A Rising Star of the City

Ch.33: Urban Plague

"Today, I witnessed the sight of impurity. However, instead of fearing it, I stood still, observing it with curiosity alongside the lone figure standing by."

Before I could even begin to understand what was happening to me, I could feel a gust of wind fiercely assaulting my face, forcing my eyes to open. Once I did, what I first assumed to be me simply being awoken by an annoying breeze turned out to be something much more severe.

I was falling, a genuine fall with no way to stop it. At first, I wanted to move my arms around but that idea was quickly tossed aside once I realized how fast I was going. Even if I could latch onto something, it would only result in me losing my limbs at this speed.

So, instead of letting my panic set in, I tried my best to observe my surroundings. Maybe I could get out of this somehow? It was wishful thinking but it was better than nothing.

The first thing that grabbed my attention, however, was the odd walls blocking me from a potential escape out of this problem. They were entirely made of wood, natural wood. Despite my rapid falling, I could faintly notice some details & imperfections through my blurry vision that confirmed it.

It felt like I was stuck inside of a hollow tree, plummeting to my doom.

The second point of interest I had was something that I completely ignored in the heat of the moment and didn't mention. Floating all around me, hundreds of what looked like playing cards, toys & drawings were rising into the heavens while I was doing the opposite.

Sadly, I couldn't see what was drawn on them but I highly doubt it would have helped me, even if I could.

"...I've been falling for a while, I'm starting to wonder if there's an end."

At the speed I was going, talking would only result in me biting through my tongue so I settled with mental notes to myself.

I couldn't exactly pinpoint how long I was falling for and to be honest, it didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. What did was that realistically, I should have reached the bottom of whatever tunnel I was trapped in, or at least passed out during the fall.

Though, now that I think about it, my awakening in this situation probably meant that I had fallen for quite a while by now.

...Which only further proved my point.

With not much else to do at this point, I lowered my gaze a second time and, just like a curtain being pulled out of view, something finally emerged from within the darkness. It looked like a massive mushroom attached to the side of the tunnel, emitting a glowing light.

One other detail was that it was massive, dangerously big. It almost entirely covered the hole I was falling in and I was not spared. Trapped at terminal velocity, I couldn't even begin to widen my eyes out of shock before my body made collision with the fungus.

...

...

I'm sure, in any normal circumstances, that would have been the end. My body would have folded onto itself and turned into a puddle of blood. Yes, that would have been an abrupt end with nothing else to add to it.

However, instead of obtaining what I would assume to be a painless death from all the momentum gained, my eyes were greeted by something that definitely should not exist.

My body, who has not combusted into blood particles, slowly sank into the large mushroom like it was made of marshmallow. I fell through it and, once on the other side, I resumed my fall for a brief instant before landing on my side on a solid floor that seemingly appeared out of thin air.