A Path To Freedom [Oumasai]

Fate is cruel

As I step into the gate, an eerie feeling washes over me.

Something is definitely not right...

I rapidly glance around, but see nothing out of the ordinary. Well, to be exact nothing about my whole situation was "ordinary," right now. Using a magic stone to help you travel beyond some spooky gates? Sounds like something you'd read in a fantasy book.

With these thoughts all clouding my mind, I head on my way. I wonder what it could be I'm looking for here? What's the unknown danger Celestia was rambling about? Did she just send me all the way here for nothing?

I shake my head to clear all of my negative thoughts, and assure myself that there must be a real reason she's so utterly concerned about these gates.

As I continue on my way, I can barley see through the fog clouding my vision.

This whole setting does give off a quite ominous vibe...

I can see that I'm coming near a large tree. I decide to stop and investigate this tree. It doesn't look like any normal tree would. It seems to be dead. Like, really dead.

The whole tree seems to be rotting and is falling apart. The odd thing about this tree is that it's all gray.

Normal trees where I live are definitely not gray. Could these trees exist in another land? Perhaps it's a new species of tree.

I decide to test my weight out on the tree, seeing if it's stable or not. As I begin to step upon one of the trees low hanging branches I hear a snapping sound from behind me.

I immediately snap my head back towards the sound. "Who's there?" I ask threateningly.

There's no response.

I take a large gulp before stepping out into the open. Could this be the danger Celestia was telling me about? What is it though?

"Hello?" I question the unknown presence.

Still no response.

I begin to get annoyed. Is my mind just playing tricks on me, or is someone else actually here?

I hear steps from behind me, and slowly turn around once more. I decide to stay quiet and search for the unknown presence.

However, I don't have to search for long because standing right behind me is a ghostly pale woman. All of her hair is clumped together, and pieces of her flesh seems to be torn off.

My eyes widen at the horrific sight. How did she end up like this? Did the threat do this to her, or is she the threat?

"H-hello?" I say in an unsteady voice. Her ghostly eyes peer back at me emotionless. After a few seconds of silence, she answers me. "Forgive us, It's not in our will to control your fate."

The words she spoke froze me to the core.

So there is some higher power making her do this I assume...

"Who is doing this to you?" I question her. She merely shakes her head with grief. "I must not answer you. Her majesty does not condone this behavior." She states blankly.

If this girl did have emotion, I'd picture her being a rather sad person. She's seemingly gone through hell. No, she's definitely gone through hell. Anyone with common sense would know this after having one glance at the girl.

I shake my head, coming to the conclusion that she would not give me a straight answer. I contemplate on what to do now, seeing as we're both staring each other down.

She cuts off my thinking with two dreadful words.

"Times up."

My eyes widen, seeing the gory sight of two snakes creeping up on me. They seem to have already claimed some victims, seeing the blood smeared upon their sleek skin.

I slowly back away, many thoughts all flashing through my head at the same time. Where'd these snakes even come from? Am I gonna die?

I can't recall if injuries from "dreams" carry over into the real world or not. After Celestia has used her stones before, she's been quite shaken up but never hurt before. I don't know if this is because she evaded all possible harm or not.

Well, if damage does carry through to real life, I'm not going to find out.

I keep slowly backing away from the snakes, as they draw nearer to me.

I feel a small tap on my shoulder and jump around, forgetting to be calm.

There, I see a ghostly figure of Celestia floating in the air. "Celestia?" I call out to her. She stares back at me, her gaze unwavering.

This isn't the real Celestia, I conclude. This must only be a message for me. "Have you got something to say?" I ask her in a confused manner.

She takes a while to answer.

"This only means more trouble for us if we attempt to escape. All the things you've seen here today are not figments of your imagination. These things will be waiting for us here if we decide to escape." She glances off into the fog, and then continues speaking.

"I'm truly sorry my dear, but it seems that fate took us down a cruel path." I try to keep staring at her, but my calm demeanor is starting to crack. My breath is stuck in my throat, and it feels like I'm falling down a dark hole with no way out.

So this is it.

"Perhaps in another life.." Celestia tells me before my vision is consumed with black. I try and scream out to her but my yells go unheard. My pleads for her to come back go unnoticed, and eventually I give up.

She's not coming back, and neither is our love.

DAMN OK NOT ME ACTUALLY UPDATING ON TIME👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩🤪🤪🤪🤪❗️❗️❗️❗️❗️