art stuff

Short Story(?) #4: The Confession

This will be connected to *Painfully changes the 30 chapters for lore* story, which is sorta like this one but set a little bit before this one takes place.

With that being said, sit back and enjoy the ride!

She can't do it anymore. 

She needs to tell him. 

It's only been about a week and a half, but it's eating her up inside, she can't sleep, her appetite is nonexistent, and even Helsknight, who usually doesn't pick up on her unspoken issues, knows something is up. Neither he or EX have dared mention it, trial and error has taught them that if something is distressing the young Chaos Witch, it's probably best to let her admit it on her own. The last time Hels attempted to get her to talk about something, she lashed out and he ended up with cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder. She healed it immediately after, but the point was noted: she doesn't do well when confronted. Of the two, EX takes a quieter, gentler approach to that, being discreet and cautious while Hels is blunt and forthcoming by comparison. Which is why Xerean is going to tell EX. At least, him first. Helsknight will be out terrorizing the forest, a way she's been trying to help him curb his impulses to go after Welsknight. Since hearing about his first encounter with his good counterpart, she has a few things against him trying to do anything in revenge. So they settled on slashing out on either her or various animals. Yes, she meant slashing. She and Hels will spar often, she gets to learn how to safely fight people without accidentally killing them, and Hels gets an interesting challenge, a way to blow off some steam, and keeps his skills sharp. And with EX as a voice of reason, it works out. Presently, the Admin's brother is reading a book Xerean had found for him, an old, historical text about an old, historical race known as the Starborn. She met one once; he was nice. He looks up and fully diverts his attention to her when he realizes she's approaching him. "I'm taking you somewhere." She says. This isn't a question, she needs this done so MAYBE she'll feel okay, and EX literally has nothing better to do, or he'd be doing it. EX pauses to check his page number, then sets it down and writes it on a little notepad so he doesn't forget, standing up to come over. Technically, he doesn't have to, but it'll help.  "Whenever you're ready." He assures her, the Chaos Witch ducks her head a moment and decides exactly where she wants to go. Then, as a scene would have suddenly changed by the difference of one frame to the next, they're outside, on a mountain. Had EX been a few feet further, he'd have fallen off the edge. "You brought me here to talk?" He infers, looking around. She produces his elytra, giving them to him, waiting till he's out them on before developing her own wings. "We have to fly up to reach it." She explains curtly, more anxious than anything else. She walks over to the ledge, turns to him, then leans backwards, falling, before opening her wings and flying up. EX follows shortly after, letting her take the lead as they ascend. Rockets are not a problem for EX, she continuously will put another several or more into his inventory when she counts past 32 rockets firing. It's higher than I remember... she notes, pausing as the rockets can no longer be heard below her. Flapping to stay in place, she looks down, then gasps, diving down. 

EX has fallen. 

She reaches him quick enough, grabbing his arm and growing bigger to hold onto him better, while trying to rapidly slow their descent. He'd climbed into her palm when she grew to help, so she makes a platform of thick ice(water in the air), placing him on it, and hovering. "What happened?!" She asks, though the problem is evident the moment the words leave her mouth: his elytra shattered. Where they used to be smooth, rounded wings, now there are broken, jagged edges at the bottom, a slight sheen to it that doesn't come from enchantment. It comes from ice. "It appears elytra have a height limit." EX observes, his calm tone betrayed only by his eyes shifting everywhere and the fact he's out of breath. So using the elytra is out of the question, then. "Would you be able to carry me?" EX wonders, which is a good idea. She nods, scooping him up so one hand goes around his torso and leaves his arms free, and the other cups beneath him so there is no way he can fall. Using the ice platform, she takes off again, short hot after, finding what she's seeking: a strange, black sphere that seems to curve and bend unnaturally. The outer part of it is shades of muted, light blues, pinks, and purples, but the middle is black. It looks like a solid object, smooth and unyielding. "This is a portal. The one I escaped out of." She explains, willing the falter out of existence in her voice. She WILL take EX into the portal, and she WILL be fine. Nobody would dare go back. Of course, here she is, doing exactly that. "It's huge! How has Xisuma not noticed?" She shrugs. "Somehow, it's nonexistent. A null object that still takes up space. It's how we jump from universe to universe undetected." She answers, the massive sphere looming up before them. It warps and bends, like a spherical funhouse mirror, but doesn't seem to open to show a way in. EX even braces for a an impact, which never comes. See, a trick that comes with this strange occurrence is that the black part in the middle IS how you go in, although it looks solid. It's an illusion. In reality, it is a tunnel. Inside the tunnel, it is slightly cold, but the air is safe to breathe and it isn't too bad. The sides of the tunnel are a muted lilac purple, with the same shade but colored in blue and pink mixed in, physically, they're smooth, crystal-like, and strange, slight orange flashes spinning around them. She can practically hear the whispers. Meanwhile, EX is stunned and speechless. Objectively, it's beautiful. But once he knows the truth, she doubts he'll ever consider it that way again. As they continue on, it gets colder, the end of the tunnel another dark, deep misty blue hole. Without warning, she banks, causing EX to cry out, dodging past the massive hand and opening into the massive space beyond.