Meet the main character - you ✨
One day your whole world crumbles around you. Literally. The sky splits, and everyone you know turns into dust. You escape to the thousands of glowing portals to any dimension imaginable. Only you are trapped, and hun...
Your breath hitches and you bite into your lip. Make no sound. You hunch your shoulders and shove your head against the man's chest. Two rows of metal buttons cut into your skin. Who cares. Your fingers dig into the thick fabric of his cape on the back.
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"Don't forget to breathe," mutters the man into your hair. You flinch, and he adds, "Better not look."
"Uh." You force out a tiny nod, he might not even feel it through all the clothes. You also sniff because your nose is running.
The Black Emperor. You don't doubt who's holding you, that's the Black Emperor. Though you'll think about the why part later.
He lifts you up a little. It feels like he plucks you out of the quicksand and places on the ground. Your feet land firmly, but your knees are too weak. You hear a low hum, and this ground vibrates.
The Black Emperor looks around. The right corner of his mouth tenses, and the black mask completely covers the left of side of his face.
You peek over his shoulder – fuck. You keep it in. Try not to tremble. Ashes and gnarled trees. Bloodstains against the smoked rocks. Dark blue skies, yes, those calm you down a bit if not for the rising smoke.
"Where are–"
"Guess I'll have to carry you after all," mutters the Black Emperor.
A boom echoes. You jerk your head up and straighten your back. His dark blue eyes glow in the darkness. Apart from that, it's only the random faint flashes crackling behind his back.
The top of your head reaches a bit above his shoulder. You didn't notice it before, in the castle by the fire he looked just pale. But now his exposed neck is so close, you can tell his skin also has a greyish tint. It reminds you of someone else, and yet you can't put a name to that other person.
"How heavy can you be..." He eyes you up and down.
The smell makes you sick. Blood and smoke. Your fingers clench his cape even tighter.
"Mah." The Black Emperor shrugs, yanks your arms off him and grabs your waist.
"A-ah!"
He tosses you over the shoulder, just like the ribbons girl. You clack your teeth as your chin knocks into his back. You taste blood.
"Look." He shakes you and then holds in place by the legs. "I want to get out of here, the quicker the better. Don't struggle."
The occasional booming grows into a single dull hum. Smoke. Screams. Bloodstains and melt wreckage everywhere your eyes land.
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"Close your eyes." The Black Emperor digs his fingers into your ankle. That hurts but keeps you sane. "I'm getting us out of this nightmare." He breathes in and out sharply. "Remember? Nothing of this is real."
One step. You shut your eyes till you start seeing colours. Somebody screams. You choke as you breathe in smoke, blood and burnt flesh.
Another step. Machine gunshots.
Why's he so slow? It feels like the time's slowed down. You bury your nose in the black cape.
"This isn't happening," rasps the Black Emperor. He lets go of your leg for a moment. You won't dare open your eyes but feel his muscles move. "This is the Judgement's power–"
Shots crackle. Yells and cries of pain follow. The acrid smell grows stronger, and you choke as it clenches your throat.
"This is the Judgement's power," grits out the Black Emperor and scuffs his boot against the ground. "It makes you see things. Your worst fears."
Screams.
"But you've missed with this one." The Black Emperor huffs a laugh. "This hasn't been mine for some time." He holds you tighter – and puff!
You feel like floating, and the black mist literally gets up your nose. You sneeze and accidentally open your eyes. Blood and scorched ground. You flinch. Puff! Another piece of wreckage. Puff! A pained growl and an arm crawls out through the debris. Puff!
You force your eyes shut and hum. Your head's completely empty, you can't seem to recall a simple tune. Anything. Anything to keep the screams out will do. The Black Emperor teleports again. And again. And again. Either this place is endless, or he can only manage short distances.
Soon all sounds die out. The stillness hurts, you now hear your every ragged breath. The Black Emperor pinches your leg, and you jerk it.
He chuckles. "Just checking. Nicely done there."
"Uh..." What's he on about?
"What?" He moves his shoulder – the shoulder plate cuts into your stomach – and pulls you closer to his neck than the side. "You didn't pass out, you deserve praise."
You don't get the joke.
The Black Emperor moves about on one spot. Might be looking around or something, and he sounds clearly amused. "Not this one either," he whispers.
You peek. First, one eye, but you only see dirty white. Then you half-open both, and still see only the dense fog. Black ground. Fog. And nothing else in sight.
A cloud of black mist engulfs you. You blink, and yet the next spot is absolutely the same. Black ground. Fog. Not a single sound, not a tiny smell. Your mind is slipping, so you close your eyes and give up.
"Hang on in there." The Black Emperor must feel you slacked against his back. Or not, isn't his cape too thick for that? And he also wears a suit underneath.
Ahah. Weird. You feel so... light?
Puff! Crackling and zizzing. The Black Emperor stops for a moment, and you peek – the whirling colours blind you. A thin crack ends by his feet. A bottomless hole gapes a step in front. The nothingness lashes and slowly eats away the ground.
You're... back.
The Black Emperor turns around and walks away from the cliff. Maze's on the other side. He clenches his fists, and his whole body shakes. But Maze just watches and doesn't blink.
The Black Emperor walks away carrying you over his shoulder.
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