Eclipse of Eternity: Chapter 1: Divine Prologue
It was dark, with black clouds that hung overhead. The rain, heavy bullets of water pelted two dark cloaks meandering about in the city streets. Had they been able to see the sky, they'd have been better prepared for the ominous weather, but no one could when you lived on the mid lower region of the Nexus.
The Nexus, a metropolis of high towering buildings that claimed the sky itself, making it near impossible to take a good view at the blue above. Everything was monochrome it seemed, but light pastel colours of the daytime neighborhood reminded the inhabitants of the wonders of the world overhead. No one seemed to complain. The Nexus was the world connected to every known world since the beginning of time, it kept things in order, hid worlds from others, made sure peace was kept.
The two running figures took shelter under a massive doorway. Huffing and puffing accompanied them as the two removed their drenched hoods. Both female, one was a taller, and had light brown hair that was put back in a small braid. Pale hazel eyes went along with a fair, clean face that had looked to have never frowned on anything before. Her expression was calming and reassuring, even in her dark attire. Taking off her cloak, she wore a pale green shirt and blue jeans, soak up to her knees in water. There was a single glove on her left hand that had a medieval look to it. It had a pale, pink gem embedded on the back of it.
The other girl, her hair a lavender with a small braid fashioned on the right side of her head and a bit paler than the girl across from her. She had taken off her cloak to wring it out just the same. The teen had a grey thin shirt with a hood hanging from the back with two dark blue stripes falling lengthwise down her sleeves, and navy slacks. The oddest thing about her was her eyes. One, to the left was a pale sky blue, while in contrast, her right was an indigo colour. She also wore a glove on her hand, but it was her right, but held no gem as the other's did.
The first girl took a look at the sign over the door. Even though it was who knew what time of night, she was still able to read 'Library'.
The girl gave a sigh of relief. "Well, tonight's the last night. Finally. You have it with you Amaya?"
"Yeah, yeah, I have it this time Taila." The other teen answered, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Are we going to stare at the door, hoping it'll open or you going to open it?"
Taila, the older girl put her gloved hand on the door. The gem glow dimly, and the faint thudding and clanking of locks followed. After a second, the door leaned inwards, allowing entrance. The two walked inside.
The Library was a huge building with walls that were shelves of thousands of books. These literary pages were extremely important to the people they were about. A large grand staircase spiraled upward to the second floor where only those with a high level of admittance were allowed. This consisted of most of the staff and the guardians of the Nexus. The walls were all faintly crystalline, in mimicry of the greatest library in the universe, but only a select few knew where it was at all. Taila looked around the empty halls. For the past few days, the two of them had been teleporting books to the very place the building idolized. Never had such thing a had to happened, but safety measures had to be taken.
These two, Taila and Amaya were Gatekeepers as well, but Amaya wasn't a full fledged one yet. Taila was her mentor in magic studies and ranged combat. This is why Amaya had no gem of her own as of yet. She was planned to graduate in the next few days. This was her final exam.
Taila stepped out onto an eight pointed star, drawn out in a single line marking the centre of the Library. Amaya put her own belongings down on the floor with a thud that echoed in the walls.
"I don't see why you carry so much with you." Taila stated, getting a long wooden staff marked with runes down the grain. "It only makes you late for...lets see, everything?"
Amaya gave her a glare of disconcern. She pulled out an odd blade from inside a large tote bag spilling out books.
To anyone, they knew it was a real Keyblade, but Amaya was the only one in the present who had one out of all the Gatekeepers. Amaya's Keyblade was a crystalline sky blue that spiraled around with a lucid violet colour. It was in the shape of a mysterious beast on the darker side, but the lighter side was a glistening, angelic form of some entity that Amaya could never make out. The handle well fitted her hand and was guarded with a curved talon on one side, and a shield-like wing on the other.
It was put down in the center of the star. "This wouldn't be possible without your Keyblade you know." Taila explained to Amaya.
"Well, I know it's important but why do I have it?" She questioned. "Anyone else could have it, I'm still a novice for pity's sake."
Taila shrugged. "Fate I guess."
Amaya shook her head. It was her mentor's usual phrase. Now wasn't the time for conversation, on with their task.
Amaya put the books, only three at a time in a triangular pyramid shape into the circle on top of the Keyblade. Taila started to murmur an incantation under her breath. Then, Amaya put her hands on the star, joining in to her friends chanting. A dim light started to form from the blade, then under the books like a flame in a lamp. After a moment, they had disappeared, leaving nothing but glints of light, leaving the Keyblade by itself. They repeated this about four times until there was one book left.
This book, Amaya was rather attached to, for reasons Taila could never understand. It was about people who had the same thing she had. A Keyblade, and the one Keyblade Master that had been to most of the other worlds outside the Nexus, where she couldn't even visit if she wanted to. Amaya was stuck here because of rules.
Taila saw Amaya look at it one last time. "Okay, it's an inanimate object." She chastised. "It'll be in a safe place, you wouldn't want it stolen would you?"
Amaya groaned reluctantly. "I still think that this truly happened. It makes perfect sense as it explains what could have happened during the past little while."
"Yeah, could." Taila repeated. "Anyway, we have no proof that it's true or fictional. You know this Library, it has a mind of its own."
It was true. The library wrote the books themselves with its own magic. No one knew how it worked, only that it did, and no one questioned it. Amaya was about to put the book down, when there was a sound that came from neither of them. They both looked up the stairwell. A golden light emerged from the hallway upstairs. Without speaking, Taila and Amaya started up the stairs, but after reaching the top, they both felt something wasn't right. Clutching their weapons in hand, Taila went ahead of Amaya. She stayed, with the book in one hand and her Keyblade in the other.
There was a moment of silence, but then an abrupt crash. Amaya jumped, then ran to assist Taila out of pure reaction. Then, a body was thrown out of the door by a dark thick figure that wasn't human. Taila got up off the floor and glanced at Amaya, and in response, Amaya looked at her, starting towards her to help her.
"No!" Taila yelled. "Amaya, take it and run! They're after it!"
At first Amaya was confused, but then realized what Taila was talking about.
"Run Amaya! They want it, don't let them have it!" She screamed.
Run...
Amaya darted halfway down the stairs before taking a daring impulse to jump down to the bottom floor. The shock in her legs made her fall, but she ignored it, pressing on to the door, grabbing her tote bag and shoving the book in it. Squeezing through the heavy double doors, she could see swarms of dark creatures coming at her. Knowing she couldn't close the door with force alone, she put her hand out in front of her, and closed her fingers into a fist tightly. Simultaneously, the door slammed with a thundering boom, and Amaya ran farther into the city.
Amaya continued on without thinking, until she came to the edge of the district. A long, dark pit seemed to take over what was really on the lower levels. Amaya had never been down there before, as it was forbidden by all the laws unless you were of the Interworld staff. Amaya took a few steps back, turned around, but she stopped immediately. Around her, more black creatures beckoned from the shadows in the street and surrounded her. She stood with one had on her back, holding her Keyblade, but none of them advanced.
These can't be...but th-they are...Heartless... Amaya thought to herself. But why here? What do th-
A larger figure, more humanoid now appeared. It was just as demonic as the Heartless appeared, but it was closer to the look of a reaper with torn robes, and a black and white mask concealing anything that may have been a face. Long black pointed fingers extended towards Amaya.
"So, you're the one that I've been interested in." A male voice said aloud in an unnervingly calm voice. "Now, would you be so kind as to giving me that literary article?"
Amaya shook her head, unable to speak. The reaper-like entity laughed. The Heartless shifted uneasily, wanting to swarm Amaya with full force.
"Well then," The man continued, as Amaya assumed it was a male by the voice. "I suppose that you plan on jumping down instead then? You really don't have a choice, you can't battle back these Heartless and myself."
Amaya didn't want this to be happening. Anything other than this, she'd have gladly taken. Looking back, she'd remembered something Taila told her two months prior.
They say that the lower levels of the city are where the actual Gates to the other worlds are actually. We protect the more vital ones. Another set of Gatekeepers guard those ones, supposedly.
She started to back up, keeping her eyes on the figure. "You can't be serious Amaya."
She stopped instantaneously. "How do you know my name?" She demanded. "Who are you?"
Once again, he laughed. "Well then, you really must not know, or don't think that anyone else knows. I am called Maraxis, but that's all you'll hear from me now."
His minions started to advance, and Amaya felt her heels reach the edge of the ledge. With one deep breath and a faith in Taila, she took one more step, then felt the rush of air engulf and blind her.
Then, everything stopped.
