Darklight: The New World

Part 39: The Maw

The ground had opened up below him once again and now Soran found himself on a rocky crag surrounded by darkness. He could smell the damp in the air and the blood in his mouth - he had apparently cut the inside of his cheek upon impact with the rock on which he was now laying face down. The roar of falling water was all around him.

He looked up. The light was limited here, it was eternal twilight. The dull grey slate-like rock that he was lying on was wet and slippery, but that didn’t stop her. He looked up and saw Vittoria standing on the rock a few paces away from him. She was looking down at Soran, her face screwed up in disgust that the sight of Soran in this place.

“How dare you come here” She whispered at Soran. He ignored the woman as he pushed himself up on his hands and brought his legs back under himself, slowly standing up with a slight wobble. He knew exactly where he was now.

“The Abyss” He said to Vittoria. She took a step back in alarm and raised a pointed hand at Soran.

“How do you know of this place?” She snapped.

“You tried to kill her!” Soran spat. “You tried to take her from me again!” But in that moment Soran remembered where he was - he was in the time stream. He could go back, he could still save her.

“Well I suppose it’s thanks to you” He said through gritted teeth. “I fell through the world, in a gap in the Arcane Fields - there was a grid point failure and I ended up here. Although I’d travelled in the Time Stream before that anyway...” Soran tried to diffuse his anger, looking up from the floating rock in which they stood and up to the top of the Abyss. They were within the very maw of the great devourer. He had to calm down, it was no good being angry and jumping into attacking Vittoria - she was too smart for that.

“The gaps in the Arcane Field, my fault? You think I have the ability to control arcane fields like that?” Vittoria asked, seemingly amused. 

“You flatter me Soran”. 

“I assumed it was you once I discovered the changes to the Arcane Fields shortly before I arrived in Nation Plaza” He said, still looking upwards to the mouth of the Abyss. “But I know now that it wasn’t, the ritual hadn’t started. So it must be your sister” As he shifted his eyes back to Vittoria.

“And I’ll destroy her again”.

“You assume that you will be making it back to Saxosis alive?” Vittoria spat back. She used the planet’s real name, rather than ‘Utopia’. She was clearly above Rammachandra’s deceit, she knew the truths of history rather than the lies spread by her sister. She began taking steps over the grey, wet, slate-like stone towards him. Her movements were smooth and deliberate and her eyes were fixed on him. It reminded Soran of a large cat.

“You’re powerless here, Soran. Only the High Priestesses can bring their powers to the Time Stream”. She held out her hand as if to grab something in Soran’s direction and an invisible force grabbed him around his neck, pulling him into the air. He was struggling to breath as his windpipe was being crushed. The Darklight Sword fell to the floor with a sharp clang as his feet rose off the stone.

“You think you are an all-powerful hybrid?” There was a pain in his chest again, burning at his heart.

“You’re arrogance is befitting of a Leon, Soran. But you have betrayed our family name. You stand in the way of progress, of our rights. And for that you will die”. Soran gurgled something intelligible against the constriction in his throat as the life was being choked out of him. He allowed the pain in his chest to grow, he allowed his rage to take over him - building rapidly. Its influence spread to his extremities causing his hands and feet to tingle and his muscles to fill with adrenaline. The pain in his chest was now a burning pain as if a fire had been lit within his heart.