Chapter 93: Breaking Away
Things were progressing nicely on Cedar's Fall's end. Most of the cats were willing to trust me with their fate, given the alternative was consignment to fading. I had to come back and enlarge the barrier since some new cats arrived and those worshiping the obelisk were getting desperate. I realized I didn't have much time left. They were calling forth the mother of all pulses. Ironic that their opponent would be mother in title as well. The color was literally sapped out of the air. Of those at the obelisk, all but one were obliterated to dust. He seemed to be the one still calling the pulse.
Unfortunately, not all the refugees made it to my barrier, which was barely hanging on. Three cats, including one freshly dead, were instantly faded by the power draw of the obelisk. I couldn't afford to wait any longer, but separating this segment of the afterlife would take all my focus. I couldn't keep up the barrier at the same time. I needed Cedar's Fall and her cats to learn fast. She looked at me with extreme worry.
"This is what you've been warning us about! Can you get us out of here? Something big is about to happen!" She yowled in fear.
"I could if I wasn't maintaining the barrier. Gather what cats you can. I need you and yours to keep the barrier up while I separate us." I grunted in effort.
"But we're just normal cats. We aren't like you." She mewed desperately.
"That's mousedung! I'm a mostly normal cat as well. The only thing I have over you is experience. Any cat can do what I do with enough willpower. Now stop pretending like you're helpless and gather who you can. I'll guide you all in to supporting the barrier." I growled in response.
Cedar's Fall pelted off to gather every cat she could. They soon were at my side as I strained against the draining force of the obelisk.
"What do you need us to do?" Cedar's Fall asked with a quiet determination.
"I need you to believe. Your willpower can become manifest. Believe that there is a barrier strong enough to resist the obelisk. Believe you are more than enough to resist it. Will with all your being that this barrier will hold. I have to let it go to do what needs to be done." I ordered.
Slowly, the strain of holding the barrier lessened. The ancients had come to start holding the barrier together on their own. I slowly loosened my grip so they could get acquainted to the force the obelisk was pulling with. Finally, I was free. Every cat around me was sweating with concentration. Their eyes were squinted shut, willing themselves to be safe from that draining force. I switched up what I was doing. I was no where near as strong as I used to be, but I still had a domain. I forced it to fill every little bit of the interior of the barrier. It would not do for us to leave any cat behind.
Now that I had domain over the entirety of our haven, it was time to act. I forced my will into existence. This wasn't something as simple as creating a barrier or moving a rock. I was dividing the afterlife as a whole. My own soul acted as a claw, shearing through the afterlife. Fragments of pure black nothingness attempted to pull us back together, but I resisted. I cut out a jagged swath of land. This bubble of existence was exactly as fragile as one. I carefully maneuvered it loose. The ancient spirits must have noticed since there was no longer a strain in resisting the obelisk. Slowly, they opened their eyes.
Between us and the afterlife of old was an endless abyss, the nothingness between the stars. We could see the old forest as everything that made it alive was stripped away. Trees instantly petrified. Earthy brown soil roiled into a viscous black substance. Creatures became bones became nothing. It all faded away. As if that wasn't enough, the obelisk seemed to hit a crescendo. It kept trying to draw in more, but there was nothing left to draw upon. It couldn't complete what it was ordered to do, so it did the next best thing. It dumped the extra soul out as a mass of anguish in an explosion. One last pulse shot out that almost reached us. It was like a final gambit. That pulse did something monumental. I was lucky one of the reflection pools was here for me to witness it.
The air of the land below became dry. The lakebed cracked. Even the small pond that had once been a lake was disturbed, sucked underground by the sudden crack. There was no water to come. This place had become inhospitable to life. I sincerely hoped Jay's Wing had done his part because there would be no surviving the lake now.
A mournful wail rang out from the cats I had protected. "Our home… Our life… It's gone. It's all gone. We survived, but did we really? What do we have left?" Cedar's Fall cried.
"You still have each other. As long as you remain strong, your legacy will not end. Just as we have, the cats below have lost everything. They'll be seeking out a new place to go, and they'll need guidance. As long as they believe, this place will grow. For now, I'll set up something efficient. It'll be up to you all to change it later." I mewed reassuringly.
It wasn't that hard making this place good enough to live in. I had to pack prey dens together a little tight. It did ruin the fun of hunting, but it'd work for the size of the place right now. I had to prioritize utility over nicety as I designed this new afterlife. It was miniscule, but I could already feel it growing. If it kept up, it might one day measure up to the scale of the Dark Forest.
As I inspected the newfound afterlife, I realized the barrier was still active. I felt it lightly. It was slightly porous and felt eerily familiar. The ancients' souls would survive. Unfortunately, I came to realize my duties were still not done. I had yet to meet Rock and Midnight. I'd need to go back into the Dark Forest.