Shifters

Cassandra

Splinters buried into his back as Josh awoke laying atop a rough, poorly constructed, wooden floor. Mind foggy from his recent awakening, he lay still, staring up at a lightless ceiling as he tried to recall what exactly had happened to him. With his grogginess slowly withering away, flashes of his unexpected victory against Betul alongside his feelings of accomplishment after thinking he'd freed Cassandra as well as the sensations of extreme loss as the Chief's crippling betrayal came into play, penetrated his mind. Burdened by his sudden recollection of prior events, Josh sat up quickly, clutching his chest as the memories returned in full force. Much to his surprise, he felt no pain, numbness, or any side effects at all that indicated he had been previously poisoned. Deciding the realization was not worth fussing over, he pushed the thought from his mind as he surveyed his surroundings, hoping to find a way out of his current predicament. However, just like the ceiling he'd stared at mere moments ago, darkness, even more pronounced than that of the Spatial Stream's, extended in every direction all around him. 

'Where exactly is here?' Josh wondered as he continued to investigate the area. 

Eyes unable to penetrate the unending darkness, he climbed to his feet, hoping the extra height would help him discover something new. 

The moment he did, a cold chill spread over his body as a voice, similar in nature, yet deeper than his own called out to him, "So you finally made it!"

"Who's there?" Josh asked, terrified as the voice seemed to originate from every direction at once.

"We haven't much time," the unknown speaker said, voice a bit strained, cold energy emanating violently as it spoke, "Come to me!"

"Who are you?" Josh asked, not daring to take a single step, "What is this place?"

"You...still resist me," the voice said, disappointment heavily ingrained in its tone. 

"Answer me!" Josh shouted as the mysterious speaker ignored his words, "Where am I? What did you do to me?"

"Could it be?" the hidden entity went on, still disregarding his questions, "Do you really not wish to regain what was lost?"

"What was lost?" Josh questioned, quickly perceiving the meaning behind the speaker's words, "My memories? Do you know how I can get them back?"

For the first time since they'd conversed, the unknown entity's voice, seemed to directly focus on him, "Your memories...yes...they've been sealed."

"What does that mean?" Josh asked, completely forgetting his earlier narrative as a potential solution to his amnesia presented itself, "Who sealed my memories? Can you help me reclaim them?"

"You...you're the one that locked them away," the voice went on, "However, I can break them free. All that need be done is for you to embrace my power and let me in!"

As the entity spoke, the air before him shimmered as dark, cold energy swirled rapidly, amassing itself into a giant, black, misty blob. Temperature dropping even further, the cloud-like mass, began to shrink as the energy shaped itself into long tendrils that overlapped each other until finally condensing into a human-sized, void-coloured hand.

"I-I locked them away?" Josh muttered, repeating the voice's words in pure bafflement, "That doesn't make any sense. Why would I do that?" 

"Take my hand!" the entity hidden within the darkness continued, "Reclaim what was once yours!"

Blinded by a real opportunity to resolve the amnesia that had plagued him since his first awakening, Josh hesitantly stepped toward the outstretched hand, extending his own as he neared it.