"Crap. I tripped." Julius groaned, feeling the taste of ground in his mouth.
"Take my hand." Kaelan reached out and Julius took up on his offer.
They walked on, Kaelan seemed used to Julius' almost comical weakness.
The air in the Other Side tasted of ash and despair. It wasn't air, not really, but as Kaelan later explained, it was a swirling, psychic miasma that clung to your skin and seeped into your bones, a constant reminder of the nothingness from which you came and to which you would inevitably return.
Anywhere else would've been a better place to spawn... Or at least Julius kept telling himself that wholeheartedly.
Kaelan seemed relaxed the whole way. Even going so far as to say "Don't worry, I have eyes on the back of my head. Nothing gets past me."
Julius, the transmigrated student ripped from his comfortable life and thrust into this desolate realm, shivered, spun his tie in his right hand. He wasn't cold, not physically, but the feeling of utter emptiness was a little depressing.
He felt like a princess, being escorted out of the other side by Kaelan.
But can I really complain? I'd be dead without him. Or maybe a near-death experience would trigger my amazing powers?
Beside him, even the seasoned Hero, Kaelan, seemed to carry a heavier weight on his shoulders. Kaelan, a man forged in the crucible of countless battles, usually radiated a stoic strength, a beacon of hope in this lightless place. But the Other Side had a way of eroding even the most resilient spirits, his golden hair was covered in ashe, his eyes were a lot less energetic than when they had met.
Julius threw a stone at the back of Kaelan's head. Let's see if he speaks the truth.
It bounced off causing Kaelan to look around frantically.
"That's strange."
Julius held back his laughter. This guy-. Is he a fraud?
As if karma for Julius' actions, his body revolted against him.
All throughout the morning, Julius' stomach whined.
I knew there was something off with whatever Kaelan cooked. But he doesn't seem effected one bit? Maybe because of his superior digestive system?
"I already miss your cooking, mom." He rubbed his stomach which was now perpetually suffering.
The landscape was a jagged testament to cosmic indifference, they seemed to have entered a new zone.
Kaelan had explained. "There are many zones in the other side, it's said powerful creatures control and shape these zones, that's why it's key to not be noticed unless you can't help it, because if they notice you, you might as well be dead."
Julius looked around in awe. Twisted, obsidian spires clawed at a sky that was perpetually twilight, the faint, sickly light reflecting off glassy, black dunes. Occasionally, skeletal trees, their branches reaching like supplicating arms, punctuated the desolate vista. It felt as though the very fabric of reality held its breath, waiting for something terrible to happen.
They were traversing a particularly treacherous canyon, the walls slick with a viscous, black substance that seemed to writhe in the periphery of your vision, when they heard it: a desperate, ragged cry, followed by the sickening thud of something heavy hitting the ground.
"Sounds like trouble," Kaelan muttered, his hand instinctively moving to the hilt of the legendary sword strapped to his back. Its presence was a comfort, a tangible symbol of his purpose.
Julius's stomach churned. He hated the fighting, the constant threat of annihilation that permeated every moment in the Other Side. But he couldn't leave anyone to die. He was, after all, a hero – or at least, he was traveling with one.
Without a word, they broke into a run, scrambling over loose scree and around jagged outcrops of rock. The sounds of battle grew louder, punctuated by panicked screams. Rounding a bend, they were confronted with a scene of carnage.
Five figures, clad in tattered armor and wielding dented weapons, were being systematically dismantled by a creature of pure nightmare fuel. It was a massive scorpion, its carapace gleaming with an unnatural, polished silver. But this was no ordinary arachnid.
Two iridescent, membranous wings sprouted from its back, allowing it to dart and weave through the air with unsettling grace. Its stinger, long and wickedly barbed, dripped with a viscous, emerald-green poison.
"A flying scorpion?" Julius muttered. Creatures that large should NOT be able to fly. It goes against everything I've studied in physics-.
The heroes, or what was left of them, were clearly outmatched. One lay motionless on the ground, his body contorted at an unnatural angle. Another was desperately trying to ward off the scorpion's attacks with a broken shield, his face a mask of terror. A third was already succumbing to the poison, his skin mottled and blistered, his limbs twitching uncontrollably.
Whoever designed this realm had a trauma-fetish for sure... The human side better not be this bad.
Kaelan didn't hesitate. With a roar, he drew his sword, the blade shimmering with an ethereal light. "Julius, stay back!" he commanded, charging into the fray.
"That's my hero!" Julius roared, hoping his words would do anything.
Julius, feeling a surge of adrenaline, sat back and watched Kaelean charge in.
Kaelan, as expected engaged the scorpion with practiced ease. The Hero moved with a blur of motion, his sword a whirlwind of steel. He parried the scorpion's deadly stinger, dodged its snapping pincers, and slashed at its armored carapace. The silver hide proved resistant, but Kaelan was relentless. He pressed his attack, forcing the scorpion to retreat, its wings beating furiously. His attacks had holy powers, each slash caused the world to be lit up yellow, his swings brought flashes of light.
He used skills at every possible chance, causing the scorpion to be beaten down slowly by his holy arsenal.
Julius watched, his heart pounding in his chest. He was acutely aware of his own vulnerability, of the fragility of his existence in this hostile realm. He was just a student, utterly unprepared for this brutal reality. Yet, here he was, standing on the edge of oblivion, hoping to survive.
The battle raged on. Kaelan was strong, but the scorpion was resilient and relentless. It used its flight to its advantage, diving and swooping, lashing out with its poisonous stinger. Several times, it managed to graze Kaelan's armor, forcing him to expend precious energy to heal the wounds. It had thick armor, the kind that Kaelan's sword could seemingly only scratch.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kaelan found an opening. With a thunderous roar, he leaped forward, driving his sword deep into the scorpion's thorax.
"JUSTICE!"
His sword coated in holy magic burnt through it's flesh and into it's organs.
Saying it louder definately made it more powerful...
The creature shrieked, a high-pitched, grating sound that seemed to resonate with the very bones of the earth. Its wings faltered, and it crashed to the ground, twitching and writhing. With a final, defiant gesture, Kaelan wrenched his sword free, severing the scorpion's head from it's body.
Silence descended once more, heavy and oppressive. The only sound was the ragged breathing of the survivors. Julius cautiously approached, his eyes scanning the battlefield. Two figures remained: a young woman clad in the leather armor of a rogue, her face pale and streaked with dirt, and a gaunt, older man in tattered robes, his eyes wide with shock.
The mage. The other three were beyond help. Their souls, like so many others, had been consumed by the insatiable maw of the Other Side.
"Are you alright?" Kaelan asked, his voice hoarse. He sheathed his sword, his movements weary.
The rogue nodded weakly, clutching a blood-soaked dagger. "We... we were ambushed. We never saw it coming."
The mage simply stared blankly ahead, his lips moving silently as if uttering some forgotten incantation.
"We need to get out of here," Kaelan said grimly. "This place is too dangerous."
They started to move, Kaelan leading the way, the rogue and the mage stumbling behind. Julius brought up the rear, his senses on high alert. He could feel the darkness closing in, the malevolent energy of the Other Side intensifying.
As they rounded a bend in the canyon, their hopes of escape were dashed. A wall of pure, black energy crackled into existence, blocking their path. It was a barrier of pure malevolence, radiating an aura of suffocating dread.
"Huh?" Julius knew this wall wasn't their before.
"What is that?" the rogue whispered, her voice trembling. "Wait-. It can't be!"
Kaelan's face darkened. He recognized the telltale signs of dark magic, the kind that the Other Side specialized in. "A zone closure," he said grimly. "Sometimes, in the Other Side, pockets of reality get walled off. It's a trap. The monsters will soon flood in. We were spotted."
He paused, his gaze hardening as he looked around, studying the canyon walls, the oppressive sky. "This is how my old party died," he said, his voice laced with bitterness. "We got caught in a zone closure, and we were overrun. I'm stronger now, I won't let them do the same to you guys."
"So I'm guessing we can't break it?" Julius queried. By we I mean you...
"No chance, I don't have that kind of power in me." Kaelan sighed, his eyes shaking slightly.
Panic flared in the rogue's eyes. The mage finally seemed to snap out of his stupor, his gaze darting around frantically. Julius felt a cold dread grip his heart. He knew what was coming.
A low growl echoed through the canyon, followed by another, and another. The ground began to tremble. From the depths of the darkness, from the shadows that clung to the canyon walls, eyes began to gleam. Dozens of them. Hundreds.
The air itself seemed to thicken, to vibrate with anticipation. The creatures of the Other Side were coming. Driven by an insatiable hunger, a primal need to consume, to destroy. They were trapped. The zone closure had sealed their fate.
Julius looked at Kaelan, his eyes filled with a mixture of fear and grim determination. He knew that this was it. This was the moment they would either survive or be consumed by the endless, unforgiving darkness of the Other Side. The question was, could they possibly hope to survive? The growls intensified, and from the darkness emerged shapes and sights that already stole the hope from his heart.
"Kaelan... I regret everything. Even the rock I threw at you."