《Lord of the Night》Red City Under Red Skies Chapter 21
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I’m not sure where exactly I am.
I sit up, and look around my surroundings. Rows of shelves are all I can see. At first I assume I’m in a library, then I look up. The room had no ceiling. Only a grey clouds that covered every inch of the sky. It’s odd how close the clouds are. I lethargically stand up.
I choose a direction to go, and I begin to walk forward. The path between the shelves is long, but I can see the light at the end. I keep on moving towards the end. Heaps of books are scattered all over the floor.I actually had to climb over one of the heaps.
My last memories are of me being surrounded by vampires. I think I must've fainted. Did I die then? Was this Heaven? I didn’t like heaven then. I wonder if Jax was okay. I don’t think I’m this First King Jax and Thea think me to be. They however think that I am. That’s some crazy dedication they have. I don’t even know who I am, so how can I be sure of what I am not?
I think I’ve been trying to avoid thinking of things I’ll never see again. Not people, but the small things from back home. Like, video games, or listening to music on my phone. And maybe even pizza.Despite that, and I hate to think this, but I think I’m having fun.
I’ve started to notice a pattern in my thoughts. At first in the battle, I was bloodthirsty and reckless. I saved a bear after that, then I killed a woman. I saved Isaac also, but I had to kill a few people to do it. I freed Nia from whatever imprisonment she was in. Then I slaughtered a family of ogres, which was a fun learning opportunity, I did save Isaac that time as well. Before I felt as though my skeleton side was in constant war with the human part of me.
But now, I feel a balance with the evil within me.
I’ve resign myself to believe I’ll never see my parents again, or my friends. I’m okay with that. But I know myself too well. I’ll eventually miss them, despite trying to not think of Earth. I tend to hide things that hurt emotionally. I pretend it’s not there, and I think that can be said for most people.
I reach the end of the shelves. I’m currently still looking at the grey cloudy sky. Where am I? I kept on walking, but luckily I stopped. What the hell. I almost fell off the edge of the floor. It’s obvious now that I’m inside of something.
“ Where the fuck am I” I said in a soft voice. That was actually my voice, just like I remembered it to be. I could talk normally here? That’s good at least.
I look both left and right. I see the edges of the platform in the far distance. Everything beyond the edge is grey clouds. I look out from the edge of the platform to bottom, only to see the same grey clouds.
This is probably just a dream. First dream in another world. Unless I count the memory I first had as a dream. It was only expected. With all the crazy things going on around me, ofcourse my dreams would be crazy as well. I read an article somewhere that mentioned dreams. It said that dreams are a reflection of what we experience in real life. Can you dream within a dream? I’ve yet to have a dream like that. It only served to strengthen my belief that the new world was indeed real.
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There has to be something beyond those grey clouds.
I walk back into the rows of shelves, and found the smallest book I could find. I pick it up, and walk back out of the forest of book shelves. Okay, I’m no Keshorn Wallcott, but it couldn’t be that hard.
I began to run as soon as I left the rows of shelves. With as much effort as I could muster, I threw the book. It sailed through the air at a high speed, then began to lose altitude. The book vanished in the clouds below. I try to see if I can still spot it. After a couple seconds I determined that it was gone. So, something must be out there then.
As I was about to walk back into the forest of book shelves, when something struck me on the face. The pain was sharp, it felt like someone hit me in the head with a metal ruler. The amount of pain I felt from the blow was way more than I should've been able to feel as a skeleton. The blow surprised me, and caused me to stumble back. I almost fell off the edge of the platform. I rub my skull with my hand, trying to ease the pain. I scorn, and reached for my Khopesh, whoever attacked me shall feel my wrath.
I frown as I look down at a book. And, not just any book. I pick up the book, examining it. This was the same book I just threw. Same cover, with plenty of dog ear pages. But how? I just tossed this book off the platform.
I tear the cover of the book slightly, then I take few steps back, then run forward and threw the book again. The book once again flew through the air, lost altitude and disappeared in the clouds below..
I turn around, looking up into the clouds. Only grey clouds can be seen above, but then I spot a black object. As it came closer, I see that it indeed looks like a book. The book is speeding towards me, I raise both my hands to catch it.
I catch the book in the palm of my hand. The impact hurt, but I was expecting the pain. Immediately I checked the cover. Yep, that settles it. This is the same book I just threw. Again I thought about where I was. Instead of pulling my hair off as I cry tears, then eventually go mad. I do what I do best. Be curious.
If I was to just let the book go over the edge, would it keep on falling in a straight line forever? I’ll try doing that. I lift the book up, and let it go over the edge. I watch it vanish in the clouds. A few seconds later it comes from the top, in exactly the same spot I let it go. The book keeps on falling, reappearing to only fall again. It began to pick up speed, until it all I’m really looking at is a straight blur. So I’m on a floating platform, in a ball of grey sky. How’d I get here.
Well, that was a very educational experience. I somehow feel that it was a bad idea to try to catch that book now.
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For the lack of anything else to do, I choose to walk back into the forest of book shelves.Not all of the books were on the ground, some of the books were actually still on the shelves. But, very few of them. More than once I hand to push piles of books out of the way with my feet. I’ll check the other side of the platform, maybe there was someway out of here. I pass the spot where I first woke up, and further beyond that I come across something odd.
Tall shelves walled in the room, creating this open circular space.The room also had books on the ground. But these were thick books, and there weren't that many of them. In the centre of this clearing was a fountain, a beautiful fountain that flowed with glowing blue water. Besides the fountain is a dark purple shard. It looked sort of like a diamond. Except the shard was as tall as a man. For a second, the shard glowed a bit brighter, then I heard a voice.
“Finally, you’re awake. You would be dead if not for me” I hear the voice say. Was that the shard? Naa, couldn’t be. I look around to find the actual source of the voice.
“Yo. I’m here, stop pretending like you don’t know I’m talking.” The shard said, as it once again glowed. Things just keep getting crazier and crazier. Here I am, still trying to figure out how I even came to this world, and stuff I can’t explain just pops out of nowhere. It just seems like more unexplained things just keep popping up. I should've expected a talking piece of rock.
“Sure, a talking stone.” I said.
“That’s funny coming from you.” The stone retorted. Great, I’ve just been burnt by a rock.
“Where am I, or what exactly are you” I asked.
“I’m sexy, can’t you see how sharp my curves are. And, has your mother never told you, don’t eat too much. It will get you sick.”
“She has, but what does that have to do with anything?” I replied.
“Everything has to do with it. I’m not sure how, but I’ve managed to find the source of the problem. You have a lot of….um memories, that are not your own. In other words, you got a serious problem on your hand partner ” The shard spoke, glowing the brightest this time.
“How'd you know?” I questioned.
“How I know? Look around you.” The shard answered. I look around me, curious of what he meant. There were just books, and only the larger ones.
“Do you mean that...the books are memories, are you saying that-?” I was about to ask, but I’m interrupted by the shard.
“Yeah at least that’s how you see them. This is your soul. Quite larger than a normal human, but then again you aren't human.” I disagreed with his last statement. I didn’t look human, but I sure feel like one, and I would like to believe that I still think like one, to some extent. I’m not sure how I got inside my own soul, but I don’t want to be stuck inside here against my will. It was good to know that my soul was a library. Must mean I’m smart. However, It was a good knowing where I am now.
“ Ah, so how do I get out of here?” I asked.
“ You mind is in chaos, you have to bring order to it. Gain control over your soul, and you have control of over your body.” The stone said. What did it mean by gain control over my soul? That’s just too cryptic.
I look around the room for any source of chaos. Just a messy place, with books scattered all over. I hate to see books laying on the floor like that. This place is also in need of a broom. That couldn’t mean that I need this cleaned up? That would take forever.
“You don’t expect me to clean up all of this right?”
“I don’t expect you to do anything. It’s your choice, though I would rather hate losing you now.” The shard glowed blue before talking.
“How’d you get inside my soul?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, but I know that I’m currently on your body. It seems that I was unknowingly taking energy from you. I last remember being destroyed. I regained consciousness from absorbing your energy about a day ago. It seems to have formed some sort of connection between our souls.“ The shard said. So the rock was just as confused as I am. But he has been helpful so far.
“You can see what’s happening outside? Where are we now? What about the vampires? Jax?”
“Woah, slow down there partner. We are okay, for now I think. Some guy that was missing fingers put us in a coffin. Some pale chick who had a nice rack helped him. I don’t remember anything before that. And, I don’t know anything about no vampires” The shard replied. I sigh in relief. So I was in my coffin. Either someone brought the coffin to the warehouse, or someone brought me back to the Inn. And Isabella— who had to be the pale vampire with the nice rack—helped Jax?.
I wondered how Jax could've gotten the vampires to listen to him.
“Do I have to clean all of this? Can’t I just fix up like half, or quarter?” I asked the shard. This place was extensive, and I’m feeling lazy right now.
“All of it for now. You’ll want to make sure you keep it clean daily.” The shard replied. I sighed. Hopefully Jax has everything under control. It’s going to take days just to get all these books on the shelves.
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