Wicked [Super 4]

XXV.Fear {Part 2}

Ruby

I was trying to shake off the embarrassment of having hugged Leonora out of nowhere and having her joke about me doing it again as I walked through the foggy ship with Alien in my arms. He didn't say anything, and it worried me that he would drain himself or something. But I had to trust him. He may be small, but he sure was a good ally. Unlike some people who left me behind in a prison cell.

It took me barely over a minute to find Karma. It looked like she still was somewhat conscious, but it was easy to tell that she wasn't aware at all of her surroundings. She was sitting on the ground, holding her head in her hands, breathing with difficulty. I tried to get her attention a few times, but to no avail. Her grip on reality was gone, but fortunately Alien knew exactly what we had to do to get it back.

I held his hand and he started humming that strange melody again. The world started spinning around me again and I knew for a fact I was entering Karma's whatever the fuck those illusions should be called.

It felt like I fell on my ass, and it certainly seemed like so, since I was on the ground when I opened my eyes again. I stood up and took in the sight of where I was. It felt like the polar opposite of Morgi's space: everything was so bright, every single spot illuminated by sunlight. The clouds gathered around me and I could swear the floor itself was made out of them. Right when I thought that I had been launched into the sky like a cannonball, I spotted a pretty etheral palace at the center of the space. Then I started to make out a bunch of white and yellow buildings all around the place.

I really thought that I had died because of the Mist or something of that sort, a thought that was quickly discarded since I reminded myself of something: "Pirates aren't meant to end up in Heaven, so this must be where Karma is...". Still, it was very weird; the religious people always painted Heaven as the best place, so I didn't understand why it would be the place for someone's nightmares. Then again, Karma is a demon. Maybe the Heavens are nice to everyone but the "bad" ones. There was just one way to find out.

I started to make my way through the empty streets, searching for anything that'd lead me to Karma. I had no idea what the inhabitants of this place were like or how they'd react to outsiders. Considering that this whole thing was inflicted by the Mist, I had a gut feeling that, even if those people didn't mind them in the real world, they would most definitely despise them in there. That was the main reason why I was holding onto my saber as if my life depended on it.

Without even realising, I had walked all the way to the palace in the middle. I stood in front of it, not sure of what to do. I got the feeling that, if there was someone there they wouldn't like it if an armed pirate knocked on their door with absolutely zero manners whatsoever. In all honesty, however, I didn't really think I'd find anyone inside. I hadn't run into a single person in all the way there. It was a little unsettling, but there was nothing I could do about it but to push forward.

I decided to walk around the outside of the palace first, without letting go of my saber at any moment, trying to keep my footsteps as quiet as possible. Despite my efforts, I was spotted.

A voice I recognised spoke from behind me. It was Karma's.

--You...--She sounded exhausted, drained even. I slowly turned around, fearing that it was a trap. The only thing I saw was her, sitting on the ground in the same exact position in which I had found her on the ship, with her hands on her head and leaning against the palace's wall.

There was some sort of jewellery around her head that shone in golden and blue colours. It would've caught the eye of any respectable pirate, its great value was easy to tell, in part because the material was visibly precious and in part because it clearly was powerful in some way. It had a strange gem right at its center, which just added up more.