Destiny Island

Chapter 54

The first thing Ignacio was aware of once he fell asleep was the feeling of emptiness. It was as if he was falling down an enormous cliff endlessly. There was no beginning nor end to his descent and his brain was too busy by the prospect of smashing down into the ground to pay attention to anything else.

When the fall finally came to an end, it was much less painful than he expected since he had found himself on a soft surface. At first, it bounced him up and down for a moment, but it finally settled like a soft mattress.

Looking around him Ignacio could only see the same surface as the one he fell on. It was in the shape of a square and there was nothing else as far as the eye could see. Nothingness was more disturbing than anything else he might have seen instead.

He was confused since he could remember that just moments ago he was in a witch's house and that he had been very tired. He concluded that he had fallen asleep, but the place he was in felt real. Not completely real, but on that fine border of being real enough but yet seeming utterly unreal.

"It's just a dream." He told himself.

However, he was pretty startled when his voice echoed against the nothingness. It defied everything that he knew about the world, and yet it didn't feel like a dream. For one thing, he was much more aware than he was in his dreams, and all his senses were working perfectly. There wasn't that dream-like fuzziness that usually surrounded his dreams.

Before long, changes to his surroundings started happening. What seemed like TV screens started popping up all around him. It was strange to him to see something so familiar, like a TV screen in such an unfamiliar, eerie setting.

Then one of the screens came to life. It showed the four of them in the land of the giants. There was a close up of Amber's face and her voice started saying things that he was sure she didn't say. Then, by the slightly different tone of her voice, he realized that the voice represented her thoughts.

"Oh, look at that coward Ignacio! He is just standing there waiting for us to be eaten! Why doesn't he do something? Is he a man or a scared little boy?" Amber's voice said.

As it said that, it started producing hysterical laughter that Ignacio had never heard before. It was obvious to him that it was not her laughter, but still, he couldn't help but wonder if she maybe did see him as weak and scared. After all, she did have to save his life a few times.

He started shaking his head as if trying to shake that thought away when the second screen turned on while the first one was still running. It showed their entrance to the land of the elves.

"Argh, I am so tired of Ignacio thinking that he is my best friend. Who would want him as a best friend? After all his anger is quicker than his brain." Royce's voice said.

There were a lot of other terrible things said by that voice, but they got lost in the mixture of bad things Amber was saying. They all somehow came together baring down on Ignacio. Eating away at who he was and what he thought he had accomplished.

Before he could get used to or try to ignore the voices of the woman he loved and his friend, other voices started invading his head. One of them was Jade's voice telling him horrible things at the moment when they set off to continue their journey without the magical beings who helped them out. Others were his family members and friends back home telling him the worst things that anyone could hear.

It was all so overwhelming that Ignacio fell to his knees, closing his eyes and covering his ears. He couldn't listen to any of it. It hurt too much. He was usually a confident guy, but all those people closest to him saying all those atrocious things about him chipped away at his confidence until there was nothing left.

"It's not real. It's not real." He repeated to himself.

In his heart, he hoped that it would be the magical chant that would drive it all away. That it would help him wake up from the nightmare and see that the world was still as he left it and that people around him didn't actually despise him.

Suddenly, he could feel a warm sensation spreading into his hands. It made a startling contrast with the cold place that was in that he felt it immediately. There was something familiar about the brush of warmth he felt It was gentle and familiar, comforting. That made it obvious to him that it was not a part of the dreadful place he was in. He concluded that it must be a sensation coming from the real world.

Soon enough, the feeling became clearer. He could feel gentle fingers intertwining with his and that was when he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that it was Amber. It was her gentle touch that brought him back to himself, and he couldn't help but enjoy its tenderness.

Suddenly, he saw her against the backdrop of grey nothingness that was slightly different from the place left behind, where ever that was. It took his eyes a moment to adjust, but still, the sight of her in all her glorious beauty warmed his heart and made all his fears subside. He was no longer tortured, he was saved.

She called his name and her voice sounded like the most perfect melody to his ears because there was no hate, there was no judgment, just worry and something warm beneath it.

"Ignacio?" She asked.

"It's me. Where are we?" Ignacio said.

"There is something I need to tell you," She said with determination.

It was rare for him to see her that determined, and he hoped that what she had to tell him was what he needed to hear. Still, it felt like being stuck in some strange dream-like reality wasn't the best time to talk about emotions.

"Later. We will have time to talk when we figure this out." He said.

What he truly wanted was for her to tell him, to make his worries evaporate. For the first time, Ignacio felt insecure and started thinking about what he would do if what he hoped didn't match the reality.

"What if we don't? What if this is it? I don't want to go before telling you the truth." She said.

"What truth?" He couldn't help but ask, going closer to her.

"You know, don't you?" She said.

"Know what?" Ignacio replied.

His whole being wanted her to say it, to convince him that he was not crazy to feel all those emotions he did, that she felt it, too. After what he had been through, he needed to hear her say it more than he needed air to breathe.

After she finally said what he was hoping for, he was so overwhelmed that he was left speechless. So, he decided to let his actions speak as he kissed her with all the passion he had. Being a passionate guy he had a lot to offer and their lips blended in a dance of passion, love, and despair. It was the most beautiful dance their lips had ever performed and it made his heart swell with pure joy.

The liberating feeling of knowing that the woman he loved returned his feelings coursed through his veins and added to the fire of passion that they were both burning up in. Finally free to love each other with no one and nothing standing in their way was exhilarating.

Suddenly, a sharp, sarcastic clapping could be heard echoing in the empty space. It was so loud and unexpected that they both startled and turned towards the sound.

That was when they saw what they never wanted to see again, or more precisely who they didn't want to see, Ci Nada. It was obvious that she was as real as they were and that made them, even more, alarmed.

"Well, well. I have to give it to you. You sure have a penchant of messing up my plans, but don't you worry I am very good at improvising." Ci Nada said.

A creepy smile spread across her face as she studied their reactions. She was happy to note that they seemed scared of her, and that was what she wanted. It was her goal to make every human tremble at the mention of her name, every single one of them would pay for what had happened to her.