《The Gates of Yggdrasil》 Chapter 0: The Gates Appear It was May 5th when the arches appeared in every capitol around the world. They were enormous formed of seamless stone which towered several hundred meters into the air. Their face was covered in lichen and moss as if they had stood in place for an age. Between the arches there was an impenetrable veil of mist roiling about in ceaseless motion, giving vague impressions to the imagination of what might lie beyond. The gates were cordoned off by the local authority in each city as law enforcers and officials tried to make sense of how to deal with the situation, and news organizations were quick arrive to begin their coverage of the mysterious phenomenon, and the scene was quickly packed with a myriad of police, onlookers and reporters. Olivia Oakdale, one of many reporters on scene, stared fixedly at the camera in front of her, shifting her clammy grip on her hand-held microphone. ''When was the last time I was this nervous?'' she thought to herself as the camera''s red light came on. ¡°With us tonight live from Washington, DC is Olivia Oakdale to give us the latest updates on the situation.¡± Olivia heard in her ear piece, and the camera man gave her the signal to begin her report. ¡°Thank you Susan. Here behind me where the Washington Monument used to stand, there appears to be some form of massive stone arch. We have received several reports that similar structures have appeared in all other countries across the world.¡± ¡°Fascinating! Does the arch appear to be any danger to the public, Olivia?¡± ¡°That is uncertain at this time. All we know is that during the day you could see what appears to be a veil of some kind between the arches. Hold on, something is happening¡± At that the camera panned away from Olivia and zoomed in on the arch where a robot lead on a tether was slowly rolling towards the arches. Moments before the robot was able to cross the boundary of the arches, billowing plumes of mist suddenly rolled out from it, puddling on the ground around the robot until it was hidden entirely from view. When the mist receded the robot was gone and in its place stood a strangely glowing stone tablet. At that same moment, a voice called out, heard by everyone surrounding the arches. It spoke in an unfamiliar language yet Olivia understood it perfectly, as if she had always spoken this foreign language but until now had just forgotten. ¡°We have chosen your champions. Three of each nation must be sent through the gates. Once done, light will be returned to your world¡± The plaza surrounding the gate fell into deep silence. ¡°Olivia, what happened?¡± Susan''s voice said in Olivia''s ear. ¡°We''re fine. Somehow, the arches spoke to us¡± Olivia said in response. ¡°Olivia? You are not making any sense¡± ¡°It''s hard for me to explain¡± ¡°I''m sorry. Our correspondent appears to be in shock and has momentarily lapsed into a different language. We will give her a moment to compose herself.¡± Susan said, but she was no longer directing her voice at Olivia. Olivia could only stare in confusion while the camera man gave her the signal that the broadcast had been cut off. ''What did she mean, different language?'' she thought, but slowly she began to realise that that although the words seemed as familiar to her as ever, she hadn''t thought them in English. Similar events had happened at all gate sites across the planet, and exactly 8 minutes and 20 seconds after the voice had been heard the light of the sun disappeared. Alex Greene woke bleary eyed in his chair, exactly where he had passed out the night before in front of his television. As his senses began to return to him two details became distinctly clear. First, he had unpleasant splitting headache. Second, the headache was getting so much worse by his phone making a happy racket as it vibrated on the table, slowly jostling along a haphazard path formed by nearby empty bottles. Alex picked up the phone with a tired groan to glance at the display. The words ''Mom Aggro'', flashed at him, accompanied by a picture of a rotund woman in her 50s with hair in a style that seemed to scream I''m still young, if you would just ignore the crow''s feet and wrinkles. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Ah mom you really do love to worry don''t you? ¡°Wonderful Alex speaking, still alive¡± ¡°Alex? Where are you. Your dad and I are worried sick¡± I swear, I love her but sometimes she worries too much ¡°I''m in my apartment. Did something happen?¡± God I need a piss. How late is it anyway? Alex''s mother said something else that almost slipped by his attention as he glanced out the window to see dark streets. He must have slept through the entire day. ¡°I''m sorry mom could you repeat that? I just woke up.¡± ¡°ALEX, I need you to act like an adult for two minutes and actually listen to me¡± his mom said in an aggrieved tone. She actually sounds serious this time. Get your shit together Alex. ¡°Is it dad? He''s okay right?¡± ¡°No Alex it''s you. Your name is on the news...¡± his mom trailed off into silence. The news? Why would I be... Alex reached for his remote and turned on the television, flicking through channels until he found a news report. ¡°...Law enforcement is currently investigating the whereabouts of the last suspects, Alex Greene, in regards to his involvement in the mysterious arch in Washington DC.¡± Arches? Washington DC? What in the world... The anchor woman continued to drone on about difficulties near the arch as a group of people near it appeared to have developed some form of acute aphasia that made them unable to speak properly. ¡°Alex we love you but we had no choice¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°We told them where you live Alex. We don''t want to believe you did it, but those poor people...¡± This must be some kind of fever-dream. ¡°I...¡± Alex said before he fell silent. He suddenly realised how desperate his mother sounded. How pained the situation must be for her. ¡°I promise you, I''m innocent. We will sort through this.¡± Alex finally managed to say. There was a long silence on the line before the call disconnected. Alex turned his attention back to the television where the report had shifted over to display some kind of graphic showing the solar system. ¡°...With us in studio is astrophysicist Kevin Barkley. Kevin you tell us there''s no reason to believe the sun is actually gone. Why is that?¡± The camera panned over to a thin man in his thirties with thick-rim glasses and brown hair with strands of grey peppered about, looking like a mantle piece someone had forgotten to dust off before putting on display. ¡°Earth and the other planetoids are still following their normal orbits, and we haven''t seen any side-effects that would indicate that we are no longer affected by the sun''s gravitational pull¡± Kevin said. ¡°So how do you explain the missing sunlight?¡± the anchor-woman countered. ¡°I can give you no answers. This situation is highly unprecedented¡± Kevin answered ¡°So, you admit the sun could be gone?¡± the anchor-woman said pointedly to the astrophysicist, prompting a sigh from Alex. Come hell or heaven, trust the media to always drum up the fear with that thought Alex turned off the television. Sitting quietly while anxiously waiting for someone to come and arrest him turned out to be an almost impossible. Always one to opt for his own sense of practicality Alex decided to take a shower and relieve himself. If he was going to be arrested, at least he didn''t have to smell like last night''s party while it happened. Not five minutes later while Alex was still blinded by his shampoo, six armed men dressed in Kevlar combat gear broke through his front door, and quickly subdued him, hauling him off still naked and soaking wet. Chapter 1: Departure Eric Walker, a stout man of middling years and portly stature was currently sitting in a hotel room engrossed in conversation with a pleasant young woman who had introduced herself as Isabel Lloyd. In truth Eric thought that most people who happened to be women, and also happened to not be his wife, tended to be pleasant company. Isabel had only just finished telling Eric what she did for a living when the door to their room was opened and a naked young man was shoved into the room with a bundle of clothes being thrown after him. The naked man unbalanced by the shove, managed an ungraceful four steps before he fell over, twisting about himself mid-fall making him land harshly on his back in the middle of the room with bits of clothing raining about him in a messy pile that did little to cover his dignity. Eric smirked before he said, ¡°You ought to cover up in a lady''s company young man¡± Laughingly Isabel said, ¡°No matter. Nothing I haven''t seen before¡± although she did courteously avert her gaze to spare the man some of his dignity. At this point the naked youngster had managed to recover himself and was collecting the clothes from the floor. He did well to seem calm and collected but Eric thought the act seemed a little forced. Best not tease him too much. ¡°I''m decent now¡± Alex said, for Isabel''s benefit after he had gotten dressed. Eric had seen no reason to offer the youngster the same courtesy Isabel did, and had merely been staring as the youth had scampered into clothes that didn''t quite fit him right. ¡°I''m Isabel, and that over there is Eric¡± Isabel said as she turned back to face the men again. ¡°Alex¡± ¡°You know, it''s none of our business¡± Eric said ¡°But A fella is real curious. Why you was naked?¡± ¡°They caught me in the shower¡± Alex said before quickly following up with a question of his own. ¡°Do either of you know what is going on?¡± ¡°Not a clue¡± Isabel said with forced cheer. ¡°In the shower! Hah!¡± Eric said. Obviously he hadn''t been told anything either. His one advantage over these young folks was that age had tempered him with more patience so he would play silently for now, rather than prove himself a fool. Before anyone else had time to say anything more a suit walked in the door. One look at the suit told Eric that he was the exact type of pencil pushing, soft-handed twit he would never like. The suit, either oblivious or uncaring to Eric''s scrutiny looked over the trio with consternation. ¡°Please follow along¡± the suit said in a flat voice before heading out of the door. Eric cast a helpless glance at his two companions before he got up and made to follow. The others following suit. Alex felt miserable. Falling on the floor in the hotel room had jostled him, which made his headache flare up again. Having been transported naked in a van all the way to Washington hadn''t helped matters either. On top of this, he was herded into another van, destination unknown, only moments after his arrival which had given him barely enough time to get dressed. The silence in the van was oppressive, but thankfully they had only been underway for a few minutes before they came to a halt. The door slid open revealing a thin man wearing a cheap looking black suit stood on the other side. It was the same man who had fetched them in their hotel room. ¡°Please step out of the van¡± the man said as he stepped away in a manner that seemed to brook no argument and expected absolute obedience. Not surprising, considering the heavy guard that had accompanied them. Alex had no delusions that inspired fantasies of escape in spite of not being cuffed. Eric who had kept his eyes low for the entire ride grunted as he pushed out of his seat. The car''s suspension sprung back up as he left the car. Isabel and Alex followed after him with less effort, Alex making up the rear of the trio. All three of them were completely stunned by the sight which greeted them. Even their escorts seemed to be made uneasy by it. Not fifty paces away from where they had parked stood a towering arch. The closest thing Alex had seen that resembled it was The Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Except this arch was made completely from Stone and was at least twice as high, tapering off into a sharp point, almost like a soft-edged triangle. Although the entire area had been cordoned off and was well-lit by construction lights it was impossible to see anything through the arch other than a billowing grey smoke. More alarmingly to Alex was the second perimeter around the Arch where everyone within was wearing hazmat gear. ¡°What is that thing?¡± Alex said his gaze still locked on the arch. ¡°We were hoping you could inform us on the matter¡± the suited man said matter of factly as he turned his attention over to Alex. ¡°Why would we know anything about it?¡± Isabel said before Alex could respond. ¡°I mean, like, look at it? It''s HUGE! It doesn''t even make sense to think just three people could be responsible for that thing!¡± Silence ¡°Follow me¡± the suited man said, walking off towards a canvas tent which had been erected off to the side from where they stood. Eric who had kept silent so far was the first to follow along while Alex and Isabel paused to share a look of incredulity. Inside the tent was alive with a quiet bustle of energy as several people were seated about the room at various tables, working with expensive looking portable equipment. At the centre of the room was an oddly shaped stone-implement with what appeared to be a tablet screen on top of it which glowed an eerie green. At its base the stone had bits of metal sticking out of it with a tether coming out at one side as if something was stuck within. Upon noting their arrival the activity within the tent seemed to slowly die down as attention began to focus on the trio and the suited man who had brought them in. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The suited man moved over towards the stone and gestured the trio closer before saying, ¡°My handle is Mr. Garland. The reason as to why we brought you here is this stone¡± Alex looked past Garland towards the stone. He was near enough to tell that it had something written on its surface. ¡°Here is what we know¡± Garland continued to say. ¡°A stone tablet, such as this one has appeared at every other gate as well.¡± Seeing the expressions the trio gave him Garland raised a hand to forestall questions ¡°Our intel has informed us that each tablet appears to bear the names of three people. Once brought to the arches, the names disappear... along with the people.¡± Alex noted how Garland quietly studied each of their reactions as he divulged his information ¡°You isn''t letting us walk out of here are ya?¡± Eric said with a resigned air about him. It was the first words he had spoken since the hotel, and they hit Alex like a sledgehammer. Of course they weren''t going to let them go. They hadn''t been read their rights. They were under heavy guard and Mr. Garland was happily telling them what was likely classified information. ¡°No Mr. Walker. We are not¡± Garland said. If he felt any remorse for their fate he didn''t show it. ¡°You know more than we do, so why even talk to us?¡± Isabel said, interjecting herself back into the conversation. Her calm facade was beginning to erode, showing her to be almost as nervous as Alex felt. ¡°In case you knew something we didn''t¡± Garland said matter of factly. In that moment Alex could feel himself beginning to lose his nerve as panic began to win over his rational senses. The situation seemed hopeless, but doing nothing seemed a certain doom. If he spun around quickly and grappled for a gun maybe he could... To his left a sudden commotion startled Alex out of his line of thought. Eric had spun around and tried to attack one of the soldiers guarding the entrance of the tent. The attempt ended almost immediately as a loud gunshot was heard and Eric crumpled to the ground with a scream as he clutched his thigh. One of the soldiers who had small distance to the scuffle had simply shot Eric to wound him, ending the fight conclusively. Garland barked out an order and minutes later a soldier with a bag of medical implements came into the tent, giving Eric an injection while two other soldiers held him down. Eric fell unconscious from the injection in quick order, and Garland trained his gaze on Alex and Isabel before he said, ¡°I urge you to stay calm. You are on the list but you are not irreplaceable. A fact your predecessor learned harshly, when your name replaced hers upon her death, Mr. Greene¡± Alex lowered his head in defeat, feeling despair as his own cowardice when faced by threat of death as it stopped him from acting. He simply watched silently as four men hoisted Eric onto a wheeled stretcher bringing him outside. ¡°If you would please follow us outside¡± Garland said, his tone still completely absent of any discernible emotion. Disgustingly business-like Alex thought as he did as instructed. Outside they were met with a larger group of soldiers who had heard the gunshot. When approaching the soldiers one of their group stepped forward and saluted Garland before he said, ¡°Your orders, sir?¡± Garland didn''t spare Eric, Alex or Isabel a single glance as he answered, ¡°Get it done now¡± The soldier saluted and turned to Isabel and Alex before he said, ¡°You two, push the stretcher¡± Alex glanced at the company of soldiers that formed up behind them before stepping forward to grab hold of one side of the stretcher. His awareness of their weapons trained at their backs made him feel prickly as if stuck by hundreds of needles. Isabel came up next to him and together they pushed the stretcher closer towards the arch. Alex hesitated as they reached the boundary of the inner perimeter where the hazmats had been prior to them entering the tent. A Soldier behind them called out, goading them onward. Taking the first step into the inner perimeter felt heavy, but as nothing happened a small spark of Hope sprung up within Alex''s chest. Maybe nothing would happen? Disappointment and dread. Those were the last things Alex felt as they came within ten paces of the swirling mist within the arch and it suddenly billowed out towards them, swallowing them whole. The soldiers who still held their weapons trained towards the arch witnessed as the mist receded, revealing an empty stretcher and no trace of the three people who had just been there. ¡°Think it will work sir?¡± A soldier near Garland said. ¡°I hope so sergeant¡± Garland answered. ¡°Although those who were initially exposed to the arch can''t speak or write, the diagrams they drew seemed to indicate that the stone artefact and the solar anomaly are related¡± Several moments of darkness passed before Isabel realised she was squeezing her eyes shut. Opening her eyes she looked around. She stood on a small podium next to Alex and Eric, whose leg surprisingly seemed fine. The room she was in was bare apart from the podium, and it appeared indistinctly white with an omni-directional light that cast no shadows, giving everything a flat immaterial appearance with no sense of depth. A door she hadn''t noticed before opened in the far-end wall of the room and an aged bald man wearing nothing but a grey woollen robe entered. Isabel thought he had a distinctly fatherly presence. The old man stopped a few paces from the podium and looked up at them with a smile before he said, ¡°Welcome to Yggdrasil. I am Waywatcher Cairn¡± Chapter 2: The Throne of Treasure Alex was currently sitting cross-legged on a slender white cushion which had a modest square shape with rounded corners, outlined by a garish golden trim. This room, like the room they had arrived in was large and had a polished marble floor and white walls. Everything here was white, or at least very bright Alex thought. The whole place seemed to have achieved a mixture of opulence and bad taste exactly balanced to become irksome. Eric and Sophia were seated to either side of Alex on similarly shaped cushions, and in front of them separated by a wide low table laden with fruits, sat the elderly man who had introduced himself as Way Watcher Cairn. ¡°Please help yourself. I pride myself as an excellent host¡± Cairn said with a smile as he made a broad gesture towards the fruit. Alex and Sophia took to the fruit, but Eric simply glanced disinterestedly at the whole table while crossing his arms, and then fixing Cairn with a withering stare that made the elderly man clearly uncomfortable. ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Cairn said, trying to dispel his discomfort and averting his gaze from Eric. ¡°I predict you may have questions?¡± ¡°You better believe it buddy¡± Eric said sourly, ¡°Like where in damnation are we! And what is this place anyhows¡­ And another thing-¡± Cairn held up his hands to stop the now red faced Eric who seemed about ready to burst with pent up frustration. Not that Alex could blame him, he himself was getting tired of being given the run around with no answers given from anyone. ¡°This place is a hub of sorts. A place where souls convene before they are brought into Yggdrasil, which is the name of this world.¡± ¡°Wait, what do you mean souls?¡± Alex interrupted before giving Eric the chance to lead the conversation again. ¡°Oh! I forgot your plane is high in natural order¡± Cairn said before coming to a pause. There was clearly more but the Way Watcher fidgeted and his expression became nervous. Cairn sighed before he spoke again, ¡°There is no easy way to say it, so I will speak as plainly as I can. Did you know there are several different mortal realms?¡± ¡°You mean like parallel dimensions?¡± Sophia said, suddenly looking very interested. Maybe she is some kind of science fiction nerd Alex thought. No brain, focus. Old man explaining things. ¡°Yes similar to that¡± Cairn said with a smile. ¡°Each mortal realm has different natural laws. We classify them as high and low order. Since Yggdrasil is a low order realm, the natural laws here are incompatible with those of your own realm.¡± Alex grew pallid as a sense of dread formed knots in the pit of his stomach. He had no idea what Cairn would say next, but his mind began racing with ominous predictions. ¡°So when physical things ¨C or beings ¨C pass through the gate between incompatible realms¡± Cairn said ¡°they suffer a mild case of¡­ Evaporation¡± ¨C Absolute silence ¨C ¡°You evaporated me, ya bony prick! I¡¯ll murder ya¡± Eric yelled out as he lunged himself across the table, showering the room in a colourful explosion of fruit. It wasn¡¯t Eric¡¯s outburst, which caused Alex to gape. Cairn, old and frail looking Cairn, was already halfway across the room from where he had sat just a moment ago. Eric was trying to recover and get to his feet as he¡¯d practically jumped flat on his stomach onto the table in his attempt to get at Cairn. Although before he could get that far, Cairn began intoning oddly, it had the vague sound of singing yet the words were unclear to Alex. A distinct yellow light suddenly suffused Eric almost blocking him from Alex¡¯s view, and once it receded Eric stood still as a pillar, staring ahead of himself mutely. ¡°What did you do to him¡± Alex said in panic. As Eric seemed right now, he reminded Alex a little too much of his catatonic aunt for comfort. Apart from the whole standing by his own power business, that is. ¡°Sometimes, bereaved souls cannot be made calm, so we have means to suppress them¡± Cairn said - another silence - ¡°So we are dead?¡± Alex said, not sure if that was even the right question to ask at this point. He spared Eric another glance, more worried about his own fate than Eric. After all he barely knew the man. ¡°Yes you are.¡± Cairn said, matter-of-factly. For some reason, the finality of the answer made Alex relax. Dead he thought. At least he still felt fine. Did he feel fine? Nothing seemed out of place or different from when he had stepped through the gate. He had even eaten that piece of fruit just now. ¡°Given the circumstances¡± Cairn said ¡°I think this is enough conversation for now. There are matters we must attend.¡± Cairn clapped his hands and almost immediately, a door opened and three identical looking women came inside, walking in single file. They each wore a white unadorned robe simplistic in design. They would have been beautiful Alex thought if not for the fact that they were all semi-transparent, allowing him to see through them like hazy glass. One of these glass women walked up to Eric laying her hand on his shoulder to guide him out of the room, while the other two walked up next to Alex and Sophia, one stopping in front of each of them. ¡°Please follow these attendants, Alex, Sophia. You can direct any further questions at them.¡± Cairn said, as he gestured at the remaining two glass women. Alex wanted to protest but dared not after seeing what Cairn had done to Eric. Instead he meekly followed along as the glass women led him and Sophia out of the room. After a few minutes of walking silently in the seemingly endless white hallways, completely indiscernible and unchanging to Alex¡¯s eye, their group finally came to a halt in front of a doorway. The glass women turned and one of them spoke: ¡°Inside, your souls will attune a form.¡± ¡°Attune¡­ what?¡± Alex said, staring dumbfounded at the woman. is she amused? Alex was sure he had briefly caught sight of a smirk on the glass woman¡¯s otherwise impassive face. Sophia gave Alex a shrug before she stepped through the door with an excited light in her eyes. Her spirit of adventure was definitely not something Alex could compete with, but after taking a moment to steel his nerve, he followed after her. Junk. Everywhere. That was the best Alex could manage to describe the sight that met him. Various items, statues and ancient weaponry stacked from floor to ceiling in haphazard manner littered the spacious hall as far as I could see, which wasn¡¯t far at all as most of his view was blocked by the hills of junk. Alex was sure he had unwittingly just stepped into a hoarder¡¯s den. Sophia had already run off, disappearing into the maze of things leaving Alex alone at the entrance. A faint gust of air buffeted Alex¡¯s neck making him look behind him. The door was gone. Shit Alex thought, sensing his anxiety resurfacing. So much for courage. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. With no other option left to him, Alex began down a path at random making his way further into the strange room. As he went Alex began to note a definite theme to the items scattered about. Mostly they were ancient weaponry, swords and axes he recognized, but there were countless others he only vaguely recognizes and had no name to describe. Every now and then he would see a piece of armour, or a small ornamental trinket scattered about the floor among the mass of weaponry. A small curved sword laid out on an old table suddenly caught Alex¡¯s eye. He walked over, and reached out to grab the sword, but just before he could reach it a sudden child-like laughter echoed out around him. Startled, Alex withdrew his hand casting about himself looking for the source of the laughter. There, a little way off from him, he caught sight of a small form as it slipped around a corner out of view. Before he realised it he had begun walking towards where the form disappeared Really Alex? When was it ever a good idea to follow the mysterious creepy child? He thought this, and yet he kept moving forward compelled by reasons he didn¡¯t understand himself. Every time he would stop, unsure of where to go, the sound of laughter would ring out again, leading him further and further into the junkyard maze. This continued for, what to Alex¡¯s increasing anxiety, felt like a very long time, until he had come to stand still at what appeared to be the centre of the room. The silence weighed heavily on Alex. He hadn¡¯t noticed while walking but he now saw that the floor he stood on wasn¡¯t floor at all. It was instead a giant web of items held sturdily together by piling atop each other in haphazard manner. The sinister cold voice of a child rang out behind him: ¡°Aaaalex¡± it said, drawing out the A¡¯s and ending on a disconcerting upward pitch. Alex turned around and there stood a child-like figure with a dark expression. Its tiny hand grasped around the hilt of some weapon buried into the floor. Cold dread caused the hair on Alex¡¯s neck to rise. The child pulled with inhuman strength and the floor gave way, plummeting Alex down into a white formless abyss. As he tumbled weightlessly, the last thought Alex had before hard ground struck the light of consciousness from him, was whether a soul could die. Sophia looked at the door in front of her with excitement before sparing a quick glance at Alex. The guy really was a wimp in her opinion. He seemed frightened at every little thing. As far as Sophia was concerned, this was a great opportunity to explore something more wonderful than her boring ordinary life as an accountant at Holtmen and Wood¡¯s. Her boss was a chauvinist pig, so her career was really a dull prospect. She saw no reason to be frightened either. After all, why would anyone go to the trouble bringing them here, only to hurt them? She preferred to act sooner rather than wasting too much time overthinking everything. With these thoughts Sophia stepped through the door into the room beyond. The sight that greeted her made her heart quicken in excitement. She was in a veritable treasure trove of martial weaponry from every thinkable age and country. Sophia laughed giddily and ran into the twisting passages made by the piles of weapons. She had a fairly good suspicion what the attendant girl had meant when she had said their soul would attune a form ¨C and she could barely wait. It took her longer than she expected to find what she was searching for, but she finally did, draped across a halberd that was stuck halfway into a pile of swords was a belt with a six-piece revolver in its holster. Ancient weaponry is cool and all Sophia thought, but guns were used for a reason. She reached out for the belt, and as soon as her hand touched it her vision flashed white. She was standing back outside of the door, with the attendants staring at her with smiles. ¡°Interesting choice¡± one said. ¡°It has been many centuries since any souls were allowed in the throne of treasure¡± the other remarked. ¡°and longer still since this one was chosen¡± the first said Sophia grinned, feeling triumph swell in her heart. She simply knew her choice was perfect. The attendant who had spoken first spoke again, ¡°Please follow me. We must wait for your companion to finish his choice, but we need not wait here.¡± Sophia happily followed along. In her mind she had already discarded Alex as a useless man who could only get in her way. Alex awoke slowly. At first he thought his face had gone numb, but he soon realised he was lying in a shallow puddle. Climbing to his feet Alex saw that he was in some form of hollow, like a cave with no entrance, formed by the weapons and armour that had fallen to pile up around him. It took a moment for his mind to register but at the centre of the hollow sat a softly glowing unadorned spear, and the water he was standing in seemed to emanate from it in small rivulets that pulsed out in rings from its tip in a steady rhythm. Feeling trepidations at approaching something so wholly unworldly Alex decided prudence would be to leave the mysterious weapon alone for now, and instead look for a way out of this mess. As soon as Alex turned his back on the spear an unwelcomingly familiar voice spoke out ¡°Alex, Alex, Alex. You disappoint me. I had hoped you would be more¡­ adventurous¡± Alex had gone rigid, and he slowly spun around with a sense of dread. There stood the child which had caused him to fall into this unholy mess to begin with, a single tiny hand hefted on the length of the spear. ¡°My first choice went and got herself killed before getting here, so I am stuck with you, and you¡¯re stuck with me¡± the child said. Before Alex could react the child-figure spun the spear around and dashed forth so fast that the puddle parted where the child moved. Alex only saw this after the spear was already lodged deeply into his chest piercing straight through his sternum. Burning agony began to spread from the wound as he stared down in horror. ¡°I¡¯m not a bad person, you know? Just a little impatient¡± the child figure said meeting Alex¡¯s eyes before everything flashed white around him. As the pain slowly receded Alex began to become cognizant of his surroundings again. He was standing in front of the door he had entered into the strange hoarder room, except only one of the attendant glass-women remained. ¡°What happened?¡± Alex said, his voice croaking with the effort The attendant looked at him and burst into a ringing laughter, each sound of her laugh bled into itself with the next, like someone was playing a multitude of crystal wine glasses. ¡°You were gone for over sixty hours¡± she said after managing to stifle her laugh ¡°and I think you are the first soul to ever fall onto a blade rather than grasp it¡± Alex rubbed his seemingly intact chest, staring at the woman. She clearly knew something of what had happened, but she assumed he had fallen? The woman caught Alex¡¯s gaze and fixed him with a serious glare before she said, ¡°That is what you will say happened, if you value your existence¡± Alex could only nod in mute agreement. Whatever had happened, he could clearly tell by her reaction it wasn¡¯t supposed to have happened. Remembering the pain from the spear piercing his chest he would rather forget the whole matter anyway. After studying him for a few moments the glass woman nodded, satisfied. ¡°Since you took so long, there is no time for you to rest. Come¡± the attendant said, starting down the hallway. Alex stared mutely at her as she went. What happened to just living a quiet life? He thought despairingly before he set out to follow.