Slayers - Chaos Theory

2. Old and New

Chapter 2

"Old and New"

Amelia couldn't fall asleep for long. She stared at the outline of his silhouette, just visible against the darkness. He slept so peacefully. No wonder, after all, he finally had a chance at what he wanted most in the world. Something he wanted more than her...

The campfire had long since gone out, only the moonlight and the stars provided a little comfort. She leaned her back against a nearby boulder and hugged her legs to her chest. She felt safer that way. Funny... She, Amelia Will Tesla Saillune, defender of justice, ally in the fight against the Lord of Darkness, brave and determined... was afraid of the dark! Like a little child. She couldn't admit it, of course. Mr Zelgadis would think of her as a child, and Miss Lina would never give her a break. But now, she wasn't only afraid of the darkness, but also of the journey that had already begun. She looked at Kazuki... She knew very well that something had happened in the forest.

"Lina! Amelia, help us!" Amelia slowly opened her eyes, she was alone in their camp...

"Amelia! No!" A deafening scream pierced the darkness.

"Mr Zelgadis?!" The princess rose immediately. It was still dark, and she thought she must have dozed off. "Where are you?!"

Without hesitation, she ran through the forest towards the screams and sounds of battle. Her muscles strained to the limit as she ran faster and faster, ready to fight, ready to defend. It wasn't until a moment later that she realised that with every step she took, the forest and everything around her was being engulfed in darkness. She didn't stop, and after a while she ran into the black abyss. Terrified, she closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she saw the city at her feet. Or rather, what it once was.

Beneath the bloody dome of the sky, crooked towers and houses rose. The chains that snaked across the landscape like snakes had been eaten away by rust. The chains seemed to hold everything up above the darkness. The screams came from a small square that was the central point of the area. She ran down the hill towards it. When she turned and looked back where she had come from, she saw only darkness.

"Amelio! Come here!"

"Mr Gourry? Miss Lina?" she called as bravely as she could, but her voice was full of panic.

When she found herself in the main square, where the screams were coming from, everything around her suddenly whirled... She felt cold metal beneath her feet. She looked down and saw that she was standing on a mighty chain, suspended above the abyss. She tried to cast some kind of spell, but felt completely powerless.

"Amelia? " She looked at Zelgadis, the chain dangling dangerously over the abyss.

"Zel... " She didn't have time to finish before she saw the boy slip off the chain and fall into the darkness.

His eyes became empty, lifeless...

Merciless laughter tore at her heart... Was anyone else there?

Without thinking about it any longer, Amelia threw herself into the infinite abyss after Zelgadis, after her beloved?

Darkness covered everything...

***

Water?

The princess opened her eyes. She was drowning! Holy shit! She looked up and saw the starlight above her stop on the smooth surface of the water. She felt her lungs running out of air. She tried to swim out, but something was holding her back. Her legs became entangled in the grasses that grew at the bottom of the shallow pool.