Joshua thrashed, struggling against the thick, black muck until he realized that his feet was touching solid ground. He frowned deeply, as it still was a slog to get through, like walking through thick soup, or jell-o.
The sand was gone, but the light had given way to some kind of styfling sea of black goop! This wasn't right at all! He was supposed to be going through his psychy, but instead, his tune had dumped him in this...tar or whatever!
He flinched as something slammed into him, pushing him back the way he came. He walked forward again, only to see a patch of light in the distance. Before he could reach it, his feet suddenly plunged through a sinkhole on the floor, pulling him down through the thick mush. Down….down...down...until he landed in a heap in someone's arms. Right in their lap!
He instantly turned on flight mode, and scrambled to get away. A laugh penetrated his confusion, and it made his blood grow cold.
I know that laugh.
Before he could react, arms wrapped around him and dragged him back to the lap, smashing him into a muscled chest that shook and rolled with the mirthless, hungry chuckle that grew deafening the more he struggled.
Terrific. I wander the In-Between and I end up in HIS subconscious fantasy. Lucky me. I really don't have time for this nonsense…
He kicked free, using his spindly form to his advantage and took off towards the beacon of light he'd seen earlier. There was a brief moment where he got a rather substantial lead over the arms that reached for him again, but unfortunately, escaping the whimsy of a Higher Being would not be so easy.
"You can't escape me, my Kiryu! It is destiny that you find yourself once again in my grasp, begging for release that will NEVER come!"
He yelped as a hand clasped his wrist hard, pulling him back so quickly his neck snapped back in whiplash. He dug his heels into the muck under his feet, pulling with all his strength towards the light, free hand straining to reach just one sliver of the dot that glowed with hope. His vision grew dark as the arm continued to drag him, and he fought for every inch of ground he could gain before his eyes closed and he fell, limp, being dragged back to the monster that put him here in the first place. His enraged snarl reached the void around him and got drowned out by the insane laughter of the mad being who held him in his grip, practically crushing him to death.
"No! Let GO! No!"
The laughter increased in volume, and he felt himself sinking….sinking...further and further he sank in the mire and muck of this bleak horror from the darkest of dreams. After a while he stopped struggling and freely floated, listless and helpless as his spirit was mangled by the monster whose headspace he's foolishly wandered into. He'd brought this on himself...he was just too weak. Better to just...let this pass.
"Don't you let go!"
Suddenly, among the laughter, a peculiar ringing noise was broiught to his attention. His lidded eyes once again saw the pinprick of light as the ringing increased, and he realized it wasn't really ringing at all.
It was a Melody!
As the melody grew, he felt power he'd forgotten he had surge through him, re-igniting his spirit and penetrating every fibre of his etheral being. The pinprick of light was the source of this wonderful, beautiful sound, and his eyes snapped open as he once again strained towards it, finally breaking free of the grip of darkest horror and cruel laughter, the latter of which was completely drowned out by the tunes coursing through the dead space.
With a final heave, he broke free, sailing into the light at a speed born from not desperation, but yearning. The warmth of the now-blinding whiteness embraced him like a blanket, sparking something within him that he could not explain, nor was he in any hurry to try. He curled up, not in pain, but in absolute bliss. He relaxed fully, letting the tune entrap him in it's stunning brilliance.
Shibuya's Song carried him through to the rest of the Music, the individual melodies connecting to the slumbering being caught in her tender, motherly embrace. The tunes re-ignited the dying resolve and passion in the spirit of the district's chosen overseer. The notes re-connected their bars to the nimble fingers, the major tunes re-attatched to his core, looking like mother-of-pearl, translucient threads hitching themselves to the back of his head, into his spine, and through his limbs.
Joshua lay prone, a smile on his face as he felt himself become integrated once again into the Music, a connection he truly feared would never be repaired, a sensation he truly bellieved he had lost forever.
The softest song and the strongest rhythm caressed his cheek, and he turned into the familiar touch, before reaching a hand out to grasp the tendrils of his symphony, the district's melody...his magnum opus. The lifeblood of his very soul.
The power of Imagination surged within him, giving him the strength to stand. He heaved one last time in defiance of the void still lingering on the edge of his psychey, chasing it away with pure willpower, the force of his district backing him up as he formed again his concert hall, standing in triumph as he raised his hands to command the very fabric of the Music itself once more.
It was time to get back to work.