How the Emperor trapped a Witch

Chapter Sixty: A trip into the soul

Alaric

"TIA!!!"  I started walking towards her, almost becoming completely parallel with the ground as the castle fell around us. 

Her power came off of her in waves, pushing the walls outwards which caused the collapse of the entire castle. The ceiling started to fall but would break from an unseen force that protected Celestia as she floated while I had to avoid the hunks of ceiling which took out parts of the floor.

It didn't take long for the rest of the castle to fall into the dark chasm below, leaving only the floor and a few piles of rubble; swaying on top of the jagged outcrop. 

"TIA!! CAN YOU HEAR ME!??!!?"  I tried to yell over the roar of her power and the wind, but she didn't respond to a word I said.

I grew even more anxious when I saw tears falling down her face as her eyes turned white and silver marks started to appear up and down her arms and legs. I struggled towards her, my feet sliding back with each step.

'D*mn it!' I started cussing inside my head when I couldn't get any closer. I could hear Kimbra yelling at me faintly, but ignored it as I reached for the thread that attached the two of us together. 'Tia! Answer me!'

I held onto the thread tightly, repeatedly calling her name over and over again inside my head; not noticing silver marks starting to appear on my hand originating from the ring. 

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I flinched from the sudden light that appeared from Celestia; closing my eyes and found myself in a dark room filled with chains. I look around confused for a moment until I see Celestia hanging from those chains, blood slowly dripping down her arms which were held behind her back as she bent over a fallen figure.

Her hair covered her face, but sobs echoed in the space.

'Tia.' I carefully start to approach her and called out her name. I  came closer to her and started to see the figure that she was crying over when I was blocked.

'Tia?' I looked at the two women in confusion. Another Celestia had suddenly appeared before me; but something was off.

She showed no recognition of me at all and her hair was not silver and long- but short and brown. This Celestia wore a strange outfit with a short black skirt and thick tunic that was tucked into it with a spattering of blood staining the white coloring of  the shirt.

'Are you Tia?...' I ask, feeling a strange sense familiarity as I stared at her.

She nods, before glancing back.

'Is that also Tia?' 

She nods again, smiling at me sadly. The other Celestia approaches me and leans in close to my ear.

Find the chain.

Her hand brushes against mine, the ring glowing for a moment before she disappears before my eyes.

The chain. I looked around the room that was covered in chains and took a deep breath. I examine the walls, ceiling and the floor chains but did not see anything that was noticeable. 

Feeling a slight pull in my hand, I start following it which took me close to the hanging Celestia; but when I tried to further approach her, chains rose up and tried to wrap around my legs and arms.

I fought back, pulling my leg out from a chain's grasp and took a few steps back; noticing that the chains did not follow. It seemed that they were making sure that nothing could approach Celestia.

'That must be where the chain is...' I say thoughtfully, watching them return to hanging and laying on the floor.

I tested the chains a few times, learning that they had a slow response time after the initial few attempts to come close to Celestia. So I waited until the chains were sluggish in their movements and quickly broke through their defense, kneeling besides her and looking down at the figure.