(Rose)
The sky has cleared itself.
I can admire the alpine landscapes in the distance, surrounding this white valley.
It really looks amazing. The mountains surpass every human-made construct by far.
Or so I thought I could say.
With Blume, we discovered an industrial site like non others I visited before, or even heard of.
Something like a naval shipyard, that would build cruisers. A place at least as impressive as that, but lost in the middle of the alpine lands.
It didn't build spaceships as I first guessed. No, only machineries taller than buildings, for uses beyond my comprehension. But not space, Blume seems confident about that.
And in another of these long abandoned buildings, I found that place only described in old tales, far older than this place. A gateway to hell.
A giant well, so deep, a lit torch thrown inside did disappear in its depths before reaching its end.
A giant circular well of darkness, hidden inside a building and surrounded with machineries, pipes going everywhere, giant machines and computers around. And even lifts and staircases.
I'm in a daze looking at that. I put my hands on the handrail and looked down where I had thrown a lit torch. I really can't see it anymore...
I'm anxious about this place. Not only because it looks ominous and plutonian; or that it looks as if Faustian scientists and technologies had dug a tunnel reaching hell itself, to study it.
R - I've heard of this place...
B - From your father?
R - No... From my sister...
~
A pit, almost bottomless pit. A sealed off and caved in tunnel, at the boundary between our world and the other realm, of spirits and deads.
An endless cylinder, with light and hope so far above the ground of this inverted tower, you cannot see them anymore once in the bottom of it.
An icy rain is constantly pouring inside.
And at the bottom, trapped like an animal in a hole is... her.
The well of Daiûa...
The true name, no, rather first name given, to the beings-like-her. Daiûas.
It's the hole in the world from which they sometimes might reach out the world of the livings.
R - Have you... Ever seen this place before Blume?
B - No. I know what you're referring to, since I had to escape from that as well. But it's not a physical place, and here it's unrelated. It's deep I can tell, but I don't know what's here and below... I do detect faint signs of life however, deep underground.
R - Someone, or something?
B - Probably a thing...
I swallow. I'm anxious. What lies at the other end of this gate?
Have I found the entrance to the other world? I know it's not really the case, but it looks so much like it is... I'm still having shivers.
We built impressive machines to study this place obviously in the past. An entire complex for scientific studies... And a simple handrail here.
Cranes above us were strong enough to hang voluminous machines and lower them down there. I guess we really went down there. We sent people on the other side to study the netherworld...
B - What is it Rose? This place doesn't strike me as much as you.
R - Is this... You're sure it's not your world below?
B - No, I told you, my world as you call it is just nothingness; it's not physically below the world. It's at the same place, only not structured with matter. So it's ethereal, thin like air, but not below. My metaphors of climbing up toward reality felt right enough to me but aren't true depiction of what I do. It's just how I felt and would best describe it in English.
R - So... There's no reason for this place down there to be more dangerous than the world up there?
B - That sounds right. Although there is something down there.
R - But just... What is this place? I can only relate to the scary legends about such deep holes into the Earth.
B - Well, should we find out? I can tell it's important for you.
R - I... I almost lost my sister to such a place I could never reach... It was the jail of a daiûa... You remember my book?
B - I do. The one that spoke of you and me. It had a few tales about beings-like-me from previous centuries I remember. This place made you think of the well of daiûa right? Well, here it isn't that old. And it doesn't seem to be what you fear for many other reasons. It's just a coincidence that it looks the same.
I hold on the handrail tighter. She's right. It just can't be. It's different...
Her daiûa isn't down there. I thought I had made my peace regarding my very long late... sister. Yet...
In front of this pit that looks like hers... I want closure. I'm gritting my teeth.
R - I told you about her. The being-like-you who was fond of my sister. The one whom became like another member of our family. Her... I'm still scared of her... And as far as I know, she might still be at the bottom of this well, somewhere, still waiting... She's a being-like-you, so she can't die of old age in jail now can she?
B - No, but she might have transformed into something else entirely, even perhaps devolving into a monster. It's been centuries after all. But I doubt that's the same one here.
R - I... I want to know. I need to. Well, need may be too strong a word, but I really want to know that what is down below isn't.... I have to see it's not her daiûa...
B - Alright. We can find our way down. But, what if it is?
I swallow with difficulties. What if it is? If she's there. If she remained trapped underground there, for centuries?
Remember... I need to remember something and it doesn't want to come back to me. I know I'm missing something right now.
R - I'm scarred of her... But I also dearly wanted to meet her. I wanted to thank her... And as the world is today, if she hasn't turned evil, then maybe we can free her and let her live in this world at last.
~
The lift doesn't work anymore, and unfortunately, the stairs we found don't go to the bottom, only a different tunnel. There are no ladder eithers.
So there's only one way down left. Going back up later is really the more worrisome part. Falling is easy.
Blume will make us float down carefully, monitoring her energy.
If we're about to cross a point of no return mid-air, we'll give up...
I stand on the edge of the abyss. There's wind and an odd music coming from down there. My heartbeat increases.
It will be falling, only in utter darkness... Not from the sky, but from the ground, into another world devoid of light.
I trust Blume with my entire life again. I've lost count. My heart is still beating quite fast. What lies below could be anything. The chances it is related to me or my family are negligible. It's just a coincidence... But I want to see that I'm wrong. That my feelings are mistaken.
I'm curious and anxious.
I jump ahead. I fall into nothingness, endless nothingness, my heart hurting. I disappear quickly inside the darkness of this gigantic pit.
~
The wind brushed against me strongly along my fall. Aside that, I can't tell a thing. I'm blind and deaf. I can only trust Blume and wait while trying to keep my nerves under control.
I'm falling... I see no end and only fear surrounding me.
Is this how Blume's world feels like? Just endless void, nothing to reach or see... Just falling to nihilus in fear and cold wind, as if floating in the middle of nowhere?
What was this place for, when humankind used it before the end?
I can't fathom.
I suddenly hear Blume warning me that we're about to land.
The gravity of my weight suddenly hits me as my feet reach the ground under her control. I can't tell how long this fall lasted.
My feet are trembling but now holding my weight, on rocks and unsteady ground. A pile of wreck and rubble.
How deep are we?
B - About 120 metres down below.
R - Only a hundred?
B - Yes. It's quite deep already.
Blume tries to make my eyes able to see in the dark like she did in the past, but it doesn't seem to work here. All I see is grey.
R - Something wrong?
B - Light doesn't behave like it should in here. We'll try the old way instead.
A spark appears. The torch I had thrown down burns again, but the flame is a deep red instead of a bright yellow. I can see a little my surrounding at least.
The flame looks very surreal without its brighter and warmer colours.
It's also freezing cold down there.
The cave with machines still looks like a giant factory of some sort, down there too. It has a tunnel heading away In two opposite directions. Left or right?
An enormous mechanical construct takes most of the tunnel's space. A kind of pipeline I guess? It has nothing to do with daiûas. That's European steelwork down here.
I head into the tunnel. It's oppressive for me. The sounds are muffled and the light is weak.
Blume is restless, she's becoming afraid too.
I begin to fear what lies further as well. It can't be what I dreamt anyway. This place has nothing to do with me or my past at all, now I see it.
Something creeps toward us. Blume slides out from my clothes and strikes ahead without a word of warning.
I lost balance and dropped the torch. I step back as the thing shrieks loudly just a few steps ahead of me. The echoing loud noise numbs my hearing.
I try to run away in the dark but quickly hurt myself against the wall and fall. Blume's ribbons fly like arrows against the thing again. It's hurt again and screams even louder.
I feel blood dripping on me. I'm scarred but I know that feeling, and what this blood means.
I hear my heartbeat a last time, and then everything fades. And I feel like I wake up somewhat, though it's different.
I grab my sword at my waist and stand up suddenly. A part of me just shut another that was cowering in despair. I attack. Rough instincts spur and I feel ready to rip it apart myself. The blade pierces it.
Blood pours and covers my hands. I rip the flesh and skin aside in a larger cut, wounding it deep.
Blume and I step back as it does too. I feel weird, but I hold my weapon tight enough to break my fingers on it.
It steps further back, wounded. We leave.
Blume controlled my legs and helps me run through the dark. A whistle could be heard behind us suddenly. It was coming to strike back before we escape.
We reached the cave. I kept running. Blume guessing what I had in mind, I kept running at full speed toward the wall ahead.
Time to fly away.
This place is only the lair of a beast or dragon. I have therefore my sad and expected answer. It's not what I feared.
I reach the wall and step on it in a jump. Blood rushes to my head and I feel like I'm passing out as I jump into the air.
The blood and power that Blume manipulates pulses through my flesh much more rapidly than usual. It hurts.
I'm in mid-air, and I still see nothing. My feet touch the wall I think. I try to run on it, vertically, but it doesn't work as I'm weightless. I jump. I hear the beast behind us, not that far.
I beg Blume to bring us up. She seems to have troubles doing it. We only float somewhere above the ground.
And I hear the monster growling right before us. My heart is about to explode.
Alright...
I yell to Blume to create light. She complies. She obeys and follows my lead. Light flashes around us, blinding us all. Then a disc of light appears above or around us.
I can see. Blume is failing. We fall. But I manage to keep my balance, and the sword I still hold in my hand.
I fall and land blade first onto the monster, piercing its body deep.
I can't manage to hold onto the weapon as I continue my fall to the ground below, but it's wounded bad.
I hurt myself against the hard ground. I overcome the dizziness and vertigo and stand up, to discover the face of the monster while some glow still lingers.
One last time, I expected to see her face. And it's not her. This place looking like something I heard of is definitely just a coincidence.
The monster comes at me, while my sword is still buried on top of its shoulder.
Blume is as confused and shocked as I am, while I clench my fists.
Blume's ribbons attempt another jump at it and strike it again. The gigantic insect, if it is one, is stopped by these new arrows. It shrieks again. It bleeds more.
I take hold of a ribbon as if it was a sword and Blume follows my thought. I slash the tummy of the beast open, continuing the previous cut I did. I open it flooding the place with flesh. Other ribbons are going for the neck and the kill.
The head falls, loud. Blood is sprayed on me. It smells like dust, not flesh. The head is still looking at me. It suddenly spits something. I barely have the time to cover my eyes with my left arm. A few drops reached my face and my eye.
I scream as it hurts as if it was sulphuric acid sprayed on me. My sleeve is falling apart and my skin might follow. My face does too. I'm accidentally ripping my own eye out in panic as the acid is melting my face.
I passed out in pain.
And I still stand there though. I still see. I barely feel what's happening however. I'm now seeing this through Blume's mind in a dream.
She took over my body as I passed out. I see myself looking around and the ribbons inspecting my wounds. A fissured rib, but mostly a dire chemical burn on my left arm and face. One eye lost, just like that.
Acid burnt it and my nails scratched the melted part off when trying to brush the acid away.
I'm disfigured. Blume doesn't seem to care about that. She just cleans the wound without showing much emotions about it.
She looks at the dead monster. Its inside shells are filled with bones. Its bones were very likely human skeletons, glued into composites. As for the head, she breaks it apart with a foot stomp. Flesh is splattered.
My whims were costly again...
Blume seems to look for something inside the crushed head and dead body. She doesn't seem to find what she's looking for.
She picks up my sword. It rusted. Maybe we'll be able to repair it I hear her think, so she keeps it nonetheless.
I'm fading into proper sleep as she begins climbing away from this terrible place.
~