Chapter 15 - Full Extent
I screamed with the pain tearing through every little piece of my skin, my energy and my blood. I could feel my body being torn to shreds, and I knew that there was no way out for me. And that's when it happened. The same power that I had struggled to control before arrived by my side, the same power that Jessie had experienced when training alongside me. My strength skyrocketed and suddenly the explosion was nothing to me. It simply breezed by my body causing me no harm and no discomfort. I could hear the shouts below me, shouts to respect the dead but I wasn't going to die now. I had made it.
The dust below my body started to clear, and I looked down at myself. The right side of my torso had been completely melted and my left arm was shattered. And yet, I couldn't feel the pain. All I could feel was the pleasant after-effects of my own survival. And as I fell to the ground quickly losing consciousness, I thought of how I had now saved the village from destruction. I thought of all the people I had helped. And I thought of how my life.now had meaning. For the first time in over a month I didn't long for home; I felt that I was already there.
'.'
Darkness. That's all I could see at the time. Pure, dank terrifying darkness.
'.'
It was too much. The feeling of weightlessness below my feet. There appeared to be nothing below me, and yet I had no feeling of falling. I was perfectly still in a world without solids.
'.'
Apart from myself of course. I was solid, wasn't I? A being of light and knowledge that couldn't be taken from the memories of others.
'.'
I could see.light. Faint and dense to my eyes, but I could see it some way off in the distance. Never had I seen such a light. The only thing I could liken it to at the time was flame, but it had a deeper quality than mere burning.
'.Where are you going?'
Suddenly the chamber in which I resided lit up into a pale green aura, and I looked around for the source of the voice. It boomed around the infinite space as if it had no home, bouncing off the emptiness that engulfed this prison in which I was held captive. And then I could see my host, for it was the light itself that I previously described.
'Where are you going?'
I looked up and squinted. It was hard to talk to a fragment of light.
'.I don't know how I got here. Could you tell me how to.'
'You don't know where you go? Then why do you continue to fight?'
I was surprised at the question. However, I could see what he was talking of now.
'.Because.because they're my friends.'
I could almost hear what sounded like a scoff from the beam. I didn't like this.whatever the hell it was.
'And you trust them enough to risk your life for them? You're a strange one. I would have thought you'd be looking for a way home.'
I was about to ask. Did this.thing know a way for me to get back? I could feel it in my heart, in my soul. I wanted to get back. I wanted to see my family. And yet.
'I'm not interested.' I scowled, 'Now let me out of here.'
'Your injuries were rather severe child. You nearly died. They weren't able to cure you in any normal way; you were too far-gone for that. Do you realise three weeks have passed and you still haven't woken?'
At that I was a little perturbed. Three weeks was a long time. The light continued to speak.
'You will be waking back up soon.lighting up reality with your presence once again.'
'So where am I now.?' I asked cautiously. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.
'Between time and spirit. Between bodies and soul and stuck between the very matter that time itself brings to us. You are in a place where all comes together and where everything ends. Life as you know it was borne from my spirit and my determination.and only you can save it. Only you can save everything.'
And as I tried to speak once again I could feel a huge gravity pull me downwards and I realised that the world below me would become a part of my life once again.
I woke quickly and suddenly. There was none of the gradual progression into consciousness, and after my sharp arrival into the real world I would have killed to be able to get up in such a calm and collected fashion. As it was, I was up, alert and confused.
'What the hell!?' I roared. I had little idea as to what was going on. I jumped out of the bed and found that I wasn't dressed, and quickly dived back under the covers once again to disguise myself. However, I had been slightly too quick with my jump, and ended up leaping right over the bed in which I had lain for the past three weeks. With a huge thump I hit my head off the wall and landed onto the wooden floor below.
'Why me.'
I got back to my feet and discovered to my absolute horror that there was someone.standing in the doorway?!
'You should disguise that you know!' shouted Karon, who was looking below my naked waist with mirth and extreme delight.
'You sick.!' I screamed and jumped back below the covers, successfully this time. Karon walked into the room, almost doubled up with her own amusement.
'Oh yeah, laugh it up you mentalist!'
'Aww come on Rylian, have a sense of humour for a change.' then she started to giggle again. I was getting slightly pissed off.
'.Because with something the size of that you would need to have a sense of humour.!'
At this I lost it, and as I picked up my pillow I fired it right across the room at her. However, my own strength betrayed my senses, and as I threw the object it hit Karon straight in the chest, knocking her clean to the floor. I could see the tears in her eyes as she got back up again, but she struggled to let it show.
'You're mean! You big weird dirty freak!' she yelled. That sounded more like a twelve-year-old girl. But I could see that she was upset by my actions, and she could see that I was sorry.
'Dammit.' I muttered as I walked over to her, wrapping myself in the bedspread that had been kept over my body for so long.
'I'm sorry Karon, I just got a little mad. I've been asleep for three weeks after all.'
She stared at me when I said this to her.
'.How did you know that?'
'Huh?' I lost my senses in my thought process for a minute.
'How did you know that you've been out for three weeks? I didn't tell you. Has there been anyone else with you apart from me?' she asked with a hint of confusion in her voice.
'No, just you. It's hard to explain.I had a really weird dream, that's all.'
At this Karon shot up. I was surprised at her action to say the least. I didn't see such a trivial matter as important. For around ten seconds we stood, simply looking at each other. And then, without any kind of warning she embraced me warmly and heartily. Something was happening within Cyrain. And I unwittingly was at the centre of the whole situation.
I screamed with the pain tearing through every little piece of my skin, my energy and my blood. I could feel my body being torn to shreds, and I knew that there was no way out for me. And that's when it happened. The same power that I had struggled to control before arrived by my side, the same power that Jessie had experienced when training alongside me. My strength skyrocketed and suddenly the explosion was nothing to me. It simply breezed by my body causing me no harm and no discomfort. I could hear the shouts below me, shouts to respect the dead but I wasn't going to die now. I had made it.
The dust below my body started to clear, and I looked down at myself. The right side of my torso had been completely melted and my left arm was shattered. And yet, I couldn't feel the pain. All I could feel was the pleasant after-effects of my own survival. And as I fell to the ground quickly losing consciousness, I thought of how I had now saved the village from destruction. I thought of all the people I had helped. And I thought of how my life.now had meaning. For the first time in over a month I didn't long for home; I felt that I was already there.
'.'
Darkness. That's all I could see at the time. Pure, dank terrifying darkness.
'.'
It was too much. The feeling of weightlessness below my feet. There appeared to be nothing below me, and yet I had no feeling of falling. I was perfectly still in a world without solids.
'.'
Apart from myself of course. I was solid, wasn't I? A being of light and knowledge that couldn't be taken from the memories of others.
'.'
I could see.light. Faint and dense to my eyes, but I could see it some way off in the distance. Never had I seen such a light. The only thing I could liken it to at the time was flame, but it had a deeper quality than mere burning.
'.Where are you going?'
Suddenly the chamber in which I resided lit up into a pale green aura, and I looked around for the source of the voice. It boomed around the infinite space as if it had no home, bouncing off the emptiness that engulfed this prison in which I was held captive. And then I could see my host, for it was the light itself that I previously described.
'Where are you going?'
I looked up and squinted. It was hard to talk to a fragment of light.
'.I don't know how I got here. Could you tell me how to.'
'You don't know where you go? Then why do you continue to fight?'
I was surprised at the question. However, I could see what he was talking of now.
'.Because.because they're my friends.'
I could almost hear what sounded like a scoff from the beam. I didn't like this.whatever the hell it was.
'And you trust them enough to risk your life for them? You're a strange one. I would have thought you'd be looking for a way home.'
I was about to ask. Did this.thing know a way for me to get back? I could feel it in my heart, in my soul. I wanted to get back. I wanted to see my family. And yet.
'I'm not interested.' I scowled, 'Now let me out of here.'
'Your injuries were rather severe child. You nearly died. They weren't able to cure you in any normal way; you were too far-gone for that. Do you realise three weeks have passed and you still haven't woken?'
At that I was a little perturbed. Three weeks was a long time. The light continued to speak.
'You will be waking back up soon.lighting up reality with your presence once again.'
'So where am I now.?' I asked cautiously. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.
'Between time and spirit. Between bodies and soul and stuck between the very matter that time itself brings to us. You are in a place where all comes together and where everything ends. Life as you know it was borne from my spirit and my determination.and only you can save it. Only you can save everything.'
And as I tried to speak once again I could feel a huge gravity pull me downwards and I realised that the world below me would become a part of my life once again.
I woke quickly and suddenly. There was none of the gradual progression into consciousness, and after my sharp arrival into the real world I would have killed to be able to get up in such a calm and collected fashion. As it was, I was up, alert and confused.
'What the hell!?' I roared. I had little idea as to what was going on. I jumped out of the bed and found that I wasn't dressed, and quickly dived back under the covers once again to disguise myself. However, I had been slightly too quick with my jump, and ended up leaping right over the bed in which I had lain for the past three weeks. With a huge thump I hit my head off the wall and landed onto the wooden floor below.
'Why me.'
I got back to my feet and discovered to my absolute horror that there was someone.standing in the doorway?!
'You should disguise that you know!' shouted Karon, who was looking below my naked waist with mirth and extreme delight.
'You sick.!' I screamed and jumped back below the covers, successfully this time. Karon walked into the room, almost doubled up with her own amusement.
'Oh yeah, laugh it up you mentalist!'
'Aww come on Rylian, have a sense of humour for a change.' then she started to giggle again. I was getting slightly pissed off.
'.Because with something the size of that you would need to have a sense of humour.!'
At this I lost it, and as I picked up my pillow I fired it right across the room at her. However, my own strength betrayed my senses, and as I threw the object it hit Karon straight in the chest, knocking her clean to the floor. I could see the tears in her eyes as she got back up again, but she struggled to let it show.
'You're mean! You big weird dirty freak!' she yelled. That sounded more like a twelve-year-old girl. But I could see that she was upset by my actions, and she could see that I was sorry.
'Dammit.' I muttered as I walked over to her, wrapping myself in the bedspread that had been kept over my body for so long.
'I'm sorry Karon, I just got a little mad. I've been asleep for three weeks after all.'
She stared at me when I said this to her.
'.How did you know that?'
'Huh?' I lost my senses in my thought process for a minute.
'How did you know that you've been out for three weeks? I didn't tell you. Has there been anyone else with you apart from me?' she asked with a hint of confusion in her voice.
'No, just you. It's hard to explain.I had a really weird dream, that's all.'
At this Karon shot up. I was surprised at her action to say the least. I didn't see such a trivial matter as important. For around ten seconds we stood, simply looking at each other. And then, without any kind of warning she embraced me warmly and heartily. Something was happening within Cyrain. And I unwittingly was at the centre of the whole situation.
