To A Thief - Chapter 21: The Emptiness

The Nightmare begins..

Darkness surrounded me entirely as I continued to plummet down into shadow. 

Familiar feelings began returning to me the deeper I fell..

What's going on? Am I simply having another outburst like before?

Or is this something entirely different..?

As I fell for what seemed like an eternity, I finally caught glimpse of what looked like ground below me. 

Stiff's body hovered above the strange ground among the darkness, laying on it as he stopped. It was very soft and moldy, and had a light gray color to it.. and seemed to pick up on Stiff's hand as he felt it. 

"What the hell is this..?" He asked aloud as he finally brought himself back up to his feet and looked around. The entire area was covered in this mold; there was no inch that it didn't blanket. 

Everything was so dim, but he could see clearly enough to note where this moldy ground cut off entirely. If he was to fall from the edge, he would plummet into darkness once more.

He was completely alone in this strange dimension, enveloped by darkness and every object seemingly broken down and covered in that moldy, dusty matter.

Or so he thought he was alone..

"The Emptiness.."

"Anger.. Rage.."

"Loneliness.. Despair.."

"Come.. Stiff..."

"Why do you struggle..?"

"Face the darkness.. Face your.. Inner self.."

A powerful, albeit distant and hardly a whisper of a voice rang throughout every corner of this darkness. It rang heavily on Stiff's ears. He could feel all of the negative feelings inside of him responding to the voice as if it had complete control over what he was feeling. It was as if the darkness itself was speaking to him. 

"Who's there!?" Stiff shouted as he looked around in desperation. "Let me out of here!" 

There was silence. The voice had stopped talking, but it was hard to tell if its presence still loomed over the darkness or not. 

What have I gotten myself into this time..? 

And how am I supposed to get out?

Stiff began to look around once more as he forced himself to press on into this emptiness and hopefully find a way out. After about five minutes of wandering around aimlessly, he came across a small light in the distance. 

"What is that..?" He asked aloud as he squinted to see. From a distance, it looked like an opening. 

But as he ran to it, feeling his feet kicking up the dust from the mold, he saw that it was some kind of aura made of light shooting upwards into the darkness. What was even more strange was the sounds it was giving off. 

He couldn't tell if it was the strange energy coursing around it, or if it was actually the wails of thousands of people. It was kind of disturbing.. but then again, this whole place was disturbing. Still, the light was so bright and warm it almost beckoned him to walk into it. 

After a deep moment of thought, Stiff decided that there was just no other option at the moment and walked into the aura of light. 

"I hope I know what I'm doing.." He thought.

******

Kyrie; in her transformed disguise as Stiff, jumped back into the battle as if nothing had just happened. After confirming that no one suspected her, she began her mission. She fought alongside Team Six and Team Eight, whom also had the duty of taking out the small fry, as they had no weapon skills of their own. 

Eileen; a young red mage hume from Team Six pursed her lips as she cast a few defensive magicks over herself as more orcs made their way to their location. "These orcs just keep coming.."

Norick; a bearded middle aged hume warrior also from Team Six grunted as he held out his dual one-handed axes and slashed them both across an orc's throat whom had been fighting him. "Feels like they brought a whole army rather than just a subdivision. This is endless!" 

"Keep at it guys!" The fake Stiff spoke as he looked to them, watching their movements and faltering closely. "Once they take out the overlord, I'm pretty sure the miniscule ones like these will retreat. They did the same thing after me and Draven took out Warchief Vatgit." 

"Heh, easy for you to say son.. you've still got your youth and spirit." Norick scoffed as he spun his body on his heel and slashed both his axes across another orc's body. 

The fake Stiff couldn't help but smirk secretly to himself. "Pathetic." Kyrie thought to herself.

"Ah, quit yer wining, both of yas!" Team Six's final member; Kereku snickered as he jumped up into the air and threw a stubby tarutaru kick at an orc's face with the turn of his little body. "This is nothing! I farm orcs like these fer pocket money, tch!" He grinned as he landed swiftly back on his feet. He brought his spiked knuckles together and sharpened the tips against each other, letting out some sparks before going for the next orc. "They's like punching bags, they are!" He called out with a cackle. 

"I think I've found my targets.." Kyrie thought to herself, giving a firm glance at the orc she was pretending to be fighting with. 

The orc's glowing eyes showed a brief look of acknowledgement before it roared out and signaled a group of orcs to follow it within the trees. 

The fake Stiff turned to Team Six and called out, "Guys! We got a few chasers trying to take a detour!" He shouted, pointing in the direction of the fleeing orcs. "I think they're trying to get to San d'Oria's walls!" 

"What!? After em'!" Kereku growled as he ran after them. 

"Can you guys handle these for now?" Eileen called to Team Eight as they continued to fight on. "We're going after that group! Come on, Stiff!" 

"Right!" The fake Stiff nodded as hurried behind the orcs, running past Kereku with a typical thief's speed.. or a ninja's. "I got them!" 

Team Eight had no problem whatsoever, and were doing just fine on their own so they agreed. 

"We'll regroup after we take them out." Norick affirmed as he followed behind the rest of his team. 

"Flawless." Kyrie thought to herself in approval of her plan. "Just a little further.." 

"Slow down, kid!" Norick called out as they all tried to trail behind. "There's plenty of orcs for everyone."

"No way!" The fake Stiff laughed. "You guys just need to speed up! I'm not letting these orcs get anywhere near San d'Oria!" 

Eileen couldn't help but stifle a giggle as she watched the hyperactive young thief leaving them biting the dust. "Reckless as usual." 

"I'm right.. right behind ya..! Huff.. puff.. wheeze..!" Kereku struggled to keep up behind Stiff but to no avail. His stubby tarutaru legs just weren't long enough. "If anyone's.. gonna take em' out.. s'gonna be me!" He called out, reaching into his back pouch and pulling out some sort of drink in a bottle. Bringing it to his lips and biting off the cap, he rose it over his mouth and chugged it all down. 

After a sudden burst of tingling that spread across his tiny feet, he grinned wide and began running even faster than the fake Stiff himself. "I'll make sure to save one for yous all! Won't make any promises, thoughs!" 

"A Hermes Quencher sports drink, huh? This one sure is eager to die.. But it doesn't matter now." Kyrie thought to herself before calling out to Kereku. "CHEATER! No sports drinks allowed!" 

Norick and Eileen just laughed as they ran. 

"Sorry, Stiff! When it comes to competition.. Kereku always comes out on top!" Eileen called out to him from afar, smiling helplessly.

"Guy's full of spunk." Norick smirked. 

"Heh.. that's too bad." Kyrie thought. 

******

"Weapon Skills, huh?" Annie said as she unsheathed her great katana and pulled her elbow back, holding the blade out towards Overlord Jagodek with both hands on the hilt as it began to glow a soft hue with her energy. "It's time to finish this, then." 

Acknowledging that this was her kind of fight, Annie ran forward with agile feet towards the enemy and began her assault of Weapon Skills on the beast. "Move!" She called out to everyone who was in the way. They all jumped back to watch the sparks fly. 

A blurring aura surrounded Annie as she meditated her body and confronted Jagodek, getting his attention. Skilled samurais like herself could meditate in an instant without even having to stop. This allowed them to completely hone the senses of their bodies and unleash an array of abilities that relied on their own energy; abilities like Weapon Skills. 

"Tachi:" She went and positioned herself into a different stance. "Yukikaze!" 

Bringing the bottom part of the hilt of her great katana against her lower chest, she took a hard step forward and stuck her glowing blade deep into the overlord's invisible shield. The energy on her blade shot forward and once reaching the tip, shot out many sections of what looked like a small, distorted glacier. It didn't last long before the icy display shattered into hundreds of little shards.

"Tachi:" She called out, readying herself again. "Gekko!"

With a burst of energy from her katana along with a hard, upward-spiral swing, she leaped into the air and spun a slash right at the orc. The energy the attack released trailed around the swing of the blade, creating a perfect circle with a white hue moving into the center and creating for a very brief moment what looked like the moon itself before dispersing. 

"Tachi:" She changed her stance yet again, not giving the warlord a chance to react. "Kasha!"

She brought her blade backwards, sheathing it within an enclosed hand with a look of extreme concentration. Upon opening her eyes, she pulled the sword back out from her hand, just barely slicing the flesh of her thumb deliberately and cleaving the sword clean across Jagodek's mid-section with another burst of energy. This energy, mixed with the red taint of her blood, burst into what could have been a large glowing rose. It was only visible for the same split second as the previous attacks and once dispersing, imploded into pedal-like particles.

As all of the particles left over from the consecutive Weapon Skills began to formulate something even bigger, Annie simply sheathed her blade back to her side and walked calmly away from the orc and past Okina saying, "You're up." 

The particles were left to create a large ball of pulsing light that released countless waves before exploding into a blast of energy that nearly shattered Jagodek's entire shield. 

The overlord was nearly wiped into a complete daze, trying desperately to catch its bearings before letting out a loud war cry that caused it to bring back some more of its strength. 

For once, Okina held a firm look of anxiety as she stepped forward, nodding at Annie's words and recalling her experimental abilities. "Okay."

"Oh?" Moku tilted his head as he watched the curious monkey girl step forward to face the slowing orc. "I wonder what she's up to.." 

"You'll see." Vincent said casually. "I made it clear to her that her imported abilities weren't going to lay idly within her, should she be a part of the Brigade."

"Interesting.." Moku nodded, raising a brow as he tapped his chin and watched. "And it looks like Annie's Self-Renkei ability is going stronger than ever. To think she could form a Skillchain all on her own.. they all sure have come a long way." 

******

"Have you gone mad, son!?" Norick yelled in disbelief at the fake Stiff, who stood before a fallen Kereku with the taru's blood dripping from his own dagger. Kereku laid there, just barely clinging onto life by a strand of hair, bleeding from his throat and mouth. "What have you done!?"

"Kereku..!" Eileen called to her fallen friend and team mate, quickly running over to him but stopping in shock as she saw the galkan samurai and elvaan monk in dark armor step out from behind a tree with malevolent eyes. "Y-You..?"

"That armor.. it's them! Gazo and Daan.." Norick clenched his fist, looking over at the fake Stiff as he stood there with an expressionless gaze; a bit of Kereku's blood on his cheek. "You're in league with them.. You have betrayed us, Stiff?" 

 Daan and Gazo just chuckled to themselves as they began to approach Norick and Eileen, alongside the fake Stiff.

"Stiff.." The young female red mage backed up in shock as she looked at him. "No..!"

"Eileen, run!" Norick shoved her back as he held out his dual axes and glared at the three. "I'll hold them off. You must notify the others!"

"But, Norick.. Kereku is..!" Eileen stuttered, shifting her glance from Norick, to Stiff, to Kereku before being shoved again by the middle-aged warrior. 

"GO! NOW!" He shouted. 

Eileen let out a small defeated yelp as she turned to run, shutting her eyes tightly. 

"It's no use.." The fake Stiff muttered as they all approached Norick.

"Don't worry, we're doing you all a favor." Gazo grinned, unsheathing his blade.

"..That's right.." Daan chuckled, holding up his fist and clenching it tightly. "..We're "weeding out the weak".."

"I won't forgive you..!" Norick growled, charging forward. 

******

"Figures getting out wouldn't be that easy.." Stiff sighed as he now stood on another floor of this emptiness. "But this floor doesn't look as empty.." 

Looking around, he noticed a lot more stuff stood around the perimeter of the area rather than just being a moldy floor that stretched on towards nonthingness. It was strange, though.. somehow, this place - even though he had never seen it - felt very familiar. 

"Why does this look so.. familiar?" He asked himself as he continued his trek through the darkness. 

It wasn't until he got closer to one of the broken down, molded and grayed out structures that he realized what the building resembled. 

"It can't be.. this is.." His eyes went wide in surprise. Even though the building was a shell of its former self, there was no denying it. ".. the orphanage! The one I was in with Sister Eri.. what the hell is going on!?" 

He continued speaking to himself, although he didn't know why. Isolation sure could do funny things to a guy. He began to grow frustrated with all of this. None of it made sense to him, yet at the same time.. it all felt so familiar. 

Much of the building was cut off into a shredded moldy section; left unfinished or perhaps torn off entirely. Nonetheless, there was nothing inside what was even left of it. It was just.. there. 

As he continued to traverse the emptiness, Stiff saw many similar sights that could only make sense in a really twisted dream. It felt like he was in some other paralleled dimension that consisted of portions from his memories. In fact, that's exactly what it felt like.. some twisted dream. 

He could see a really tall tower; a spire of sorts, in the distance. It was the only structure that stood so tall, rising among the darkness and entirely visible due to its hazy brightness. The spire was the only thing he couldn't lay his mind on. It looked like nothing he had ever seen before. 

Finally, after another endless trek.. he spotted the end of the moldy ground that cut off into the darkness, and there at the edge he saw another wailing portal similar to the one before. 

"Ugh.. I have the feeling this one is going to lead me to an even more mind-numbing floor.." He said to himself as he walked over to the glowing portal. "But what choice do I have.. there's nothing left here. I can't even go back the way I came." He grumbled. "That big spire thing doesn't seem to reside in this floor, either. Whatever." 

Walking into the portal once more, he was once again yanked violently through the darkness and taken to Altana know's where on another section of this emptiness. Once again, he was greeted by another moldy floor. But this one was laid with numerous walls and pillars of what looked to be a torn off and broken down city. It held the same appearance in stature as the supposed orphanage on the previous floor did. Upon closer inspection, Stiff could swear he saw portions from the city of San d'Oria.. 

But that's not what shocked him. What left him completely taken back and forced him to dive back behind a molded wall in both fear and confusion, was the strange creatures that were roaming this floor. 

No.. they weren't mere creatures. They weren't monsters. He couldn't put his mind on whatever the hell they were. They, too, looked like something out of a dream - no - a nightmare.. 

Just like the rest of this god forsaken place, they were molded in appearance and had no color or features whatsoever. Perhaps they were birthed directly by this emptiness itself. All Stiff could see, were ghastly abominations that were indescribable with words. The only thing he could make out was a glowing core in each of their hollow bodies. Most of these things had tendrils that looked sharper than the craftiest blade in Vana'diel. Fear was all Stiff could describe their presence as. 

Fear and Evil. 

******

Eileen pressed her back against a tree as she pushed herself backwards on the ground, staring with wide eyes at her pursuers, trembling in fear. 

It hadn't taken them long to take out Norick, and Kereku was practically a given. 

Daan, Gazo, and Kyrie in Stiff's appearance approached the cowering red mage. 

"Wh..Why?" Eileen's eyes began to tear as she looked up at Stiff's face; the blood of her friends still fresh on his malicious expression. "Why would you do this, Stiff..?" She asked, her tears streaming down her face, feeling her heart wrenching for her fallen friends. 

"And to think.. I actually started to like you.." Was all she could think of in that moment as she looked at Stiff's sharp, bloodied grin. 

"Because.." The fake Stiff spoke, holding up his tainted dagger and solely walking over to her. "My master willed it so."

The tree leaves of the forest of Ronfaure rustled as Eileen's piercing scream echoed through the area, shortly coming to a sharp silence.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Continued in Chapter 22: Ancient Flames Beckon

Author's Note

I've made an important update! I have removed Chapter 19 and the character 'Sandira' entirely from the story. In turn, I had to debunk the current chapters down by one to number them properly. Other than that, nothing much has changed. Sorry about that!

I hope you enjoy!

Reviews

[Anniejuran]

good story so far...Kind of wish Eileen lived D: Cant wait to see what's next it's like SUSPENCE :D good job :DDDD Sorry about the previous reviews which wasnt even reviews and this one to I suck at writing reviews XD