ic Extinguished (IC)

[olopi]

He did not know what was happening. Was he alive? Was he dead? Neither? Both? Was this some alternate dimension, or just a dream? Or something else entirely? It did not matter now. Only one thing mattered, and that was ascending. The music, strange, horrifying yet beautiful. Whatever was creating it, it was where he had to go. Or so it felt, at least.

 

The hands. They were a surprise. An ambush, even. But they were not fast enough. No, Bonfire was better than that. Bonfire could out-fly a few hands of darkness, even in this form. What were they? Who, or what, was creating them? What was their purpose? He continued to ascend, paying little attention to them. They did not bother him so far, no need to change that.

 

When the figure approached, he continued to keep his speed, but instead of simply ascending he circled. If this was a trap, he couldn’t slow down. And there it was. The statement. That he could answer.

 

“You’ve got it all wrong. Have you ever tried to stop a raging fire? It cannot be stopped. Sure, you can temporarily weaken it. Sure, you can divert it. But you cannot stop it. It will grow bigger and bigger, until it consumes even what stopped it before. Try your best, go ahead. “

 

His speech certainly helped himself, as he felt more and more fired up with each word. His body, it changed ever so slightly. The fire was growing stronger. And as it usually was when that was the case, he become more pumped up too. Louder, his movements more forceful.

 

“I will fight. I will fail. But I will not stop. Come at me, and I will grow. Stronger and stronger. The fire will devour your every weakness, and grow stronger from it. And in the end, I will break the cycle, yes. Your end will come, no matter who you put into my way. And then, you will be the one to submit. “

[Curious Key]

The figment of solemn break apart, dissipating into a screaming shade of . . . of something. Bonfire couldn't quite understand what he was seeing; a teeming mass of mouths and groping hands. It screamed, threw itself at Bonfire and horrible mass and all, pierced his torso.

 

And suddenly he understood that there was no hope for him, not salvation except in submission. His defiance had doomed him and he could never make it right, but he could go back, he could stop this madness, end it himself before the angel ended it for him.

 

He wasn't far from the tower now. The song was like razors under his skin, but this was the heart of this broken world. From here he could see a hole, a broken piece of masonry that he could pass through. Another flickering phantasm flew into the way, resolved into a familiar, large, reptilian figure that even Bonfire's addled mind recognized as . . . Leviathan?

Edited February 13, 2017 by Curious Key

[olopi]

Solemn? Why was Solemn here? Solemn, that was quite a story. One both shorter, and longer, than he wished. One that felt very, very distant all the sudden, as soon as he tried to remember anything. One that felt … wrong? Why did it feel wrong? Why did he feel like this? What was happen-

 

And then, Solemn managed it once again. He remembered this, yes, getting hit, from an ambush. It was in … where was it? He suddenly forgot, memories simply disappearing.

 

“Heh. Always  … striking from behind, … aren’tcha … and then … running. ”

 

Something was calling towards him. One way back. One way forward. Would he make the way forward? Unlikely. Would he make the way backwards? Yes. Yes, he certainly would. But, deep down, something struggled against that. No, don’t go back. Push onwards. There is nothing that stops you. Let the fire devour your every weakness.

 

He pushed onwards, against all that was thrown against him. His body was telling him to stop. His mind was telling him to stop. The environment … if it was that … was telling him to stop. And yet, he would not. Why? He didn’t know. It felt right.

 

And then, Leviathan. Would he attack too? Why would he? But, something told him that it was best to watch out. To be ready. And to continue pushing on, even like this.

 

“What …. Are ... you doing …. Here?”