Chapter 44: Along Altered Paths and Voices of Yore
The Paths, once a massive, serene realm was now in a state of turmoil, thanks in part to the new biomes that erupted from his appearance, the one the people of the island nation called The Slayer, The Giant of Maria, Savior of Shiganshina, so on and so on.
Though the sands of the Paths still covered and flowed throughout the land, it seemed to now be in a constant state of flux. Its monopoly on the realm now contested with the new structures and soils that materialized with every second that passed, like a great game of tug of war.
And all throughout the shifting terrains, was the progenitor of the titans, who trudged along these shifting lands and underneath shifting skies, headed slowly but surely towards the mass of concentrated paths and wills of her people, the Coordinate.
From walking along the stone streets and rotted pier planks of a long silenced fishing town, to traveling through wheat covered fields underneath a beautiful orange colored sky.
From across the shores of an old, battered coastline battleground, to the warped streets of a Victorian city fused with a lush and living forest, filled with fungi of all sizes, and children's playthings that tugged at her inner child.
To scampering through the hollowed walls of an ironclad tomb ship, to dashing through a seemingly humid and hostile jungle, teeming with all manner of diverse and alien fauna that looked as if it could eat her in one bite.
It didn't matter how many places she wandered, nor whatever bizarre sights she witnessed, nor how long this arduous road was, she would reach the Coordinate.
At times however she would take a moment to observe and admire the new sights, only for bizarre visions to surge through her skull, ruining her moments of reprieve.
Taking slow, deep breaths she would shake her head and soldier on, bearing the pains that erupted in her head, and the images that invaded and frightened her mind.
-oOo-
Wandering through a field marred with wooden crosses and old trenches Ymir took a brief rest near a great cross shaped icon. Engraved carvings covered its surface, and piles of old weaponry, shields painted with winged beings, and melted candles surrounded it.
Taking one of the spears she glanced at the wrapping around its shaft, once more written in a language that seemed almost familiar, yet foreign at the same time. Sating her curiosity she attached her pail around her now newly acquired walking stick.
She glanced up to the warped grey sky, gauging how far she had to truly reach the Coordinate. The sight of those never-ending sporadic rays of light told her she had much more to go.
Another round of sudden headaches caused her to go into a fetal position on the ground. Clutching her forehead she shut her eyes and clenched her teeth, letting the pains of her children's enslavement at his hands do their thing.
Even as her eyes shut closed she could still see flashes of his cold and disinterested face.
For he too saw her children as pawns. Simple, barbaric creatures weak enough to manipulate and control, nothing more.
As the pains passed she rose up, took a breath, and set off once more.
Passing through the land of trenches she had come to more familiar scenery, the white sands. Her mind lulled into a rhythmic beat as she trudged along.
Stab, step, stab, step, stab, step.
This long trek would have remained uneventful, but the forces that made their home in the Paths wouldn't deem it so, for soon enough something in the corner of Ymir's dull eye made her stop.
Turning her head she looked up to see a series of lights shining upwards from one of the dunes far off in the distance.
This wasn't like the auras that surged through the skies, or when the foreign powers sent a wave of energies throughout the realm. No, this was something different.
With a spark of curiosity in her withered being she began to trek up the sand hill, her spear helping to keep her steady as she trudged upwards. Soon enough she would reach the top and her eyes would be met with a glorious sight.
There, among the white dunes, was the source of the lights. A series of distant grand spires jutting out from the sands, like fingers reaching out for the heavens.
Grand monolithic constructions of black steel, marred with all manner of mesmerizing colors and foreign lettering that shined throughout their surfaces.
One spire among them caught her eyes in specific, one that featured a face on its surface. It was that of a woman, her face marred in white with red markings.
With slow steps he descended from the hill and made her way towards the dune covered city. The closer she got the more the spires seemed to extend in height, an overbearing sensation that rattled her soul.
Passing through a sand submerged bridge she suddenly stopped, as she began to hear something faint in the flowing winds. Focusing on it Ymir's eyes went wide.
They were voices.
She stood there for a moment, her thoughts in a complete tizzy. There were others in the Paths? How did they get here? Were they real?
She had to know in that moment. The Coordinate could wait a little longer.
With a sudden vigor she followed the source of those distant voices, which got louder and stronger the closer she got. And once she entered into the city's interior...
A mix of awe, and slight disappointment had nearly snuffed out her excitement.
For those lively voices only came from still figures, crafted from the white sands of the Paths.
A sigh left the progenitor's lips as she looked around at the false inhabitants. Seemed the realm had made a fool of her. And yet she wasn't completely upset. For despite it only being an illusion, at least she didn't feel alone in the Paths anymore.
And so she wandered around the city, listening intently to the voices that filled the sandy streets. Speaking in foreign tongues the voices seemed to go about their lives, as if they were truly alive.
Ymir was left completely bewildered at it all, even more so at the sight of two massive fish circling around one another in the middle of the city.
Another bizarre yet intriguing sight in the Paths.
"C'mon rust bucket, is this all you got?!"
The shouted voice in foreign tongues made Ymir flinch. Not only for its hostile tone, but the fact that it sounded like a certain interloper to the world.
"I expected more from the big bad solo that has everyone in this shithole pissing their pants!"
A ghostly chuckle followed, making Ymir's spine shiver. Only for her to completely freeze up at another voice that responded.
"F-FUCKIN MEAT SACK!"
The voice sounded completely inhuman, warped, like a beast trying to imitate the language of man. Its harsh tone was met with a comeback.
"Junk! That's all you are!" Said the interloper's voice, his shout reverberating across the city. "Yesteryears model, ready for the scrapheap!"
"SHUT YOUR FUCKING TRAP!"
"MAKE ME TINMAN!"
It was obvious to Ymir that these voices were in a conflict with one another, despite not knowing a lick of what they were saying. Their thunderous voices drowned out all others as the two specters continued to bark and snarl at one another.
"You think your hot shit, cause you slapped a bunch of metal to your body?! Well let me tell ya something!"
Reaching a certain point inside the city Ymir felt her head suddenly squeeze and tighten, causing her to fall to her knees.
With a pained shriek she clutched her head, as another barrage of visions flashed before her eyes.
The sight of a towering man filled her sight, his body marred with black steel and of unknown origin, and a pair of glowing red eyes that made his inhuman look all the more frightening.
Then came a marked fist launching towards the metal man's face, with enough force to break his steel jaw and send one of his red eyes flying out of its socket.
"THE MACHINE IS JUST AS WEAK AS THE FLESH!"
More flashes came about after the shout, each one displaying more glowing fists punching the metal man with unmatched speed and strength. Each blow would hit true and severely damaged the man, who in Ymir's shock attempted to fight back despite the seeming crippling blows he'd been on the receiving end.
"F-FUCK!"
His own fist would be countered, and his right arm would be ripped from his body, and used as a blunt instrument to be beaten with, like a slave who'd wrong his master in some shape or form.
Something Ymir was very familiar with.
"ALLOY AND SKIN! WIRES AND TENDONS! BONES AND SAMSON FRAME!"
More flashes showed two marked hands reach for the stunned steel being, ripping off parts of the man's body with violent force. A massive piece of his chest was removed, red and black tendons and musculatures were ripped out of his neck and remaining arm, all the while his body sparked and erupted with unknown fluids.
"IT DON'T MEAN SHIT TO ME!"
"G-SH-H-H-HA-A-H-H-G-G-G-H!" The man of metal could only gargle and hiss at his attacker, who continued to rip and tear at his body. Before long those marked hands began to glow a bright blue and grab onto the metal beings exposed and wounded chest, and release a surge of powerful and blinding lightning that left the metal being a twitching mess.
"IT BREAKS ALL THE SAME!"
Another flash showed those marked hands go for the remaining limbs, leaving the metal being unable to further defend himself as he was finally incapacitated. Completely at his attacker's mercy his broken, burnt, and sparking body was lifted up by his bald head to eye level.
Despite everything Ymir could see the absolute hatred and scorn the metal man showed through his single red eye. A moment passed before a hand grabbed the remaining tendons in his damaged neck, and the hand on his skull began to pull.
One last agonizing fizzling screech followed before the metal man's head was separated from his body. The attacker simply watched as his neck flesh erupted in sparks one last time, just as his eye's red color began to fade.
Unceremoniously tossing the head away the vision ended as the attacker turn and began to walk away from the scene, refusing to look back at the murderous scene he had created.
"*Huff* Fucking trash…"
The last foreign insult repeated in her head, as the visions began to fade again, and the pain receded. She remained on the ground, taking deep and lumbered breaths, as the visions always somehow managed to leave her winded.
Once she could get back up on her feet once more she quickly made her way out, eager to continue on her way, away from the memories of this accursed city of spires and away from the memories of whatever that man had done here.
As the sand dunes began to blow around her she quickly tucked her mouth in her shirt and grasped tightly to her walking spear, setting off back on her journey across the Paths.
Unaware of the figures observing her from atop the tall dunes.
-oOo-
Leaving the noises of the dune buried city Ymir sought more pleasant sounds and sights, such as the running liquid of the river stream she now traveled on.
Seated on a massive lily pad she traveled along the calm waters, enjoying the air of calm and serenity this new locale seemed to offer.
Taking a gander at her surroundings her eyes widened to see she was now in a tropical forest. Slender and aged elder trees surrounded, with leaves as blue as the sea filled her sight.
Small, glittering lights danced in the air and around her, passing her by and disappearing into the deep blue elder trees.
Ymir was left so bedazzled by the small light show she didn't realize her journey along the river was nearing its end, only coming to when her lily bumped into the edge of the riverbed.
Shaking her head she was made aware of her surroundings, that being a grand pool of water with many interconnecting rivers, and its source.
And once more she found her eyes glued to one certain thing.
Sat upon a patch of land in the lakes center was a statue of a giant being. A constant stream of water poured from his large ringed eyes and sharp fanged mouth, straight into the lake.
Ymir took notice of the beings odd attire, a mixture of robes, colorful jewels, and feathered headdress was eye-catching. In its hands was a rod of sorts and a massive jar, that poured out water into the lake as well.
Disembarking from her pad she walked along the edge of the riverbank, joined by a swam of butterflies that came out of the jungle.
Momentarily distracted she stopped and observed them, watching curiously as one of the small little insects landed on her hand.
She was stunned, for it felt almost real, as if a true living thing was pitter-patting across her hand.
Staring at the butterfly her mind flashed back to a similar memory. Of a similar moment from the days when she still breathed. One of the few pleasant moments in her life…before they came.
Feeling that sense of curiosity once again she wondered if this creature was just another illusion. Slowly lifting her other hand, she reached out in an attempt to touch the butterfly, if only to confirm her thoughts. And just as her finger was mere inches away...
A sudden, familiar feeling had erupted inside of her. One she had felt many times before.
The powers of the progenitor were being called for.
With a flat look on her face she waved the insect away as she turned into the direction of the jungle, leaving the marvelous presence of the ancient deity of an old-world pantheon behind her.
It didn't take long to find the white sands. Even in this dense jungle the sands would always be within reach, ready for her whenever her duty commanded.
With a sigh she stabbed her spear into the ground, taking her pail to gather up the sand and build the new bodies of her children.
-oOo-
From above the jungle, atop a mountain of earth and sand, a group of individuals watched the progenitor. It was the same group who had been watching since her trip to the city of nightly spires.
The same who had observed her since the beginning, and who had followed Him to this new world.
"Even with her world shifting before her eyes, she continues her tasks dutifully." Said one of them, watching intently as the young girl began to form the legs of the titan.
Despite their distance the abilities these beings possessed made it possible to oversee any and all within a safe and hidden distance.
"Did you expect anything less?" Another replied with a sneer, stomping one of his large, elongated appendages to the ground. "Her will was broken long before His arrival. She will continue to build her giants until the sun consumes all."
"While that may be true, as I've foreseen, she is no longer that PATHETIC dead-eyed creature." Said the largest of their number in a verbose and booming voice.
"Really now?" Another replied.
"Ohhh yessss, can't you see?" The large one replied, the gapes of his beaked face twisting into a grin as he clicked his clawed fingers together. "The seeds of resistance have begun…kukuku~"
"Since His arrival, nay even before, this once MONOTNOUS and UNIFORM realm has been turned on its head."
With raised arms the giant, fathered being exclaimed. "These once never-ending dunes have CHANGED into something more, something new.
Craning his neck downward he narrowed his eye on the young creator. "And she wants to see what this new realm has to offer. Despite the shifts, despite the pains it brings her, DESPITE THE CHAINS THAT BIND HER, she desires the KNOWLEDGE of just how and why the Paths are what they are now."
Settling himself down the watcher composed himself in a relaxed seating style. His legs crisscrossed, wings folded, and hands held together, as if in prayer.
"And she will…such is her destiny."
Taking the words of their fellow to heart the watchers continued to oversee the young progenitor, ever unaware of their appearance.
"He's right in his assessment-"
"As always."
"-Both the visions and the constant demands of those who hold her chains will take their toll." Said one to whom they all considered the leader of their group. "This trip across the shifting realm will only push her to the extremes."
"Her frail mind-" Said one among them.
"-Will not survive." Another replied.
"I worry for the child as well dear fellows." The lead watcher said, his serene and calming tone silencing the voices. "However, despite these trials and tribulations, in time she will receive the peace she deserves."
"This one's seen how things will play out hmmm?" One of his fellows asked. Unknown to his companions a smile stretched across the lead watchers hooded face as he turned away from Ymir and back towards a view over the island nation, specifically the actions of the one whom they had followed for millennia.
The one who would set things accordingly, or at least try.
"In a sense."
A/N: A much shorter chapter compared to my most recent ones, but I feel it's enough to summarize what's been going on with Ymir throughout the story. As we see the Paths is having the biggest crossover of the millennium.
Was heavily inspired by many colliding realms in media, such as Wonderland, specifically American McGee's version, Pandemonium from the Diablo series, or even the most recent Pale Heart from Destiny 2, which most definitely hasn't been keeping my attention as of late.
Along with voices and memories of the one responsible for turning her afterlife upside down it would seem she is also being watched by a group of strange figures, whom will be expanded upon in the future.
Next chapter we'll be seeing how a certain trio of youngins is doing in this new fantastical and uncertain world.