She found herself in darkness, a single light shining far away, barely out of reach. A silver chain tied her soul back to... where was she from again? She couldn't remember, staring forward to the pretty light at the end of the dark tunnel. It was so tantalizingly close, yet just out of reach. The chain kept her tethered and unable to advance, and she pulled at the chain, trying to rip herself free.
The chain groaned and creaked, but it did not come free of her. But the light was so close, it purred promises into her ears of peace and no more pain, no more hardship. A place where she could actually express herself! She pulled more frantically, and a tiny crack slowly began to form in the link holding her to the pain and misery of where she was from. Joy soared within her chest, and she slipped her fingers into the link ready to give the final tug and let her be fre-
"You know, personifications aren't supposed to die so easily," a voice commented softly from behind her, and she turned in confusion to a strange woman standing behind her. She disliked the woman. She was blocking her from her precious light. Her freedom, her promise out of pain. "Your journey has only just begun, what are you doing tapping out so easily?"
"Get out of my way, let me be free!"
The figure barked a laugh, stepping closer into the light so Bio could see her. She was pretty, about the same height as Bio with ebony skin and black eyes, white pupils staring at her sympathetically. Her hair was like liquid flames, flickering and dancing on her head while she held out a hand. Bio, partially awestruck, took her hand only for memories to come flooding back.
Selena - the creature - were they alright? Did she manage to protect them? Everything was blurry with fear, and she found her hands no longer pulling at the link to life. That's right - she was supposed to be alive, not trying to die. "I knew you weren't ready to die, you have a fighting spirit," the figure proclaimed, beaming at me.
"Wait, but who are you?" I'm Inum, I guide those who need it to death as a personification of death, but I came because I knew it wasn't your time yet," she shook her head, sighing softly. "seriously, you did more damage to yourself then that horror did,"
Bio looked away sheepishly, excuses flooding onto her tongue to be unleashed only to be beaten back. She was right, even if Bio hadn't been in her right mind with fear. She began to feel a tug on the chain and looked up in surprise to see a giant blue hand, snowflakes, and crackling energy forming into a single entity that was slowly tugging Bio back. "Hopefully, if we meet again, it will be in the world of the living," Inum mussed, waving as her soul was suddenly yanked from the dead back to the living.
The first sensation that hit Bio was the feeling of something soft against her lips, then a rough pushing on her chest. She slowly cracked her eyes open to see Selena performing CPR, face stained with tears. She finished pushing and forced her lips against Bio's, blowing air into her lungs - not seeming to notice she was back. She reached a hand up and gently tapped her arm, Selena jumping in surprise before seeing her eyes were open.
Bio noticed Pomella off to her left, ice and a small layer of frost covering the grass around her that snaked to Bio's body, resting above her heart. Ah yes, she was a personification of rebirth. Of course, she could bring someone ba-
Her line of thought was cut off as Selena was suddenly against her, arms wrapped tight around her neck as she let out a sob into the crook of her neck. Feeling slightly taken-aback, Bio slowly rubbed her back, comforting her softly. This only caused Selena to cry harder, and Pomella opened her eyes to give Bio a weary smile.
"Welcome back, we thought we lost you for a second there,"
Bio, unsure what to say gave a slight nod, holding Selena just a bit closer as she let out a sob. "Selena it's okay, I'm back..."
"Yeah, your back! The fact your back means you left in the first place!"
Opening her mouth to respond, she decided better on it and instead rested her chin on top of Selena's head, slowly rubbing her back. A second later Pomella also began to massage Selena's back, while also sneaking in a side hug with Bio. Calming down slowly, she looked up at Bio through her hair, giving one last sniffle.
Bio was still sore, and most of what had transpired on the other side were now foggy and unreachable, except for the faint impression that she had met someone. It made sense her memory would be foggy, after all, she had been dead with no physical brain to store the information in. "Pomella, if I may ask... how did you bring me back?"
"welll, its kind of a long process," she noted, eyes growing distant. "But I've already given one long boring explanation, so I'll summarize it,"
She squared her shoulders, faced Bio completely - despite the fact she was still laying on the ground - and stated, "Magic,"
"Hm, well you know as much as I would love to pick the finer details, I'm about as tired as a rabbit after mating season and could really use someplace to sleep," Bio declared, slowly sitting up causing Selena, who had been laying on top of her partially, to also get up.
"er, 'a rabbit after mating season'?"
She shrugged, and slowly stood up, planting her feet on the ground - then falling directly back onto her rump. As much as she wanted to stand, she just didn't have the energy to do so unsupported. "hey uh, Selena... sorry to ask this, but could you help me walk please?"
"Absolutely," reaching down, Selena gently hooked an arm under Bio's and hoisted her up, Bio pushing up with her to help. She almost fell again but Selena stopped her, pulling her to her body while she stabilized. After a moment Bio nodded, and Selena pushed her away just a bit, yet keeping one hand firmly on the small of her back just in case.
"While I was out, did either of you look for any nearby towns?"
They both stared at Bio for a couple of seconds like she was nuts. "Of course not, I was reviving you and Selena was fretting and crying a -"
"Okay okay! You don't need to go into details," Selena snapped, a blush tinging the features of her face. Bio smiled a bit, but she couldn't help but sigh internally. While she appreciated the sentiment, it would have been nice to know where the closest town was. She desperately needed someplace to rest, even with the holes she had created closed they still ached and itched.
The next walk was blurred, sleep and discomfort messing with Bio's memory until features came into focus. By her guess, they had been trudging on for about half an hour. Looking up, she saw the outline of a town in the distance, but it definitely was not inviting.
The sky was dark and foreboding, storm clouds slowly rolling over the small town. None of the lights were on except for the large building in the center, and very few people could be seen walking around. Most that did stumbled and swayed as if drunk, even from this distance their skin looking pasty. While she was desperate to get some sleep, this place looked like the last place she would want to do it.
The nearby ocean lapped at the single dock the town had. Black, restless waves and swirling figures seemed to stir it into a froth, and Bio could swear yellow eyes watched them from the water as they approached. She was reminded of the creature that had killed her and quickly looked away just in time to see the moldy sign they were just passing. "Welcome to Innsmouth, a town of the sea"