Daemon High: The Sense of Dread

Wahrnehmungsverzerrung

Chapter 5: Wahrnehmungsverzerrung

We ran down the corridor, all with a determined look on our face, Xiang's soul flames glowed gold, someone's confident I see. We were running...running...running...This isn't right... I quickly stopped myself and said "Wait, something isn't right guys,"

"I've noticed that, this corridor usually isn't this long, in fact it's too long, something is definitely not right here," said Lawrence. I turned around, by Lark's second pair of underwear, we didn't even move, I looked down at the floor, peering closer hoping for something, something, that might contain some hint of magic that might be holding us back.

Xiang looked around and said "I believe we're stuck in an illusion, that ghost's smart. It casted the spell immediately after we said we would go after it. Hmm, there must be some way to break out of this, Lucy. Know anything about this?"

"I'm not very good with Illusion magic, but, I try," said Lucy as she began to cast a spell. Sometimes I think I should take up some magic, it’ll save me some trouble with loads of things, like homework, I hope. Lucy's palms started to glow red and she closed her eyes in concentration, then that was when everything went downhill.

The corridor started to distort and rumble, everything around me looked like it was about melt into a puddle. Some of the paintings on the wall started to shake and move as if the guys inside were throwing a wild disco party. Xiang and Lawrence quickly hobbled around Lucy, sword raised and flames ready. Jerks. I'm important too.

"Emm...Lucy? Is this supposed to happen?" asked Xiang. Lucy, eyes still closed, nodded,  "Everything will be shimmery for a while, just wait a moment,"

"Everything is violently shaking and it looks like something a hippie would usually see after a huge amount of pot..." said Lawrence. Lucy's eyes snapped open and stopped channeling her spell, she wiped her forehead and said "That was a waste of my ti-Oh whoa!"

"Beyond those words madam, beyond those words" said Lawrence. Lucy grabbed her scythe and said "We have to move on, it's gonna feel like it just got longer, but that's what Illusion magic does to you, just move on. Be on your guard, this isn't just a normal Illusion spell, it's meant to hurt, to kill. It might be fake, but mentally, it will shred your sanity like a paper through a lawnmower, and then it's remains will be chewed up by the Cosmic Wyrm and the undigested parts will be scattered through out the fabric of space time, giving you an eternal quest to get it back,"

"That's one heck of an accurate description," I said. Lucy shrugged and said "Fox told me, after all he's the one who taught me Illusion spells,"

"That vermin knows magic?" I exclaimed. Fox with fire, I understand that, but him knowing magic, okay...that's another level. Lucy said "I don't know, I've never seen him cast spells, but he sure knows alot about them, I think Sabrina's arcane egghead facts rubbed off him when he's 'unofficially familiaring'. Whatever the heck that means,"

"Sabrina doesn't have a familiar? A witch without a familiar is like...like...a dude without his..er..what's the word? Manliness!" said Lawrence. Xiang said "Well...getting a familiar as a witch or a warlock requires a pact. The pact usually requires," He paused. "Nevermind, let's just say it involves something that will land anybody in jail in other countries for 1-20 years, and maybe whipping if that country does that,"

Lucy's back stiffened and said "You mean..." She shuddered. "Ew,"

"I'm not the only one who knows what I'm talking about, great to know," said Xiang. I didn't know what he's talking about but if it has whipping involved and getting sentenced to jail in several countries it must be something pretty nasty. Lawrence looked at the distorted corridor and said “Well...we're gonna get there some century later, so why not start now?”

“It might feel like hours but, just so you know, we're actually still walking towards the kitchen, I can't really explain this but Illusion spells mess up our sense of perception, it distorts it, twists it into something that is completely unrecognizable to us, heck I'm not surprised if I see another two headed dodo bird with octopi as beaks. There's one right there now!” said Lucy as she pointed behind us. We turned to look, wow, she wasn't kidding, that's some really verrückt quatsch, yeap, a two headed octupus beaked dodo was sitting behind us preening its feathers, it wasn't paying any attention whatsoever to us. It looked at us and said “Nark!” before flapping its wings and flying off towards the corridor's walls. Suddenly a mouth of serrated teeth opened up, the dodo didn't even change it's course, it just went flying towards the mouth, it's wings flapping like a humming birds. The dodo landed on the mouth's tongue and it disappeared along with the mouth into the wall.

There goes my sanity. What's next a giant flying schlong of an o-

Scratch that, my mind literally just exploded and Xiang had to put its pieces back and Lawrence had to use his fire just to make sure my sanity stays welded to my mind, while Lucy tried to dodge the said flying thing.

Wait did I actually just say that? Well it gets weirder, we walked down the corridor and saw the faces. They were looking at us, their mouths each whispering something almost unperceivable. I could barely make out what some were trying to tell me.

“Turn back,”

“No where,”

“Go,”

“Leave”

“The cake is a lie,”

“He comes,”

“Will not stop”

“Dark Lord”

“Shall live once more,”

I turned my head left and right trying to understand what they were trying to tell me. It was the same old thing I've heard Fox and Sabrina blabbering about, something about a prophecy, something about the King of Shadows. Gah! What the heck was that? I-I can't move my feet! Something grabbed it!

I opened my cloak a bit, looked down and saw a white hand giving my leg a death grip, I grabbed Lawrence and made him look down, he blasted a fire ball at the hand's wrist and it disappeared without a trace. I gave him a slight nod and he returned it. Lucy then said “Remember the thing you said about Japanese octopi? Well...let's just say, the illusion is making me see a whole load of them and-Get off!” she exclaimed as she smacked at thin air. Suddenly the scene changed, and the corridor became covered in some sort of fleshy growth, with...of course tentacles...great...

“Lawrence, fire,” I ordered. Xiang readied his sword and drifted near Lucy, “I got you,”

“Same here,” said Lawrence to me as his arms caught white flames. I turned to Lucy and asked, “Will this hurt u-What the... Why does this place look like Victorian England now?”

The scene changed again, this time we were surrounded by old Victorian-esque houses, and the tiled floor became a cobblestone road. I breathed in and said “Alright, this is getting messed up. Next thing crazy thing will probably a three headed goblin juggling its bells and acorns in a squa-”

Me and my big mouth.