//------------------------------// // Flight From the Grasp of Tzeentch // Story: Worlds Apart: The Chosen of the Prognosticus // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// “What is this filth you have brought me?” D’mirik bellowed, shutting his eye tight. “I cannot bear to look upon her.” Eliza trembled. “She… is a daemon from another realm…” “She is no daemon. No daemon could have such a spark of ‘divine’ protection and live.” Vivian gasped. It worked! “Destroy her at once. Your Lord Tzeentch will not abide consorting with such entities.” Vivian’s smile vanished. It worked too well. “Does Tzeentch have no use for knowledge of the other worlds?” Rich asked. “Or… a Pure Heart?” “What?” Eliza held up the stone heart for D’mirik to see. He recoiled from it in visible pain. “Any creature that carries a Pure Heart is against the throes of Chaos. The artifact cannot be destroyed, so you must lock it away where none may see it. As for her, my command stands. Eliminate her.” The disc tossed the stone heart to the ground. “I see your hesitation. I will show you mercy, for you do not understand what is happening. I will destroy her myself.” Magic charged around the disc’s edges, but before he could release anything, it exploded in his face. “...Remarkably like the Shallyan protection. You will have to kill her by other means. Do not fail me.” He vanished, leaving the room as it once was. “You heard our Lord,” Eliza said, pressing her hands together. “Eliminate her.” Vivian unleashed the Fiery Jinx, catching the clothing of all of them aflame. She jumped for the stone heart in the midst of all their shock, pulling it close to her chest. This was a miscalculation—Eliza had managed to completely ignore the flames tugging at her cloak and completed her spell. A burst of pink flame erupted from her hands, engulfing Vivian. Who was fortunately immune to fire, even pink chaotic fire. She twisted around Eliza and punched her in the back, triggering a fiery explosion. Then, not wanting to give the other wizards a chance to do anything, she dropped into the ground and slipped out under the door. She’d barely made it a meter before some kind of noxious explosion of festering blood broke the doors down, a spell cast by Boris. He drew a long, thin blade and recited a few words, prompting it to start dripping copious amounts of black tar that came from nowhere, burning the ground where they dropped. Something told Vivian she wouldn’t be immune to that tar, even in shadow form. She jumped out of the ground and cast the spell she used least of all—Infatuate. She blew him a kiss with red sparkles, and he was suddenly so confused he tripped over his own two feet, dropping his magic sword as he fell. Vivian jumped back into the shadow as some magic bolts flew past her, one of which had definitely come from Rich. She slipped out into the chamber she had talked to all of them on the table, and then out further into the alleyway. Someone kicked the door open and charged out—the twin sisters, both singing a beautiful song in unison. A song that asked Vivian to just stop and return to them. They meant her no harm… Vivian was not saved by her own ingenuity, but by a stroke of luck. The very same man she had met that first day appeared in the alley, drawing his sword. “It’s not every day a witch hunter gets this lucky…” The twins stopped singing at once. Eyes wide with fear, they ran further down the alley. Eliza, when she came out, did no such thing. She snapped her fingers, bathing the witch hunter in a burst of pink fire. He ignored it—running forward, swinging his rusty blade right for her head. She ducked, grabbing him by the wrist. “You are out of your element, hunter.” “And your days are over, treacherous heretic.” They both screamed. Vivian didn’t know what happened. She ran away, deeper and deeper into the city, refusing to come out of her shadow for even a moment. None of that was something she wanted to repeat. From now on, she wasn’t just going to trust the people in this world. ~~~ Vivian didn’t sleep that night. She’d gotten plenty of rest on the carriage ride, to start with. But she also didn’t have anywhere to sleep. The city was a lot more densely packed, so there wasn’t going to be any barn for her to check into. There were just… dense buildings and lots of people, even at night. She almost thought there were more people than there should be. She found herself drifting in the shadows of what appeared to be a temple district. Various structures carved of brilliant marble surrounded the street, each one devoted to a particular god or goddess or spirit. The largest one had a symbol of a hammer on it coupled with a two-tailed fireball. “Sigmar! Sigmar! Sigmar reborn!” The people in front of that temple were cheering. Finding no interest in the shouts, she moved on, coming to a smaller, white temple with a dove on the front. There, a woman in white robes was tending to a man with a mangled arm. “May Shallya ease your pain,” the robed woman said, tying the man’s arm up in cloth. Shallya? Vivian perked up. The disc-thing mentioned that name… said my protection was like it? Curious, she approached the temple as her shadow. She slipped up the front stairs and into what she assumed was the priestess’ shadow, following her into the white structure. It was beautiful inside; clean, well kept, but also filled with people who were injured or sick. Some were crying as the white-robed priests tended to them. There really were too many people in this town. The temple was not designed to hold this many, not even close. It filled her with a sense of sadness. She wished—oh how she wished—she could help them. But if she showed herself, it would all be over. I should just leave… there’s nothing I can do here. As she thought that, a familiar face rounded the corner carrying a bucket of water in his hands. He was a human in a green cap and blue overalls with a magnificent mustache under his nose. Vivian gasped. Luigi! Mario’s brother! What… what is he doing here? Luigi ran around, offering the hurt water and doing whatever the priests were telling him to do. Given the sweat dripping down his brow, he was running himself ragged and probably hadn’t slept in quite some time. But he was a familiar face—he wouldn’t run from Vivian. She followed him around in his shadow for a while, waiting for him to get away from the crowds. But, for the longest time, he didn’t. He ran bandages from person to person, served up creamy rice slop to everyone he could, and even helped fold some priest robes before he entered a hallway with no one else in it. “Psst!” Vivian hissed. “W-what?” Luigi stammered. “Down here!” Luigi looked down at his shadow, frowning. “What…?” Vivian moved around a bit. “It’s Vivian!” “V-Vivian!?” Luigi took a step back. “You can’t be here, they’ll throw you in the holy water and then y—” “I’ve been following you for an hour like this, I’m fine. But we do need a place to talk.” Luigi nodded. He quickly trotted out the back of the temple to the outhouses, jumping into one and shutting the flimsy, wooden door. Vivian popped out of the ground. There was barely enough room for both of them in the confined space. “Well this is… awkward.” “Uh, yeah!” Luigi chuckled nervously. “So, why are you here?” “I dunno. I don’t remember anything. One minute I was in Castle Bleck fighting some baddies with Rarity and then… I woke up in a ditch outside the city. This place is terrible, Vivian! Everyone tries to rob you, there are monsters in the woods, and the temples are too busy with all the refugees!” “Refugees from what?” “I… I dunno, I was too scared to ask. But there’s been a lot of talk about daemons…” “I know. They’ve been calling me one. I’ve had to spend most of my time hidden away.” “Terrible…” Luigi frowned. “Do… you know why you’re here?” “I think something went wrong when Dimentio tried to kill me,” Vivian said. “Who?” “One of Bleck’s minions. Instead of exploding, I ended up here. A world with no Void…” She frowned. “I also have this.” Carefully, and not without elbowing Luigi in the face, she pulled out the stone heart. “This… is a Pure Heart. It’s broken and has lost its power. Do you know of anything that might be able to restore it?” “Uh, well…” Luigi scratched his nose. “All I know is that the guys at the Sigmar temple are goin’ all crazy about the new Emperor being Sigmar reborn, that he can do anything, even end Chaos… whatever that is.” “I heard good things about the Emperor too… though not from the nicest people.” “Everyone seems to like him,” Luigi shrugged. “Maybe there’s something to it.” “Maybe…” Vivian stuffed the stone heart back into her hat. “Unless we can think of something else, our goal is to find the Emperor, then.” “W-what? You’re not thinking of leaving the city, are you?” “How else are we going to get to him?” “Travel is extremely dangerous and there are monsters in all the forests!” Vivian cocked her head slightly. “Do you want to spend your entire life stuck in this town and never see home again?” “Er… no.” Luigi sighed. “All right, I guess we have to go, huh? An adventure…” Vivian smiled brightly. “Thank you, Luigi!” She kissed him playfully on the nose before disappearing back into the shadows. Dazed, Luigi walked out of the outhouse, holding his head. “Oh, one more thing,” Vivian whispered. “How did you get into Castle Black?” Luigi shrugged. “Some orange guy with four arms? I dunno. He was there when it happened, though.” “...Huh. Weird.”