I was born for this...

by FrostyDawn

The Temple

Sigh. More climbing. I never would have guessed.

The next chamber didn't stretch on like the last one, but rather, extended upward. It was a circular room, that reached up to a ceiling about four stories high. Taking up most of the room was a pillar, stretching up to the third story of the room. I kept staring up at it as Red wandered off to some part of the room. I was perplexed. The center pillar had no stairs, no ladder, not even a rope to pull yourself up. Around the walls of the chamber were a few scattered platforms. They extended from the edge, and pointed toward the center pillar, each one with a hexagon panel to stand on. I suppose it would be possible to glide across the gap between each one, but that would be a stretch. The space was a little far apart, and the height difference would be to hard to over come, even with our extra long scarves.

But then, it appears Red found a solution. I heard his low hum, and I saw him staring at a glyph on the wall. It depicted himself, standing on a sandy hill. It wasn't much to look at, but it told it's story just as well. Soon, a low rumble rang over head, like stone scraping against stone.

I looked up, and nearly panicked. I saw a dim liquid pouring out from the top of holes in the ceiling, and filling up the chamber. Water, I asume. The water level rose rather quickly, and I found myself up to my neck in it. But it didn't feel like water. It smelled rather exotic, and tingled against my fur. I was surprised to have myself floating out of it, and just being near this liquid allowed my scarf to lift me up and onto the first platform. As Red floated up beside me, the liquid filled up a little higher. A quick hop sent Red onto the next one, clearing the gap in a single bound. I took the same leap of faith, and sure enough, I glided farther than I ever did before.

I looked to the wall, and I saw another glyph, showing Red and broken fragments of stone pillars. I saw this before. I met Red there. How was all this depicted? If I was with Red the whole time, how was anyone able to know what we were doing and carve this image on the wall? I kept moving, as the strange liquid started to catch up to me. Red was already way ahead of me. He kept bounding amazing distances, lighting up more runes along the way. I followed his tracks, and glanced at each one as I passed it. The further I got, the more I recognized it. This was the entire path Red and I took on the way here. I reached the half-way mark of the pillar, and was amazed at what was happening below.

Cloth creatures. So many of them. The air-swimming ones with strips flowing behind them, small schools of fabric 'fish' darting together, and the jellyfish I had encountered a little while ago. But something much larger surfaced. The biggest cloth creature I had ever seen, a large whale-fish creature composed entirely of red fabric. It let out a low hum that made the liquid vibrate and ripple. As I kept staring downward, I had to stop short as Red stood on the last platform, with nothing ahead of us. The liquid was no rapidly rising, and the cloth-whale had breached the surface, right in front of us.

Red lept forward, and I instinctively jumped too. The cloth-whale had caught us, and swam through the air, carrying us on its back. We rose higher and higher, leaping onto the very top of the central pillar. The giant creature then descended into the liquid below, which stopped rising.

I turned to a giant opening in the room, showing a clear view of the mountain. A cold wind drafted in, and light flakes of snow blew in. I had almost forgotten what snow even was. Red and I looked around the other parts of the high ceiling.

Orange glowing runes seemed to drift off the walls, and create the circle of light in front of a slanted statue.

"Perhaps now I'll get some actual answers." I thought.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><>

I noticed two major details of the new white realm. First, the mountain in the distance was extremely close, and second, the ceiling of the stone temple was still there. It glowed of its runes, but cast a light blue hue on the area instead of the one on the orange stone.

An Ancestor stood before me, as expected.

"Alright. I have so many questions. What is my other task?" I implored.

"The task you seek is not determined by the Ancestors." He said, which made me quite upset.

"What?! I come all this way, and I still don't know what I'm supposed to do? Who is it determined by?" I shouted, exasperated.

"I believe your companion holds the answer."

I then paused. Red knew my task? Why would he want me to do anything? We could barely speak to each other, let alone express our thoughts with each other.

"You are very close to your destination. But there is more. Your hardest trial yet." The Ancestor continued, showing me another vision. But this was different. Instead of occupying my entire field of view, the image was hovering in front of me, like it was woven on a tapestry.

It was like the temple glyphs all strung together at once. But I saw a minimalist figure, standing amongst dunes. I inspected it closely. It stood on four legs, and had a white robe covering its purple mane.

I then realized, it was me. The minimalistic picture of myself and Red were shown crossing the bridge, the desert and sliding down the slopes of the hills. It even depicted the ancient serpents hunting us in the tunnels and finally, climbing the tall tower. I expected it to stop there, but I was wrong. The image kept scrolling, showing Red and I so close to the mountain's peak. Lines that symbolized wind marked the air above us, and our illustrations were hunched over and kneeling.

"What does this mean? What's going to happen to us?" I asked, feeling worry and anxiety gather in my heart.

"The mountain is a harsh terrain. Very little venture up it, and none have truly returned." The Ancestor replied, with an almost solemn tone. "Your destination is close at hand. The Ancestors have trusted you since your arrival." The deity spoke, as the image faded from view. "You are strong. The mountain is your final adversary."

<><><><><><><>

Without any opportunity for me to reply, I was back at the temple's exit, a little worried. What would become of Red and I? I found myself standing and walking toward the door, watching the cold winds gust inside. I had gotten used to the scorching heat, and now I faced the blistering cold.

It really was now or never.

Comments

[clonezero]

What are you planning good sir?