“Perhaps it’s only coincidence,” Iris asserted. “We cannot afford to take such a risk based solely on speculation.”
“Alright,” Hagan finally responded, his disappointment apparent. “Let’s head back then.”
The three turned toward the valley and began walking back to the field they had arrived in. Hagan sighed. “It’s starting to look like we’re not gonna learn very much from this place.”
“Not necessarily,” Iris replied, “there is much we have yet to survey.”
“Look!” Lucas exclaimed, pointing to the distance at three small glowing objects approaching rapidly.
“Ignis orbis!” Hagan shouted, conjuring a fire orb.
“What are you doing?!” Iris cried.
Hagan glanced at her. “Relax, I’m just getting ready in case they’re hostile.” The tiny luminous spheres quickly increased altitude and shot off into the sky, disappearing within seconds. Hagan’s orb vanished. “I guess they don’t like us.”
“They appeared to be identical to the entity we observed earlier,” Iris noted. “Perhaps Lucas’s assumption was correct. It’s highly likely that they are souls, especially taking into consideration what we know about this dimension.”
Hagan looked over at Lucas. “Didn’t you say the Knowms somehow make them into monsters?”
Lucas nodded. “That’s how I understood it.”
Without warning, the entire area surrounding the trio began to turn white. Hagan’s eyes widened. “Alright, now what’s happening?”
Lucas’s head darted around the quickly whitening landscape. “I don’t know! This definitely didn’t happen the last time I was here!”
As the scenery became solid white, Iris started to tremble. “It seems that we’re being transferred into some sort of void!”
Hagan grabbed his bow. “Get ready, I’ve got a bad feeling.”
Chapter 25: Reflections Of The Past (Part IV)
The young man was in love. It was the night of his birthday. Hand in hand with Vera, the pair was on their way home from the opening night of a spectacular play. While he enjoyed the show, it was the furthest thing from his mind in that moment. This night was going to be the night he asked her to marry him.
The weather appeared to be in hard contrast with the young man’s upbeat attitude as rain rushed from the gray skies above. Unfortunately, neither of them had brought an umbrella and still had a good distance left to walk. They quickly ran to a small overhang on a nearby building to wait out the storm.
The city streets quickly became vacant as the rain thickened. The two stood under the shelter for quite some time, though neither of them were bothered by this predicament. As they kissed, he decided it would be a good time to at last reveal his true feelings. He reached into his pocket for the ring but was unexpectedly shoved to the ground.
Clueless as to what had just taken place, the young man struggled to get onto his feet only to have his head viciously stomped into the cobblestone. Her screams of terror cut through him as he desperately tried to fight his delirious state. Turning his head, he saw two men dragging her into a nearby alley. One of the men glanced back at him, noticing he’d survived the assault.
The young man got to his feet and charged the attackers. As the first man covered her mouth and dragged her farther down the dark passageway, the second confronted the young man and swiftly gave him a harsh beating. The young man fell to the ground once more. He was losing consciousness quickly as he was stomped again and again. The final sounds he heard were her muffled, terrified screams as the first man barbarously ripped her clothing. With a devastating blow to the young man’s head, he lost consciousness. That night would be the last time he saw her. Love was dead.
Chapter 26: The Lost Soul
The trio now found themselves surrounded by white. It was everywhere: below their feet, over their heads, and as far as the eye could see.
Hagan grabbed an arrow from his quiver. Following his lead, Lucas unsheathed his sword. Zoe never said anything about a void. This is so strange... I can’t tell where the ground ends and the rest begins!
Iris franticly scanned the area. “Who or what is responsible for this?!” Her voice echoed as she spoke. After her words trailed off, there was silence.
“Show yourself!” Hagan exclaimed, his words ringing similarly to Iris’s.
“Maybe we’ve stepped into some kind of trap?” Lucas suggested.
“Perhaps,” Iris replied. “I would propose that we investigate this bizarre new area if I weren’t so fearful of making any sudden movements.”
“Ear me?” All three of them jolted as the mysterious voice spoke.
“Ear me?” Hagan repeated, puzzled.
It spoke again. “Ca... ou hea... e?”
Lucas scanned the void, attempting to locate the source of the noise. “Who are you?” he called out.
A few seconds passed before it returned once more. “Can you hear me?” it said, far more audibly than before.
“Yes,” Lucas replied. “Who are you? Where are you?!”
“I am where you are,” it said. The trio was puzzled by this strange response.
“I don’t understand,” Iris replied. “What exactly do you mean?”
“You’re inside me,” it answered.
Hagan’s eyes widened. “Creepy.”
“So... you’re the void?” Lucas asked.
“I’m not a void,” the voice informed, “I’m a soul.”
There was another period of brief silence as the group contemplated this unexpected development. Hagan cleared his throat. “Let me get this straight. You’re a soul and we’re inside of you.”
“That’s correct,” it replied.
Iris stared into the blankness which surrounded them. “I would like to request an explanation as to why exactly you’ve chosen to place us ‘inside of you.’”
“Because I wanted to talk to you,” it responded. “The first living person I encountered was unresponsive when I tried to speak to them. That’s when I figured out that I could draw them inside of me by expanding myself. It proved to be the only way I could talk to them. I saw you, and decided to try again.”
“Let us go, we don’t have time for this!” Hagan barked.
“Why are you here?” it asked, ignoring Hagan’s demand.
Hesitating at first, Iris replied, “We’re on an expedition to gain knowledge of this dimension and its correlation with Damiano’s Disk. Perhaps you would be willing to assist us?”
“So you aren’t Spades?” it queried.
“Hold on,” Lucas interrupted, “you know about the Spades?”
“Yes,” it responded. “I’ve spoken to one of them before... They told me that I need to cross over to the Netherworld, but they didn’t seem to understand that I can’t.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”
There was a pause before the voice replied. “I found myself in a rough patch in my life... I decided that I had had enough and... well, I hung myself. It was a horrible experience... but when the pain and fear had subsided, I started to see a bright light at the end of a tunnel... they always tell you, ‘go toward the light.’ But I was afraid... I didn’t know where it would take me or what would happen... so I thought, ‘what if I don’t go toward the light?’ So, I didn’t. The light slowly faded away... and that’s when I found myself here. I wandered for what seemed like an eternity. While I met other souls along the way, they were all just as confused about this place as I was. I learned that I could change my size and shape here... which is fun at first, I’ll admit. But the novelty faded. I soon felt as though I were missing out on something greater.”
The voice was silent for a few seconds. Then, it went on. “Eventually, I spotted a living person. I tried to communicate with them, but they were confused and unresponsive. I followed them around for a while, and soon figured out that I could speak to them in the same way we’re talking right now. When I finally managed
to have my first conversation with them, I learned that they were a member of a group called the Spades. They told me all about their group, their purpose, and a man called ‘Lord Quinn.’ They said that they had arrived in this place, called the ‘In Between,’ through a portal from Aria. They went on to warn me of the green-cloaked men who wander this dimension called ‘Knowms.’ Apparently, these Knowms use forbidden magic to hunt and transform us souls into beasts, then enslave us to do their bidding back in Aria. I was told that I would only be safe from this fate if I crossed over to the Netherworld... but I think my chance has passed. I’m guessing it was at the end of the tunnel. I didn’t go... so now I’m stuck here. I can’t ‘just cross over.’ I have no idea where to go in order to get there. I’ve tried everything. I’ve even tried to go through some of the portals I’ve seen Spades go in and out of... but they don’t seem to work for me.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Lucas as he sheathed his sword. Sounds like this soul has been through a lot. I wonder how it feels... He activated his ability. It was almost too much for him to bear as an intense feeling of despair and loneliness consumed him. He hastily deactivated his power. The story seems to be genuine from what I can tell. I’ve never felt anything like that... so alone. So lost... yet it doesn’t seem to show in the way this soul is speaking to us. The tone is so ‘matter of fact.’ It’s almost as though they’ve accepted this as their permanent fate. This soul must have been trapped here for a long time to feel so hopeless.
“Just how long have you been here?” Lucas asked.
“I’m not sure,” it answered. “Time means nothing here. I can’t tell how many days, weeks, months or years have passed. All I can tell you is that the year of my death was 2088... And there certainly weren’t any ‘Knowms,’ ‘Lord Quinn,’ or monsters in the Aria I lived in.”
“You’ve been deceased for hundreds of years,” Iris informed. “The current year is 2591.”
“2591?!” the voice gasped. “It’s been that long already?!”
“I’m afraid so,” Iris answered. “I’m certain there must be some method you can use to cross into the Netherworld. Perhaps one day you shall discover it... While I wish that my friends and I were able to assist you, our knowledge of this dimension and the Netherworld is very limited at best.”
“No worries,” the voice said. “I didn’t expect you’d be able to help me anyway. No one seems to know the answer. But then again... everyone who does know has already crossed. I guess I’m just trapped here until I figure it out.”
“That’s too bad,” Hagan commented as he put away his bow and returned the arrow to his quiver. “Look, we’ve really got to get going. If you don’t have anything to tell us about Damiano’s Disk, let us out of here.”
“The Spade I spoke to told me a little bit about that,” it replied. “But first I want to know why you’re chasing this thing.”
“We want to use it to reverse what’s happened to Aria,” Lucas responded. “It’s a mess back home. There are monsters everywhere. We know that the power it unlocks can be used to do some really destructive things, but we feel that the only way to stop it from being misused is to get it ourselves. We’re not going to wait around for Lord Quinn to get his hands on it. He’s responsible for the monster invasion, so we already know that whatever he has planned isn’t going to be good.”
“I see,” said the voice. “In that case, I’ll tell you what I know. The Spade I spoke to said this disk is the reason their group exists. Supposedly, this ‘Lord Quinn’ sent a group of men to the In Between to find the two pieces of Damiano’s Disk. When they finally found the first half, one of them ran off with it and formed the Spades. From what I understand, Quinn’s men eventually found the other half and are now at some sort of war with the Spades to get the first one back. I don’t know many details outside of that. I’m assuming that these men are the ‘Knowms’ I was warned about.”
“Interesting,” Iris remarked. She turned to Lucas. “It appears that the Spades were initiated by one of Lord Quinn’s former allies. It’s now evident why their members are so knowledgeable of Quinn’s inner workings.” Iris looked back toward the void. “Thank you for the information. I’m certain it will prove to be highly beneficial in our pursuit.”
“I wish you all the best of luck,” said the voice.
Slowly, the landscape which had surrounded the trio prior to entering the white void reappeared. They looked up to see a small glowing ball quickly rise into the air and take off toward the horizon.
“That was strange,” Hagan declared.
“Indeed,” Iris agreed. “Fortunately, we’ve acquired useful information from the encounter.”
Lucas gazed into the distance, where the soul had flown out of visible range. I hope they find their way out of here before any Knowms get ahold of them.
“I guess I was right about the Spades,” Hagan asserted. “The guy who ran off with the fragment and started the group had probably figured out that Quinn was just going to use him. I’m guessing he was going to try to complete it himself before the Knowms found the other one.”
“It’s possible,” Iris replied. “However, it’s also possible that he truly intended to do nothing more than keep it out of Quinn’s grasp.”
“I guess,” said Hagan, “but I doubt it.”
Iris noticed Lucas staring off into the distance. “Lucas? Are you alright?”
He turned around. “Yeah. I was just thinking about what it must be like to be stuck here. I hope that soul finds their way to the Netherworld somehow.”
“I’m certain they will eventually,” Iris assured him.
Hagan started walking. “Let’s keep moving. I want to see what else we can find here.”
As the group hiked back toward the field, Iris pondered what the soul had told them. “I find it intriguing that the disk fragments were originally located here in the In Between. I was under the assumption that they were discovered in Aria.”
“Me too,” Lucas responded. “Zoe said that the temple was on Nazareno Island. I wonder why the fragments were here.”
Hagan shrugged. “There’s no telling. All I know is that this whole thing just keeps getting more and more complicated.”
Chapter 27: An Explosive Confrontation
The group continued back through the valley, headed in the direction of the field from which they had originally emerged. “Do you think my letter to Grandpa is still going to make it?” Lucas asked.
“It’s possible,” Iris replied. “I’m uncertain whether or not the post office was destroyed during the attack on Azure.”
“Even if it wasn’t,” Hagan added, “your letter might be a little late. Once the knights show up to pick up the mail and see the damage, they’ll probably want to stop to investigate the area. The good news is that they might be able to hold off the monsters and call for more Knowms to clean the place up a bit.”
“Of course!” Iris said cheerfully. “The knights! I had forgotten that they would be arriving to deliver and collect the mail!”
Hagan smiled. “See? Everything will be fine.” His grin quickly faded. “It’s just too bad that we’re forced to rely on those Knowms for ‘protection’ when they’re the ones behind this crap in the first place.”
Lucas looked up at the starry sky as they proceeded. I hope you’re alright, Grandpa... you must be worried sick by now. Hopefully my letter makes it to you. We’re going to put an end to this madness, one way or another. No more fighting to survive day after day. I promise you that.
“Hey, look over there,” Hagan said. He suddenly stopped walking, and turned his head toward the mountainside to the group’s left. Lucas and Iris turned to see a cave.
“Shall we investigate?” Iris suggested. Before she had even opened her mouth to speak, Hagan had already begun walking toward the discovery. She glanced at Lucas. “I presume that’s a ‘yes.’” They followed him into the cave.
The inside of the cavern was
just as adequately lit as the rest of the dimension. Upon entering, they observed a broad and long passage ahead of them, decorated with colorless stalactites and stalagmites. “This thing’s pretty big,” Hagan commented.
“I wonder just how deep it goes,” Lucas added.
Hagan continued forward. “Let’s find out.”
They walked farther into the cave. After traveling for a good while and making their way through several twists and turns, Iris spoke. “While I find this cave to be rather fascinating, I’m beginning to believe that we’re not going to find anything relevant to our expedition’s aim.”
They stopped walking. “I think you’re right,” Lucas agreed, removing the backpack from his shoulders. “Let’s take a few minutes to rest here before we turn around. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty hungry.”
“I could use a snack myself,” said Hagan as he sat against the stone wall. Iris seated herself beside him while Lucas rummaged through the contents of the backpack, removing some bread and a glass bottle containing water. Tearing the loaf into pieces, he distributed it to his colleagues and rested alongside them. Hagan took a bite. “So Lucas, I know you can’t remember exactly where you showed up in the In Between, but if we went back to the portal, do you think you’d be able to at least point out the general direction you and what’s‑her‑name came from?”
“Maybe,” Lucas answered. “I can try to remember, anyway.”
“I was thinking about it,” Hagan elaborated, “and we might want to check over there next. If the Spades had a portal in that area, it might be near their base.”
“Excellent suggestion,” Iris noted. “Our likelihood of encountering their members or otherwise gaining useful information will increase greatly.”
Hagan grabbed his flask, sarcastically remarking, “Yeah, that’s the idea.”
As Lucas started to take a drink of water from the bottle, he was suddenly distracted by the sound of footsteps echoing from farther down the cave’s passage. “Do you hear that?!” he whispered in a panic.
Iris and Hagan froze. Listening carefully, they too heard what sounded like the footsteps of multiple people walking toward them. The noise was accompanied by distant, incomprehensible voices.