Chapter Thirty-One

Coran processed his current surroundings as he stepped across the threshold into chaos, and his eyes really didn't like what it was trying to see.

Nothing made sense to his brain… columns that seemed to vanish as he looked up, replaced by different columns that didn't align with the first set, only becoming more convoluted when he tried to follow that second set down towards the cavern floor.

The floor itself was a hideous, eye crossing pattern of what appeared to be ancient stone tile… but that seemed to get closer the further away from him they were. The tile at his feet looked microscopic, but the phenomenon didn't change as he took steps forward; those tiles grew in size the further he moved away while the ones ahead of him shrank.

But most worrisome about it all was the fact he appeared to be alone.

He had not been that far behind the rest of the team… so the only conclusion that he could reach was that the linked space was as random and incomprehensible as the rest of his surroundings.

"A most troublesome trait, to be sure." Coran muttered to himself before resorting to his communications device. "Vekk, do you read?" He issued to the only other member of the team with such a unit. "Vekk, can you hear me?"

With no immediate response, and no response after an estimated two minutes, Coran felt it safe to assume none was coming, and determined to locate the rest of the party, and so he stepped forward again…

… only to find himself in an entirely different place.

He found himself standing on a bridge… one of hundreds it seemed… and none of them pointed in the same direction… or along the same vertical plane. Again, his eyes protested at the confounding sight, and when he clenched them shut to sort out his brain, he heard a faint voice.

"We're lost…"

It sounded like Yue, and instantly his eyes flashed open, and he spun about to see if the assassin was anywhere in sight. "Yue?"

There was a sudden, startled yelp, and the assassin declared, "Coran! What is up with this place?"

The headmaster followed the sound of the voice… from above him? Turning his head upward, there was indeed Yue, on a bridge inverted from his position, looking up at him as he was doing the same to her.

"I… I'm not certain anymore…"

Seconds later, Vekk's voice came over Coran's communications device. "Headmaster Coran, do you read me? Please respond… oh!"

Coran quickly snatched up his unit, and replied with a voice bordering on frantic, "Vekk! Vekk! Do not move from your location! Do you confirm? Vekk!"

The short connection had been lost as promptly as it had been acquired, leaving Coran with empty static once more. Cursing under his breath, he then looked up at Yue, only to find her, and the bridge she had been standing on, gone.

"It's like this very space is determined to drive me insane." He grumbled then pressed on, at this point unable to rely on anything more than blind luck to get him through. He did not particularly like that concept… the Asuran mind (of which Coran was far more similar to than even he wished to admit) was trained to eschew chance in regards to success or failure. Their entire course of learning focused on minimizing outside factors such as "luck".

Of course, the Asura also rejected prayer to higher powers, considering them barely better than random chance… a postulate that Coran didn't share. And so, pausing briefly to cast an entreaty to his patron deity, moved across the bridge, wherever that may lead.

And it appeared that his deity had answered his request, for when he felt the world shift around him, it shifted into a somewhat familiar sight, the back of Devona's distinctive armor and figure. With a sigh of relief, he called out to her and warily approached in fear that he would be abruptly yanked elsewhere once he got close.

But apparently, divine aid only went so far, as Devona turned at the sound of Coran's voice, but rather than joy, the warrior's face was frantic and near crazed. The headmaster was fairly certain that she wasn't even processing what was around her, instead acting on maddened instinct, as she swung her hammer with violent intent in his direction. He was nimble enough to duck under the worst of the blow, but not agile enough to dodge it entirely. He felt the hardened metal maul head glance across the top of his skull, the impact enough to send painful stars through his vision before blissful blackness fell over his eyes a blink later.

* * * * *

In time, he was certain that he would choose the throbbing headache over the alternative which would have involved him being very much dead… but at that moment, as consciousness returned to him and that pain cramped his every nerve, he would have almost preferred the latter.

His vision was still blurred at the edges, but it was clear enough to see that Devona's face was hovering just above his, tear stained and sobbing. The warrior was so engulfed in her own despair that she didn't even realize the target of her sorrow was awake until his right hand gently stroked her cheek.

Rather than calming her, the action seemed to have the exact opposite effect, causing Devona to bawl openly, burying her head in his neck while her body shook. "Oh gods… I thought I had killed you… there was so much blood…"

Coran felt at his head, and did find that his hand collected a generous amount of brownish, clotted blood. "Easy, my dear… head wounds always tend to look worse than they really are, you should know this. You didn't particularly get me badly… I'd have probably been fine even without any attention."

"But… I almost killed you… I was…"

"This place is literally maddening. I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt me."

"But… what if… what if I had…"

Coran tightened his grip around her waist. "You didn't." He asserted. "I don't hold you at fault. Right now, I need you to focus. We need to find the rest of our party, and locate the source of this madness."

He frowned as he realized that Devona wasn't responding to his entreaty… the environment and her own fears were wreaking havoc on her already wounded mental state. He needed another angle, something to break her downward spiral.

"Hey, dearest. You know I've trusted you since we were children. You've always been the one I turned to… never more than right now…"