Alix walked through the entryway. The first thing that she noticed was the dryness in the air.
Until now, she hadn't noticed how damp everything had been on the outside but the difference was drastic. It felt like after she swam through torrential waters she'd made land on an island that was just desert!
The next thing she noticed was the eerie darkness that sat within. The sun shining in from the outside wasn't even enough to brighten the inky blackness that she'd marched into.
It left Alix feeling... uncomfortable...
'It feels like there's something waiting in the darkness. Watching my every move.' Alix was instantly on guard as she moved through the temple. Her footsteps were confident but with a hint of caution behind each step.
She clutched Mo's fishbowl a bit tighter, the darkness made it impossible to see him but holding him close still comforted the girl.
Even if all she felt was the cold, smoothness of the glass fishbowl...
*Tap Tap Tap!*
Rapid footsteps approached from behind Alix. She quickly pivoted on one leg and kicked behind her. Her leg slammed into the figure that ran up to her and she heard them hit ground!
"Who's there?" Alix stood at the ready as she called at the darkness behind her.
The person groaned in pain. "Who kicks someone on instinct like that?" Alix heard the familiar voice of Vorza and sighed.
"Oh, it's just you..."
Vorza smirked up at Alix. "You sound relieved? Did you think it was demon?"
"No demon in the world could make me feel as unpleasant as you have made me feel in our few interactions." The sharp words on Alix's tongue cut the boy.
"Okay, I get it! I just came to tell you that you can't just walk into this place!" Vorza must have stood up because his voice sounded closer.
Alix started walking away. "Don't care. There was nothing stopping me from going in. In fact, even if there was something that tried to stop me I still would've come through."
Vorza, hearing the girl's footsteps start moving away, chased after her. "No, you don't get it! My master doesn't just let people in! That is precisely why they put a barrier up in front of the entrance!"
"There was no barrier."
"But there was supposed to be! That is the point that I am trying to get across!" Vorza yelled, his voice strangely not echoing despite Alix's footsteps doing so.
Alix grunted indifferently. "If there was supposed to be a barrier then maybe my spell canceled it out. The function is to use a wave of energy to force any and all mana out of the area, after all. Maybe your master's barrier spell was too weak to stay standing?"
Vorza dropped his jaw in disbelief. "Is there no end to that fountain of insolence that you have?"
"So you think I'm wrong?"
"Of course, you're wrong! There is no world that exists, where a person like you could ever hope to overpower a spell crafted by my master..." Vorza trailed off. He had a moment of realization. "Wait, that's it! He let you in!"
Alix stopped and turned to face the area that she believed Vorza was standing. "What are you talking about now?" Her voice was very tense letting Vorza know that she was quite annoyed.
Vorza laughed as though the world finally made sense. "How could I have been so focused on my sight that I forgot to use my nose? Obviously, my master let you into the temple! You were permitted entry before you even knew it!"
Alix pulled back, squinting her eyes at the darkness in disgust. "Why are you being so weird?"
Vorza smiled. Alix shouldn't be able to see it but she could.
His pristine, white teeth, shone through the darkness like a strange beacon. It looked unnatural?
"You still don't get it?"
Alix started to back away from Vorza. She suddenly felt unnerved by the boy. "W-what are you on about? What don't I get?"
Vorza began to giggle. His giggle became a laugh which evolved into a cackle, until an inhuman type of gutteral laugh was coming from the boy's mouth.
He suddenly stopped laughing. A pair of large eyes opened within the darkness. They stared deep into Alix, blankly. "This, Alix Deminal, is a test given to you by my master!"
Alix's eyes widened. "How do you know-"
"Master knows all! You'll understand when you meet them!" A single spotlight shined down with a loud click making Vorza fully visible to Alix. The boy bowed dramatically.
"I'll see you on the other side, Dear Sorrowful Girl!"
"Wait, what are you-" Before Alix could finish speaking a wind suddenly kicked up within the temple. Mist, thick and shifting, consumed the darkness!
That should be impossible? It was too dark for Alix to see even a single step ahead of her yet she saw the mist as clear as day? She watched as the darkness was rapidly overtaken.
She felt a chill run up her spine and, instinctively, started dashing in the opposite direction! Vorza, on the other hand, stayed in his overextended bow. The mist rolled over and consumed him entirely.
Alix kept running, occasionally glancing over her shoulder as the mist moved closer and closer.
"I can't let it get me! I can't!" She ran as hard and fast as she could. Her breathing was uneven, her body was drenched with sweat, and her legs felt like they were about to give out at any minute!
But she didn't stop running...
She held Mo's fishbowl closely. It was times like these that the fish's presence was most appreciated. "We're gonna be fine. Right M-" Alix froze. Her eyes shook as she stared down to where Mo should be.
But he wasn't...
A single ray of light reflected against the glass of the fish bowl, revealing to the girl that the bowl was empty. It was as though someone was mocking her.
Her hand flew into the bowl and felt around for the fish, not minding her gloves getting wet! She saw that the bowl was empty but that didn't stop her from feeling for any sign of Mo.
But the effort was fruitless...
The bowl was empty. That much was certain. Mo had disappeared and Alix hadn't even noticed! She doesn't even know how long he'd been gone before she noticed!
He was like the brother she never had and now he was...
Without him Alix felt like she was lost. Like she would drown in the endless darkness that she was standing in. She felt like the ground beneath her was brittle and that the sunny sky was suddenly blanketed by dark storm clouds!
Alix's mind trembled, her thoughts started spiraling.
'When did this happen?'
'Did I leave him outside?'
'Can he breathe?'
'Where is he?'
'Is he okay?'
'Where is he?!'
'Mo? Mo?!'
'Why now? Why here?'
'WHERE IS HE?!?'
She tried to piece together what may have happened but she'd ran out of time.
The cold mist slam against her body and pushed her to the ground!
She had been consumed by the ocean of mist.
Alix was disoriented. Everywhere she looked, her vision was filled with mist. The air suddenly became incredibly thin, like wind and nature mana within the air had almost completely dissipated. She felt like she'd be dragged to the top of a mountain somehow?
When she tried to get up she felt the mist push into her again, knocking her back down! She tried again but the same thing happened! It was almost like the mist was alive? Punishing her for trying to escape its grasp!
After constantly being knocked down and a lack of energy remaining, Alix decided to succumb to the mist's oppression. She lay lifelessly on the ground, her hand hung limply in the water of the empty fishbowl.
"Mo..." Alix weakly called out. She could barely breath. Her body shivered as the cold mist continued to roll over her, likely also do to the fact that her body felt rather damp. This mist must be why things felt so dry in here?All of the moisture was in the mist.
"What am I gonna do without you?" Tears filled the girl's eyes. She started blinking gently as her mind began to fade. She wanted to panic but didn't have the energy. Her eyes finally closed as she accepted the will of the mist entirely.
It felt strange for Alix to accept to the will of another, especially when it was mist that she was conceding to. Alix's will was too strong to be commanded...normally, at least.
For some reason, she was completely drained right now. She hadn't done much today, but felt like she'd been skipping sleep for at least two months. Like a huge back-channel rolled in from the past few months of constant work and made her suddenly... crash.
Her face felt the coldness of the ground that she had collapsed on. The sound of footsteps passed her in her limp state. 'Is this another part of the test? Or am I just being toyed with now?' She lay unmoving, until she could no longer hear feet stomping around her.
*Boom*
The loud roar of thunder boomed through the space that Alix lay in. She then felt rain start to pour down, gently at first then heavy and chaotic. She felt the coldness of the mist get blown away by the sudden storm, replaced by hot winds!
It was at this point that Alix could no longer just lay on the ground, no matter how comfortable it felt to rest. She picked herself off of the ground and looked around, to see where this rain had come from.
Upon looking up, Alix came to realize that she was no longer in the temple. She had found herself back in town, except everything was much more...worn out?
It looked like centuries had passed in an instant?
"What the hell?" Her eyes narrowed as she scanned her surroundings, the downpour only intensifying! Alix sighed and fully stood from the ground, throwing her hood over her head. Though it wouldn't help much, she was already fully drenched.
She started to walk keeping her eyes moving as she did so. While looking around, she could tell that she'd returned to that part of town that she was in earlier. She saw stalls with cloth coverings for roofs and buildings that looked familiar. Though things had severely decayed...
And there were no people? She looked around the street eventually seeing the same home that she'd awoke in earlier today. The building had completely collapsed, the roof caved in on that nice dining room that she'd seen earlier. The chimney for that homey fireplace was nothing but a crumbled stack of stones.
'How could this have happened so suddenly?' Alix questioned. She took in the destruction of the area when the distant Sosech temple caught her eye. Her eyes squinted as she noticed something strange about the structure.
Unlike everything else in town, Sosech showed no visible signs of aging. At least she believed it didn't, she couldn't tell from this distance but it looked exactly the same as she'd last seen.
Alix decided to head toward the temple. She was hoping that she could find Mo there but she also wondered how it was still in peak condition despite the rest of the town being in ruins?
As Alix dragged herself through the drumming rain, she failed to notice the faint tug of a pink string coming from her chest headed in the direction of SoSech Temple!