Crossfire

Chapter 8 - The Void

Zach opened his eyes only to discover darkness surrounding him. He couldn't see anything, only the dark nothingness. The dark was cold, and everything inside of him felt empty. He knew deep down that he didn't belong here, and his instincts told him that he wasn't welcomed. He also felt as if he was being watched by something he wasn't able to see.
"Why am I here? Who else is here?" He shouted, hoping to get some answers or some sort of response. For a short while, there wasn't a response, his voice only echoed through the darkness until something in the distance began to glow. The light wasn't very bright, or it was just far away.
"You are in the Void. I've trapped you here," an unfamiliar voice said. It was soft and quiet, and it began to echo. Zach shook his head slowly, confused.
"Why have you trapped me here? I've done nothing wrong, please, I have to go back, it's my job to protect my friend," he said. There was no response, only the echoing of his voice. "Am I only dreaming?"
"You are in a dream you may never wake up from," the voice explained. "I created this place for creatures who aren't what they seem," the voice paused and the glowing light flickered, "to expose their true selves."
The light seemed to be getting closer, and possibly even brighter. Zach tried to move, but he couldn't. He was stuck, paralyzed.
"What do you mean by true selves? Who even are you?" He asked, growling in frustration, and struggling to move.
"I am Larossa," it responded. Zach stopped struggling and squinted his eyes at the light.
"Larossa?" He asked quietly.
"Yes, I've trapped you specifically because you pose a threat to the creatures in this forest, you are not welcome here," it explained. Zach remained silent, unsure of how to feel.
"So what are you going to do then, trap me here forever until my physical body rots?" He asked the spirit, baring his teeth at the light ahead.
"No, you care about your friend, and I see deep inside that you are very different," it responded in a more soothing tone. He felt a little less tense, but he was still confused.
Zach observed as the light ahead of him started to take shape of a wolf-like creature with long ears, tail, and four long legs. Its tail was very long and had fur at the end of it, almost like a lion's tail. Its muzzle was a little longer than a wolf's but thinner as well. The figure was glowing and grew brighter as it had sprouted long, large wings. Zach had to look away from the bright glow until it dimmed enough so that he could see. He knew then that it was the spirit of Larossa herself.
The spirit approached him, he discovered that her large wings were feathered, and her eyes were glowing blue. She was looking around the dark.
"You are different from those that are called monsters, you are unique," she paused and looked down at Zach as he stared into the spirit's sky blue eyes. "As long as you continue to care about others, we will not meet again."
He really didn't want to meet the spirit again anyway if it meant getting trapped here, but her appearance was also elegant and extraordinary.
"So I'm free now?" He asked, slightly struggling to move. The spirit nodded, then slowly began to fade into the darkness before speaking one last time.
"But beware, the future ahead will grow to be more difficult for you, you will need to sacrifice everything."
The cold and empty feeling that was haunting him had disappeared, and the darkness of the Void itself had faded.
Zach opened his eyes to the bright sun shining through the forest canopy. He was relieved to have escaped the Void, but happy to see Star again as she brought him some water in a large leaf. She placed it down in front of him, and he slowly sat up to drink it.
"Honestly, I thought you were going to sleep the whole day. Glad you woke up in time, Icarus and I planned where we can hide out here in the forest, we'll have our own hideout," she began to stretch and then continued, "Reynold said it would be best to live here under the protection, I hope that's okay with you."
She sat next to him, brushing her tail lightly with his. "That's fine," he said after yawning. "I think we'll be safe here too."