She's falling. Falling, falling, falling. It never ends – She's long since stopped screaming, her throat raw from the screech that had ripped itself from her throat. Now, her world is naught but tumbling through the pitch-black darkness. It is an all-smothering land of shadows, forcing away any thoughts that might matter, banishing her breath, winding her to the extreme. The world may as well have been ending then.
She half expected clocks from Alice in Wonderland to start falling around her. The situation was perfect for something like time to start reversing, or alarms to randomly start screeching, or a giant caterpillar smoking tobacco to just appear – It seemed as if something from a fictional story, and she were the protagonist, about to march on to a great journey. Or an adventure, maybe. Either way, some sort of trip down weirdo lane.
Then, out of nowhere – Solid ground.
Well, sort of. She'd landed, per say, however her landing defied the laws of physics. Then again, nothing was destined to be normal in a place that had a freaking seemingly endless pit in a chasm that could have only been twenty or so meters deep into the earth. Her platform could have been invisible, or black, or any other colour for all she knew. There really wasn't any light to be able to register sight – She may as well have been blind.
As she'd landed, it were as if she wasn't spinning through the air with the inevitable future of smashing into any object with the force of a bullet, instead drifting down onto whatever it was as soft as a feather. With a lack of bouncing, or even some form of evident impact, her world was met with what may have been solid ground. Well, if solid ground flexed under her weight only if she willed it to.
Wow, this place was whacked up.
Still, her sight still remained unusable. Or, so it seemed, for it took a few minutes of staring at her hand to realise she was staring at her hand. Like, the fingers, and that little freckle that sat on her palm underneath her pinkie which she swore wasn't there a day ago. Hit by the realisation that she could see freaking hand, she looked around for the obvious source of light, only to be met by a figure standing amidst the darkness.
It almost seems as if the figure is glowing all by themself, despite no physical light actually reflecting or being protruded by them. Which defied the laws of- You know what? It was common knowledge this wasn't the reality she'd quite happily been nestled into. The world was seemingly darkening from its current pitch-black state, and leaving the man to cling onto the faint light in which she was becoming accustomed to. Despite the helping hand given to her, she still struggled to pick out the details of whomever it was. A whole minute passed, before she was jarred into realisation of their appearance.
The figure was sitting on a throne, for a start. Carved from an elegant wood, all curved edges and intricate twists, it seemed to hold a darkness of its own in a beautiful, enchanting way. He was up in a self-confident position, as if a king in his own kingdom – He may as well have been, for all she knew -, his fingers unnaturally still on the long armrests of the seat. Her gaze drags back up to his face, which was covered with what seemed to be a plank of wood, carved into what seemed to be a tiki mask.
Into the wood lay flawless intricate patterns, carved gently into the ancient wood, marked around the cheeks and eyeholes, where two dark beady eyes stared out at her. But the most interesting of all were the glittering diamonds littered around the mask – One large, spectacular one on his forehead, a few around his eyes, and some along the high cheekbones of the façade. Jewellery, like rings and a necklace, were all adorned with the same precious jewel.
As Emma finished her examination of the stranger, it became evident that that there were four other figures apart from the main one. As they came into focus, lightened by the ever-increasing darkness around her, it was easily seen that the two next to the main figure wore deep emeralds in their masks and jewellery, while the ones beside them wore rubies. It was seemingly some form of ranking system, as their thrones and clothing showed the same form of decreasing preciousness. The ruby-decorated tiki-covered figure's thrones were much less worked, with a few evident flaws in the wood and a much simpler design, however still shockingly beautiful and worth thousands.
Emma's attention was caught by the middle figure, who had taken a breath, her gaze snatching towards his fake features. " Life and Death is merely a revolving system – You die, you live. You die, you live. It is a never-ending cycle, so elegant in its simplicity, until one becomes a Holy Soul, one whom has perfected the art of life, or are Taken In. " An air of solemnity falls at the words 'Taken In', a small twinge of curiosity – which was strange considering her rather abstract and vaguely frightening situation. " Votes have been cast throughout the Ancient Council, and we are regretful to inform you that you have been chosen as The Saved One. You shall now undergo the Taking In. " After a moments pause, they all whispered, in unison. " We beg for your forgiveness. " She had barely time to frown before they disappeared with the sound of a light switch, and off she tumbling once more, into the endless darkness.