Close
A hundred steps and he was at the foot of the stairs, staring, dazed, at the ominous white bleakness of the steps as they towered upwards.
Two hundred steps and he could feel her.
Three hundred. The familiar pressure of her spiritual powers weighed down upon him. Softly, weakly. He ran towards them, tantalized, driven nearly mad.
Four hundred. A window, a small slit of a hole that he could barely fit his hand through. The sky was brighter than usual and he wondered if it was the same back home.
Five hundred. A bright gleam of light from his side. He could see a blade shining off into the distance. Was it someone he knew?
Six hundred. He remembered Renji.
Seven hundred. He wondered if it was fate that placed him there or if he had broken fate by being there.
Eight hundred. A clamoring at the bottom of the stairs. It was still too far down for anyone to catch up to him, and he was running very quickly. His goal was greater, after all.
Nine hundred. He could hear her silence.
Nine hundred and ninety-five. Nine hundred and ninety-six.
"You shouldn't have come."
Nine hundred and ninety-seven.
"Don't be stupid. Get over here."
Nine hundred and ninety-eight.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine.
So close.
So close.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine.
"I came here for you."
Nine hundred and ninety-nine.
"You really shouldn't have come."
A thousand.