It was like stepping into a different reality. The grass is greener than they’d ever seen, the sky is bluer, the rivers sparkle like diamonds. They find themselves in a vast glen, towering mountains surrounding them. Four waterfalls cascade down the mountainsides, flowing into rivers before falling again into a deep valley in the center. A wind with seemingly no source flows along the blades of short grass, their movements feeling purposeful, yet wild, as if the glen itself were alive. If the forest from before were the mouth, this is the heart. The whole thing feels so unreal, like a dream.

But what captures their attention the most is at the very center, floating above the crevasse, is a massive temple hovering in the air. The only thing grounding it is a long stone bridge facing the entrance of the glen, though it’s unlikely that that’s what’s holding it up. The temple itself is made from white brick, with bright blue swirls painted along its sides. The roof is made from red ceramic tiles, sloping upwards into a curved pyramid shape.

The two of them stand there for a few moments, taking in the surreal scenery. It’s like nothing they’ve seen or even read. It’s something so far beyond their own imaginations that even I could never do the complete unreality of the situation any justice. It’s truly like a dream.

“Woah,” Will astutely observes. “Woah,” Elizabeth reverently agrees.

The return of the blue ball at last breaks them from their trance as it dances across their line of sight, dashing through the grass ahead of them. Will chuckles, deciding he quite likes their new companion. He waves his hand to Elizabeth, stepping forward. “C’mon, let’s not jus’ sit aroun’ gawkin’. We got stuff ta do,” he says, following the ball in the direction of the bridge. With that, the three of them make their way to the center of the valley.

The bridge is made of pure white stone, the light reflecting off of it almost blinding. Dozens of candles line the railing, and on their approach, they erupt into flame, lighting the path to the door of the temple. The siblings glance at each other, before stepping forward.

But before a single foot can land on the bricks below, a booming voice filling the world, ringing loud in their heads. “AT LAST, YOU’VE ARRIVED!” the voice thunders, sending both teenagers tumbling to the ground with their hands clamped down over their ears. The voice seems to take notice of this. “OH DEAR, APOLOGIES, GIMME A Sec… There, is that better?” the disembodied voice asks. Will looks up to the sky, looking for a source of the voice, before realizing this one’s in his head as well, like Ms. Lingham’s from before. “Uh… yeah…?” he responds, uncertain. “Oh, good! Again, my sincerest apologies, it’s been far too long since a mortal has entered my valley… Come in, come in! There’s much for us to talk about!”

For a second time, the siblings exchange a glance, this one much more confused, if not concerned. Returning to their feet, they make their way across the ancient bridge.

They come upon a pair of large, wooden doors at the very end, more blue swirls wildly dancing across their fronts. Will reaches to push it open, but it begins to move on its own. “Here, let me get that for you… Welcome to my temple! Forgive me, it’s a bit… dusty… hardly any come to visit nowadays, so you can’t exactly blame me, haha!”

Will and Elizabeth walk into a short hallway, with thick columns rising to the ceiling on either side. Wooden crosses hang on each side, with benches meant for prayer sitting beneath. At the far side is another door, this one much smaller and simpler. But most impressive is the massive mural on the far side. On either side, dark figures approach the center, all of varying size and shape. Some are long and tall, others are short and fat, and some are absolutely massive. But, in each of the four corners, a single person stands on guard against the incoming assault. And in the center, a figure stands larger than all of the others, an angel. Her brown hair flows elegantly over her shoulders, and great wings soar out to either side of her. Her hands are clasped together,her eyes closed, and her mouth open, assumedly in prayer. It could be considered the first time either of them had seen art.

“Ah, yes, I see you’re admiring one of the great prophecies from so long ago! Oh, I still remember those days… Back when mortals still cared for art and prophecy. Shame this one went the way it did… No matter! We mustn't get lost in the artistry, time waits for no rat, and there’s too much to talk about to dilly-dally! Now, head into that far door, then we can meet face-to-face!” the voice says. Will sighs, realizing that the night had gone from weird to terrifying and now back to weird. He walks onwards nonetheless, ignoring his aching everything to follow the commands of some random voice in his head.

Opening the door, they find the next room to be completely empty, save for a pedestal and bench on the far wall. Approaching the pedestal, Will realizes that it’s holding what looks to be a sword, though not a sword like anything he’s seen. It’s blade is a light blue, and only has one long, waving edge, curving like the waves of the ocean. It curves down into a point on the end, but twists into a spiral on the other side where it would normally meet the black hilt. But what really intrigues him is the metal the blade is made of, if it can even be called “metal.” It shines like a metal, but it’s also mildly translucent, and in some ways sparkles instead of shines. It doesn’t make sense.

“Now, now, Mister Newbie, what did I say about getting caught up in artistry? While I’m thankful you’re interested in my work, there are more important things that concern us at the moment,” the voice chides. Will backs away from the sword, looking up at the ceiling in frustration. “Well, whaddya wan’ me ta do? You said we’d be meetin’, but ah don’ see you anywhere!” he shouts exasperatedly, before flopping down on the bench below him. It’s too late, and he’s too tired for this crap. He just wants something, anything, to make some freaking sense.

“And it will, if you only listen to me,” the voice responds. Will looks up, realizing that the exchange of thoughts must be mutual. Immediately, a hundred awful things he’s said or done within his sixteen years of life come bursting up as he does everything in his power to squash them all down. This of course only makes them bubble up past his blocks, and everything fills his head at once, alongside the howling laughter of the spectre within his mind.

“Oh, son, if you think that’s the worst I’ve seen Humans do, or anyone for that matter, you’re well wrong,” he says, before laughing again. Elizabeth looks to Will quizzically, before noticing his face is turning beet red. All of sudden, he bursts from his seat, waving his hands over his head as a symbolic way of clearing his mind. “Alright, enough, if there really is somethin’ that’s just oh so important, would ya mind tellin’ us what it is?” he shouts to the ceiling. The laughter in their heads subsides, as the voice returns to its serious tone. “Alright then, there’s just one last thing I need you to do,” he reassures. “I just need you to take that necklace around your neck and touch it to the base of that pedestal.”

An odd request, that’s for certain. But, at this point, Will’s just done questioning it. So, slipping the blue shell necklace from around his neck, the gift for his sister, and touches the shell to the pedestal.

And all at once, their world turns white.

~~~

For the umpteenth time tonight, Will opens his eyes to find himself on his back.

As he opens his eyes, the world slowly turns from solid black to pure white. He’s laying on the ground, yet feels nothing below him, instead the only thing he feels being a cool breeze, blowing stray strands of blue from his eyes. Slowly, he raises his body from the intangible ground, expecting pain and fatigue to wash over him, throwing him back to the ground.

Instead, he feels fine.

He lifts an arm, swinging it around, expecting his joints to lock up or fall back to his side like lead. Instead, his limbs move with an energy and ease he hadn’t felt all day or night. Slowly, he pushes himself to his feet, examining his blinding surroundings. Looking down, he realizes he’s standing on what looks like a cloud, wisps of mist stirring up wherever he steps, climbing up to even his nose. Still, he can’t feel it, not even the ground under his feet. His mind knows he’s supposed to be standing, but his feet tell him he’s flying, or maybe falling.

“Will?” he hears, twisting his head around to see Elizabeth getting to her feet. He stands up to meet her, and the two look around the empty space surrounding them. “Welp, any idea where we’re at now?” Will asks, placing his hands on his hips. Elizabeth just shakes her head.

“ALRIGHT, GLAD YOU COULD MAKE IT! EH, WAIT, WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?” the voice returns in full force once more, throwing the siblings back to the ground. “OH, WAIT, BLOODY- There, is that better?” The two return to their feet, nodding. “Whew, thank goodness… All of these settings are screwing me up, just- give me a moment.” Their heads fill with the sounds of various clicks and whirs, followed by a low hum. “Alright, that should do it! Oh, uh, you two might want to hold onto something, it might get a bit bum-” He doesn’t finish before his vice is sharply cut off. Elizabeth looks to the air, throwing her arms out exasperatedly. “Hold onto what?!”

She doesn’t quite receive the answer she was hoping for, instead feeling the ground shifting beneath her feet. Wind whips around the two of them, sending them off balance as the world around them transforms and is given shape. Will bumps into Elizabeth, causing them both to tumble to the floor in a heap, as the empty ground beneath them shifts into hard packed dirt, the blank white space replaced with dirt walls and ceiling, roots crawling down from above.

Will and Elizabeth now find themselves in a short dirt tunnel, the edges of the walls lined with candles on the floor. At the end of the hall is a simple wooden door. A muffled voice, now no longer playing in their heads, comes from beyond the door: “Alright, that should do it! Now then, come in! Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve had guests!” he says excitedly.

They disentangle themselves from each other, brushing off the dust from their clothes. Will looks up at Elizabeth, Elizabeth looks down at Will, and they both look ahead at the door. Neither of them have a single clue what could be waiting for them on the other side of that door, but still, they have nowhere else to go. So, they march onwards, pushing the door open into the next room.

On the other side is a massive cylindrical chamber, still made from dirt walls, that reaches upwards into seemingly infinity. On top of that, the walls are also lined with colossal bookshelves, filled to the brim with countless books, all reaching upwards into the abyss above. On the far end of the room is a circular wooden platform, with a desk and tons of books and papers covering it, a fireplace set into the wall, and a large, plush chair sitting in front.

“Woah,” Will once again observes.

The voice calls out to them from the platform ahead, interrupting their awestruck observation of the library and diverting their attention to its source. That being the strangest sight the two of them had ever beheld.

Sitting in the chair, silhouetted by the dancing flames, is a rat. A big one. It hops out of the chair, standing proudly on its hind legs, reaching a pink paw to the nearby golden-headed cane, and using it to support itself as it limps towards the two of them. It stands at about half of one Will Newbies tall, with thick, well-groomed brown fur and a rather jiggly belly. His head is small, pointing out in a snout and tipped with a round, black nose, and long whiskers. But most striking are its eyes; behind silver spectacles are two pure golden orbs, shining with intelligence and wisdom unknown to the two teenagers.

“Well well well, if it isn’t the Newbie kids! Come in, come in, make yourselves at home in my humble realm!” He gestures widely at the room around them, grinning. The two of them just stare agape, too dumbfounded to speak, as the rat-man-thing blinks up at them. “Ah, yes,” he says, realizing their shock. “I suppose this is quite a perplexing sight, heh…” He chuckles awkwardly, clasping his paws over his cane. “Well, my name is Ratra, and I am a god.”

That doesn’t clear much up.

Realizing this, Ratra just waves it away, saying, “Look, there’s no point in bothering about all that business, that can wait. After all, time is much more, er, flexible here, so it’s of no concern. Please, take a seat.” He waves his paw, two thickly cushioned chairs--or perhaps thrones--appear suddenly behind them. “If there’s anything you need, food, drink, quite nearly anything, just ask. This realm is purely mine to control, so I can manifest whatever you desire!”

Slowly accepting just how ridiculous the world has become, the two Humans sit down, sinking deeply into the cushions. Elizabeth is the first to open her mouth, as usual. “Erm, could I get a glass of water, maybe?” she asks timidly. Ratra’s grin broadens, lifting up his paw. “Why, of course! Just hold out your hand, and…” With a wave of his paw, a diamond encrusted crystal goblet manifests in her hand, containing the purest and cleanest water she has ever seen. She peers into the glass in shock, before taking a deep gulp, only just realizing how thirsty she is. Probably since she didn’t even have much of a stomach to fill before. Will raises his hand, grinning. “Well, can I get some grape juice?” he asks. Ratra smiles to him as well, waving his paw again, and this time a purple goblet, sapphires embedded into its rim, appears from nothing in his hand. He takes a long drag, lifting it away from his mouth and wiping the purple from his top lip. “Nice, it’s the sour stuff, too!” Elizabeth nudges him with her elbow. “Don’t wipe with your arm, did Mom teach you nothing?” she chides, but he just bumps her back, nearly causing her to spill her glass.

They finally return their attention to the man before them, whose eyes have been watching them with an intense focus. Seeing they’re watching him, he shakes his head, regaining his composure as he looks back at them. “You must forgive me, it’s been a long time since I’ve had guests,” he says, his eyes darting away for a moment. “But, enough about me, I know you’ve had a rough night! From losing your town, to the incident with Nightmare… Sorry about that, he just kind of does his own thing… Uh, but I mean to say, you must have questions. It’s been strange, I know, but I’m here to clear up as much as I’m permitted.” His eyes suddenly widen as he remembers something important. “Ah, yes! The book, it’s here just, give me another second..” and with that, he limps back over to the platform.

The platform then quickly rises into the air, sending a few papers fluttering off, as it soars above the siblings, Will still sipping from his drink as he watches it go up. After everything else they’ve seen tonight, this is nothing special.

“Hmmm… Rs… Rs… Rs… Ah, it must be somewhere in here… Hmmm… Where… could it be…? I could have sworn- oh! Aha, got it! Wait, no, oh bloody- nononono blOODY HELLLLL-”

A brown lump topples over the side of the platform, landing with a loud thud as Ratra hits the ground. Will almost chokes on his juice as Elizabeth starts from her seat, before he peels himself from the ground without issue. Brushing his paw along his fur, clenching a thin book in his other, he looks up to see the two of them watching him in shock and horror. “Oh! Bah, don’t worry about me, I may be old but I’m surely not dying today!” he laughs as he starts back over to them.

The platform promptly lands on top of him.

But, instead of being splatted into a brown smear on the dirt floor, his body punches directly through the wooden boards, sending shattered wood and splinters scattering across the ground. He blinks for a moment, unmoving. “Anyways-” he sighs.

He now waves the book in front of their faces, completely ignoring all of what had just recently transpired. “This here is The Book of Rebirth: a quick summary of all of history up to this point,” he explains. “And I do mean quick. This library acts as a repository for all of the world’s knowledge--literally, all of it--but this should get you up to speed nice and easy.”

He flips it open to the very center page, before peering at the two of them over his spectacles. “You two might wanna get up,” he warns. "The trip could get... bumpy." They quickly get to their feet, as the world around them changes once again.