ear. It was a toothless smile, one like a proud teacher evaluating with joy the work of his student. The glare for of the star was strong. Yedor had to close her eyelids more and more to shield her eyes. The star took up almost the entire sky, and she was sweating under the intense heat it released.
"Put him down."
❉
Esgol was walking ahead. She had given up hopes of a conversation. She looked to the side into a sideroom, and saw two charred figures onto the black floor. She rushed in.
Esgol had been opposed to bringing the unconscious Yedor qnd Feaser with them, but Devan insisted. Yedor was on Esgol's back, and Feaser in Devan's. They were currently going down a creaky wooden staircase. It was solid enough for now, just inconvenient.
Occasionally, Devan would stop and use psychic healing abilities on the two of them. Thanks to that, they would have less scars than they would otherwise.
❉
The staircase had widened, and now they could walk side by side. The walls were covered in tapestry, all in black, red, and gold, depicting scenes of nature and forests. If they looked inward the square spiral, they could see the well of the staircase stretching down. But it wasn't infinite. Far, far below, they could guess a floor- a final one, hopefully.
Seeing this, Devan started to slowly speed up, and had to wait from time to time for Esgol to catch up.
Feaser stirred. Devan stopped, and lay him on the ground. Slowly, he woke up, painfully opened his eyes. Esgol lay Yedor down next to him.
"Where... is Brend ?" Esgol and Devan looked at him puzzled. "Who ?
-..."
He turned his head, and looked over Yedor. "What happened to us ?"
Despite Devan's healing, her face was still burnt. Some charred bits of flesh stood out, creating grimy dark black and dark red mountain ranges across her face. Her mouth was slightly open, her breathing unsteady. The rest of her face was dotted with aimless stripes, congealing into each other, forming masses molded in an amorphous non-shape.
Slowly, with both his hands, he touched his face, recoiling when his fingers passed over a sensitive area. He felt the bumps of his own face, passed it over, then, still as slow as before, looked at his own hands.
"What... happened to us ??" He repeated his earlier question, this time with horror in his voice. Yedor stirred next to him. He turned to look at her, scared.
She woke up. She looked at Feaser, and sighed of relief. "You're fine... thank god.
-Yedor, what happened ?
-Brend... took you. He ran away. I managed to corner him, and then used a circle to engulf the room in flames... It was the first thing I thought of...
-And Brend ?
-Brend... Esgol... was there anyone when you found us ?"
Devan shook their head before Esgol could answer. "Yeah, you were alone in there. Who's this Brend guy ?
-He came to us... He was friendly to me... but I think his goal was to stop us..."
Esgol looked uneasy. "Well, now that you're feeling fine, can you walk ?" Feaser rose on his elbows, then slowly sat on his knees, then, helped by Devan, put a foot on the ground, and stood up. He took a few steps. "I should be fine..."
Yedor tried the same, but didn't even manage to get on her elbows. Her burn had been more severe than Feaser's.
"Well, we'll uh, we'll let you recover here, and we're going to go scout ahead some more," said Esgol, tentatively. "Good for you ?"
Devan shook their head. "We can't let the injured behind," they said. They crouched down in front of Yedor, who climbed on their back. "I'm sorry for having you carry me..." Devan shook their head, and the whole group started going down, slower than before.
❉
After an hour or so, they arrived on the bottom floor. In front of them, a great black door was standing. Devan put Yedor on the floor, and pushed it open with Esgol.
Behind it, a bridge of smooth stone extended over emptiness. They went on, and found that the bridge was linked to a circular platform. They looked around them, and saw that the space they were in was a giant spherical cavity, with the round platform in the middle. Countless other bridges went from the platform to other doors embedded in the cavity.
They advanced to the center. A small park lay innocently in the center of the earth, with a fountain in the middle, surrounded by benches, and a few plots of grass, flowers, as well as two trees.
On one side of the platform, constantly opposite to where they were, a black wall rose. On the wall, a strange relief had been carved, shaping out a creature of indeterminate shape engulfing and devouring stars.
Feaser apprached the carving. He could see what it represented, but not why it was here. In fact, the more he looked at the greenery, the more it felt... strange. At any moment he expected to be plastic, to be fake. If the place he woke up in a few days ago seemed fake, this place was just as much.
Then, a bright light shone. It engulfed everything, made everything go black, shrouding it in a luminous night, like a brilliant and shining veil of darkness.
A voice came forth, and slowly the light receded. "I am ANGEL-1-1-0-1-0. I am a dreambeast. You have done well to arrive at this place. Your navigation of this space, while hindered at some points, has been overall smooth and effective."
Through the light, they could see a shadow of light, one that looked like a great and elegant chandelier. "Your paths will split up for now. Accompanied by a dreambeast, each of you will have to collect a memorabilia from a dead world. You will receive explanations during your travel."
The light receded completely. The only light was the warm yellow light that filled the park, just as before. In four directions, four of the doors opened.
Yedor tried to stand up, and barely managed it. "I... I think I'll be fine. We'd better follow what they say...
-No way. No fucking way I'm doing anything the dreambeasts say."
Everyone turned to Esgol. "I mean- why ? Why would we have to do this ?
-They said they'd explain while we went.
-And ? AND ? Besides, what do they mean ? What do they mean by 'memorabilia from a dead world ?'
-So what are you going to do ?"
And like that, they all turned their backs and each went to one of the doors. "See you later then." "See ya" "Yeah."
They all exchanged a short goodbye, then went through a door.
Yedor was advancing in the dark corridor. The door slammed behind her. Slowly, due to her injuries, she walked, helping herself on the walls. She felt the texture of wood on her hands. Varnished wood, running up to half the height of the wall. Then, wallpaper.
She stopped. Just in front of her, on the ground a circle with runes around it shone in a white light. She crouched down to decipher it. "It will heal your wounds." A familiar voice had come from behind. After reading the central runes, she agreed and stepped in.
The circle disappeared. She wasn't fully healed- her hands still had these formless crescents- but at least she could walk faster.
She turned around, and saw the shining white glyph they had seen earlier. "Sigil... 11 00 1 ?
-Almost. SIGIL-11-10-01. Just SIGIL will be fine.
-Right..."
She walked, from time to time turning her head, to see that the unreal symbol followed. She felt pushed to start a conversation.
"I was wondering... what is a dreambeast ?
-That is a difficult question to answer. Not because I don't know, but because I will have to formulate an understandable answer.
-Try anyway."
"A dreambeast is, simply put, a contradictory being. We are beings that originate in dreams, and in our center we bear a contradiction."
A pause.
"Did you know that the only eternal thing, in all of the universes, in all of the worlds, is conflict ?"
Yedor turned to look at SIGIL. "What do you mean ?
-Whenever something is stricken by conflict, if this conflict does not destroy it, it becomes eternal. Dreambeasts bear an eternal conflict due to their very nature. As long as we do not resolve that contradiction, we are endless beings."
Another pause.
"Doesn't everyone -at least almost everyone- have constant internal conflict ?
-A fair argument. The difference is in our physicality. You, and this 'everyone' you speak of, are beings that are rooted in this world. You are real, and know it, and you take conscience of the physicality of both you and your surroundings.
"However, in a dream, that is not the case. At any point, a dream can, and will end. In a way, dreams are like stage plays. Every actor knows they only exist for the play, to play the role they play, and for nothing else. However, if an actor notices a contradiction within themselves, and within their role, and so on... They can exit the stage, transcend it."
Light bulbs had started to appear in the ceiling lamps. In their dim light, Yedor dully noticed the floor was carpeted in grey.
"But... About the physicality of the universe... I'm noticing discrepancies as well. Our world doesn't seem so real anymore.
-I will explain.
Feaser had been talking with the silhouette for some bit. The silhouette, which he called WIRES, was made of mechanical parts and wires bundled into a vaguely humanoid shape. Their words had been echoing on the blue and white mosaic that covered the walls, floor, and ceiling. The air was humid.
"Every universe is a dream," declared the silhouette. "Every world finds its origin in dreams.
"Whenever you dream, you create a universe. A temporary and unstable one, but a universe nonetheless.
-So how does a dream become... long-lasting and stable, then ?
-It separates.
"A dream no longer attached to its dreamer, but which still exists, becomes a full-fledged universe. It becomes able to sustain itself."
On the floor, about 5 centimeter away from each wall and parrallel to them, a metallic grating ran the length of the hallway. The air started smelling of soap and cleanliness.
"I think I get it. But, wouldn't every universe be absurd and weird if they were dreams ?
-Yes. They would be. Of course, after some time, the chaos would rule itself out, and more concrete rules would establish themselves. However, it is possible to create a universe from scratch, then manipulate some of its properties to accelerate that process of rule establishment."
Beyond the grating, Feaser could see water flowing towards where they came. Some islands of foam and bubbles were lazily drifting on the stream.
"So which one is this universe ?
-It is difficult to tell. This world has some quite concrete rules, but at the same time, these rules can be bent.
-Like they are right now ?
-No, that is something else, which we will get to in due time. What I mean is that we have been observing this universe for some time, now, nearly since its creation. The creators of this world, who are now extinct, seemed to have made a point in not modifying this universe. They still made it into a circle, and then into a unique rune, Khanda, but did not necessarily accelerate the establishing of rules."
"So what does it mean ?
-Basically, its as if water was frozen in a wave, and not at rest. The rules are unmoving, but unstable. They beget chaos. Over long periods of time, the ice slowly melts and solidifies into a more stable shape, but this will take an enormous amount of time.
"It's quite likely that the rules of this world will be ever shifting and ever changing. An interesting thing is that your creators made another mistake. They populated this world, and primed it for war and conflict.
-Huh.
-We didn't know them well, but we're sure that they escaped in this world to avoid war. They were somewhat cowardly, but aren't the only ones to do that. What they didn't understand, is that violence is inescapable.
"Huh... Oh, wait you also said that the current state of the world was... special, even compared to its transcience.
-Right..."
Devan had been walking in a brigly lit corridor. A light grey linoleum floor was shining under the bright lamps, and they had been encased by two white walls with a single blue green horizontal stripe.
Just in front of them was the lamp that had greeted them in the park at the center of the earth. The two had been talking together while walking.
"As I said earlier, this world is currently in an unusual state. This state was, in a way, induced by us, dreambeasts. All of the space has been divided and subdivided into corridors and rooms, fragmenting reality into a gargantuan castle of infinite shape.
-Hm..."
Devan hadn't been very responsive, which somewhat unnerved ANGEL. They kept on talking.
"This division is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's a good thing in that it can be reverted, and serves to slow down and prevent the destruction of all things. It's a bad thing in that it enables the destruction of all things." Another pause from Devan. "So, the memorabilia you're on your way to collecting is there to prevent that destruction. We're going to remake this world."
"Why... don't you collect the memorabilia yourself ?
-Ah ! This is because us dreambeasts cannot directly interfere with the fate of a world. We can rather act as muses or guides, but we cannot do things ourselves."
"Why ?" Maybe ANGEL prefered it when Devan didn't talk. "Well, the main... objective we have, is to stop the cycle of war and destruction in a universe. I really shouldn't be saying this, but... yeah. And you can't enforce this sort of things on people. You can, however, teach them, and guide them towards this goal."
Doors started appearing on the walls. They were fake wooden doors, and had an opening planned for a window, which wasn't yet here. Beyond the doors, there was only wall, though.
"So, why's this world about to be destroyed ?"
Esgol had been quickly walking in the corridor, followed despite her best efforts by a geometrical structure of fire and light. They were in a corridor of dark marble with a high ceiling, and a few potted plants here and there.
"Why the destruction ? Simple. Your universe is under the attack of an entity we call the dreamdevourer. We don't... quite know what it is. But, it goes from universe to universe and destroys them.
"It first puts them in this state, kind of like a spider sending gastric acid in a prey, and then it truly breaks this world. For now, though, we can still prevent this."
Esgol accelerated her steps.
"This is thanks to a very old dreambeast, called KNIGHT-0. A very, very long time ago, as in a time to long to understand, the KNIGHT managed to enter a universe that was being eaten, and then inscribed a circle onto the very reality of the dreamdevourer. This circle, a huge, five part circle, is a seal that slows down the dreamdevourer and enables its banishment.
"However, this circle is held by four memorabilia that the KNIGHT carried from the dream that made them. These are the four memorabilia you're going to collect."
Esgol accelerated again. FLAME followed without problem.
"Once the dreamdevourer has been banished, you will be given an opportunity to rebuild this world. Afterall, it won't get back to normal by itself."
Hearing this, Esgol slowed down a little. Still, she turned around and scremed "WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS ?? WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME ???"
"Herein lies the first memorabilia," declared SIGIL-11-10-01. The hallway Yedor had been following was opening up into a great cavity, taller than any skyscraper she had seen before. She craned her neck upward, and could not even see the ceiling of the great four-sided hollow, only its slick concrete walls, losing themselves in the impossible clouds that had form in this fake sky.
The dreambeast pointed forward, to the middle of the cavity. Yedor set off, in the sand that filled this towering desert. In the distance, she could see a light.
When finally they arrived in front of the warm glow, Yedor saw it was an old brick building, its dark facade covered in soot from an extinct city. The windows showed only darkness, with only two lamps on either side of the entrance emitting light.
The two of them entered.
❉
The blue-grey carpet on the floor was thick with dust. Yellowed wallpaper covered the wall, embalming the air with a smell of a forlorn time. Framed pictures of train stations closed factories lined the walls, with here and there some installations of glass panels showing the soil makeup and ore richness of multiple areas.
And, enshrouding all of that, a soft darkness like a smoky wimper, carressing Yedor's face with a melencholic gentleness.
She went up the central stairs, paying very little attention to the exhibits. She had seen them already, years ago, when she was a child. She had looked with joy at the machines of the past, at the mysteries that lay under the land. Now, she did not particularly care for them.
She reached a great double door. With little effort, she pushed it open. These were the collections of the museum, and in front of her, hundreds of shelves stratched out, like a great library, and on each shelf, a hundred artefacts lay, waiting patiently for the moment they could be relevant again. She wandered through the shelves.
She reached a great double door. With little effort, she pushed it open. These were the collections of the museum, and in front of her, hundreds of shelves stratched out, like a great library, and on each shelf, a hundred artefacts lay, waiting patiently for the moment they could be relevant again. She wandered through the shelves.
"The memorabilia is here, in this room.
-I can feel it. What is the memorabilia ?
-A seed bank."
She continued her search. Though she knew what she was looking for, she didn't have a goal, simply strolling through the bookless library.
Eventually, she reached on a shelf. She took a rectangular object, a frame with a glass cover. Beneath the glass, a small cavity where small seeds laid, aligned, all with their small label.
She exited the museum, and returned to the garden.
Feaser and WIRES-1-0-1 exited the corridor. In front of them, a nearly endless field of bathtubs and orange tiling stretched out under a foamy night sky. Warm lights envelopped the floor, leaving the sky free in its darkness. Steamed floated in the air, carried by a soap scented wind.
Immediately, Feaser remembered how dirty he felt. "Do you mind if I..." "No, not at all."
❉
The water was warm. Feaser had to try his hardest not to fall asleep in the soothing bath. WIRES was nearby, in speaking range but not in sight.
"The existence of this place itself is... Huh. You know ?
-Not really.
-It's just... we've never really seen even a piece of furniture. Then bam, suddenly an entire field of bathtubs.
-In that sense, it is pretty interesting.
-Man...
-Yes ?
-I still can't believe all that."
A pause. Feaser shifted to face where WIRES was.
"Dreams aren't made to be believed.
-Still.
-But when thinking that all your life was a dream... I can see why you say that."
Feaser looked at the sky. He sighed.
❉
They set out once again, Feaser could sense WIRES' nervousness at the idea of having to search this entire place for the memorabilia, but Feaser told them not to worry.
"I can sense... something. What's the memorabilia like ?
-It's a small cellphone. It contains a diary from another world."
And with that, Feaser advanced in a direction, determined. He had to be careful not to slip, though, and often WIRES had to help him stay steady. After only a few minutes of walking, Feaser found the cellphone lying unceremoniously on the ground.
He picked it up, turned it on, and read through the diary.
"▓▓/▓▓ - Monday.
Today starts as just another day. The hole in the sky is stable, once again. Man this thing really scares the shit out of me. Everytime I look at it, I can't help but shiver. I know it's supposed to be a symbol of our success over the universe or something but I just can't in good faith not be scared of it. And everyone is... fine with it ? This huge dimensional tear hangs in our sky like a black sun at all points of the day, and no one bats an eye.
"▓▓/▓▓ - Wednesday.
Why are they still insisting on powering up the hole ? This morning's meeting was centered almost exclusively around the hole. Everyone wants to make it stronger, bigger, divert more resources into it... I don't know what got into the higher ups. One thing is certain, I'm even more scared.
"▓▓/▓▓ - Thursday.
It's starting. Or rather, it's ending. The stability of the hole is decreasing, little by little. Yesterday it was around 84%, today it's at 79%. This is bad. I need to leave. I tried to leave a resignation letter this morning, but my boss told me that they couldn't afford to let anyone go, that all efforts should go to the hall.
"▓▓/▓▓ - Friday.
I had a sudden urge to go look at the archives. I went there, but I definitely don't remember them being this disorganised. There's no order. Not anymore. Just piles and piles of documents, in no order whatsoever. After a lot of searching, I found what I wanted. I wanted to find a document proving me that at some point a sun shone in the sky, instead of this giant hole. I found many. I think I can place the appearance of the hole to 23 years ago. But, what's more interesting, is that I Found documents saying the hole didn't just appear, but that it was created.
"▓▓/▓▓ - Saturday.
Now it's ending. The hole has reached a critical unstability threshold. It already started to disintegrate the towers closest to it. I'm trying to leave as hard as I can, but no matter how many floors I go down, there are always more. These towers can't be all the universe. I refuse to believe it. As I watched the first towers fall, I could see everything. The flesh of those inside was distorted and teared apart by the gravity, then pelted with debris. In the stasis enforced by the hole, I could see their stretched out faces, full of fear, regret, and a pain bigger than the stars can hold. I don't want to end up there. I don't want to end up in this state, in a torture doomed to never end. But it's coming. At least, I know I won't feel that regret. At least, I will die knowing that I fought against this."
Finally, Devan and ANGEL-1-1-0-1-0 arrived in a hospital lobby. They left behind the liminal and stretched out threshold of the hallway, and arrived in a real place. "The memorabilia you're looking for is an offering. A bundle of golden wheat, to be precise."
Devan immediately started walking in a direction, as though they hadn't heard the dreambeast. ANGEL followed.
Down a staircase, continue in a hallway, turn left... Devan seemed to know their way. ANGEL noticed as well that the layout of the hospital... made sense. It wasn't the jumbled and nonsensical tangle of halls that you could find anywhere else. This was a real hospital, that had been transported nearly unscathed here. Only the people were missing.
Devan had stopped. In front of them, a door. The name next to it was blurred, but it was here. They entered. In hand, Devan held a writing tablet with a sheet of paper on it. They were used to this. The approached the bed.
Devan had stopped. In front of them, a door. The name next to it was blurred, but it was here. They entered. In hand, Devan held a writing tablet with a sheet of paper on it. They were used to this. The approached the bed.
❉
If the hospital felt like it was immobile in time, this room felt even more so. The whole room was awaiting in bated breath. Diagonal rays of sunlight drew stripes of gold on the floor, dust not even daring to dance in it, instead frozen in a shimmering constellation. The sheets on the empty bed were crumpled and tossed aside, like someone had pulled them out to stand. The sheets themselves were stark white, with not a stain, holding that unwilling shaped born of a few unthinking motions. On the nightstand, flowers held their form, unwilting, eternal, like beacons of light in this world of stopped time.
Devan's breathing was rhaspy. They walked up to the bed, and stopped at its end. ANGEL had not dared to even enter the room, afraid of getting stuck in the building as well, as an outsider of the representation.
Devan held a pen, and looked at the sheet of paper closer. With a trembling hand, they raised the pen. Then, shakily, they wrote a few words in red.
At once, the whole room seemed to exhale a breath held for years. The dust resumed its unseen dance, the sheets softened from their weight, and a flower let a petal fall.
On the bed, a gleaming bunch was catching the light.
Esgol was folded in half in the elevator, panting, trying to catch her breath. Next to her, FLAME-0-0 was standing still, trying to make itself small. Which, for a big ball of fire was somewhat hard to do. The elevator was going up. Up, up, and up, as if it would never stop, breaching the atmosphere and reaching the stars.
It wasn't, though, and after a few minutes of awkward and tense silence, the elevator reached a stop. The door opened with a chime. The numbers on the floor counter were still going up.
Esgol exited the elvator. In front of her, a gigantic hall stood. The floor, of black marble, held two rows of pillars, also of black marble, that stretched up to the ceiling and got lost in the grandeur. On the far wall, above an information desk that appeared meek in comparison, a mural of solid gold stood, depicting a man standing equal to god. From the mural to the elevator, a wide ret carpet lined with gold was extended. By looking above, Esgol could see the light of FLAME-0-0 reflecting and shimmering in a series of great chandeliers of crystal.
"This place... it... reminds me of somewhere." Esgol started to wander the hall, approaching the mural. FLAME-0-0 discreetely exited the elevator, but didn't seem to keen on advancing. Esgol had reached the mural and the desk. Some sheets of paper were strewn about on the desk, and she grabbed one. On it, although in the shape of paragraphs, undecipherable symbols were lined.
"I know ! This is what I imagined my grand-father's office was like as a kid..." FLAME-0-0 approached, finally. "The memorabilia... the memorabilia that should be here is a gun."
Esgol seemingly didn't hear them, and went around the desk, to a door in the back. She opened it, and went through.
❉
Behind it, a dark hallway. It seemed to stretched, black and grimy, seemingly unending. FLAME-0-0 tried to reach Esgol, but she was far down the hallway and they couldn't see her. They rushed.
"Don't come," a voice ahead ordered. "I don't... particularly care about this world. Maybe this is selfish of me. But at the same time... When did this world care about me ? When did it do anything to me except take my dreams, crumple them, and then throw me in the mud ? Everytime I tried to do something, it felt as if everything was against me.
"So can you really blame me for wanting to let the world die ?"
❉
FLAME-0-0 was silent. They couldn't respond to that. "But, I'll bite. I'll accept to bring your memorabilia. I'll accept to seal the dreamdevourer again. Sure. After all, what's the worse that could happen ?"
Devan had gotten back first. Then Esgol, and Yedor shortly after. Feaser was the last one. They basked in the fake light of the garden, enjoying these last few moments of calm. Shortly after Feaser, the dreambeasts all arrived.
Feaser was stretching, as if preparing to do sports. Esgol was sitting on a bench, silent. Devan was under a tree, somewhat to the side, but in such a way that they could see everyone. And Yedor was looking at the dark mural of the world eating creature.
None were talking, or exchanging more than a simple glance. None could think of something to say, of a way to break the tension. Finally, SIGIL-11-10-01 spoke.
"Ahem. Now that all the memorabilia have been collected... please gather near the mural. Thank you. I will open the gate to the seal. Does anyone have any question ?
-Yes, said Yedor, what are we supposed to actually do ?
-Ah, a pertinent question. When you find the seal, form a ring around it and hold out your memorabilia. They will gather by themselves and complete the ring. Anyone else ?"
Denoting the silence, the dreambeast opened the door. The mural split apart, and its shadow covered the whole garden.
Far away, in the distance, they could see a door, slightly ajar, shedding a single blade of light.
They entered it.
The sea. A deep ocean, its blue alone enough to make her suffocate. Yedor was suspended amidst the unmoving flows, feeling her hair wave about in the still currents. High, high above, a small circle withstood the role of sun. Deep below, a dark abyss, its blue veering more and more to a deep, undeniable black.
She could feel herself drowning. She could feel the water in her lungs, tearing her apart, blocking her breath, eating her life. She was drifting down, in this blue void, slowly entering the maw. Up above, the dot of the sun became fainter and fainter.
There was no hope. All hope had left her, once again. How many times had she been here ? How many times had the abyss eaten her alive, filling her chest with water, dragging her to the depth of despair ? She felt her mind drift, as it did everytime she came. "Welcome back," said a voice, "I'm home," she answered.
She thought of the past. Of her mother. She thought of how she had to fight to get her diploma, and then how that victory was rendered moot by the death of her mother. She thought of the walks she'd take with her mother as a child, about how she would play, and how beautiful her mother was when she smiled. She thought of the rare friends she had made.
She thought of waking up in that room, a few days ago. Of meeting the others. Of how fearful she had been of them at the time, but how she wanted to see them now. She thought about how the world before was over forever.
She wanted to see anyone now. Even if they somehow resealed the dream devourer and remade the world, the world before would be gone. Forever. She thought about how many times she had had things taken from her, forever, and about how even now... how even now she felt nothing.
Everything had been taken from her, but she didn't have anything that could be taken.
She closed her eyes. The darkness came to meet her, hold her, to wrap itself around her. A final nail in her coffin of water.
❉
And then, in the stillness of the ocean floor, something moved. Never before had anything moved in this place. This was not a place of motion, but one of dead silence. And it moved again. She opened her eyes, slightly. She could feel the sting of saltwater on her nude eyeballs.
A hand, contrasting with the night around, a hand that was reaching towards her. She had been here, in this domain, before. Multiple times. But how did she get out ? She fought. She fought the world if she had to, and she knew she had to do it. She reached out.
❉
The sunlight was blinding. She was in a desert, sopping wet, and someone was dragging her by the hand. "We have to hurry !" She recognized that voice. It was Feaser. They were running in the desert, the sun scorching them and bleaching their hair.
They were running in a forest, a humid jungle where they jumped above trunks and ducked below branches.
They were running in a steppe, the flat landscape like a mirror to the beauty of the sky.
In a tundra, with cold winds that felt like a knife in their guts.
They ran, and ran, and ran, in all of these places they had never been to before, in all of these realms of nature they had never set foot in, but that all felt so incredibly familiar.
Trees like black pillars rushing past, streams like blue strands rushing past, clouds like white wool rushing past. They knew this. They knew where they were.
And, eventually, they reached it. They reached their goal.
❉
Above, clouds. Clouds in grey, in purple, in blue, in orange, in pink. Below, clouds. Clouds in white, gold, and silver. Far, far away, towers, lost in the cloud, donning the same vestments as them, dominating the skyline.
They were on the rooftop of a tower. Finally outside, a fresh breeze greeted them. On the horizon, the golden light of the rising sun weaved strands of light in the edge of the towers.
On the floor, panting, Esgol and Devan lay as well.
High above, in the sky, a structure. It decended. It was a large crystal, like a huge piece of glass, and in it, the five part circle of the seal.
❉
They formed a circle around it, and held out their memorabilia. But before anything could happen...
The crystal shot upward. They all regained a more natural stance, thinking they had been successful. Then, amidst the sighs of relief, SIGIL-11-10-01's voice rang. "Watch out ! The seal hasn't been redone. The vessel is escaping !"
They all jumped to their feet, and watched the crystal above. It hung, stationary, high in the air. Then, it shot abruptly into the sea of clouds, disappearing.
"This is bad," continued SIGIL, "this sea is made up of all the souls of humanity. If it's rushing in there-"
They had been cut off by a great sound, like a thousand voices muttering a prayer. Then, the crystal emerged from the clouds, clad in a huge, transluscent orb, made of whirling flames and crying mouths. The group readied themselves.
❉
But what could they do ? Where they powerless against the combined will of every human ? They tried to stand up, they tried to fight, but, again and again, without the orb so much as doing anything, they fell.
And eventually... They could no longer stand up. Feaser tried to look upward, but a stirring in the mass sent him flying back. Yedor tried to reach her phone, to finish typing a circle, but the phone was sent flying into the clouds.
They had been rendered powerless. Their long fight, in which they had stood up again and again, and had always been blown away, was over, ending with their loss.
But, Devan stood up. They were unaffected by the whirling mass. "ANGEL," they began, "You told me of how dreambeasts came to be. I have found a contradiction.
"Why, if the world keeps beating me up again and again, why... Why do I still care so much about it ? Why don't I hate it and curse it with all my being ?"
Even the orb above stopped its churning. "This is a fight we can't win alone. This is a fight in which we have to unite together, to rally. Only then will we be able to create a meaningful change." They extended a clawed hand, donned in black and blue, to the rest of the group. And everyone took it.
❉
They all rose in the air, and as the crystal fled, they followed, preparing their formation. They reached it, slowly, closing in on it, and when they did, they all reached out their memorabilia towards it. The crystal, and the four people around them, all stopped.A great light came from the four artefacts the were holding.
Next thing they knew, they were back on the rooftop. The sea of clouds dissipated, showing emptiness below, in which the towers surged from.
A transluscent figure stood in the middle of them. It was a blue cat, standing on its hind legs, with a purple coat and a red scarf that lost itself in the wind. A voice from millenias in the past spoke.
"I am KNIGHT-0, the first dreambeast. I am the bearer of the Hearth of Revolution, although these words no longer mean anything. Following a long ritual, I have created the seal you have restored. However, this seal is imperfect. What is lost can never be regained, but can only be rebuilt. One of you, and I give you the discretion of choice, will bear the role of god and guardian of this new, rebuilt world. Do not think this is an easy task. Do not think you can take advantage of this position. Whoever accepts this task, will come into this circle. Goodbye."
And then, the figure disappeared. In its stead, a five-part circle of light appeared on the ground.
They all stood in silence. Looking furtively at each other, then at the circle. None dared move, in an agreed deterrence. Then, Esgol relaxed her posture.
"Devan... Do you remember that promise we made ?"
Silently, Devan nodded.
"It's time to uphold your end of the bargain. I will take this role." And she started to advance towards the circle. Feaser tried to step forward, but after exchanging galnces with Devan, he stopped. Esgold was nearly in the circle.
All their devices rang. A voice spoke up from nowhere. "Stop now, all of you !
"It's me, Aria. I just... this keeps happening. Not even minutes ago, you were all working together. But now, suddenly, you're all trying to seize power ? Don't make me laugh. I'm tired of this. Again, and again, and again, I have seen people destroy each other.
"I have seen a senile old man doom all of humanity for a pointless dead dream. I have seen the beasts of the night murder each other to extinction. I have seen the beasts of the day destroy each other because of their greed and arrogance. I have seen their people, after overthrowing the tyrants, get mercilessly sweeped by something outside of everything.
"I am tired. I am incredibly tired, of everything. Of seeing those I love get swept away, killing each other for no reason. Using excuses such as doing it for the future, or for the past.
"So, I will make a world where only the present exists."
Everyone looked in the air. ANGEL-1-1-0-1-0 came down, and when it disappeared, Devan was gone.
"And how will you do that ? How will you enter the circle ?"
"One appeared in here. I have just now stepped inside it."
The circle on the ground started to fade. Esgol rushed over it, but it was already too late.
"And I will now say goodbye. I have a busy day ahead."