Army of Justice [Mianite]

[1] The Abyss

Jordan stood in the middle of the huge crater that had demolished his towers, and anything surrounding it. The only thing left of the place he had once lived in was a charred bedroom and half of his pool, which spilled into a large trench beside him. The two towers were nowhere near existence, as was the hill they both once stood on. With only the wings on his back, he flew above the destroyed town, once full of people and things he knew. Not a single creature roamed the area. He landed in front of what was left of Dagrun's city, the cracked ground crumpling to dust beneath him. Jordan stepped under the large stone arch, careful not to make any sudden movements that would cause the entire structure to crumble.

Ianite's statue, which still stood in perfect condition, loomed over the entire city, protecting it with her grace and justice. Though, by the sights of the town, she didn't do a very good job. His hand grazed over the base of the statue, reading the small plaque where Ianite's name was written in fancy gold lettering. My lady, he thought. Oh how I miss you.

His hand wavered over the plaque for a moment, tears settling in his eyes. The events of her death replayed in his mind, making his heart wrench in different directions. The thought of anything that tragic still struck him like a bullet.

Jordan stood up and brushed dust off his jacket. He stared up at Ianite's detailed stature, her eyes directed over the outskirts of town, her hand resting over the body of an eagle. Over time, the statue began to glow and shrink, and Jordan stumbled back just in time to avoid the explosion of light and dirt. There, in a small crater, stood Ianite. Jordan cried for joy, but he realized that she did not look the way he had last seen her.

Her dress was ripped in various places where dirt met the delicate fabrics. Her hair sat matted and rumpled atop her head, in a mess of tangles and curls. But what startled Jordan the most were her eyes; dark, red eyes full of hatred and venom. Her hand clenched into a fist, crushing the Ethereal Bloom she had picked up from the ground. When she took a step towards Jordan, he took a step back, and it continued that way until she had him pinned up against the wall. Jordan panicked, searching the wall for any sign of breakage that would allow him to escape, because frankly, he's never been scared more in his life. Never in his life did he think Ianite could scare him, but if she was doing it now, she could do it again.

"You did this," she growled. "YOU DID THIS!"

Jordan flinched and tried slipping out from his position against the wall, but Ianite only blocked his path again. He stared into her red eyes. "I don't know what I did wrong, uh, please, please forgive me-"

"YOU THINK I CAN FORGIVE YOU AFTER THIS?" she boomed, her voice echoing loudly through the deserted town. Her voice lowered. "You are to blame. It is your fault that the balance was uneven, it is your fault that I had to return to the End, IT IS YOUR FAULT I PERISHED!"

"My lady-"

"There is nothing you can do now." She spat. "I am already long gone. There is no way to bring me back."

"There has to be!" Jordan cried. "I can't imagine a world without you, my lady!"

"ENOUGH!" she yelled. "I am done with you. You mean nothing to me."

Ianite backed away, her anger-filled eyes still fixed on Jordan. He tried to compose himself as her words sank in and tears slowly dripped down his face and onto the ground. He leaned against the wall for support and watched as Ianite inched closer again, this time grabbing him by the shirt.

"You will pay, one day." And she let him go, disappearing without a trace of her existence.

Jordan woke up with a start. The dream seemed so real. How could it possibly have all just been in his mind?

He looked ahead of him and saw nothing but empty blackness and the silhouettes of his sleeping friends. The darkness went on and on, forever, and yet, they were confined to such a small portion of that darkness, never able to leave the strange and invisible barriers that kept them in. The space was enough for all of them, but everyone still didn't get used to the invisible walls that were there. Multiple times had Jordan either brushed up against it or completely crashed into one of the sides.

He drifted aimlessly through the dark abyss, staring at nothing to pass the time. The idea of falling for another ten years wasn't comforting, but it wasn't like they had a choice. They had nothing to do where they were, no one to talk to but each other, nowhere to go but the other end of the barrier. It felt like a punishment, or being locked up in a prison you could never escape.

His eyes traveled to the Impossible Object that floated above all of them. It was the only thing that had appeared ever since they jumped in the portal, and it seemed to be guiding them through the abyss to the dimension they were traveling to: home. Jordan had no idea what to expect when he got back, whether their aliases would be friendly or not, whether their houses were still there. He knew nothing, and apparently no one else did either.

Well, no one other than Mot would know. But he hadn't spoken a word or answered any of their questions in the time that they had spent in here. It was like he was hiding something, and if he told someone then it would be his own death. He would just stare into the dark, occasionally at the Impossible Object.

No one dared to touch the Impossible Object, not even Wag, who was the wizard around and tried steering it, only to decide against it and leave it alone. Jordan's hand slowly inched towards the object, his fingertips just barely brushing over it cool and smooth surface. But even that small touch was enough to send jolts of electricity up his fingers and through his arm. He jolted back and let out a small cry, cradling his throbbing arm to his chest. No one woke up to the noise, thankfully. He would hate to wake his friends up just because he couldn't handle a little electricity, even after all the adventures he's gone through.

His head spun, making him temporarily dizzy until his vision focused again. Everything was like normal, until a ringing noise burst in the air. The darkness seemed to open up in front of him, revealing rays of light and when the tear was large enough, he could see green. Trees, rivers, animals, he thought, trying to get a better look. Life.

He sprang out of sitting position, as if that mattered in endless space, and tried making his way closer to the tear. The closer he got the more air and oxygen blew against his face, causing him to take large breaths of fresh relief. He could spot a small herd of sheep down below, eating at the grass happily while birds flew around their heads and perched in the trees. Jordan didn't know how long he had spent in the never-ending darkness, but he missed all the liveliness and sights that it couldn't offer.

"Guys!" Jordan exclaimed. "I think we've made it! A lot less time that we--guys?" He spun around to find no one there. No Tucker, no Tom, no Sonja, no Wag. Nobody. Where did they all go?

"Um, guys? This isn't funny! I think we've made it to the next dimension." He continued to yell, trying to spot his friends anywhere in the distance.

Suddenly, gravity took effect and Jordan began to fall, straight into the large tear in the darkness. A scream escaped his lips as he clawed at the air to try and bring himself back up towards his nonexistent friends. It was only minutes before he had completely left the black of the endless abyss and into a bright, sunny area filled with acacia trees and freshwater springs. He was moving too fast, too quickly, and before he could process anything, his body slammed into the water bank, and everything around him faded to black.