Ori and the Stranger

Chapter 6

     "How exactly are we getting out of here?" Blitz asked, eyeing the cavern's sheer rock walls skeptically.

     Ori turned to Blitz. "Trust me, Blitz. Fil passed his knowledge to me; knowledge on how to get out of here." He turned back to the wall, feeling the smooth stone. He looked up at the opening, not too far away. With Fil's power and the knowledge of how to use it, this would be a breeze.

     The young spirit took a deep breath, and leapt up onto the wall. Instincts and reflexes he didn't have before kicked in. Without thinking, he concentrated his light energy into his hooves, and ethereal claws of light jutted out, piercing the stone and granting Ori just enough grip to leap up the wall a few feet, and repeating the process. After a few seconds, his paws grasped the lip of the cavern's entrance, and he hauled himself back onto the coarse dirt of the small path, now on the other side of the hole.

     Blitz stared up at Ori in amazement. "Where'd you learn to do that?" he asked, his voice carried up the cavern by echoes and into Ori's ears. Ori shouted back down at him. "I don't really know! I just, know!"

     Sein helped Ori answer. "Fil's consciousness was absorbed into his. That means Fil's abilities, knowledge, and reflexes are Ori's now."

     "That's very interesting," Blitz called back, before looking around and back up at Ori. "But how exactly do I get out of here?"

     Ori paused, and called down to Blitz. "Wait here! I have an idea!" At these words, he dashed away out of view before Blitz could even respond. Blitz let out a loud sigh, and leaned against the cavern wall. There was no telling how long Ori would take, or if he would even come back at all. Blitz hoped that the ladder wasn't the case, as he and Ori had developed a mutual sense of trust. But still, even if he didn't abandon Blitz, it could take anywhere from a few minutes to days for Ori to return.

     Blitz sat in uncomfortable silence. Without the thick sloshing of the putrid lake, the faint warble that constantly emanated from Sein, or the purring of a sleeping Ori, the forest was entirely silent. It was a cold, empty silence that sent shivers down Blitz's spine. But still, he patiently waited for his spirit friend to return.

     Blitz decided to use the downtime he had to see if he couldn't fix his jetpack. He picked it up, assessing the damage. He saw the massive hole where the 

     After an agonizingly long 5 minutes, Blitz finally looked up to see Ori's head peaking over the edge and down at him. He got off the wall, feeling excited to finally get out of the hole. "Got anything?" Blitz called. He saw Ori nod, and Blitz quickly snatched up his broken jetpack and reattached it to his back. He saw Ori grab something out of view, before tossing it over the edge. It was a long, slightly rotten vine, just barely long enough to reach the bottom of the hole. The vine stopped unfurling, the very tip hanging a foot above the ground.

     Blitz looked at the vine skeptically. He wasn't sure if it would hold him, but he had no other options. He tightly gripped the vine, and planted his feet on the wall. His boots managed to find a grip, and he started walking up the wall, holding tightly to the vine to keep himself from falling. After a few moments, he reached the edge, and eagerly clambered up and out of the hole, dusting himself off as he got to his feet. He saw one end of the vine tied to a boulder at the side of the trail.

     "Thank you, Ori," Blitz said, ruffling the top of Ori's head a little. Ori let out a happy chirp and leaned into the headpats. "How did you find that vine? It seems a little too healthy to grow on these rotten trees."

     Ori perked up his ears excitedly. "Further down the trail! The trees there are still alive, but barely. Sein says it means we're close to the Spirit Tree!" the spirit exclaimed, hopping up and down excitedly, before shooting off down the trail. Blitz quickly followed, finding himself eager to see this tree that Sein keeps talking about.

     The rotten trunks making up the canopy of the Sunken Glades slowly started to gain slight color, a few leaves starting to become visible at their branches. The foliage also gained some color, and the thorny briars became less and less numerous, but still present. The cold, blue atmosphere was replaced by a warm, but still rotten, hue. The gray clouds had cleared up slightly, allowing for small rays of sunlight to leak into the forest. The leaves were browned and withered, and the few flowers that grew were shriveled and faded. Though it was nothing compared to the forest's former grandeur, it was a welcome change from the complete lifelessness of the Sunken Glades. However, creatures of the Decay were also abundant here: more of the slugs and frog-things, but Blitz had no trouble dispatching them.

     Eventually, there was a break in the trees. Between the trees, Blitz saw a massive, expansive hill, full of lush-ish grass, with glowing white flowers peppering the entire field. And at the top of this hill sat what Blitz could only guess was the Spirit Tree.

     It was easily the biggest tree he had ever seen. The roots alone were at least a few hundred feet tall, and were wide enough to comfortably fit a starship. But these roots were dwarfed by the tree itself. It shot thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of feet into the air. The trunk was as wide as a small town, with thick, green bark that covered its entirety. It had several holes clustered at its base that radiated a weak light from within. At its top was a tangle of bare branches, and at the base of its crown was a hollow dome of branches. Blitz stared up at the Spirit Tree, completely speechless.

     He was broken out of his awestruck trance by a happy squeal from Ori. He turned to see Ori running towards a Spirit Well at the base of the Spirit Tree, Sein floating close behind. Blitz also followed. When Blitz saw the Spirit Well, he looked down at his burnt left hand and remembered what the light does to creatures like him. He suddenly felt a feeling of fear. Imagining how intense and deadly the light within the tree must be sent shivers down Blitz, and he kept his distance from the Spirit Well. Ori sensed Blitz's hesitation, and he looked back with a concerned glance. Ori ran back to Blitz, giving his burnt hand a concerned glance. "Is it okay?" he asked sheepishly. Blitz nodded in response. Ori smiled at him, before running back over to the Spirit Well.

     He stared up at the Spirit Tree in awe. Sein floated higher to get a better look at the Tree. "Ori... the Spirit Tree! He must have used the last of his strength to save you..." Sein said, voice full of sorrow. "Come now and hear our story."

     Ori nodded, and stepped into the Spirit Well. Like before, the light enveloped him, healing and revitalizing him. But there was something else: a powerful, booming voice; the voice of the Spirit Tree. "It was the night of the Light Ceremony, my child. It was our light she hated..."

~~~~~~~~~~

     Ori finds himself overlooking the Forest of Nibel, lush and green. He sees a powerful light pouring from the crown of the Spirit Tree and enveloping Nibel; the same light that had called to him many days ago.

     I called out to Ori, but my child never came...

     At the base of the Spirit Tree, hundreds, maybe thousands of spirits are gathering. They all look at the Spirit Tree full of awe as the calling light pours out of the tree's crown.

     But then, a powerful screech rings out. The spirits whirl their heads to the sky, and see a massive owl swooping down towards them, eyes glowing white with hatred. The spirits fill with fear, and flee as the owl crashes down, sending dust shooting up all around her. She glares at the spirits, and starts attacking them, ripping them apart with her massive talons. It's hard for Ori to watch, and he wants to help his siblings, but he can't do anything; this is a memory.

     Suddenly, the owl whirls her gaze around to the Spirit Tree. Specifically, the dome at the base of its crown that contains Sein, and the source of the calling light. The owl narrows her eyes, and flies up to the crown. She lands on top of the dome, and reaches a talon inside. The talon wraps around Sein, and she wrenches the wisp hard. She flaps her wings, and launches off of the Tree, ripping out Sein in the process. As soon as the wisp is pulled out of the tree, the lights littering its crown suddenly go out

     The owl flies with Sein in her grasp for a short while, before landing on a tree in the Shining Glades. She holds the wisp in her talon for a moment, before suddenly crushing it. Light bursts out of the wisp, and its light dims. The owl then drops Sein down through the canopy.

     Kuro stole Sein, it was the end of our days...