I'll See You In Nirvana

THE SERPENT GOD FOLLOWS

My feet hit the soft dirt as hard as they always have as I sprinted away from what was soon to be a battlefield of one man versus an army.

After a minute of dashing between trees and through shrubbery, I felt something stir in my chest. It was as if I was anticipating pain that had already come. It was a sharp, yet hollow and lingering pulse. Something in the back of my mind disagreed with me leaving the way I did, and it wouldn't stop pressing its disapproval.

Almost running into a boulder, I curved around it and kept going. The negative feeling faded, and I got a second wind, speeding up.

On the way, a series of thoughts slowly forced their way to the surface. Thoughts I was sure weren't mine. "He fights for me. He belongs to me. He will die. I will take him back."

These thoughts fought for space in my already sprawling mind and I couldn't get rid of them. Struggling with the possibility of turning around, I continued onward until I saw a bright red glow in the distance.

Finally slowing down, I peeked from between the trees and saw what I thought I was escaping.

Aislin was locked in combat with three other people. Flames constantly leaped from his sword, hands, and feet as he clashed with them each respectively. Upon closer inspection, I saw a bloody body sitting against a tree and another on the ground not far from it.

He himself was covered in blood and every other movement saw him wobble on his feet.

I reached my hand out to him subconsciously. "Aislin."

My words seemed to break his concentration as he fell to the side and narrowly escaped a fatal blow. At that same moment, the red flames brightened until they were gold.

His next movement saw the nearest enemy thrown through a tree and their weapon broken. Next, Aislin continued to engage the other two with increased vigor.

"Even with my blessing, he may not survive this." I heard the voice clearly in the back of my head as if it was my own thoughts. "Pull him to you," It commanded.

"Pull!" I screamed it and as if by a string, he flew toward me. I caught him with unknown strength and sprinted away while holding him like a stuffed animal in my arms.

"My goddess, you've returned for me?" said Aislin as I dashed between countless natural obstacles in my way.

"I don't get it either, just shut up for now."

After nearly a minute of running, I ducked under the shadow of someone chasing after us and then hopped at the sight of someone else. That leap threw us impossibly high into the air and we could see the town in front of us. We were close. We landed on a tree and I hopped again to a diminished return and fell through the branches in an arc between the next few trees before the forest's edge.

I opened my eyes, immediately confused as to why they were closed. I was standing in the middle of a flower garden talking to someone, but I couldn't make out any other details before everything went dark. A voice soon rose out of the nothingness.

"Do not forsake yourself. You have been chosen, my child. Be not afraid for this power has always been yours and yours alone. It is now time for you to realize it. Awaken."

My eyes opened again to the sight of Aislin sitting next to me in a chair. I was in a bed and we were inside what looked like an inn room. Despite seeming to be asleep, a soft smile rested on his face. Thinking back, even though we were in dire circumstances, he still smiled the whole way through.