Raven's head felt heavy as she opened her eyes and her reality formed a disjointed mosaic in front of her eyes. the darkness from before still loomed over her as if it was whispered to her front right behind her eyes. She forced herself to regain consciousness despite the blinding pain building up from within her skull. Wherever she was, she was not safe. She needed to wake up and get back to Sage.
She was half-convinced that the last hour had been a dream, or rather a horror-filled nightmare that she was desperate to wake up from. She wanted to wake up safe in Sage's arm again with the knowledge the girl she loved was safe and beside her. But the image of the hooded necromancer gnawed at her mind so violently that she knew in her heart it had all be real. Sage was dead and wherever Raven found herself was payment enough for that to no longer be true.
For a moment Raven enjoyed the solace of her how heroism. She'd sacrificed herself for the person she loved most in this world and that was a death worthy of nobility. Then she snapped out of her stupidity and realised that she had made a literal deal with Satan, if not a high production lookalike. Either way, she was the author of her own damnation and she needed to do whatever it took to get out of here and back to Sage where she belonged.
All of her existential dread was decapitated by a blinding white light that only seemed to dim after it left a stain on her retinas. The answer to her whereabouts was starting to piece itself together. She was in an unmarked white room with no definitive features that she could make out. But at least the world around her was somewhat tangible. You know what they say, if you can touch it, you can tear it down. That was exactly what Raven intended to do.
Raven managed to sit me up and look around. She spotted a blade laying haphazardly beside her on the cement floor. When she looked to her other side, she found a newly manifested revolver. The orphan was baffled.
Why would they give me weapons? Why would I need them? What do I need to protect myself from?
She heard a rustling echo from the bright emptiness. The outside sound slowly became louder; the "danger" was getting closer. She grabbed the serrated blade and hopped onto her feet. For extra protection, the Raven-haired girl grabbed the revolver as well.
"Raven, help me! It hurts!" The voice belonged to her girlfriend. She sprang into action and raced towards the sound of my girlfriend's voice.
I needed to save her! I can't lose her again!
"Where are you, Sage? Baby? Where are you?" the orphan cried out desperately.
"Raven! Help me, please!" She ran towards the sound of the voice and increased her speed as she neared the voice in the endless whiteness.
Raven finally reached a figure curled up on the ground. She approached the figure slowly, with caution. The mysterious figure was female. She had silky auburn hair cascading down her slouched shoulders. She was wearing the same clothing Sage had been wearing. She was inexplicably excited. Raven needed her now more than ever. She needed to hold Sage and for Sage to hold her in return. Sage was the only person who has ever made her feel safe. She needed to feel safe right now.
She made an overly zealously movement towards my Sage to touch her. The orphan gasped and stumbled backwards when the figure abruptly turned towards her. She wasn't Sage. She wasn't anyone that Raven had ever seen. The figure's face was contorted into a grotesque mask. She lunged at Raven and in an instinctive retaliation, the orphan stabbed the masked woman in her chest.
Raven raked her hand through her hair shakily as she looked at the figure's lifeless body for a brief moment. Raven had to look away. In her peripheral vision, she saw the corpse jolt up and move towards her again. It did not resemble a woman anymore. Not Sage. Not anyone. It resembled a creature more than a person. Without thinking, Raven aimed the revolver at its head and emptied the magazine into its skull.
Just as the blood pooled around her head and stopped flowing freely, a voice sounded from somewhere. It chuckled at first and then spoke, "Beautiful! Simply gorgeous! I knew I was right about you."
Raven knew that voice. It was the hooded man who put her here!
"Who are you? Where am I?" she questioned the man.
Again, he chuckled. It sounded sadistic and taunting, almost menacing. The hooded figure stepped out of the white voice and brought a cloak of darkness along with him. The whiteness was instantly replaced by four immaculate, metal walls.
"My name is Artemis and this is my playground".