Act 3 – Chapter 3 – Beyond the yellow sky
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I could feel my heart beating wildly, pumping adrenaline through my veins as it still didn’t calm down. “That was too close.” Staring at the ceiling I tried to calm my breath.

“We made it, didn’t we?” Homura spoke out, her flustered voice conflicting with her calm words.

“A little bit more of a warning would’ve been appreciated.” I spoke out exasperated.

“There was no time, I could barely make it like this!” She responded sulkily.

“Yeah, surely…” I stopped as the remains were once again shaking violently. “This better not drop like the rest.” Sitting up I looked around, seeing lumps of earth crumbling down and falling past us. Then, however, after it shed its last few bits the rest of the island resting atop the pavilion stayed calm.

Looking outside I could see the still remaining island getting further away, as the piece we were on rose higher and higher. Here and there in the distant I could see other glints of silver light, signifying other rising islands and potentially other survivors.

Looking back to the inside of the pavilion my eyes wandered across Homura, standing in front of one of the openings, her hands clenched together, forming two shaking fists. Gently I grasped her hand, closing mine around hers to get her attention.

“They will be fine.”

“Yeah.” She answered weakly, her mind unwilling to believe my words.

I wish I could give you more reassurance. Looking outside I bit my lips as more and more of the islands disappeared into nothingness, accompanying her as she looked for any sign of the others.

Yet only a few minutes later even that ended, as we were too far away to see anything clearly anymore, the world below nothing more than a few colorful dots amidst a black canvas. With nothing else left to do we looked around, quickly finding the normal way one should’ve entered given its limited size. A ladder, each step engraved into one pillar, lead upwards and out of the pavilion once more.

Quickly we climbed upwards, emerging from beneath a tree which trunk grew around the entrance, hiding it form curious eyes. Stepping away from it we saw the yellow sky, coming even nearer with each passing second. There was no sun, no stars, even no clouds. And even then, it shone with a glittering light.

Just when the trees were about to touch it however, it began to warp, enclosing the island inside as it continued onwards. There was no sound, no wind, only the glistening light that shone from all sides. And a moment later the sky separated once more, the island flying out of it and even higher.

Where beneath now the yellow sky seemed like a calm ocean, we could see new ground resting above. Opposed to the islands below, there was far more now as bridges of land spanned in between the masses of land, whereas others were like continents, with only little cracks and gabs showing a similarity to the other. And far above we could see a new sky, this one shining in a clear blue.

 


 

I was confused when I woke up, cold rock beneath me, a yellow sky above. We should’ve been back in Aeus, at least for a few days, but this place was too different, even within the several landscapes that Aeus had. Never before had I heard about a place with floating islands.

I looked around, but before I could find anyone the whole place began to shake violently, and in front of my eyes a blue window appeared.

“Stage 2?” In my perplexity I spoke out loudly, even though no one else was here. Why am I here? Where are the others?

My thoughts however were suddenly interrupted by another shaking. The ground cracked apart, parts crumbling to roll down the slope and fall beneath. Then, the whole island began to break apart. Using the skills I learned while acting along with my newly learned magic I tried my best to stay on the remaining bits, but that could only last so long.

When I scaled the mountain, it began to rumble once more, the whole side breaking apart, stones raining down on me from above. Hastily I erected a Wind Shield, blocking them from crushing me underneath. Yet, at the same time it had cost me the time I needed to get on the floating bit, as it was already to far above to jump upon.

I watched the island getting farther, a myriad of thought in my heads. Silently, without even thinking about it, I whispered. “I don’t want to die.”

Not now. Not after I found my will to live. I don’t want to leave them behind.

The mass of stone blurred as tears gathered in my eyes. There wouldn’t be anyone that could safe me again. Or at least so I thought before a cold voice resounded.

“I will need you to tell me about this place, scaled one.”

 


 

Even when we could already see it from below time passed ever so slowly while we had to wait for the island to rise high enough for it to reach the other landmass. Eventually however it finally neared the mass, yet at the same time thing began to change. The previously still vegetation began to tremble, growing wildly when the new light began to shine upon it.

Within the blink of an eye the sky was once again covered by the trees, now standing far taller than before. At the same time however, their roots broke into the ground, collapsing any they previously had.

We looked at each other for a second, before we began to sprint towards the new mass of land, as the old one was ripped apart by its vegetation. Quickly we reached the gap, the land already at the same height by now. Jumping over it we didn’t stop running, as we already saw the roots sticking out of the island, trying to reach the new land to continue its growth.

Only a number of cracking resounding behind us made us stop to look behind us, where we saw that the trees, now a size of a hundred foot, had burst apart the islands remains, taking a bit of the new land with them as they fell down below again. And in their wake the silver crystal floated in the air before it disappeared towards above.

“Guess this was a one-way trip.”

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