"Judgment": A Dishonored Fanfic

Chapter 9

Elaine picked her way over the uneven, haphazard path, taking lots of care not to stumble and fall as well as making sure to stay in the middle of it. It was an odd sort of colour, not quite grey.
A faint tinge of blue as well, perhaps.
It just kept on going and going, stretching so far ahead that she couldn't see its end. Hopefully, there was an end. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life walking along it.
In many directions, as well as above, lots of jagged chunks of the same blue-grey rock floated, effortlessly defying gravity despite looking like they weighed several tons. Some were absolutely still, some moved very slowly, and others rotated.
Some even did combinations of the three.
Also, more than a few had a large pipe buried inside them, through which water flowed. But of course, this was the Void. The water flowed up instead of down, as Daud had said.
The tree she'd first seen looked so real, she could almost smell the green leaves that covered it vibrantly, as well as the musty earth that clung to visible roots jutting out of the rock on which it was perched. Other things floated too; street lamps, cars, whales, parts of buildings, a boat...looked like Samuel's.
She also recognised her bed as it lazily floated around behind her in the opaque mist. What she'd give to sleep in it right now...

As she continued to traverse the winding, sloping path that took her further and further from her chamber door until she could no longer see it, her mind was very much at work.
She knew that really, she was asleep. Despite all this absurdity right now, she was actually still in bed, fast asleep, and so were Corvo and the others. She knew that this was the dream-like state that Corvo and Daud had told her about on previous occasions, and that things would look and feel real to her. That part of everything was real, to her. And at the very front of her thoughts, she knew that wherever she ended up at in this bizarre, seemingly-infinite realm, he would be waiting for her.
The Outsider, seeking audience with her at last, not wanting to wait any longer. For him, it was the right time.
It sure as hell wasnt for her. Everything was still in her mind, despite how much room her current situation took up.
She still felt a vague, quieter form of shock at the news she'd heard and seen not long ago about the plague, and who had been responsible for its brutal ravaging of Dunwall's poor people.
She'd not been asleep for long enough to let it lose its grip.
However, she did have more peace from it than when she'd first gotten into bed, and that had to be thanks to the Outsider and his taking her to the Void for proper introduction.
He'd no doubt say that it was a positive, she thought idly.

A second later, as if that thought had somehow triggered it, a large stone gazebo appeared not far away from her. She recognised it instantly; it had been plucked straight from the castle, complete with the four pillars, the domed roof that those pillars supported, the table and chairs and the nearby walls of climbing red roses that formed part of that garden area.
The table top even had teacups set on it. Attention to detail was incredible, exactly like it was in reality.
And sat on one of those chairs, awaiting her, was the Outsider.
She paused briefly, then carried on walking.
He was exactly like she'd seen before, dressed in an elegant black shirt with silver trim and silver clasp fastenings instead of buttons, black trousers and black boots. They made him look even paler than he already was, contrasting starkly with his alabaster skin, jet black hair and black eyes, no hint of colour to be seen in them at all. Was that just the colour, or were they incredibly-large pupils, perhaps? She supposed it didn't matter.
He watched her steady approach, eyes and face giving away no hint of emotion as he stared at her face, her hair and her clothes. After looking at all of them, his eyes then fixed on her face and stayed there, taking in each detail and seeing the rainbow of emotions that were hidden beneath the much-simpler surface.
She couldn't meet his eyes for long; his gaze, while neither friendly nor hostile, was still very penetrating, and after a few seconds she had to look elsewhere. She wasn't sure if she found it unsettling, exactly...it was just so constant, so searching. It seemed to look right through her and see all of her secrets.