Trepidation rose in Zee's chest as she entered the event horizon of her short-range gate. Normally, it was a smooth, seamless transition from one point to another, but this time was different. Like breaching the surface of a pond, chaotic spiritual energies splashed over her. There was an extremely uncomfortable sense of disorientation, as she was suddenly thrown through the spiritual plane at tremendous speed.
Her mind raced, her stomach lurching as she shot through the subdimension, shadowy apparitions a blur all around her. She couldn't make any of them out as they were far in the distance, but they had a sense of immensity to them. She was curious what those things were but quickly wished she hadn't found out.
Her eyes widened as one of the shadows came into focus, her body shooting right towards it. A profound sense of danger washed over her, as a titanic creature, easily the size of a moon swam to block her path. It opened its unfathomable maw wide, each of its teeth the size of mountains. The sheer scale of it combined with her speed made dodging or blocking impossible. All she could do was brace for her inevitable demise, as she hurdled into its cavernous maw.
With a swift ruthless bite, its maw closed behind her, leaving her in a darkness more profound than the Null realm. That darkness quickly faded as a speck of light appeared in the distance like the pinprick of light in space.
The brightness grew as she approached, her mind shuddering as she burst free from the darkness. Behind her, six flickering balls of light trailed, following in her path.
Her eyes widened as the flickers of light danced around her like fireflies, one coming close enough to see what was inside. Her panic rose as she got a good look at what was inside. It was Bastion inside that ball of light, appearing unconscious. Zee was confused as to what was happening, but she was also relieved to see that the other orbs of light were her friends.
She didn't have time to contemplate what that meant, before a vortex formed in front of her. The gate looked nothing like the one she opened to take them to the ship, far more sublime, with truths she couldn't comprehend. It was far beyond anything she could hope to replicate, containing a vast knowledge of the cosmos.
Her body seemed to slow, as six orbs of light shot forward, right into the vortex. Zee tried to urge her body to move, but no matter what she did, nothing helped. Chills ran up her spine as she glanced around the empty expanse. Zee didn't know where she was, nor what the creature who caught her wanted, but one thing was certain. She was trapped by a being that could snuff her out with a simple thought.
The others seemed to have gotten out, but judging by a swirl in the air, she wasn't so lucky. Swirling motes of spiritual energy coalesced in front of her as a monster snapped into existence. With a ripple that made the cosmic river tremble, it floated much too close for comfort.
It was about the size of a cart, appearing like an angler fish, with gigantic teeth, tiny fins, and a lantern dangling in front of its maw. It was identical to the goliath that swallowed them, though much smaller. Zee swallowed hard, her body trembling as its unfathomable presence washed over her.
It was truly hideous, but there was no way she was going to say that. Since the monster seemed to have saved them, Zee decided to treat it with utmost respect.
"Greetings. Sorry if I intruded on your domain," Zee offered, her soft voice echoing around her.
The angler fish, simply floated there for a few very long seconds, seeming to study her with its beady eyes. Eventually, the bulb floating in front of that terrifying maw glowed softly and a deep gravely voice echoed through the expanse.
"It is not often I see humans stupid enough to open gates in the endless storm. Your attempt was lacking, though your methods were intriguing. Without my aide, you and your companions would have been spat out into the void," It said.
Zee raised both brows, having not expected such a response. "You saved us?" Zee asked, hesitantly.
The giant fish wiggled its fins in what she thought was agreement. "Normally I wouldn't bother, but your methods of opening a gate piqued my interest. Tell me, where did you learn to combine rituals with gates?" It asked.
Zee paused, wondering what it was looking for? Would this oversized fish eat her if she gave an unsatisfactory answer? It seemed to have only helped them out of curiosity. What if it didn't like her answer? It might eat her, or simply let her be flung back into the void. Both were not the outcomes she wanted.
Time to stretch the truth and hope this big fish didn't know enough to catch her in a lie. Zee unlatched the book at her hip, holding it up, urging Raina to stay still with a quick mental nudge.
"This is a book with some of the ramblings of the scourge, Tarnival. I have been studying the rituals inside for several years and came up with the idea to combine rituals with gates. Honestly, it has gotten me into a lot more trouble than it's worth. A few years back, I accidentally opened a gate to the abyssal plane. That was a mess," Zee said.
The oddly proportioned fish blinked at her, its angler swaying side to side thoughtfully. "It is quite disturbing to know that the butcher's legacy still lives on. Perhaps I should just eat you and save the universe from another monster?" It said.
Zee's blood ran cold at its casual proclamation. Before she could respond, it laughed, a deep grading sound that seemed to make the universe tremble.
"I would eat you, but where would the fun be in that? I have been bored out of my mind for millennia. How about this, in exchange for saving you, you have to do something for me," It said.
"And what is that? What do you want me to do?" Zee asked, hesitant to agree to anything this monster wanted.
There was a long drawn-out silence before it responded. "There is a phenomenon happening deep in the endless storm, a place not even I can peer into. Something ancient is emerging, and I want you to go and investigate," it said.
Zee's heart skipped a beat at its words, but she did her best not to show her excitement. Could it be a key?
"And what do I get in return? I am grateful you saved the lives of myself and my friends, but this could get us killed," Zee said.
Zee thought she might have messed up as It seemed to glare at her for a few seconds, before slowly bobbing.
"How about this? If you reveal what is inside the mausoleum to me, I will give you a spatial treasure of supreme quality," It said.
"Deal," Zee said, without hesitation.
"Then off you go. Do be more careful when messing with gates in the future. There are far more unfriendly beings out there than me who do not appreciate people invading their domain," the angler fish said.
With that, she felt herself moving again, shooting passed the fish and into the spatial vortex.
Relief filled her, as she appeared inside the drop ship, her vision lurching. She suddenly felt nauseous, glancing around to find the others lying in the troop compartment.
Their auras were a bit unsteady, but they all seemed fine. As she appeared, Bastion was helping Greg to his feet, both of them looking nauseous.
"That was rough," Bastion groaned, wiping bile from his lips.
"That's an understatement," Greg grumbled, slinging his horned bow over one shoulder.
"I did warn you something like that would happen," Zee said.
Malden brushed his robes with one large paw, before gesturing to the drop ship's interior. "I think it worked out well enough. No major issues aside from a bit of discomfort. I don't see why we haven't used your gates sooner," Malden replied.
She glanced at him like he was an idiot. "Are you insane! That monstrous fish could have ripped us apart and eaten us as an afterthought. There is no way in hell I am opening another gate like that unless it is literally a life or death matter," Zee said.
"What are you talking about? What giant fish?" Malden asked, cocking his head curiously at her statement, glancing at the others.
"I'm talking about the gigantic fish that swallowed us inside the spirit plane. How did you miss it, the damned thing was the size of a freaking moon!" Zee said emphatically.
"Is having Dern and Zul living in your head making you go nuts? Nothing like that happened. The transport through the gate was instantaneous," Malden replied confidently.
Zee turned to the others for support, meeting each of their eyes. They all shared glances, shaking their heads.
"Do none of you believe me?" Zee asked.
Bastion took a few steps forward, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's not that we don't believe you. Comments of insanity aside, it's just that, I didn't see any of what you described. One second I was on the other side of the gate, and the next I was lying inside the back of the drop ship," Bastion said.
The others all nodded in agreement, with varying levels of concern on their faces. Zee bit her lip hard, before deciding it wasn't worth the argument. Allison was still out of it, recovering, and she needed to step up. They didn't have time to wait around while the planet was sucked deeper into the endless storm.
"I guess what I saw doesn't matter, for now, we will discuss what i saw later in detail. For now, Yukna, get us out of here," Zee said.
"On it, would one of you watch out for Allie, this might get bumpy and I don't want her to get tossed around," Yukna said, heading towards the hatch that led towards the cockpit.
Greg, who was their stand-in copilot followed Yukna, leaving the others in the troop compartment. The ship took off seconds later, nearly throwing Zee off her feet as it shot upward, leaving the lava fields behind.
Bracing herself, she wrapped Allison in a blanket, strapping her into a seat. The ship rocked as it tore through the turbulent energies in the upper atmosphere, but the shields were holding. Despite the rocky ascent, her mind wasn't on her surroundings.
Her thoughts were on a strange sensation that was like a constant nagging in the back of her mind. It was loud, like a bug buzzing next to her ear, insisting that she head in a certain direction.
Zee wasn't sure how it accomplished that but she had a good idea of what it was. Somehow, that gigantic fish had implanted something inside of her that was guiding her toward the anomaly it wanted her to investigate. She was more than a little troubled at the idea.
Zee suspected the anomaly that fish was talking about might hide a key to the eternal throne, but, it was doubtlessly incredibly dangerous. The incentive, a supreme natural treasure with a spatial affinity was a tempting prize, but that only made her more hesitant.
There was no way that fish would offer something so valuable if it wasn't incredibly risky. Going at it alone was likely a death sentence. The question was, would her team agree to follow her into such a dangerous place?