章節 134: Opening The Doors
Voices fly past my ears as the white slowly encompasses my vision, but they seem sped up and impossible to understand. Minutes seem to pass before they slow down, allowing me to understand them. But even then, all that exists for me is the whiteness that the Ogre left me, alongside the many questions she left me with.
The first speaker I can recognize, even with the sped-up voices, is Blake. It seems as though she somehow made it to us. Maybe she was the figure I saw.
"We need to go now!"
The other voice is Otto's, the man seemingly waking up from my fall.
"What about these two? We can't just enter the Crossroad with two unconscious people! Not to mention, I don't even know what's wrong with Wyatt."
Blake seems incredibly frantic and does all she can to make Otto listen to her.
"You don't understand. It is ten times safer in there than up there or here. That… Ogre thing might have let me pass for some reason, but the sky went black the second I made it to the staircase, and giant leathery wings peeked through the fog."
Otto seems to realize what she's talking about just as we all feel a massive tremor, which seems to wake me up as the feeling returns to my body. I still can't move or open my eyes, though. I think whatever Aniwye did to me is taking time to clear out my body or something.
"Fuck! That must be that bitch getting ready to kill that Angel she was talking about!"
"What!!!"
"Let's go! NOW!"
They finish their discussion, and I feel a warm, wet feeling on my face. One that opens my eyelid and delivers me a short glance at my surroundings. Blake is covered in… red vines, and Dakota is on top of my slowly-coming-to-consciousness body. The fox is licking me to try to wake me up, and it seems it works.
As Otto curses and picks Johnny up, I wake up before Blake does the same with me, sitting up abruptly when my mobility and senses all return spontaneously. Otto merely looks at me and shakes his head as he moves toward the door. Under his breath, I hear him curse again.
"What the fuck? So dramatic…"
The man presses a shoulder against the door as another rumble shakes us all, and Blake pulls me to my feet shortly afterward. She looks a bit concerned, but we both save it for later. I don't know entirely what's going on, but I do know we need to go. I remember when I was in the crossfire of the fight between Edmund and Alexos. It felt like I was a rat before a man. I can't imagine being in the crossfire of two Angels fighting to the death. Especially two that have mental abilities.
Their splashbacks are likely not that devastating to the surroundings, but they will surely be deadly to anything with a mind.
We both turn and face Otto, leaning against the door, and another rumble comes as we do. But it's at this point I realize the booms aren't physical. They are mental, shaking our vision due to the concussive force. Everything begins to spin in my sight, and altogether, we push the double doors open. Even Dakota helps as he tries to slam into it with his shoulder.
After a short moment of dizziness, the door opens with a loud creak, and cool air comes from the inside.
The entire atmosphere changes the second we all enter the cave, with the Crossroads artificially created within. The cave becomes a portal to many different worlds and realms, each with unique characteristics and features. My eyes glitter with wonder and fascination as I notice the cave walls shimmer and pulse with a strange Ether that is hard to describe. The air is thick with an otherworldly mist that obscures one's vision but not enough to tune out the pulsing Ether.
I take another step toward the Crossroads, feeling a sense of unease and anticipation wash over me. The air grows colder, and I hear strange whispers and murmurs from the darkness beyond. Voices seem to come from every direction based on the pulses of Ether on the walls. None make any sense, as all of them are in unknown languages.
At the center of the cave, my wide eyes see the Crossroad itself. It is a massive, intricate structure composed of shimmering crystals and precious stones that seem to shift and change in the light. The Crossroad pulsates with an ever-shifting glow, and I can feel the nigh-limitless Ether emanating from every surface.
All of us seemed to be stunned by the majesty and the wonder in front of us. It is not at all like the danger we were warned of, but as we look around, another impact strikes our minds. Both Otto and I are sent to the ground as a wave of nausea hits us both, and I frantically use Rapturous to stop the forces. Just as I feel relief with the distorting Ether running through me, Blake pulls me to my feet with a yell.
"Don't use Ether! Just take the brunt! We don't want to be seen by what's deeper!"
Her words remind me of the warnings given. How it is easiest for humans to traverse the Crossroads due to us not naturally outputting Ether. My ears and eyes notice shimmering specters gathering around me, and I quickly stop Rapturous. This makes them wander away, fading back to the color walls, but another spike of power strikes our minds, and I once more fall to the ground.
Otto is already on the ground and shaking. He either has a weaker mind or far less protection than I do. But Blake seems to have the most as in the corner of my eye, I see her stumbling toward the door to close it. I can barely even comprehend that it's a good idea as she moves in stuttering frames due to my pounding head.
If the door can hold this place's Ether back… it can probably hold back the force of the fight above.
Several stressful moments pass, and one more wave of pain from the mental splashback from the two absolute monsters fighting above us before Blake manages to close the door. By the end of her movement to the nearby door, she's on all fours and collapses after it seals itself with her body's force as she falls onto it.
Breaths of relief come from all three of us, and the pain seems to stop, or at least it is muffled. The waves of mental force now only account for a metaphorical slap compared to the previous gunshot.
Almost a whole minute passes before any of us even manage to stand, Blake being the first as she checks on Otto. The first thing I do when I'm able to move is roll over and check on Dakota. The fox has blood running from his nose, ears, and eyes, but he's breathing stably now. I give him a few pets before picking him up and shakily moving to Blake.
Another slight slap of mental force arrives when I reach her, but I bear it easily. My focus then turns to Otto, whose face is covered in blood that came from every orifice, mouth, eyes, nose, ears, and even a few from the pores on his face. The man's entire face is dyed red.
Blake ruffles through her pocket before pulling out a small stone. It smells so rancid that I have to cover my nose. I ask her what she's doing as she cracks it against the floor.
"What is that for? Is he going to be alright?"
She shrugs at my second question but answers the first.
"It's a wake-up salt. Break it, and it emits a smell that will wake someone up. Only works if they fell asleep recently, though. I'm just hoping that Otto was tough enough to survive that and not go braindead."
Blake takes the small yellow-ish crystal and puts it under Otto's nose. A few seconds pass of nothing, and both our shoulder sag at what it means. But just as she pulls the crystal away, it slides across his nostril, and the man wakes up with a jolt and a scream.
"Where am I!"
We both hold him down as he struggles; I talk to him as he rages.
"You were knocked out by the crossfire of the Angels above. We are currently in the cave with the Crossroad."
Otto shakes his head a bit as he puts a hand over it. He sits up almost drunkenly before nodding and trying to stand. He needs a bit of help from Blake and me, but he is able to stand. Holding his head like he has a hangover, Otto then pushes the duty of carrying Johnny to Blake.
"Yeah… I'm got. Can you get Johnny, Blake? Everything is spinning for me, and Wyatt is still missing an arm."
She nods and moves over, picking Johnny up off the ground. Poor guy has been tossed around like a bag of potatoes. I hope he's alright, but I'm sure the constant fights for our lives haven't helped his recovery.
We then take a short moment to gather our focus, and I use the wake-up salt on Dakota, silently wishing the little guy is alright. Thankfully, the fox wakes up instantly, much to my relief. His powerful nose must have helped. I position the little guy on the ground as he also seems to move a bit drunkenly. After seeing that, I borrow Otto's huge bag, swapping his for mine, and put Dakota inside of it. He barely fits and is quite heavy without Ether to enhance me, and I wrap the straps around my shoulders so I can carry the fox without any arms needed.
Once that is complete, we are ready to enter the Crossroads. We all believe it is better to go now than wait any longer. The fight between the two up top could change at any moment, and none of us want to be here if that Ogre loses. And honestly, not even if she wins. I don't care if she seems to know me or my father.
So, we all begin to move toward the shimmering crystals and rocks in the center of the cave shrouded by dense fog, the fog that circles the center like a tornado. As I approach the Crossroads, I notice that the air around it seems to be alive with strange, ethereal creatures. Some are tiny and delicate, flitting around like butterflies, while others are massive, hulking beasts with razor-sharp teeth and glowing red eyes.
These creatures peek out of cracks in the air for very brief moments, moments so short I could almost convince myself they weren't real. But they are. Very. A short little thing with orange skin swipes out at me through the crack, and I lean back, but not fast enough.
A large scratch covers my chest, one that seems to fester almost instantly. Before I can retaliate, though, the little orange thing disappears with the crack it appeared from. I go to use Ether to try and fight off the festering that is caused by Ether of a similar color as the skin of the creature with an odd feeling, but I stop myself.
No Ether can be used here, or more will come. Instead, I just take my knife and, with clenched teeth, cut off the pieces of skin that are festering. Then, I continue forward. Blake and Otto seem to have similar issues, only less dangerous. It seems as though the Ether I used earlier is having consequences. More see me than they should.
Closer, we get to the center as our steps resound alongside the whispers and constant shimmering creatures that appear. Only now do I truly realize the breadth of a Crossroad as I get closer. A Crossroad is a gateway to countless different realms with unique inhabitants and landscapes. The short instances of creatures popping out are added onto by full-on views of random destinations for just as short a timeframe, barely enough to grasp the details.
I catch glimpses of a deep underwater scene with massive leviathans that give me another headache just looking at, high skies with birds so large they make me feel like an ant as they tower over clouds, tops of mountains that are never without lightning for a single moment with people impaled all over its grounds. I even see Hell, where a massive castle of black stone is filled with countless demons who cavort in rivers of molten skulls.
I also see glimpses of worlds so foreign and bizarre that they defy description, filled with creatures that seem to be pulled straight from the pages of ancient myths and legends. Wobbling, spiraling, and incomprehensible realms also appear, each of which is removed from my memory the second they disappear. I only know they existed because of the emotions they left me with. Helplessness and sadness. And every so often, I catch a glimpse of a realm filled with bounty and harvest, where fields of golden wheat stretch out to the horizon, and ripe fruit hangs heavily from the trees.
Those realms seem happy at first, but I see them reappear repeatedly, almost as if something is trying to coax us to go into them. And as I look closer, the illusion breaks. Underneath the serene and beautiful illusions is a gaping maw the size of… I don't even know, but it seems endless.
That one leaves me with a final understanding. Caution is the utmost priority, and we all begin to move slower, careful not to bump into any stray creature or vista. I'm sure that those views are why a Crossroad is so famed. You touch one, and you go to it. Transported somehow by this bit of reality that has been cracked and altered so much by the swirling Ether.
As we walk closer, these instances last longer. Both the ones of creatures jutting out, giving them more time to attack or lure us and the scenes of worlds. There are just… so many. I never knew that, well, everything was this large!
A few more stick with me as I move.
A realm seemingly made of complete darkness. But within that dark moves, humanoid figures; I can't tell if they are actually humans or not, though. But they seem to fight against something, something terrible that lies in the dark with them. I only realize what it might be as I hear a leathery flap as the scene disappears. Ewaki or at least another of that thing's race. That must be where it comes from.
The second scene is less stressful and more… melancholic. An old man, so old that I worry he is even still alive with all his wrinkles, sits underneath a tree with pinkish-red flowers. The flowers fall and land beside him. And while these scenes last longer the further in we go, this one blows my mind by the time-split that occurs. In the short few seconds I watch, I see over a dozen seasons pass, spring, summer, winter, and fall all come by numerous times as the man just sits motionless. Even as the scene disappears, he doesn't move a single muscle.
The last one that gains my attention is something that is actually partly recognizable. I see a vast city of black stones that has built huge buildings and is full of people. Carriages come past, and street lanterns are lit by fire as it descends into the dark. This must be Onyx Gate.
And as this scene passes by, it moves like a floating wind over to a wretched man who is carried along by shackles and being escorted by rows of Hunters decked out in weaponry. As the view floats past him, I see red-blood-colored eyes glow in his sockets before he bursts with strength and Ether. A flood of blood flows from him, pushing everyone away as his entire body is covered with red veins that pulsate with bloody light.
I only hear one thing from the scene before it fades, and that is a scream from one of the Hunters.
"The Bloodbeast!"
After that scene, I finally can peel my wonder and focus on finding the Gate Of Death. I wonder why we can't just appear in the Underworld through this? Is it because it's underground? None of the other scenes were underground. Wait, no. Hell is. Nothing was indoors, though. Maybe the Underworld is one colossal structure? I mean, why else would it have a gate? I nod my head as I come to a conclusion.
That must be it. The Crossroads can't take you anywhere that is indoors. I don't really know how that works, though, but I have seen much weirder restrictions to Ether.
My steps carry me further as a flutter occurs at my feet. I look down briefly and see a newspaper that seems to fly out of one of these scenes and hits me in the leg. The top line reads, "Tornridge has fallen, but Darkstep steps up! Is she our next Pillar?!"
I kick it aside in my hate for that old woman. Then, I continue to walk, the shimmering scenes non-stop changing in my vision, but slowly, we approach the center with the crystals. And as we do, the vistas become more and more real. Heat shines in from some of them, burning my skin, while the cold of others gives me instant frostbite. I grit my teeth and move on as, in the corner of my eye, I see Otto attacked by a tendril of green moss that he lights on fire with a match and a bottle of liquor. He drunkenly stumbles further towards the center as he struggles to avoid getting injured by everything around us.
Blake has less trouble as her reaction time is near perfect, and the woman stays low to the ground.
I follow her lead after an attempt on my life by a fish with an actual rusted sword hanging from its lip that tried to bite me before disappearing back into its world. I have to drop to my stomach and hug the ground not to get bit. And while on the ground, I see something beside the crystal.
Over a dozen vistas seem to be permanent by the center, one of which is filled with dull grays, gargoyles, and a giant gate covered in stone skulls. I instantly know in my heart that it has to be the Gate Of Death. But beside it is a dozen other scenes that are just as stable.
And the one beside it has a giant pupil looking through the road connecting the two planes. The massive, nauseating floating eyeball peeks through the rift with unblinking curiosity. It appears to be twice my size, and its irises are a sickly yellow, with veins that pulse and throb as it looks around.
I try to stop my movement as its eye moves past me, but not fast enough. I feel the pressure of the floating eyeball as its pure black pupil focuses directly on me.
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