Elements of Emotion

Chapter 8: Gaia

Caelian ascended the steps slowly, finally taking Nathaniel's warnings to mind. It was ironic. He never thought there'd be a day where Iaestia wouldn't be there to help him. He had always been so confident she'd always be at his side, and that confidence showed in his carelessness. But she was gone now, replaced with an unfamiliar spirit that he wasn't sure would help him in his time of need, let alone if it even had the power to do so.

Where was Nathaniel, anyway? Was he okay? Had he fled somewhere, or had the corruption sunken its icy grip into him, corrupting him just like the flowers and trees that surrounded them? What if he was one of the many sprites Damien had cut down? If he was, would he resent the shadow spirit even more than he already did, or would he understand it to be the mercy killing that it was? He wasn't sure.

It all hardly mattered at the moment. He carefully side-stepped a stream of acid that was dripping down from above. He wondered if Iaestia would've been able to protect him from the acid, just like she did with other things.

His stomach sank as he peered over the edge of the stairs, down at the ground far below them. They had managed to climb over halfway to the top. Damien and Evelyn were further back, both of them being even more careful on the ascent than he was. It wasn't a surprise that they were terrified. It was their first time making the climb, and it was more treacherous than usual. Caelian had years of climbing the stairs under his belt. The only thing making him take it easy was the acid and his previously defunct sense of self preservation.

"A... Are we almost there?" Evelyn asked, daring not to lean out and check.

Caelian ignored the question as he climbed another section of the stairs. Thankfully the ones near the top weren't as eaten away by acid or fallen away like other sections down below had been.

"We should be almost there, Evelyn," Damien said, leaning out to peer upwards. Evelyn let out a whine.

It was then that the forest shook with an otherworldly howl. Not beautiful, like a wolf—but deep and guttural, as if whatever made it seemed to be angry at the visitors' disturbance.

"... Though I'm not sure we want to be," Damien added.

Caelian stared up through the branches. Was that Gaia? No, it couldn't have been. She couldn't make a noise like that. But then, something deep inside of him was telling him that it was. Had Garson's group already made it to the top?

When Caelian finally stepped onto the familiar platform at the top of the long flight of stairs, he paused. Acid had formed large pools under the naked canopy, though it somehow didn't eat it's way through the wood. Damien and Evelyn quickly pushed past him, both of them glad to be off of the staircase and onto more solid ground, if it could even be called that.

But the acid wasn't what had caught his attention. It was the being in the center of the room, surrounded by the littered bodies of spirits. It was hideous looking, and while Caelian could barely recognize her, he knew exactly who she was.

Her bottom jaw was gone, and bug-like appendages sprouted out of her open throat. The lip on her top jaw was torn away, leaving her fangs to stick out of her boney face. Only one of her antlers still stood, while the other had been snapped off, leaving only a sharp stump.

Her torso stuck out of a writhing mass of purple flesh that appeared to be her main body. Her arms had been turned into long claws, reminiscent of a praying mantis, and her wings looked plucked down to the bone. Thorns and vines ensnared her body, leaving acid to pour out of the wounds.

One of her eye sockets was completely empty, with acid slowly leaking out. It looked as though she were crying. She was looking down at Garson as the spirit panted heavily before her.