As I fell down into the depths of the abyss, I acquiesced how little love Rei had for me. She had never cared for me, but for something deeper, she only needed me for some strange purpose. Was it an image to uphold? Sustaining some sense of standards? Ah, I need to stop. I couldn’t let her stay in my head toll-free, it would only hold me back in the long run. My musings were interrupted by a bright light below me, I couldn’t hide the excitement that permeated throughout my entire body. “It’s literally a light at the end of the tunnel!”
I chuckled, so lost in my good mood that I hadn’t even noticed the light turning red until it was too late. I became still as stone, my humor that had only lasted for a few seconds disappearing the moment I could now have an idea of where I was. The hole I had fallen out of was merely one of millions in what seemed to be a flying hive, a giant sphere that was bigger than anything I had ever seen. And there were many objects entering and exiting those holes.
What?! A dragon, covered head to toe in white scales, flew past me without a care. I believe it didn’t even see me as worth acknowledging. Holy shit! That thing is at least five hundred meters! My descent continued but I didn’t care, within these crimson skies, monsters of all types flew. Dragons, Demons… Are those Angels?! Angelic in appearance, their wings were a regal shade of purple, only one creature came to mind at the sight of those wings. Disgraced Angels!?
I had finally decided to focus on where I could land. Flipping over, I searched for any possible body of water but only found buildings. A city? I had more questions than answers now. These cities seemed far more advanced than the infrastructure Palais used, some buildings looked as if they could scrape the surface of the sky. “I think there’s a place in the west that has something similar to this.!”
Before I could have a nervous breakdown, my instincts kicked in. Without thinking I threw a punch forward, repelling a strange projectile. From every direction! I had jumped from the pot into the campfire! I blocked as many projectiles as possible, but eventually my durability began to get chipped at. I could see holes in my arms and legs, blood pouring from each wound, but I ignored the pain. I’m bleeding a lot right now, damnit.
Bleeding. When you bleed your body is expelling blood. Blood. Oh shit, okay please work! I tried focusing as much as possible. Letting the projectiles fill my body. I focused on the feeling of my blood flowing, of the warmth I felt back then. …Eh? No matter how much I focused, the skill I had used back then wasn’t working.
The blood loss began to catch up to me, even I with my experience could only stay conscious for so long with what little blood I had remaining. I was no longer being filled with those strange things. My vision was now filled with only the red fluid that escaped its containment. Damn, the worst way to go out.
Do you need me?
A deep voice echoed in my head. Huh? Searching around, I could not find anyone around, all that surrounded me was red. Who are you? I questioned the strange voice. I received no response to my question.
Do you need me?
It took me a minute to process that the voice was waiting for a reply. You know what, my day has been so short but somehow shitty. So yeah, some help would be nice. A deep hum echoed in my head before my consciousness began to fade. Again. I really need to stop passing out.
You will need me, forever.
It had only felt like a few seconds since I passed out, so when I woke up in a hospital bed instead of at the pearly white gates, I was both thankful and confused. My first impulse was to observe my surroundings. The walls were all white, with strange contraptions spread out on the walls. The only thing I could recognize was the television, after all, Magi crystals had led to the creation of communication devices and an entertainment renaissance. Next to my bed was a beeping machine with a green line that never stopped going up and down. So either I was saved or I was conned.
The door opening caused my guard to go up, I can’t underestimate anything after what I’ve been through so far. My expectations were of some ugly gremlin to enter the room and threaten me with labor or slavery. What I didn’t expect was a beautiful woman with lucious orange hair to enter. She looked to be in her early thirties with a fit figure, her eyes were a blazing orange that reminded me of flames. She had a gentle smile on her face as she reached into the breast pocket of her strange white cloak uniform for a pen. Is she going to pull out some strange torture device from a pocket space?! Jumping from my bed, I entered a fighting stance. I was confident in my ability to fight bare handed against an enemy. Right as I prepared to go in for the first strike, she giggled and pulled out a pen and notebook before she started jotting something down.
“Well, Mr. Skydiver, it seems you’re healthy enough to move around. We didn’t expect you to heal so fast considering the amount of bullet wounds you had.” The woman gave me a once over as she spoke to me before jotting something else in her notepad. She wrote for at least two minutes before reading over her work and then nodding with a smile. “Alright, I need you to take a seat on the bed and I’ll give you a quick physical.” I was still on guard, after all, who knew what evil torture a physical was. They probably made you endure the worst torture.
It’s best to incapacitate her. After that I can escape. Yet my body did not follow my command. A smile forced its way to my face as I sat on the bed. “My apologies, I don’t quite know what came over me.” The blonde woman continued, acting as if I never had my outburst. I could only observe as she took off a strange silver and black object from around her neck. I remember hearing about something similar to that. A citizen of Palais was annoyed at the lack of medical advancement, so he went to the Federation where advancements were made. A stethoscope I believe. She plugged her ears with the two small ends and used the big metal part on my chest.
What am I supposed to do in this type of situation?
We both sat there in silence, the doctor listening to my heartbeat while I stared ahead at nothing with no control over my body. My eyes met hers. Within her flame colored eyes, I could see nothing but emptiness, it was like she lacked a soul. Why can’t I move? I tried to take control of even just my arm to throw a punch. All my attempts returned with no results.
Why resist? Become mine.
The strange woman was speaking within my head. All around, time seemed to have stopped and my body was mine to control again. “What’s your angle? Why hold me here?” A fit of giggles echoed all around, almost like she had understood something I did not. “Answer me!” Her tirade only stopped after a few more seconds; she was taunting me now.
The orange haired woman from before had been replaced. Where a youthful looking thirty year old once stood, there was now a woman in front of me who looked to be in her mid to late twenties, she had hair as black as the night sky and eyes that reminded me of obsidian with their impenetrable darkness. Her figure was displayed through a split dress, I had often seen Rei wear those on our date nights. From her back protruded a set of amethyst wings—but that was only one half of the whole that scared me—above her head was a black halo. “Poor soul, unloved by all yet you still vie for their attention…” I could see the pity in her eyes as her head dipped to meet my gaze.
The woman dodged the roundhouse kick that I sent her way. I probably shouldn’t have started with a kick. Oh well. I closed in on her and threw a left jab, surprising me, she slipped inside of my guard and threw a right uppercut that sent me flying into the wall. My entire body ached and I didn’t think I could move after taking that hit from her, my vision felt shaky as I slumped against the wall. Oh damn! What the hell, that felt like a punch from High-Orc Chieftain.
I let out a groan as she approached me. “Did you really attack your enemy without considering they could be stronger than you?” I began to shiver as she let out a sinister laugh. I could already tell that I had tried fighting a monster, no, a demon. Pain coursed through my body as she repeatedly stomped on me, changing where her foot landed everytime. The attacks kept coming for what felt like hours but it had only been thirty minutes. “Ugh, where’s that fire!?” She gave me a kick and then spit on me. A beep on her person interrupted any more attacks she could throw at me. Looking at her wrist, she clicked her teeth before turning away from me. “Fine, I’ve lost interest.” The world around me shifted from the clear white room to an empty canyon. My body was no longer healed, it was once again riddled with holes and covered in blood.
I blankly gazed into the crimson sky above while trying to understand what had just happened. “What the hell was that?” Staring back onto the area ahead of me, I could see that city in the distance. I could either stay here and let my wounds get worse or head into the city and receive some kind of medical help. Screw it.
