SNT: Shattered Dimensions

Mysteries Unbound

A slight cold breeze brushed against SNT's aquamarine fur while her body lay dormant upon the autumn hilltop fields. A bed of roses surrounded her and placed the creature's mind at ease with their floral aroma. It was nostalgic for her in a sense, she used to love going out at night with friends, laying atop a grassy field to stargaze the vast cosmos above them. She'd always find herself taking part in the most interesting conversations, for better or for worse. SNT couldn't help but smile as she was reminiscent of the past.

"WeLCoMe BaCK, SNT!" A familiar voice beckoned to the creature, steering her away from this trip down memory lane. She opened her eyes and rose to her feet as though strings pulled all of her limbs at once. Her head hung low, staring down at her gloved palms that once held Coldsteel's ring. She glanced up towards the dark crimson clouds and frowned.

This place again... SNT realized. Much to her annoyance; the creature once again found herself in that dream where Knothole Village was burned to soot.

Am I just going to come here every time I go to sleep? she wondered with a deep sigh. Then, the creature's eyes glanced over to a polluted gray ocean that stayed eerily still. Beyond the polluted sea stood what appeared to be a mountainside, seemingly fragmented into thousands of pieces that now levitated above their place of origin. The sight was bizarre, almost as if gravity was slowly being siphoned away from the planet.

What happened here? SNT questioned curiously.

"THiS DiMeNSioN... iS DYiNG..." That disembodied voice from before answered from the abyss. SNT's ears perked up, scanning her surroundings for the voice's source. Just like last time, however, there didn't seem to be anybody around. This world just seemed empty, dead.

"SHaTTeReD FRoM... SeLFiSH DeSiRe..." the voice continued. SNT took a deep breath before simply listening to the voice itself. Its tone was low and distant, sounding similar to a whispering murmur.

"a FaTe THaT SHaLL BeFaLL aLL WoRLDS... SHouLD THe KeYS Be GaTHeReD..." it claimed. SNT's eyes hardened as the smell of burnt wood invaded her nostrils.

Keys? All worlds? The creature questioned in her mind.

"You DiD WeLL To eXTiNGuiSH THe DaNGeR..." The voice congratulated. Suddenly, all of the palm trees that filled this barren landscape burst into orange ethereal flames, startling the creature in the process.
"BuT Be WaRNeD, FoR THe FiReS aWaiT..." the voice informed. SNT was taken aback with her right arm raised to her chest. The sudden combustion nearly blew the creature off her feet, but an invisible force seemingly kept her them on the ground.

What's going on? SNT pondered. In the distance, the creature noticed a figure standing near one of the burning palm trees. Its shape seemed familiar yet too distant for the creature to make out.

Who's there? SNT opened her mouth to speak only to be reminded of this world's continuous silence. She began to sweat, and a shock of unease jolted around her spinal cord.

"A friend..." the voice claimed. Its vocal tone seemed to change, altering itself to something more clear, more... familiar. SNT took a deep breath and decided to walk towards the figure in the distance. The burning palm trees collapsed behind the creature; spreading its flames onto the ground, something that should've made the creature stop in her tracks, but she didn't. She felt compelled to walk through the flames and approach the distant figure.

"Who knows that you need to live..." It continued as SNT came closer and closer. The closer the creature got, the more the figure's shape seemed to morph into someone she knew; a blue hedgehog with his back turned.

Sonic? SNT wondered. A relieved smile etched upon her muzzle; finally, she wasn't the only living being in this realm. Not only that; but that other living being was a friend of hers. The creature believed it to be some kind of miracle.