Beyond the Void

Chapter 98, Argent Blood

ANDARIS

Six moons since the Mark of the Other One blossomed.

Andaris stood up and his footsteps echoed across an endless ocean.

"What?" The guardian's voice came from his side. "What just..."

"Shut up and let's see." Andaris interrupted the guardian. His attention was torn between everything. His gaze found no rest wherever he looked. His own inner world had manifested around him, and the faint image of the plaza took its time to dissipate. Something felt wrong beneath his feet.

"Someone is approaching." The guardian commented with a hurt voice.

"I can see that." In the distance, a vaguely familiar figure was walking towards them. So incredibly far, it took an eternity for it to approach the two of them. All over in the blink of an eye.

Before Andaris could think of what to ask, the strange man grabbed him in a hug. Taken aback, he pushed the newcomer away.

"Who are you?" Andaris demanded with a fierce voice.

"I think we found your first stowaway." The guardian said. The man was as tall as Andaris. It was almost like looking into a mirror. Yet, the man's face bore all the marks of this world. As unfamiliar as all the other souls in this world.

"I saw you. Back at the gateway. Who are you?" Andaris asked again.

"You shattered it. I cannot decide what to make of it. Should I be angry, or should I rejoice? Should I weep? It befits your nature. That is what darkness does. It always finds something one has overlooked. Always chooses a path others would never dare think of." The man lowered his gaze and looked at the ocean surface, contemplating something.

"I am waiting." Andaris hissed.

This uncanny reflection of Andaris smiled. "This will does not have the strength to linger for much longer. Follow Argent Blood. Follow the path of the old empire as it extended its reach east beyond the..." It's words cut short, with the sound of breaking glass, the man opposite Andaris fell into dull shards.

"Damn the All-Maker!" the guardian shrieked.

Andaris raised an eyebrow. He knelt and tried to pick up a few remaining shards of the man. Each shattered further the moment he touched them. "What now?" Andaris sighed. "This. What am I to make of this?"

"If you are expecting me to say anything, then forget it. These are not the answers I wanted." The guardian growled through gritted teeth.

"I need to get away from the plaza." Andaris mumbled and looked around.

"Something is wrong." The guardian exclaimed and stopped her nervous pacing.

"I can't get out of here. This isn't my source!" Andaris was closing and opening his eyes, expecting to be at some ruined wall in the plaza.

"I am sinking!" The guardian shrieked. Without thinking, Andaris rushed to grab the woman's hand. This water felt like glue. They should have been able to stand on it. They had been standing on the calm surface only moments ago.

They sunk through the surface in mere moments and suddenly their descent became a whole lot faster. Blue sky spread out above them and Andaris and the guardian plummeted towards golden fields on the outskirts of a town.

Before Andaris could scream or think, the hollow feeling of falling disappeared. The world beneath them rose upward, and the two of them were placed gently at the edge of a forest. In front of Andaris sat Becca.