Sev descended deeper into the ravine, walking across tight paths and long natural bridges, scaling small cliffs, and fighting the occasional monster lurking in the depths.
The further in he went, the larger the cave seemed to be; it was almost like it had a sky of its own. He casually strolled across another bridge, humming a soft melody. Far below him were the sounds of water crashing against stone. A soft blue-green glow emanated from the river below, lighting up his surroundings slightly.
Far above him were what seemed to be clouds. The wind blew from the side of the stone arch, threatening to throw Sev off it and down into the glowing water. All around him, large stone spikes and stalactites hung from the walls and pillars. The cave was oddly peaceful for something that looked so menacing and dangerous from the outside.
That feeling, however, was quite misleading.
A small amount of pressure was building up in Sev's mind and around his body the further he walked in. Slowly, he could hear distant whispers calling to him in different languages.
Crossing the bridge, he sat down in a small clearing which served as a temporary camp for anyone passing through. He pulled out the small notebook and his pen, and started writing with his own blood.
Memory Lost:
After staying in that dark cave for a few days, we finally gathered the courage to head out. Expecting the worst, we closed our eyes before slowly opening them under the sunless sky to adjust quicker, but to our surprise, nothing changed. Except… The mountains somehow seemed closer, more real than before.
Continuing our journey, we fought monsters for weeks straight, hiding out in every cave we found before reaching the same point again. Almost giving up, we tried retracing our steps, but it was harder than we imagined. The terrain had already shifted so drastically we didn't know which way to go, and the endless light was draining our energy.
Soon, however, we heard that sound again: the cracking of the sky. This time, we confronted the weird event by turning around toward the mountains and watching what happened. The view shocked us; to this day, I'm unsure of what happened or why it happened.
The sky cracked as if there was a wall of glass in front of us. As it shattered and pieces of disappearing glass fell from the sky, the distant mountains disappeared. At first, we were scared, terrified that our destination had disappeared. We kind of expected it since the blue desert terrain had a habit of changing within minutes.
Astrid fell to her knees. I could see the tears forming in her eyes, but before they could fall, they were evaporated into the endless sky. As the last pieces of the shattered wall fell, we saw a sandstorm approaching. Intending to at least survive for just one more day, we hid in a nearby cave.
We spent days in the cave, struck by terror. We cried but didn't speak. After calming down, we finally steeled our courage and left the safety of the cave. Once again, the mountains were closer, almost at arm's reach. We probably walked for months before something incredible happened.
As the sand shifted, it revealed a modern house, like those from the great European Citadel, from my home. For the next few weeks, we traveled with a small group of people. Among them were Yusuv, Frey, Hunter, Jill, Wesley, Denny, and Martin. Reaching the last glass wall, we conquered it and entered the first place that wasn't the odd blue-tinted desert in what was probably a year.
Sev wiped his quill against the page before storing both items in his pockets. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do.
He slowly raised one of his hands and pressed it against his head, letting energy flow through it back into his mind, releasing the power of his fragment on himself. He forcefully removed the memory he had just written into the notebook, removing himself from it emotionally and physically.
Only the information remained.
His mind burned. It was as if he was forcefully ripping out a part of himself without anything to substitute it, with no way to repair it. He bit down on his lip in order not to scream and attract nearby monsters. Blood flowed from his nose, eyes, and pierced lip.
Soon the noise disappeared. His hand fell onto his lap, knocking the watch closed and throwing him back into the darkness.
He sat there for a few moments, feeling empty, like he had just lost a part of himself. Before he stood up, he tried using the same technique as Astel in order to replenish his energy. Slowly, life flooded every corner of his tired self, but he wasn't satisfied. Even though he had been training this technique for months, he still wasn't as good as Astel.
Still, he smiled before standing up and wiping his face with his hand. He opened the watch, illuminating his surroundings once more. To his surprise, there were a few monsters lurking around, sniffing the area.
'The blood,' he thought, before hesitantly wiping his hand against his clothes.
White sparks surrounded him as two silver gauntlets, parts of his suit of armor, formed around his hands. He patiently waited until one of the monsters got close enough before striking.
A large, dark green monster—looking like a mix between a praying mantis and a mosquito standing on four legs—approached the wall where he was. One of its long, blade-like limbs reached beyond the wall, waiting for a moment, perfectly still right in front of Sev's face.
Sev stared at the sharp limb, swallowing nervously.
Suddenly, the monster struck with its limb against the wall, intending to sever Sev's head. Sev ducked just in time, pushing himself beyond the corner to come face to face with the large creature. He dodged its attacks before grabbing one of its thin arms with his hands and breaking it off.
The creature shrieked, attracting the other monsters. Sev quickly beheaded the creature in front of him with its own limb, preparing himself for a long fight.
*
The fire crackled, bringing warmth to everyone standing near it as about half the wood prepared was already burned.
The band was taking a break, having drinks and eating good food prepared by their friends and neighbors. On the stage now were people trying to tell jokes, keeping the good mood of the evening going.
Daniel and the other new arrivals weren't in the best mood, however. After months of barely surviving, they simply couldn't enjoy such a festivity, especially after witnessing so many deaths in the encounter with the spiders the other day.
Searching the crowd for Max, Dan stumbled onto the Doctor, who was sitting alone near the frozen lake, crying.
"How are you holding up?" Dan asked.
The Doctor quickly wiped away his tears. "Come sit down," he said, signaling for Dan to join him.
Dan listened to the older man, handing him his cup of wine. The Doctor stared at the red liquid, swishing it around before drinking it all in one go.
"I lost my daughter," he said after a brief moment of silence. "She was with us when the spiders attacked… I couldn't even look at her corpse," the Doctor choked out, staring into the dark ice.
"A father should at least look…"
He burst into tears, trying his best to hide it.
Dan sat next to him in silence, remembering the face of the girl he failed to save.
"…I'm sorry." He whispered.
The Doctor wiped his tears again. "No, no. It's not your fault."
Dan sighed, looking down at his shaking hands. "If only that were true…"
*
Sev dragged the last body—belonging to a long snake with two rows of sharp teeth—to the nearby cliff, throwing the dead monster into the glowing river deep below him.
White sparks surrounded his hands as the gauntlets disappeared back into his mind. He did his best to avoid being covered in blood, but the bottom of his pants and the tips of his sleeves were drenched in it.
'Tsk.'
He walked, descending deeper into the cave. Eventually, he reached an area covered in webs. Using a small bone blade he carried with him, he cut through the larger webs while simply walking through the smaller ones. The path slowly got narrower, but there was light at the end.
Covered in spider webs, he finally reached the end of the narrow tunnel; only a thin membrane separated him from what was on the other side. He took a deep breath before closing his watch and cutting a hole in the membrane.
He was almost blinded by the bright light from the other side. The voices in his head intensified, and the pressure on his mind was so strong he almost collapsed.
Powering through, he peeped through the hole. He saw a massive clearing, like the inside of a volcano.
The walls were covered in holes that were patched with the same membrane and covered by hundreds of spider webs. The whole place was divided into levels, each deeper and smaller than the ring above it. Hundreds, if not thousands, of small spider eggs lined every wall as the entire thing was bathed in sunlight, even though it was the middle of the night.
In the middle was an enormous cocoon suspended in the air from the dark walls by thick silk.
The longer he looked at it, the more his head hurt. As soon as he confirmed nothing had changed since the last time, he turned around and left.
Taking just a few steps, he suddenly collapsed to the ground. The hairs on his entire body stood up. In an instant, he was covered in sweat, his pupils dilated as adrenaline began pumping through his system.
Without another thought, he got up to his feet and ran as quickly as he could.
*
A small light shone through the dark entrance to the gorge before disappearing again as a young man dressed in a slightly weathered, modified modern suit walked out.
Nobody noticed his arrival as he began walking toward the playing band and the crowd of singing people. On the way, he fixed his tie and made sure his clothes looked decent. Squeezing through the crowd, he walked straight toward the stage.
The music stopped for a moment as the band members bowed to him before greeting him more casually and exchanging a few words.
Sev took a stance at a spot on the stage as if it were his own. He stared at the crowd of awed people before smiling warmly and summoning his guitar.
Together, the complete band continued performing long into the night.
The sound of his guitar caught the ears of his friends at the table where Astrid was; however, they were too drunk to notice or care that Sev was back.