The Arcana ~ The Requiem of Lost Memories

XVI- The Tower

1. Head over Heels

I fall into darkness, countless small lights, stars, rushing past me until I land on the ground.
My vision spins from dizziness as I slowly lift myself up.
I am sitting on a path of stardust, that leads far off to the horizon, and forks occasionally.
I made it. I'm in the magical realms. Or rather, on the way there.
In the world in between. The boundary between realms.
...
Didn't Asra say the fountain would directly lead me to the Magician's realm?
Why am I here?
I peer over the edge of the path.
What's waiting down there, is a pure void.
So, better not fall off the path, I guess.
I head back to the middle of the path, looking at my surroundings.
There are multiple paths leading from my current position to different stars.
Each of the stars represents a realm, so I surmise.
That means, one of them is my destination. The Magician's realm.
But which one?
A bark pulls me out of my thoughts.
A figure, no, a dog, walking on two legs and clothed in grey robes peers up at me. In their hands, they hold a crooked looking walking stick.
They tug at my Masquerade dress, pulling me towards one of the paths.
"Aruff!"
Asra said the magical realms can be dangerous, but...
This figure doesn't seem dangerous at all. It even seems like she wants to help me.
So I follow her, down the path she leads.

We walk for an eternity, until a distant rumbling startles both the doglike figure and me. At the horizon, reddish black clouds build up, creeping closer steadily.
"Aruff, ruff!"
The figure starts running, and I follow swiftly, as a lightning bolt crashes into the path right behind me, making it crumble.
I make a mad dash forward, trying to escape the crumbling path, but I don't make it.
I fall, pieces of stardust and nebulae accompanying me.
Into the void.

The moment stretches and stretches even longer, and it takes me a while to realize, that I'm falling no more.
I'm laying on the ground, in the snow somewhere.
But where is a question I can't answer.
Other than I am in a vast, snowy landscape, with a black, crooked tree near the horizon, I don't have the slightest clue where I am.
There is no path here, so...
Following my intuition, I make my way towards the only landmark nearby, the black tree.

The closer I get, the thicker the air gets too. It becomes harder to breathe, every step I take. And even the atmosphere itself seems to darken.
I don't feel too good about these changes.
To say it with the words of Julian:
It's a bad omen.
Like my surroundings don't want me to go there.
...I miss him.
Still, I head further onward. I can't afford stopping now. I need to get to the Magician's realm.
A wind builds all of a sudden, swirling up the snow from the ground, pulling at my garments to keep me back.
But I will not stop here.
Slowly, but steadily I make my way through the storm, using my hand to shield my vision.
The storm subsides as quickly as it came.
... This realm surely is something else.
The tree is now only a few metres away, what allows me to take a closer look at it.
No leaves cover the naked, ashen black branches of the tree, and at the trunk, a door is carved into the wood.
Heavy, black-red chains are wrapped around it, almost as if to keep people outside.
... Or something inside.
Yet, it seems the closest to a way out.
As I approach the tree, the chains wake to life, whipping towards me.
Burning hot, they soar through the air around me, but ...
As soon as they reach me, they get limp, curling themselves around the tree again.
...Okay, what?
These chains look the same as the ones The Devil used to capture Lucio and to send Julian away.
So...
Nope, I don't get it.
Why don't they attack me?
Okay, they tried, I guess, but they... failed?
How?
I approach the tree again, now standing right in front of it.
The chains don't move anymore, only glowing faintly now.
I reach out to grab them, and as they brush skin, a flash of light bursts from my hand as they crumble.
Just like before, the Devil's magic broke under my hands.
...How is that possible?
The Devil is an Arcana. An immortal magical being.
It should be impossible for a human like me to stand up to him.
Yet...
I manage. Somehow.
I shake my head, clearing my thoughts, as I reach for the doorknob, turning it.