Ch 57: Into the Rabbit Hole

Battling Gisette deep within the chamber that holds the Gate, Grey is unaware of how dire the situation is becoming. Will the journey end here, or is this only the beginning?

            Power radiating from the runes around the room, a swirling vortex of power gathered around Gisette. Her skin transformed from normal, human looking skin to a substance that looked as though it could have been taken from the night sky, black and dotted with shining specks of light. Raising a hand and clenching it into a fist she said, “Behold! The energies trapped within the Gate have granted me Celestial Empowerment! Soon it will restore all the powers due to me as the Observer of Time!” Stunned by her appearance, it took a moment for Grey to register her words, but then he quickly said, “Wait a minute! You’re one of these Observers?!” With a smug look, Gisette merely said, “Oh, do you know about us? Yes I once was an Observer! The Observer of Time, Gisette Rui the Clock Sorcerer!” Unable to suppress his curiosity, Grey asked, “Once was? Wait, what the hell is an Observer anyway?!” Clenching her staff, Gisette’s smug look was gone as she said, “Fools who have come to believe the matters of this world are beneath them, living life under a code of non-interference. Those who stray from the code are punished. I took that punishment to protect a little girl, whom I adopted as my sister…” A powerful aura gathering around her, Gisette continued, “Even stripped of most of my powers, I will continue on the path I’ve chosen! For the sake of the world I’ve raised her in, I will ally with all the powers of Hell itself if necessary!” Dropping into a battle stance, Grey shouted, “You honestly think what you’ve done could possibly be right?! Go spout your ‘reasons’ to all the innocents you’ve turned into anomalies! I’ve had enough of hypocrites like you!” With a wicked grin, Gisette shouted, “Come at me then!”

            Rising into the air, Gisette raised her staff and the clocks imbedded in it spun forwards wildly. Forming around her, glowing, greenish colored phantasmal clocks appeared, whose hands spun quickly forward as well. They flew out at Grey suddenly, and as he evaded them he saw that as they struck the floor of the platform and exploded in flashes of strange greenish light, the floor where they’d struck seemed to decay as though it were rapidly getting older. Continuing to move as he was assailed by phantom clocks, Grey formed his wings of light at his heels and chanted, “Cesso, Susicivus Septimo Spiritus Lux Quod Fulmen!” Leaping into the air, barely escaping a clock of time altering energy, Grey shouted, “Accelerate!” Flying at Gisette as a blur of speed, he zipped past the energy clocks with ease and chanted, “Ego Voco Vos, Lux Acies!” His swords became swords of light as white runes raced across them, and as Grey reached Gisette he lashed out with them. Ceasing to fire her phantom clocks, Gisette blocked him and they began exchanging blows in the air. Then striking at Grey again, the clocks on Gisette’s staff spun as she muttered, “Maledictio Temporis, Obsideo Monumentum!” As he blocked her staff with his sword, there was a flash of light and Grey was knocked flying back. Steadying himself in the air, Grey suddenly found himself bombarded by images of his past, the nightmares he had endured. Watching him reeling, Gisette said with an evil look of triumph, “Talk all you want Grey! In the end you’re just another weakling! You cannot hope to face Alastor if you cannot even face your own past! You think you know suffering?! That man has lived a millennia of torment, and even lost his very heart itself! He has sacrificed everything for his cause!”

Struggling against his memories, his eyes clenched shut, Grey said, “Like… I… care!” Managing to open his eyes, Grey looked at her and said, “I don’t know what makes you think he cares about you or your wishes anyways… Whatever deal you have… He won’t keep it!” A look of displeasure upon her face, Gisette readied her staff and flew at him, striking out with a powerful swing. With a clang of steel, Grey blocked her attack with his light sword. Having conquered the memories of his past, as Gisette stared at him in surprise, Grey grinned and said, “I told you! I’m living on, bearing the weight of my crimes with the help of my friends! I’ve got a bright future ahead of me, and I’m charging after it no matter what’s in my way!” Pushing her weapon aside, Grey raised his foot and pummeled her in the stomach with a powerful EDE charged kick that blew her away from him. Channeling EDE into a light sword, he flung a wave of light energy after her, but as she recovered from his kick Gisette deflected it with her staff. Raising her staff, Gisette summoned more time altering energy clocks, and in turn Grey shouted once more, “Accelerate!” Grey became a blur of speed, and swerving away from the waves of time altering energy with unparalleled speed, he strafed around Gisette as he raised his sword and shouted “Iacio!” A beam of light shot from his sword at Gisette, who evaded it as Grey moved his sword to make it chase after her. Then from where the beam burned a line into the wall behind her, yellow rune circles formed and lightning bolts began raining out, homing in on Gisette. Struggling to avoid as the lightning chased her relentlessly, Gisette at last time jumped to shake them. As she reappeared, Grey sped at her and lashed out with his swords of light, and as Gisette vanished again, Grey himself evaded as she appeared and struck. They began again to zip around the room, Gisette time jumping and Grey moving at high speed.

            Panting, Gisette furiously shouted, “I’ve had ENOUGH of this!” Standing her ground as Grey unleashed another light energy wave at her, Gisette deflected it with her staff and then chanted, “Maledictio Temporis, Manuum Fatum!” Grey watched as an enormous phantom clock appeared before Gisette, and as the hands on the clock began spinning, he thought to himself, “I got a bad feeling about this…” As the clock’s hands both came to rest on twelve, the phantom clock glowed. Sensing the massive energies radiating from it, Grey poured his power into both swords and swung them as he shouted, “Ein Soph Aur!” In a flash of light, the swords’ combined energies shot out as a mighty energy wave to meet her attack just as Gisette’s phantom clock fired a massive beam of time altering energy at Grey. As the two attacks struck, Grey’s Ein Soph Aur struggled against the powerful time energy. Then closing his eyes, Grey gathered all the power he could muster, even dissolving his swords back into EDE, and focused it all into bolstering his attack’s power. Empowered even further by Grey’s final ounce of EDE, his Ein Soph Aur broke through. With a look of utter disbelief, Gisette exclaimed, “Impossible!” Quickly she raised her staff before her and chanted, “Maledictio Temporis, Eternus Obex!” A shining temporal barrier encompassed her just as the powerful energy wave struck and exploded in a brilliant flash. As the blinding light filled the room, Grey rushed towards the wall behind Gisette. Leaping up at the wall, Grey planted his feet against the side of it and charged his legs with all the EDE he could gather, pushing off of it and propelling himself at Gisette with great force just as she turned to see him shoot at her like a missile. Grabbing hold of her, the powerful force behind his EDE charged jump carried them both straight into the Mirror of Souls, and as they struck the mirror it shattered. As they fell away from the shattered mirror to land hard on the platform, Gisette, her body returning to normal, strained to raise her head as blood seeped over her left eye from a cut on her forehead. The runes across the walls flashed violently and the entire room began shaking, and in a fearful voice, Gisette shouted, “What have you done?!” Then the entire room suddenly glowed brightly and Grey felt as though he were disappearing. Both he and Gisette seemed to vanish just as the ceiling of the chamber came crashing down.

            Coming around, Alexander found himself lying upon the ground staring up at the sky. For a moment he wondered if he were in the afterlife. As he tried to get up, the great pain of his injuries told him otherwise. Then a voice called out to him, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You’ve had quite the day, haven’t you?” Turning his head to look at who was speaking, he laid eyes on the old man who had first appeared before Grey in the cargo hold of the Audentia, leaning against a tree. Remembering Grey’s description, Alexander said, “You must be the one Grey mentioned…” Grinning, the old man said, “Ah yes, quite a fine young man isn’t he? You should be proud!” Turning to look back up the cliff, Alexander said, “I don’t suppose you know what’s going on up there?” His grin fading, the old man said, “Altera Veritas has taken the young sage. Grey has defeated Gisette, but in the process the Gate has been destroyed and they both have disappeared from this world. Everyone else should be realizing that you, Grey, and the young sage have disappeared. You must heal your wounds Gabriel. They will need your help. Scathe and the anomalies at his command are raiding Altus Village as we speak, in an attempt to claim the Gift of Altu. As powerful as they are, the elves of Altus have not seen real combat like this for one thousand years. They’re sure to be overwhelmed…” Alexander tried to get up again, but at last settled back on the ground and said, “Damn!” Concentrating on healing his body, Alexander said, “Thank you for saving my life. Just who are you old man?” The old man simply disappeared, and his disembodied voice replied, “Eazel, the Plane Stalker…” Alexander’s eyes went wide.

            “Hey… HEY! Wake up already Brigadier General!” Opening his eyes to see who was calling him from his slumber, Scott found himself lying in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. Looking to the side of the bed, he saw a familiar face, and hoarsely said, “General West?” His hair white but dyed red at the ends, wearing a pair of large sunglasses over his green eyes, General Andrew West smiled and said, “Bout time!” Sitting in a chair by the bed, the General was dressed in a buttoned up black jacket adorned with silver medals and buttons, and a pair of black pants with a vertical white lines down them. Leaning back in the chair, West said, “Sorry to have to drill you like this right when you wake up Brigadier General, but what in the hell happened out there?” Looking confused, Scott said, “What happened where…?” Shaking his head, the General muttered, “Let me break it down for you. Expeditia, the exploratory settlement that USED to be a little ways north of the port we’re in now, has been completely wiped out, and you’re the only one we found still alive. You weren’t in too good a shape either. Oh boy, our healers sure had some fun with you. I came here with several of the top divisions to inspect reports of strange forest people attacking explorers, but I sure as hell didn’t expect this! We had good men stationed there already, but now they’re gone, and the only one who might be able to shed some light on it is you.” Struggling to shake out of his stupor, Scott’s eyes suddenly went wide and he exclaimed, “Alastor!” Meanwhile, sitting in a cell within the depths of a dungeon, Amy was alone and scared. Having suddenly found herself in some strange, dark citadel after they had started back up the mountain, she had been restrained with an absorption collar and thrown into the dungeon by Alastor and his minions. She could only wonder what had happened to the others. Huddling in the corner trying to stay warm, she thought to herself, “How did this happen? I always thought I’d be safe with everyone with me. Could they have really been defeated by Altera Veritas? Will anyone come to save me? Grey, what should I do?!” Then a voice within her suddenly called out, “Use my shard…”

            Floating through complete darkness, Grey finally came around, and for a moment he wondered if he had really opened his eyes. After a while, he remembered what had happened and thought, “I went through the Gate somehow I guess, but this… this doesn’t look like where it’s supposed to take me…” Drifting along through the dark, he thought, “Was it because it broke? Great, how am I supposed to get out of this one?!” Suddenly, he could have sworn he heard Amy’s voice call out to him. Looking around he could not see anything but more darkness. Then a different voice said, “She needs you Grey. They all need you.” Appearing before him was the old man, Eazel the Plane Stalker. Seeing him, Grey did a double take and exclaimed, “The hell?! You again?!” Grinning, Eazel said, “Well, it’s certainly not the tooth fairy! No, certainly not!” Letting out a sigh, Grey said, “So I take it you’ve come to confuse the hell out of me again?” Scratching his head and looking as though he were considering it, Eazel said, “Well I wouldn’t complain my young friend. For those trapped within the space between worlds, company is quite a rare privilege…” His fears confirmed, Grey said, “So I’m not having some weird dream after all?” Shaking his head, Eazel replied, “No, this is all quite real. The Gate has been destroyed. I know not what has happened to Gisette, but you are now trapped on the Gaia side of the void between Gaia and Teramis.”

Thinking he heard Amy’s voice again, Grey realized this was no time to think about his own predicament, and he quickly asked, “What happened to Amy?! Is Alexander doing ok against Alastor?!” After a tense moment, Eazel replied, “Well, I’m afraid there have been a few developments…” With a tone of urgency, Grey said, “I’m begging you old man, give me a straight answer here!” Sighing heavily, Eazel said, “Alexander lost to Alastor. If it were not for a little… intervention, he would not be alive. The young sage has fallen into the hands of Altera Veritas, and Altus Village is overrun by anomalies. Even the power of the elves is proving to be nothing in the face of Alastor’s general, the mighty Revenant of the Black Sun, Scathe.” Becoming distressed, Grey muttered, “If only we’d faced him together! I’ve got to get out of here!” Motioning for him to calm down, Eazel said, “I’m afraid that it’s not really possible to make it back to Teramis from here my young friend. Not for one without the ability to walk amongst the boundaries.” As Grey fell into silence, attempting to figure out what he should do, Eazel said, “However…” Quickly focusing his attention on the old man again, Grey said, “However?!” Grinning, Eazel continued, “Perhaps in the world of Gaia, you can find the power to return to your world. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, going to Gaia may very well help you find the key to harnessing the power within you! Yes certainly, certainly…” Not particularly pleased by this, Grey considered his options. Seeing he had no choice to begin with, it was not long before Grey said, “Alright, just tell me how to get to Gaia. I’ll figure things out after that.” With a smirk, Eazel extended his hand and said, “Just take my hand.” Taking hold of Eazel’s hand, the world around them swirled with a surge of colors, and Eazel said, “Hold on tight!” Grey shouted loudly in surprise as they soared off into the mass of color, speeding towards a bright light. Reaching the light, Grey felt as though everything turned upside down. Landing facedown on a rough surface, as Grey raised his head and looked around, he said, “Gaia…”

To be continued in "Reflections of an Ideal World"...

Author's Note

The end of volume 1. Took me almost all day today to upload the remaining half I had left, so I think it's time for a break. If you actually read this to the end and enjoyed it, you can hopefully look forward to reading Legend of Mautau: Reflections of an Ideal World soon.