A black silhouette shot through the expansive lilac skies at blistering speeds, honing in on the only other space in the sky existing at the same elevation. Its giant beak was hanging open, releasing an ear piercing, mountain shaking screech of dominance. Once it became apparent that the flying beast was bound for not only the mountain she stood on, but her very body herself, Kanashima's gunmetal grey eyes widened, losing her already unsteady grip on the hefty object in her arms. She stumbled forward a little more, somehow maintaining her balance after catching both herself and the mysterious item. The weight made it feel precious, and she'd be damned if she damaged anything of potential value.
Was whatever inhabiting the cradle of her arms actually a treasure of that beast? It definitely would've been in her best interest to steal it, but there's absolutely no way she could've gotten away with it. Resigning her normal klepto tendencies, she let the ellipsoid down in front of her, stepping out of the den. Now illuminated, the surface of it shimmered with the natural lights, emitting a soft lavender glow.
Oh, it's a giant egg. Her egg. That's… not good.
Backpedaling away from the entrance and the despicable object that got her into this position, she directed her gaze towards the approaching danger. Now closer, each and every terrifying detail was evident, down to the massive beak open, ready to devour her whole. There was no way to escape this, it was too high up. Not enough space in the clearing to have any sort of ability to dodge it. No exit through the confined den behind her housing the eggs. This was it, she was going to die here all alone. What was there to try? She wasn't strong like Morgan. She wasn't intelligent like her mother. Just a helpless girl from the slums in this cold and unforgiving world, and an even harsher reality. This simulation was just an extension of that same reality. One that was about to end in such a way all too familiar.
It's okay, I'll be joining you guys soon. Maybe I won't get to see them again after all.
She raised her head to the sky, dropping her eyelids. There was nothing else to do now, but to let the relinquishing embrace of death take her away, take her to the rest of her family. A sharp pain exploded from her left shoulder, turning her world black. She squeezed her eyes shut at the impact, accepting her fate as her senses turned offline. Her final thoughts contained two people, a tall and stone faced woman next to quite an effeminate boy.
I tried, I really did guys.
The first thing that came back was the sound. Ear piercing winds slammed into Kanashima harder than anything she had ever experienced before, rushing against her sides. She couldn't even hear anything else around her, the zephyr was so disorienting. The air sped past her, stealing away what little moisture her skin managed to cling onto until now. She tried to scream, but that too was lost to the roaring gale just like her natural skin oils. What was she screaming for anyway, pain? Her skin was cracking under the dryness, and some blood already started to show and seep through, Kanashima could feel it on her skin. An apt answer, but she still felt like she was missing something else. Looking around her body, she recoiled at the sight of her left shoulder.
Yikes, what is this damn bird doing to me?
Coming through one end and out in front of her, a giant ivory talon shot through her left shoulder, lacerating the flesh and already frail muscles inside. On the tip of it, a thick ruby red liquid dripped off the point, flying away in the wind. Trying her best not to panic and fall off of the bird, she squirmed around the sharp claw, eliciting more grunts of pain as it dug around, lacerating her frail muscles even more.
The terrain continued to scroll past her in waves of hills, dunes, and numerous other landscape constructs that she couldn't even name. Every so often, she would see another vibrant purple section breaking up the normal obsidian monotony. It was definitely generated there for some purpose, some meaning, but she couldn't come up with a justification yet. It was weird, yet so alluring to her. Like she just wanted to dive right in, and she couldn't explain why. Nothing about a mysterious place with even more esoteric features ever intrigued her, and yet, here she was.
Just a little touch. A little touch would be great. Maybe a plunge?
Outstretching her right arm to overlay one of the violet rifts, she imagined it. The cool and refreshing embrace of a cold splash, or would the liquid be warm like a bath? Maybe sticky, viscous, thin, or thick? She had to experience this, it went much further than simple interest, it was calling out to her, calling her name. She had never wanted to sink herself into liquid depths before, but this was different from the rest of them. She could finally discern the voice coming from these seemingly random perforations. It was soft and sweet, charming her to come closer, slowly entrancing her mind.
"...Kanashima… Come, Lady Kanashima…"
"Who's saying that? Who's out there?"
Drawn in every way but physically, her head turned towards one of the several rifts that began to scroll past, a rather large crescent shape. Her eyes widened as more and more came into view, another couple crescents and one that looked too perfect of a circle to be an accident. Looking at the entire function, it was almost as if they swirled together, moving across the landscape under her. It almost looked like one of the crude suns an elementary school kid would draw in the corner of the tablet. The strong gusts around her drowned out her question, but somehow, the voice responded all the same.
"The Void, Lady Kanashima. Now come."
Approaching the center of the giant symbol, the near perfect circle, a translucent force wrapped around her body, wisps of light purple coalescing into a sphere. Was this the power of the voice, the being currently contacting her? It sure wasn't her own power, at least one that she had familiarized herself with. Once it was complete, it pulled her feeble body off of her ride, and sent her flying down in a panic.
"Wait– You could've warned me, Void!"
Soaring through the air was a new experience, but one that she would love to leave in the past right about now. Falling for the second time today, she screamed again. Her current speed was not as great as the one the bird achieved yet, so her outbursts have not fallen victim to the Doppler effect just yet.
The center of the light purple vortex continued to draw closer and closer at a linear rate, the luminous sphere slowed her descent to a consistent speed, serving to cushion her fall. At least the Void cared enough to watch out for her fragile state. Eventually the bubble popped, dropping her right on the shore of the puddle on her feet. Shaken and barely able to retain her balance, she managed to upright herself. The adrenaline wore off moments earlier, her shoulder now screaming from the gaping hole left in it. All she could do was grit and bare it, her one good arm gripping the other side of her body tight.
"Damnit, that really really hurts."
As opposed to the rest of the environment she's seen so far, the expansive area housing the collective symbol was entirely flat. The collection of crescents each had one of their ends pointing towards the center circle, the curves rotating in a clockwise motion. Enigmatic, eerie, but most of all, unsettling, Kanashima felt fear settle into her marred visage. Eyebrows drooped low as she took a half step back away from the amaranthine liquid.
"Lady Kanashima, Enter the liquid, Lady Kanashima."
There's that sweet siren call again, the same one that drew her closer to here both physically and mentally, the same one that deposited her in the middle of the esoteric symbol. The same Void that manifested the force that saved her from the giant black bird, protected her from the shorter fall, and now continued to talk to her.
"What do you want from me?"
"The Void wants you, Lady Kanashima, Daughter of the Void."
Excuse me, daughter of what?
"What did you just call me?"
"Lady Kanashima, Daughter of the Void."
What could that possibly mean? What was The Void? Was she in the Void right now, this ever expansive dark purple nether? It made more sense than her other theory, that she was in hell. Being in hell meant that she would be dead, and unfortunately she felt quite alive today, the pain in her shoulder being such an obvious indicator.
She knelt next to the pool of neon liquid, staring into its depths. No eyes or face to connect to the voice, so in replacement, her eyes met the same gunmetal grey in the reflection. A few ripples spread through the entire surface, refracting her own reflection.
"Dive in, Lady Kanashima. Accept your heritage, Lady Kanashima, Daughter of the Void."
Her hand recoiled out of the thin liquid. Her best guess was water the way it felt and dripped off her hands. It would make sense, after all, water was only blue in the real world because of the blue skies it reflected. The contact connection she formed by sticking her hand in only seemed to amplify The Void's calls to her. She felt more and more signals enter through her fingers, invading her and her mind, compelling her to act more and more. Small tingles of electricity rippled across the nerves in her right hand.
Ahh, damnit, I can't take it anymore.
"Get out of my head!"
"Lady Kanashima, The Void only wishes to save you, it's only daughter. Please, join us, Lady Kanashima."
There it was again, the push inside her fractured mind, through her broken walls of resilience. Unable to withstand it any more, she gave into the wishes of The Void, at least, the ones it has vocalized. With little effort, she pushed off with her knee and toppled forward headfirst into the dark depths. She must've descended deep into the water, her vision being reduced to useless black once again.
At this point, she hoped that she would have found some sort of solace or home inside the darkness. If she was truly their daughter, shouldn't she be cared for now that she was here? Where was the red carpet and the delectable fruit? All that she could do was continue to sink into the dark depths, reducing the rest of her senses all the same. From the experience of exploring the dark spider cave alone, she really thought she could get used to traversing in darkness, but this was a new level of extreme.
The only thing she could rely on at this point was her hands to guide her into the depths, but waving around her arms in a desperate attempt wasn't aiding her in the slightest, just passing through more and more water and wasting her precious oxygen. She kept on falling deeper, taking more time and feeling the pressure around her compounding. Her lungs groaned in hurt, running out of air quickly. She had already descended too far, there was no way she could make it out the way she came. There was no point in keeping her eyes open at this point, the darknesses were the same.
This is it after all, I'm going to drown. Thanks The Void. Some name for a Siren. See you soon, Morgan. Mom.
Even with her eyes closed, light began to seep through in bright scarlet hues, stringing together and forming shapes in her eye itself.
[Simulation Complete: Kanashima Belladonna]
[Vitals: Medical Attention Recommended]
[Blood levels critical. Blood pressure low. Blood sugar low. Wounds are no longer life threatening]
[ALFA Status: Stabilized]
[New Properties obtained]
[Unlocking Intrinsic Ability]
[Battery restriction flags zero through four lifted. Proceed with caution.]
[WARNING: Possible error found at 0xff021ca4. Identifying bug]
[Bug identified. Awaiting name and documentation from user].
[Additional physical attributes necessary. Generating.]
[Congratulations Electrogen. Please await safe transport back to the real world.]
[Anchor point destroyed or obstructed. Locating safe locales for transport.]
[Location found at 13.7544° N, 100.4984° E.]
[Preparing transmission. Please stand by.]
Another ding she had only heard from the terminal before sounded again, despite the previous obstruction of her ears. While she only had to wait a few seconds for entering the simulation, it seemed as exiting took more power, more effort. And what was that nonsense about her anchor point? What went wrong in the week or so she was gone? Was Cipher and Serafin okay, did they have something to do with it? Before she could follow down that thought path longer than healthy, red strands invaded her vision again. For now she would have to stow away her questions.
I did it? How? I didn't find the terminal? Was the terminal the water? Could it be a liquid? Maybe it was hidden in the depths. Did the Void know that? It had to have, right, or else why would it lead me there? I'm coming back alive thanks to it. Barely, but still alive all the same.
[Commencing transmission. Please don't move.]