Elias (Stairway to another world one-shot)

Stairway to Another World

Flap.

The wind rams against his limbs, slow, then fast, then slow again. The heavy leaves of each tree fall onto each other from overhead, small, single protruding beams of light slipping through the gaps.

He whirls around, his heart pounding.

Flap.

The ground shakes. Rocks tumble down clumps of grass, driving dents into the hard, unwatered soil. Screeching

birds whoosh past his head, their thrashing wings brushing his shoulders.

Wails resound with the crashing water, each sound burning itself into his ears.

He clutches his sword tightly, feeling the sheath slip off to reveal its tiny glints of silver.

Flap.

He's running, following the sound, following the cracks as they travel across the dirty ground . Tearing a hand through his brown, greasy hair, Elias fails to glance at his fingers, where a dark red liquid has smudged cleanly across his fingertips.

The trees crowd around him. The thin cloth of his sleeve tears against their branches, as he chases the white wings on the other side of the web of leaves. The ... enclosure he was so unfortunately trapped in.

His last chance. His last chance to escape.

He is forced to a stop, and he stumbles backward. The world is... the forest is moving. It tilts to the side, as the wings disappear into the midst of the chaos.

"No!" Elias screams, his back pressed against a cold, hard surface of rock. He extends a bloodied hand, reaching out. "No! Not again!"

The trees part from above him, and the island is thrust into the air, the sky filled with clouds of blue and purple as they blend into the dark background.

Breathing quietly, he searches the sky, ignoring the spectacle in front of him. This was his last chance.

He tries to ignore the stinging pain in his hand, letting his sword fall to the ground. The pounding of his chest is painful, as his eyes move more frantically. His hands are shaking.

He kicks the metal across the floor.

He watches it dangle from the edge of the chunk of the land in the middle of the sky. It is about to fall.

He pulls away from his panic and runs forward, grabbing it by the hilt. Leaning forward, he's on his heels, his knees brushing against the soil. He stares at the clouds blocking his view of the rest of the world.

He spits at them. "bastards," he whispers, clenching his fists. "Let me... go."

No answer.

"How cruel can you be? So I made a mistake. I'm not going to rot here forever! And once I do get out, I'll -" he stops.

"Please... let me out."

A blast of wind hits him like a slap in the face.

A flash of white, the graze of a wing, and he sees it. He sees her, circling around his head in excited chirps. She's smaller than he had thought, with unkempt wings, and small black eyes. She's... laughing.

She is doing loops in the air, her gaze on him. She's taking him in, from his tattered clothes to his dark green eyes. She cocks her head as if missing something.

With a high whistle, she rises higher, spreading her wings. She fixes her eyes on his face, her small, feathered stomach struck two ways, into an ink-black cross.

Elias feels the exposed skin of his neck and pulls up the collar of his shirt, but not before she sees an identical scar running down its side.

She squawks in alarm, the edges of her wings blackening, crumbling to ash. Bulging red eyes lined with a white so milky, and sharp claws. She swoops down, and he holds out his sword, it's short-range forcing him to wait.

But she doesn't strike. Not yet, at least.

Landing on his shoulder, her claws dig into his flesh. She leans closer to him, and hisses into his ear, her voice low and feminine.

If he wasn't in this specific situation, he might have commented about her wastage of breath.

He should have been angry. Or scared. Or hopeful, even. But something about this creature is oddly calming. Like they've met before.

Those feelings are extinguished when he sees her talons. His blood on her talons.

I'll help you escape, comes her voice inside his head, for a price.

The words echo through him. He stares straight ahead, clenching his teeth. "You want my blood."

She doesn't answer.

"Why are you asking for my permission if you already have it?" He asks tightly, jerking his shoulder to the side.

She flies off, glaring at him. That is not of your concern.

Taking a calming breath, he digs his sword into the ground, once again noticing how high up they were. He feels a familiar dread crawl its way up his chest. He would stay here, if he didn't -

"Alright."

He looks down. "I, Elias, of-"

You must use your full name.

"I don't know my full name." He says, before resuming. "I, Elias, of the forbidden lands... agree to your terms."

There is silence, in the beginning.

You were better than this.

Elias shakes his head, picking at specks of dirt from inside his fingernails. "Now for your part of the deal."

She twitches. Very well.

And that's when the world cracks open.

The clouds seem to surround them, circling around the floating island madly. He runs forward, as it splits into two, watching as a giant doorway begins to rise from an opening in the ground. 

Images of children running, and people laughing crowd his mind. He stares at it, waiting for it to vanish, just like it always does. Just like it is supposed to.

It stays.

He is frozen in place. And then, sword point first, he runs. handleless stairs begin to form, leading him up to the entrance to the other world. To a life.

A rush of noise, and a blaze of thunder.

You shouldn't have done that.

And just like that, it is closed.

He's free.

Except, it doesn't feel like he is.