Anima, Ch.13: The Crossroads

[Anima, Ch.13: The Crossroads]
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--01-- [scene: Barri] <BGM: Whisper of Wind>
The ancient stone door, flanked by gargoyles, stood open before us.
Beyond the gateway, I could see nothing but deepest black.
A sense of dread overwhelms me.
"Um...after you," I whimpered.

--02-- <BGM: Whisper of Wind>
Devin looked at Vivian and I, seeming none too confident himself.
He steeled himself, then marched forward with all the bravado he could muster.
As he passed through the doorway, he vanished.


--03-- <BGM: Whisper of Wind>
"Whoa. Weird," he called out from beyond the gate.
Though lost from sight, I can hear his voice from beyond the dark portal, loud and clear,
as though he were only a few feet away.


--04-- <BGM: Whisper of Wind>
"Looks safe enough," he called out. "Come on in."
Seeming reassured, Vivian followed, vanishing through the impossible darkness of the ancient door.
It is as if no light can cross the threshold.


--05-- <BGM: Whisper of Wind>
"Wow," Vivian's voice calls out from the void before me.
I still hesitate.
"Meara? Come on," Devin calls to me.

I step closer to the gate. Just one more step, and....
--06-- <BGM: Whisper of Wind> {SFX: huge failure}
I can't do it.
I can't. I still remember.
I remember the void, the void I was trapped in as a disembodied spirit for untold centuries,
before I was brought to Erinn, saved from an endless nightmare.

--07-- <BGM: Whisper of Wind>
The void. The void that lies beyond death.
The void that denies light, denies life, denies memory, denies existence.
It stands before me. It waits. It hungers. I won't go back. I won't go back!


--08-- <BGM: Whisper of Wind>
"Meara, we don't have time for this," Vivian's voice calls out from the void beyond.
A green-sleeved arm reaches out from oblivion, and grabs my arm.
I scream as I'm dragged through the door!


--09-- <BGM: Death March>
Darkness swallows me; deep, but not complete.
Swirling patterns of luminous blue and red eldritch runes encircle a small platform,
defying the unconquerable darkness with their faint glow.


--10-- <BGM: Death March>
And this platform...is floating...in the void...
No. No. No. No no no nononononononoNO!
Beyond this little pocket of something, an endless nothing.
I feel emptiness closing in on me. It hungers!

--11-- <BGM: Death March>
I fell to my hands and knees. I can't feel the ground below me, as if it had no substance.
No. No. No. No. I can't be here. I can't be here again!
"Get me out of here," I shrieked, "please...!"


--12-- <BGM: Death March>
"Meara? Meara!"
"Meara, what's wrong?"
Their voices barely reach me, though they stand at my side.
I can't move my body. My vision swirls and all sensation fades away. Despair and darkness claim me.

--13-- [scene: Tir Chonaill?]
Wait, where is this? Daylight? Am I...being carried?
"Wh-where are we?" I sputter.
"Back with us now?" Devin asks. He's holding me in his arms.
I nod, still disoriented, as is usual when one faints.

--14-- <BGM: Bird Drifting Into Ruins>
"Luckily, you're lighter than you look. Can you stand?" he asked.
I nod again, and he sets me down on my feet. My balance holds, barely.
"You scared the hell out of me!" Vivian exclaimed.


--15-- <BGM: Bird Drifting Into Ruins>
"You had a panic attack or something, and fainted back in that...whatever that weird place was," she said.
"Devin had to carry you out, and we ended up...here."

Where is this, anyway?

--16-- <BGM: Bird Drifting Into Ruins>
"Sorry," I said meekly. "I...I'm...just terrified of places like that. Empty spaces."
I'd never told them of the circumstances of my advent into Erinn, and...where I'd been before that.



--17-- <BGM: Bird Drifting Into Ruins>
"Oh," Vivian said. "Uh, I...really shouldn't have yanked you in then, huh? Sorry..."
She turns her gaze downward.
"Why didn't you say something? We'd have helped you through it..."


--18-- <BGM: Bird Drifting Into Ruins>
Where is this? It looks like Tir Chonaill, but...abandoned?
Grass had overgrown the pathways. Bladed weeds sprung up everywhere.
The buildings are all boarded up; their wood is faded and rotting.


--19-- <BGM: Bird Drifting Into Ruins>
We were standing in front of what was the bank, in the normal world.
It too was boarded up. The sign out front was too faded to read.
The mailbox was coated thickly in rust.
No signs of life.

--20-- <BGM: Bird Drifting Into Ruins>
"Some paradise this is," Devin scoffed.
"What happened here? *This* is supposed to be Tir na Nog?" he asked, incredulously.

"Maybe I can explain," came an unfamiliar male voice.

--21--
I turned to where the voice came from. A young man had emerged from what would have been Duncan's house.
He walked awkwardly, leaning on a cane, barely able to stay on his feet.
We walked up to him.


--22-- <BGM: Leaning on a Cane>
(Dougal)
You're quite brave to come to a place like this.
I'm Dougal, the last human here, just a loser left behind to guard this ghost town.
It's been years since I've seen anyone else.


--23-- <BGM: Leaning on a Cane>
"What is this place?" Devin asked him. "Is this...Tir na Nog?"

Strange. This person looks a lot like how I think Chief Duncan might have looked in his youth.
They're even dressed similarly.

--24-- <BGM: Leaning on a Cane>
(Dougal)
What? The legendary paradise? This? Haha, no. If this was Tir Na Nog, the world where sickness
and death don't exist, why would I be crippled like this?



--25-- <BGM: Leaning on a Cane>
(Dougal)
This is just a world that's been vanquished by the Fomors. But since you're here,
feel free to look around. Who knows? You might find this place familiar.
I'd stay away from the graveyard, though.


--26-- <BGM: Leaning on a Cane>
"So...this isn't Tir na Nog, but a parallel world the Fomors conquered," I mused.
Had we been lied to? Were we being led into a trap as well? Or was this all a mistake?



--27-- <BGM: Leaning on a Cane>
(Dougal)
It seems so. If this really is a parallel world, it must have some sort of a connection to the real world.
However, I'm not sure which world is the 'real' one and which is the 'mirror' world.



--28-- <BGM: Leaning on a Cane>
"We came here to save the Goddess Morrighan," Vivian said. "Do you know where she might be held captive?"




--29-- <BGM: Leaning on a Cane>
(Dougal)
The Goddess, huh? Then search the dungeon in the cave up the road from here.
The last three people went there with the same goal in mind.
I never saw them again. Hope you fare better than they did.


--30--
"Wish us luck, then," Devin said.
Dougal chuckled to himself, sat down on the chair by the door, leaned back, put his hands
behind his head, and closed his eyes.
It seems he doesn't think much of us.

--31-- {SFX: failure}
With no better options, we headed out in that direction, Vivian leading the way.
There was a pack of...feral dogs of some kind guarding the path, but they fled from us.
Or so I thought they did...


--32-- <BGM: Formidable Adversary> {SFX: explosion}
A huge, horrifying, gray segmented worm-like creature erupted from the ground!
It immediately lunged at Vivian, gnashing at her with massive teeth.
I recoiled in shock, immediately charging Firebolt.


--33-- <BGM: Formidable Adversary>
As she screamed, the creature's hideous mouth clamped down on her left ankle, and it started shaking her
about like a rag doll. "Vivian!" Devin screamed, taking aim with his bow at the vile creature.



--34-- <BGM: Formidable Adversary>
He hesitated to fire, though, out of fear of hitting his sister by mistake.
I can be a lot more accurate with magic, though.
I slung a fully powered Firebolt from my wand at the creature.


--35-- <BGM: Formidable Adversary> {SFX: explosion}
Vivian screamed more, and the creature groaned loudly as the Firebolt struck its body.
It released its grip on her ankle, resulting in her being flung several feet away.



--36-- {SFX: pow}
With a clear aim, Devin fired a powerful shot from his bow.
The arrow went right through the roof of the worm's mouth, and it fell limp, apparently dead.
Black blood oozed out of its wound.


--37-- <BGM: Desolation>
"What the hell *was* that!?" Vivian screamed, clutching her mangled ankle.
Blood was seeping between her fingers. Devin and I ran to her side.
"Sis! You all right?" he asked, going pale with fright.


--38-- <BGM: Desolation>
"Do I look all right? I'm lucky that monster didn't bite my foot off!" she hissed through gritted teeth.
If not for her boot, it just might have done so.
"Let me take care of that," I said, weakly.


--39-- <BGM: Desolation>
I tugged off her mangled boot, tightly bandaged her ankle, then used Healing to stop the bleeding.
I had to suppress the urge to vomit at the sight of blood. I'll never get used to it.



--40-- <BGM: Desolation>
"You'll be all right now, sis," Devin said. He knelt on one knee, holding her hand while helping her sit up.

If this world has more horrors like this waiting for us, do we stand a chance here?


[chapter end]