Ava's surroundings seemed to shift. She suddenly stood in front of a great chasm, a hole, as big as a continent. No matter how far she looked her eyes just saw the gaping hole just a metre in front of her. She took a few steps back to create a little distance between her and the chasm. A familiar voice rang in her ears.
''I see you've been yet to act on your calling''
It was the old man's voice but she couldn't see him. It was like it were her own thoughts speaking to her. She did a quick 360 to assess the situation a little better. She was in the middle of the street. Her street to be exact.
There wasn't much to be seen just that the sky was clear. No darkness, no Ink. This is a purified world. Without the hell of crops that rarely grow and no weird academies. A clear world, to be enjoyed by anyone.
''It's not nice to ignore someone you know''
The old man suddenly materialised in front of her, hovering above the chasm. Behind him suddenly appeared a set of stairs. White marble stairs, she wouldn't be able to reach it if she wanted to. The gap between the edge of the chasm and the stairs was too large. The old man was in a business get-up. His suit seemed very expensive, it seemed to be made from dark silk with golden edges and a golden tie.
Ava was sure it was made from real gold, embroidered real carefully into the edges. It was a stunning suit. The old man looked younger somehow, it definitely was the same person but he had grown younger somehow. His facial features were sharper, more handsome.
''Ah, this'' The not so old man patted his suit. Ava spotted a golden ring when he patted his suit, it had carvings in it which were glowing. ''Yes this is nice, I can get used to this. Not that weird hobo suit anymore'' The man said with a cheerful smile on his face.
''But sit down, we have much to discuss'' The man gestured towards a bench that had suddenly appeared behind her. Ava sat down and looked at the man descending from the stairs. There still was a huge gap between the end of the stairs and the edge of the chasm.
But the man wasn't bothered. He just kept walking down like there were stairs. He didn't falter, he pierced her eyes whilst walking down the stairs. Not keeping his eyes from hers for a second. Finally he stepped on to solid ground.
''Nice trick, huh?'' The man smiled. His face seemed to glow. It wasn't actually only his face that was glowing but also his hand and neck were glowing. There was a quiet voice that could be heard. It was the hymn from her first dream. But it was like his body was a giant speaker.
''Are you the one who lit up the world in my first dream or the hobo who I talked to?'' Ava asked curiously. The man sat down beside her. He took out a packet out of his pocket and lit up a cigarette.
''Obviously I'm both my dear'' The man said casually as if he didn't just float like a bird. The man looked at her and puffed out a ring of smoke on her face. Ava coughed and waved her hand in front of her face.
''Anyways, I've calmed down since last time and I have a splendid offer for you.'' The man inhaled again and released. Ava just sat next to him waiting until he would continue. The man was taking his time, clearly enjoying his cigarette.
''What's the offer?'' Ava asked, trying to break the awkward silence. The man looked into her eyes, which were also gold. ''I've been tasked to give you a queeste, a great Roman tragedy if you will!'' The man said excitedly.
Ava just looked at him in a confused manner. ''What's a Roman or a Roman tragedy'' Ava inquired. ''Ah yes, my mistake, my history not yours'' The man inhaled once more. ''It simply means you'll have the chance to become a hero. A great one!''
''What if I don't want to be a hero?'' Ava asked. The man looked at her with a confused expression. ''Who doesn't want to be a hero? You're capable of great things!'' The man stood up gesturing wildly at Ava like they were playing hints.
''Alright, but what are the conditions? What do I have to do?'' Ava was playing with a ring that her father gave her. The man looked off into the chasm and sighed. ''What a beautiful view''
''What happened in this world?'' Ava asked whilst she stood up and walked to the man. The view was indeed beautiful but horrifying. What could do such a thing. There couldn't be a meteor big enough to do this. It was like the moon crashed onto the earth.
''Clever thinking dear! That's exactly what happened.'' The man was obviously peeking into her thoughts again but she was shocked by the revelation. ''But why is it in my street? What does this mean?'' Ava asked.
Ava was panicking a little. She hoped that this is just a dream and not something that would come to pass. ''It's the future of your world.'' The man said as he sat down on the edge of the chasm, his legs dangling from the edge of the world. If he would fall he would be swallowed by the Earth's core.
Ava was full on panicking now. ''You're lying, this can't be real. How would this even happen in the first place?'' She pulled her hair to make sure this wasn't real. She knew it wasn't real but she wanted to be done with this dream and never see the man again.
''Well luckily for you, you can prevent it. But only if you agree to the terms of course'' It seemed like the man was analysing her to see if she was capable for the job or not.
''What are the terms'' Ava said quickly with angst. ''You'll have to endure hell of course but that's just the small part. If you manage to save the world you're not allowed to stay here and you'll join mine''
Ava was shocked, what kind of shitty terms were those. Even if she did save the world she wouldn't be able to see her father and friends again. And if she didn't do it they all died. Ava wasn't in the right mindspace to make a decision like this. She was having a panic attack and she couldn't calm down.
''No'' She said. Her hands were trembling. ''What kind of shitty decision is that! I don't want to accept that kind of offer''
The man's eyes weren't glistening anymore, they turned into a dark kind of yellow. He stood up and looked her straight in the eye. ''How selfish are you? The choice you have is, save yourself or the world. How can you not see what the best decision is here?''
The man started to grow larger in size and the hymn became louder. He was turning into a sort of horrific angel with wings the size of trucks. Normally an angel wouldn't scare you as much but He had eyes all over his body. Even on his wings were eyes. He didn't have a mouth but just an eye where it should be.
''YOU CLEARLY LACK A HERO'S WILL'' Ava's ear drums snapped. This was the loudest thing she's ever heard and she couldn't be more scared. ''LET ME TEACH YOU TO BECOME A HERO'' The terrifying angel pushed her into the chasm. She was falling to her death.
It was getting hotter and hotter the further she fell. She was picking up tremendous speed as well but in a little while she topped picking up speed due to Newton's laws. The air was now insufferable around her now but she didn't seem to be burning. It was like there was a thin layer of protection around her skin keeping her from being burned to death or even melting.
Ava knew it took 88 minutes to fall through the center of the earth and back. So she had another 70 minutes to get ready and quickly hold on to something. Otherwise she would just slip into the chasm again.
When you reach the other side of the earth your velocity will be the same as when you began falling. So right at the top of the chasm her velocity will be zero so she had a small chance of actually grabbing something.
Ava began to kind of sit in the air. Like the air was a big cushion chair. She was still falling of course but she was done with screaming otherwise she would burn her lungs, so she decided to get a little comfortable.
Minutes passed and it was still getting hotter. She was counting the minutes so she knew that she was almost at the center. Ava was getting kind of bored of falling so she decided to do math problems in her head since she had another exam tomorrow.
Whilst she was doing that she finally stopped panicking and could think clearly now. She didn't feel good by accepting the offer of some golden magic man but she had to. There wasn't really another option.
She was lost in thought but she noticed it was getting bright. She was nearing the surface again. She wasn't sure how she was going to do this but she mustered all the strength she had and was ready to hold on for her life.
Ava was losing speed and was nearly at the surface. She saw the stairs which was strange because that meant she fell backwards somehow. Or that there is only one surface on this Earth. She decided not to question it and held her hand out and stretched as far as she could.
Ava finally got back up and saw the bench. The stairs were only a metre above her. She could do it. She had to. Her fingertips reached around the cold white marble stairs and suddenly she felt gravity tugging on her again. She had one hand on the stairs and tried to lift herself up.
She was heavier than she thought or weaker, one of the two she wasn't sure. But she finally was able to get onto the stairs and sighed. Her body was under huge stress and she still felt like it was a thousand degrees around here.
The man was back in his normal form and walked on the air and sat next to Ava. ''That was one hell of a journey, wasn't it?'' His eyes were glimmering joyfully like Ava just cracked a hilarious joke. ''No it wasn't a hell of a journey it was hell'' Ava replied still exhausted.
The man laughed, still somehow smoking his cigarette even though it's been 88 minutes. ''So do you accept my offer now?'' The man asked, but was already sure of his answer. Ava responded quickly and without hesitation. ''Yes, where do I sign'' The man just laughed and said '' It's done, sweet dreams my little hero''
Ava woke up again.