The air was stagnant and cool, if maybe a little dusty.
Sine woke up only a few hours later, his muscles still a little sore and his chest a little hurt, but all-in-all he was fine.
'Have they woken up yet?'
Sine looked at the two beside him, their chests lowering and rising at a steady pace.
'Nope.'
He groaned silently, stretching his muscles to get ready for a long day.
The ground was stone, and the walls were wood. How did this structure come to be? Was it manufactured by a human? Did it simply grow? If it was made by humans, where did they go? How did they live down here?
'So many questions! It's kinda getting me excited...'
His fingers trailed the ancient wood, a thick layer of dust carpeting it.
'I wonder if there's a lower floor...'
Sine searched around the room, trying to find a staircase. And eventually, he found one.
'So there's a layer below the black sand'
Footsteps echoed throughout the empty building, and the ancient undisturbed air and dust finally moved around after resting for a unknown amount of time.
'Well this is a surprise.'
The room was dark, except for a single luminous stone that hovered over an ancient wooden workbench, the walls had drawings on them and tools were scattered throughout the stone room.
'Hmm...'
Sine walked up to the workbench and took a look at the contents on it.
Multiple tools lay about, albeit strange tools, maybe something... no he couldn't even begin to start guessing what these things did.
But what caught Sine's attention the most was the floating mirror shard right above a foundation, the way it slowly spun made Sine shiver.
A note stapled to the wall behind it made him drift his gaze behind the floating mirror shard.
*Why won't it work!? I've tried everything to get her out.
I am a SCIENTIST not a SORCERER.
What I do know is this.
We need to stay away from the mirrors.
They hold something sinister.
They took my baby.
I want her back.
And if I have to become one of those Sorcerers... then so be it.
- Subuzis*
'...
Sorcerer?
I'll have to ask Ash when she wakes up.'
Sine looked deep into the mirror shard.
...
He sighed and turned around, rubbing the dust off the workbench for the last time.
**
Sine walked up the stairs and into the main room, Ash and Ariet still sleeping.
'Tch.'
He decided to pick them up and throw them downstairs for the time being so they were safe from monsters, and he was going to go exploring through the ruins.
'Oh boy I'm so excited to explore the deserted landscape of death and agony!'
Sine snuck out of the building and silently stepped through the destroyed town, stone and pale wooden buildings that once stood tall now toppled over and howling with the passage of time.
Subtle shadows shifted in the corner of his eyes, which felt strange since his eyes could pierce through the dark.
"I sure do like exploring these places... alone... with creepy shadow things in my peripheral... yep..."
Sine turned a corner and waved his Pole threateningly, though failing to do so and looking like an idiot.
Luckily, no one was there to see it.
Or at least I hope so, because that would have been funny as shit.
"What the..."
A group of three glass shards were close together, drifting silently in place. Below them, a worn-down stuffed teddy bear.
Of course, the ravaging of time didn't hold back against the poor thing, its skin was torn apart and most of the fluff had been turned into black dust, but Sine felt a pull to it.
'Hmmm...'
He walked over and inspected the teddy bear.
'Wait a minute, can I use...'
(Visionary!)
[Resonator: "It'll be alright honey."]
[Type: Charm]
[Rank: Pestilent]
[Abilities: (Resistant of Time) (Light on a Forgotten World)]
[Journey: The end to an old world, yet sheds light on another.]
'...'
Sine went to grab the bear, but something was telling him not to. Something very powerful, from deep inside his heart.
"What does this mean..."
His gaze lingered on the teddy bear for a little longer than he meant for it to, before he walked away.
"The end to an old world, yet sheds light on another..."
Sine pondered as he walked, glancing at worn down buildings and taking peaks inside from time to time.
"Knock knock... anybody home?"
Sine asked sheepishly as he looked into a particularly scary structure.
"Why is there no abominations trying to eat me whole?"
A shadow moved in the corner of his eye, but this time he got a glimpse of it.
His soul trembled.
The black sand that had once stayed motionless, rose, and turned into somebody close to him. It showed her turning into a broken mirror, her playful gaze dissipating into a mere reflection.
And the soul that had once resided in her, had shrunk, and disappeared into the foreverness.
The black dust fell to the ground, and the Aether that had controlled the vision shot back towards the teddy bear.
Sine's eyes filled with dread, his footsteps panicky as he ran back towards the hexagon.
Breathless, Sine charged into the building and hurled himself down the stairs.
But it was too late.
Two shards of mirrors lay floating in the air, the soul slowly dissipating.
"NO!"
Sine bounded towards the two souls, he gripped both of them with his hands and stared at Ash's.
'WHAT DO I DO!?'
Sine's mind shot through his memories, trying to recall or think of anything he could do.
"FUCK!"
Tears welled in his eyes as the souls slowly faded.
"No no NO! You're not gonna die, not on my watch. Not on me. Please."
Sine's eyes glistened with a platinum-hue, and he tried everything he could do in his limited arsenal.
'...'
'Dreamless.'
(Dreamless: Allows the user to subtly perceive and influence the edges of consciousness and Aetherial currents, acting as an anchor of stability amidst the turbulent energies of the world. Dreamless does not experience dream states in the traditional sense; rather, Sine's mind subconsciously processes information collected from the Aether. This passive process is enhanced during periods of mental rest and manifests in a heightened perception, granting glimpses of Aetherial flows. You are dreamless, yet your dreams flow through you. Do not be discouraged, for your understanding of the mythical exceeds the Sins, the Gods, and the Havoced. ???)
Sine's Aether wrapped around the mirrors, studying and picking apart them piece by piece. He used his skill (Visionary) on it as well.
(The Mirror Resists)
'Shit!'
Sine's will started to increase leaps and bounds, the pressure gaining on him as their souls were slowly being snuffed out.
Sweat trickled off his chin, his intense focus not allowing any other distractions.
'The mirror... the mirror, it absorbs, not reflects...'
His gaze met the mirror on the workbench, spinning slowly.
'Is it..?'
He disappeared in a flash and grabbed the shard, running up the stairs and throwing it outside.
Before his heart could beat again, Sine was already back at their souls, filling them with Aether and picking apart the mirror.
"I won't let you die.'
A platinum fire emitted from his eyes as he delved as deep as he could into (Dreamless).
Strange runes started to float around him, like circles with symbols inside them, the environment around him became Aethereal, he felt as if he was on clouds.
'What the...'
(The First Dream has Awoken...)
'What?!'
And suddenly, Sine was in a different place.