Epics of Noche 3, Limbo

EON CH 26 - ACT 38, OBSERVATORY

GLIMPSING THE FUTURE.

1774, NOVEMBER 28th, MONDAY6:35 pm.

Noche's hand clenched and unclenched as she walked through a hallway full of stained-glass shards hanging on silver thread. She tightened her hand until her knuckles popped, before releasing the tension. Occasionally her fingers twitched as if ready for a fight. This realm was trying her patience and her patience was running thin.

She had to get out.

Her focus on escaping was immense and the world reacted to it. The environment shifted as she walked, the hall becoming shorter and more direct. It was as if her desire was shaping everything around her.

Shards of colored glass clinked and clattered as she pushed past them. Colors bounced and reflected on all surfaces, bathing the room in ambient, warm light. Reds, oranges, and yellows flittered from place to place as glowing spots.

Eventually, she pushed past the glass chimes and entered a small room. Above were wooden floorboards where thin streams of light leaked between the cracks. They landed on a little doll in the center of the room.

Noche approached the thing. It was a little angel with stained glass wings. It wore a sports t-shirt and had red-violet hair; its stitched expression was sad. On closer inspection, the little doll was missing its left eye.

A seam ripped on the doll's back. Its wings were too heavy – they were destroying the poor thing. Noche frowned and placed the small toy back down. The light hit the wings and lit up the room like a nebula in the night sky.

There was a stairwell in the corner of the room. Blue vines wrapped around the guard rail and were decorated in glowing cyan flowers. The blonde made her way towards the steps and took them up.

In seconds she found herself upstairs – it was a dome-like room with a massive telescope in its center. The ceiling appeared to be a night sky full of vivid yellow shooting stars that fell as slowly as a feather. Near the base of the telescope were pinwheels covered in thin, dead vines.

She was drawn towards the thing as if it had some sort of supernatural pull on her.

"Time leaves all forgotten?"

Noche muttered as she read the engraving above the lens. She peered into the glass and instead of the night sky, she saw herself from a distance. It didn't make logical sense, but then again, what did in this realm?

She blinked and what she saw changed. Now she and Boots stood before Spark's red glass cell once more. However, the world was shaking and Noche's hand rested on Boot's shoulder. Tears were streaming down his face as his eyes were shut tight.

"That's not how that happened," she whispered.

When she blinked again the scene was different. Noche faced off against Alice and both were surrounded by hundreds of humanoid beings made of pure energy. It appeared as if they were standing on the surface of a moon.

Noche took a step back and paused. She bit her lip and processed what she just saw. After a moment's hesitation, she approached the lens once again. She saw herself fighting an adult version of Tak. They stood on a sheet of ice that went as far as the eye could see.

She blinked on purpose and found herself laughing with Shaylin on a space station. Aliens walked past them as if it was a shopping mall. Noche blinked again and found herself standing in space before Vida; the sun to their sides.

When Noche closed her eyes and reopened them again, a black abyss stared back at her. Then a flickering yellow light came into view. A clone of Noche approached while holding a small, wooden lighthouse. The amber glow emanated from it.

Her gaze fell on the little carving and became melancholic. Rain started pouring around her as she kept her eyes on the faint illumination. Then that Noche made direct eye contact with the Noche peering through the telescope. The lens cracked and everything went dark.

Noche took a step back and flinched when something creaked. She turned around to a door that wasn't there before. It opened and beyond its frame was a gold and black lighthouse; in the distance, she could make out some of her friends.

She darted towards the door, but it slammed shut as she came within reach. Noche flung it wide open, but the destination it led to was different again. Instead, it now revealed a black and white, monochromatic forest. Bird cages hung from every dead branch as far as the eye could see.

The blonde tightened her grip on her wooden oar and stepped inside the forest; the door behind her faded away. There was a single dirt path in this place. Standing in the middle of it was baby Noche.

"There you are!"

The adult version shouted as the child turned and ran. Fortunately, the blonde was prepared for this and sprinted after the little girl. A moment later, the air went ice cold and all the hairs on Noche's arm stood up. She couldn't get rid of the feeling that something was chasing after her too.

However, when she looked back, she couldn't find the source of this uncomfortable presence. She didn't need to when the scent of rotting meat filled the air.

"Creeps."

As if in reaction to the very word, the world got darker. Noche moved as fast as her legs would carry her. Ahead in the distance, a floating door became visible. Noche threw both arms across her face and tackled it – she tumbled into a dark hallway. The kid stood in the center and pointed behind the adult.

Noche turned, but it felt like it took an eternity to do so. Pins and needles pricked her flesh as a cold sweat dripped down her head. When she looked behind her Creeps was there.