Beyond the Void

Chapter 34, Not the way she wanted to go

VAERA

One moon and two tens since the Mark of the Other One blossomed.

If Vaera remembered the way right they should have been near the buildings, which made up the perimeter around the ebon spire. Struts and scaffolding supported every building here.

It was easy now, going through one ruined wall and out the other. The thought of any one of those buildings maybe collapsing on them was not a pretty one, but Vaera did not feel like wasting time.

Moving along the perimeter, they came across a building of which only the one outer wall remained. And beyond that, Vaera saw the foot of the ebon spire. On a piece of land floating right in the middle of a hole in the cliff. She stopped and Clarissa bumped into her.

"Ow! Watch where you are..." Vaera pointed through the large window. It was enough to shut Clarissa up again.

She turned her gaze towards Vaera, and a pleading and anxious look passed over her face. Vaera noticed scaffolding going into the upper floors of the next building.

The view was even more astounding from inside the building. A large piece of land was floating above nothingness and supporting such a vast tower. The inside of the twisted and ruined tower was lit!

"Look." Clarissa tugged on Vaera's sleeve and pointed at something on their right. Two people were coming from the ebon spire, walking calmly across air.

"Oh, no." The inside of her stomach churned when she looked down.

"That's our way in. Come on!" Clarissa pulled on her sleeve and dragged her toward a lit building. The only lit building surrounding the spire. She did not even hesitate, but climbed up the scaffolding all the way to the roof.

"How are you going to get down from here?" Vaera avoided looking over the edge too much. The narrow spaces and cliffs under the palace had been comfortable to climb, but this much open space was frightening.

"There are balconies. We can avoid the guards this way." Clarissa whispered, excitedly.

When they reached the balcony, she did not stop. In a moment, she had gone on all fours and slipped off the ledge. Vaera followed her. By the time she had jumped two more balconies and reached the ground, Clarissa was already approaching the invisible bridge. Someone had set up two large soul gems on either side of the gap. That was the only sign where the bridge should have been.

"Wait, you idiot!" Vaera hissed.

Clarissa had already stepped onto the air and Vaera stared in horror as she stood there. Clarissa looked back with an angry look on her face and waved Vaera over.

Vaera did not like this at all. It took a lot of willpower to make that first step and keep walking. There was nothing visible under her feet, only air and jagged cliffs after a terrifying drop.

Clarissa had already reached the other side and was now mouthing something to Vaera.
"Come on. Come on! Come on, you walk like a turtle." She hissed in her face when she finally reached solid ground. But the thought of being on a floating piece of rock did not comfort her.

"I can't help it!" Vaera growled.

They hurried to the door. Before Vaera could stop her, Clarissa tore it open and slipped inside. She hurried after her, but the spire seemed to be deserted. The inside was lit, but the place could not have been any more different from before.

She remembered lavish silver and red decorations on white surfaces. Now jet-black streaks covered the entire interior, and the floor had become a uniform shade of grey. Despite the light, it felt like walking on the border of the abyss.