Feng and Kaiko: Shadows Over Wansen Tai

Act 5

At first, there was only darkness.

Though it was not clear how long she had been in the emptiness, suddenly Feng become aware that she existed within that darkness. She opened her eyes to confirm there was nothing, only darkness, infinite void in all directions. She may not have been able to see herself but she was keenly aware of her presence, floating about, supported on seemingly nothing.

She was overcome by a nagging feeling that she had been in the middle of something important. The feeling seemed to tell her that she should be preoccupied elsewhere but she couldn't remember at all.

She took a moment to think very deeply in an attempt to recall. While distracted by her thoughts she could hear the space around her hum in ringed echoes, the singing of a beautiful crystal caressed by the gentlest wind. She not only heard it, but began feeling it touch her extremities, too.

Drawn forward, towards it, she reached out her hand in front of her and eventually met resistance. Only slightly in front of her she felt something smooth and hard. Curiously she moved her fingers all along the surface. It was everywhere, in every direction. All around she felt the smooth flat surfaces at obtuse angles from one another, completely enclosing her.

She started throwing the bottom of her fists at the invisible surface in front of her. This caused the invisible wall to warp, making the crystal cage around her visible for just a moment. The shimmering shockwave not only revealed the crystal all around her, but it also revealed something attached to the crystal. There were some barely visible silken veils attached to the top of the crystal, wrapping around it tightly. The other end of the ethereal veils carried upwards on currents that weren't there, which took them into the void where they disappeared out of visibility high above her like white smoke dissolving. She watched as they carried the luminescence of Feng's strikes upwards, eventually exploding high above her like lightning behind a carpet of clouds.

Amongst the vast emptiness above her, she saw more silken veils and these were not connected her crystal. She followed them down to another crystal, hovering on nothing just like hers, in the distance. The crystal was so dark she hadn't spotted it earlier, even now she could barely see it.

She couldn't see through it clearly, but it looked like Kaiko was inside that other crystal. Without delay she started hammering against her crystal wall once more.

Kaiko! She tried to shout, not a single vibration leaving her throat, Is that you, Kaiko?! Please hear me!

There was no sound at all coming from Feng or her efforts to bash the walls of her prison, nor did it look like Kaiko was even conscious at all.

Every hit Feng threw onto the crystal walls launched glowing shockwaves up along the veils, which accumulated into more lightning up above.

Amidst the lightning and fog Feng could see the silhouette of a magnificent monster, a enormous feral-looking spectral beast.

The closest animal Feng could think to describe the beast was that it looked like a wolf.

It was most definitely canine. It had the pointed ears, the long snout, the large and sharp teeth in a massive jaw, long legs with large claws, with fur that flowed chaotically like the clouds in a storm.

"Quiet yourself, child," A stern though warm feminine voice rang all around Feng, vibrating through the walls of the crystal, "He cannot hear you."

Feng looked up to see the distant fog above, in the shape of the wolf, was peering into her direction while creeping in closer like a descending mist.

"You shouldn't be here," The voice resonated across the crystal, "You cannot be here."

Where is here? Feng attempted to speak but made no sound.