In the rift, existence was a coarse duality. In every single waking moment there I felt at once torn apart and put back together, burning alive and burned from the touch of the cold, blind yet seeing more than I could comprehend, able to hear nothing except for the inescapable screams of reality-bending all around me. If I could have had a thought going through my head during my travel through that hellscape, it would have been seeing why Ozpin told me to keep my eyes shut. My mind was being assaulted on every single front, and thoughts were being evaported the moment that they formed. Of course, I had damned myself before I even left Earth, but there was little I could do now. It took all of my little focus and control over my body left to make sure that I could still make out Ozpin's firm grip amidst the chaos. It was the only root I had in that hellhole, and I was not about to lose it when I had not even the ground under my feet.
Whether I was there for ten seconds, ten days, or ten years, I could not tell. Time seemed to contract and expand without a moment's notice, taxing my already overstimulated mind even more. The pain was excruciating, torturous, and spreading from my eyes all the way down to the rest of my body. As if every single molecule in my body was moving in different directions, I felt myself ripped asunder limb from limb. I was certain that I was screaming, but I could not hear the sound. The moment I opened my mouth I regretted the decision, for what little sensory stimulation was left in my body that was untouched by the extravagant void was soon dominated by the pain that dotted the rest of my body, seeping down my throat and spreading deeper by the second.
Despite all of this, after an indiscriminate amount of time, I began to make out the darkness in the distance, growing wider with each passing moment. Time had little meaning, but there was little else I could do but speculate. It grew larger and larger, eventually encompassing my field of vision. I could see nothing but darkness. It was oddly comforting, inviting almost. I slowly felt myself regain some sense of motor control, and closed my eyes and mouth, but not before I felt a chill descend down my throat. Nearly choking on it, I tried to cough it back up but nothing could dislodge the frost-laden darkness from my windpipe. The darkness spread in the same way that the burning sensations had, only much faster, replacing everything I had felt in the void with a deep, chilling numbness. I felt every hair on my body stand on end at once, quickly beginning to panic, before a small voice whispered in the base of my ear.
"…-tes…. Cor…-tes…. Cortes…" it chided, calling out my name in a silky, muted voice that I felt was coming from just within my own ears. Before I could perceive anything else, the darkness suddenly became solid. Crashing into me with the force of a truck down the highway, I felt myself blasted down onto my back, losing my only connection to Ozpin. Suddenly I was falling down the inky void, no sense of solidity anywhere. I tried to scream, but I was still choking on darkness, only saturating myself further with it as I gagged. I could feel it wrapping around my spine, pooling behind my eyes, leaving out of every opening in my skin. It sought to consume every part of me.
"You will be mine..."
I fell like this, afraid for my life while that voice buzzed in my mind, the darkness welling within me, oozing into every limb and crevice on my body. I hoped, nearly prayed, that it would end, that somehow I would-
"Ack!..." I exclaimed, feeling an impact on my chest while I fell, before feeling another on my back, then all around me. I felt leaves fall around me, the scratch of bark on my skin, and the rush of air as I fell even more. Eventually, after falling through most of the canopy, I impacted the ground with even greater force and felt a solid impact on the side of my head, blurring my vision. I fell in and out of lucidity for a time, both concussed and disoriented from my travels and my explosive arrival on solid ground. My muscles were weak, my lungs desperate gasping for clean air. Sensation still eluded me, and I dared not try and move. Giving up, I succumbed to my ailments and lay there helpless, waiting for some semblance of my nervous system to return. Hacking and coughing on my own spittle, my weak breath attempted to right itself little by little.
This continued for what felt like hours to my exhausted and warped mind but likely was longer, until finally, I could feel some small chunk of normalcy coming from my breathing. Summoning what little strength my broken body could muster, I attempted to flip myself off of my stomach. With all the effort my exhausted muscles could offer, my arms attempted to lift my torso up, but after a quick flop back onto the ground I gave up. I was too weak and dazed, and there was little I could do. Feeling myself begin to blackout for real, I dug my fingers into the dirt beneath me, feeling the cold soil run through my fingernails. The last thing I remembered was a small sigh of relief.
Ozpin had done it. He had gotten me somewhere; I just had to figure out where somewhere was.
Well well well… this feels just like old times, doesn't it? Welcome back, everyone, and allow me to apologize for leaving you all cold turkey with the previous version of this story. I felt like it no longer was what I needed to write, no longer who I was, and coupled with some panic attacks I decided to delete it in its entirety. However, I got thinking about it again recently and decided to try my hand again, this time with 23-year-old me at the reigns instead of 16. I don't intend to carry the story the same way, but much of the key elements will likely remain the same, so it will be a whole new adventure with some returning themes (and ships hehe). Thanks for coming back, yall, or if you're new, then welcome! Let's do this.