Tales of Zestiria: The World Beyond

Chapter 33

"Vanessa! Wake up! Vanessa!" Those were the words that woke Vanessa up, and for a moment, she thought she heard Sorey's voice. "Vanaia!"

Louis was the one standing over her, trying to get her to wake up. When she looked around, the entire building was on fire. Louis explained how the monsters made it to the skies and how his father wanted to evacuate the building. According to him, it had been several months since she was last awake, and things had gotten worse since then. Just then, the ceiling collapsed and a black liquid poured down, it took the form of a large cat with two tails and glowing red eyes.

The entire ground quivered as it moved, it was like a shockwave that spread throughout the floor and caused cracks in the marble. Louis summoned his sword, which had a silver blade and gemstones on the handle. He held it above his head as the monster attacked then jumped back when its tail nearly hit him. He swung it in the air and it created a wave of light that stunned the monster, then grabbed Vanessa's hand and ran past it.

There was no point in fighting a battle he couldn't win. He told Vanessa to keep running and not stop, even if it hurt to move, they had to run. They finally stopped when a wall of black liquid covered the entrance. Vanessa was interested in it since she hadn't seen anything like it before, then Louis threw a book at it before she could touch it to show her that it pulled in anything it came into contact with. He told her to use her power to scatter it and confused her for a moment.

She lifted her hands out and released a shockwave that caused the liquid to break apart as if it was made of glass. She hadn't used Vanaia's power before, she didn't even know Vanaia had any due to having such a fragile body. Louis grabbed her hand again before she could think for longer and led her into the next room. His father then pulled the back of his shirt to get his attention and told them to follow him.

Just as the three headed there, the ceiling collapsed, separating them. Louis called out to Vanessa, he told her that there was another way to reach the lab where his father wanted them to go. It was a long way, but it was better than wasting time trying to break the marble. He said that he was going to wait for her and left with his father.

Vanessa ran through the halls to reach where Louis told her go. She felt her body start to give out but stayed strong to make it to the end. Vanaia wanted her to see something, and she was curious about what that was. She used a shockwave to scatter any liquid that got in her way and finally had to stop to take a break. When she looked up, she saw that there were people hiding behind the furniture; they were scared, they had no idea what was going to happen to them or what was after them.

The world was crumbling and there wasn't any hope for the future. That was the feeling that filled the air. Vanessa watched as the people immediately fled the second liquid poured into the room and went further into the compound. She followed some into a chamber where a statue rested; it was that of an angel with three sets of wings and a rose in her hands. She looked oddly familiar, as if Vanessa had seen her before.

Just then, Vanessa heard a banging come from the ceiling and a creature made of black liquid rose and reshaped itself into a spider-like monster. Without a way to stop it, she hid behind the statue and it began to come to life. The angel's wings shone in a white light and her silver hair flowed even though there wasn't any wind. The rose she held had petals surrounding it as well, and she held it like a wand.

The monster sharpened its legs to cut through the wires of the room before it had its attention on the angel. She held her hands as if she was holding a ball and created an orb of black energy. She blasted it at the monster and it turned to dust.

"Is everyone okay?" The angel asked.

"Yes, thank you." A woman said.

"This place, it's the hospital... how long have I been asleep for?" The angel then turned around and saw Vanessa. "Vanaia! Someone I recognize! I haven't lost my mind after all."