Ori and the Stranger

Chapter 22

     Ori looked up at the sheer rock cliff of the plateau that the Ginso Tree sat upon. Only then did he realize how far he had fallen. A large waterfall billowed down the cliffside, splashing into the water at Ori's feet and sending watery mist all over his body.

     "Ori, come," Sein said, this time with more authority. Ori snapped out of his thoughts, looking over at Sein. "R-Right," he responded, running to catch up with Sein. He didn't really want to leave such a tranquil and peaceful place so quickly. But nonetheless he followed behind Sein as she floated into the forest.

     They followed a small trail that led around the plateau, and Ori took as much time as possible to bask in the beauty of the greenery that he had not seen for a short time, but had desperately needed to see. It filled him with hope to see that he truly was making a difference and healing Nibel.

     Unfortunately, the greenery soon turned back into the familiar gray rot of the blinded forest. As Ori walked, tense once again, he caught a glimpse of the Spirit Tree through the treeline. It was just a little brighter and greener. Ori felt more hope build within him. He was fulfilling the promise he made to all the fallen spirits he had met. At this rate, Nibel was sure to be free from the blight of the Decay.

     The walk across Nibel was nearly unbearable. Because of the fall from the Ginso Tree, Ori had no idea where he was, so retracing his steps was not an option. However, he did know that he was going the right way thanks to the Forlorn Ruins, which loomed ever so slightly above the treeline, providing a marker for where Ori must go.

     After about an hour of walking, Ori laid back against a rotten tree to catch his breath. The texture of the decaying bark made his skin tingle, but he was far too exhausted to care. Even though he had new means of getting around obstacles, navigating Nibel was no less exhausting. Additionally, he was no longer deterred by bodies of water in his way, as all of the water in Nibel seemed to have been cleansed, not just the water around the Ginso Tree.

     As Ori laid back against the tree, his tiny chest rising and falling rapidly, Sein hovered above him to keep watch. She wasn't affected by exhaustion whatsoever, and was more than eager to get to the Forlorn Ruins as soon as possible, but she also understood just how hard navigating the rotten trees and twisted briars must have been for Ori, not to mention that the little spirit was also constantly on edge without Blitz's presence to reassure him.

     A subtle movement in the undergrowth caught Sein's attention. She didn't warn Ori yet, but kept her attention set on whatever the thing was. As Ori continued to rest, whatever was traversing the undergrowth suddenly started getting closer at an alarmingly fast rate. "Ori, get up!" Sein shouted.

     Ori shot up almost immediately, instantly at full alert. His ears twitched as he heard the rustling and he whirled around to face the direction of the noise. Just as he did, he spotted a small rat, but something about it was very wrong. It was covered in purple tumors, several patches of fur were simply gone, revealing gray skin underneath, and the rat's eyes were white with madness.

     Just as the rat emerged, so did another. And another, and another, and another at an alarming rate. Within several seconds, at least a hundred rats had emerged, all staring at Ori with white eyes. Suddenly, they all converged on a single point, clumping together. Ori slowly backed away in fear as the rats squealed and screeched. Within moments, all the rats had converged together into one single mass of interlocked rats. A rat king, far larger than Ori was.

     Then, the mass of rats surged forward like a viscous slime, intending to devour the little spirit before it whole. Ori immediately dashed off in the opposite direction, panic filling his entire body. The rat king gave chase at an alarmingly fast speed.