Had to write this. Crimsonpants is hard at work, and it inspired me to make something.
It’s all too much for me. But as those thoughts clear my head, I find myself sailing… straight. My boat’s not big, but it’s good enough.
I’m sailing towards… The forest. The swamp, with the cultists. The Forest of Cerunno was one of the only clear places left in the world. My brother had sent me a message, telling me to meet up. Mostly a concern for my physical condition, likely worried if I’ve encountered anything from the approaching fog.
Vega… Despite being my twin brother, he’s always been an older brother to me. He’s much more capable of fighting the wave than I am, and he’s been able to use his voice when I’m too shy or nervous to use my own. Using his strength to defend cities and the public while enforcing good… I’m astonished, actually.
And now, he’s using his strength to try and quell the invasion, even if slightly. Hunt atlanteans, take the risks nobody else will…
He’s so brave. I wish I was more like my brother.
THUD!!
My mind snapped back into focus. My sailboat had rammed into the side of the island, its hull bleeding wood. As a matter of fact, the thing was starting to tilt, like it was just begging to be sent into the depths of the sea like many before it.
Nervously, I stepped out of the boat. I made sure to keep my dress in tact, since losing it would be especially humiliating. Especially like that one time where I went into the dark sea with Vega before this all happened… He had to give me clothes from the sirens, which stunk.
Anywho, my feet touch the soft grass of the marsh, and the walk begins.
Away from the campsites the cultists have. Got it, heading over.
The cultists were on high alert today, keeping a close eye on their island. Thankfully, none of them looked infected, as the dark sea corruption hadn’t gotten here yet. Better yet, due to my lightweight body (And thus, lightweight feet) I was able to go undetected from them. Sneaking through bushes, I was slowly making my way across the island.
Eventually, I come across a camp. Near the northern end of the island, there’s a fire. It’s lit, but nobody’s there.
In the background, there’s a brig nearby. Someone’s going back to it, wearing a backpack. Their legs are clad in beige bandages, while most of their back is covered by an enormous backpack.
Those two things were far too familiar for him. That was my brother. I couldn’t reject that fact.
I find a place near the fire and sit down. In the near-distance, tents represent, and snoring can be heard. People are asleep, I probably shouldn’t bother them.
As I wait for him to come back, my thoughts take the reigns.
The sun, gone. Once a beacon of warmth and happiness to all, was now obscured fully by a sheet of clouds draped over the whole seas, acting like a giant tarp for all of life to hide beneath.
The world, drenched. Irradiated water like shards of ice fell from the sky, drenching any and all life in a painfully cold existence.
The fog, obscuring. Hiding the menaces which now scourged the war seas, humans with fishlike looks - and instincts.
Wild, evil things that are hardly even human anymore. An existence that’s probably more painful than ever, though I can’t say for myself.
I’ve seen what happens when someone is overexposed to these elements, but I can only surmise what it feels like…
Atlanteans, the menace once from deep inside the dark sea. Well, once they were stuck there.
Recently, strange energy has slowly been flowing into the war seas and these menaces have since then been flowing into the war seas. So slowly, they’ve been filtering into the war seas. And the effects have already been devastating.
Cities near the border of the dark sea - Palo town, Sailor’s lodge, Shell island to some degree - they’re being overrun. Imposing, massive creatures walking in and taking it for their own.
Once thriving communities of people, united for a good purpose and for a good goal, now massive cafeterias for these monstrous figures to feast down. Not on actual food, but on people and other monsters.
And it was crazy to think that these beasts could take down such stalwart, massive societies so easily as well.
It felt unreal… it was such a giant surprise, too much for me to want to handle.
A surprise like…
I could feel breathing behind my back. My eyes opened up, and I was still near the lit fire. It was the afternoon, same as it had been before.
I looked back, and surely enough, Vega was there. But, this made me curious. Why would he behave so differently? So strangely? This wasn’t like his friendly and charismatic nature.
I saw my eyes, and ours locked. Something about him felt off, they felt glowier. They felt like a brighter blue, not like the color he usually dons. Sky blue and not cobalt, like a red that isn’t bloody.
Afraid, I back up. His gaze locked on me, but his face was beaming in an almost sadistic way.
“Hey, sis!” He said in an ever-familiar way, with a never-familiar tone. It was deeper, like he’d swallowed a dumbbell.
“Uh-” I said, before gulping down something, “What’s up? Besides the polluted rain…”
My brother released a hearty laugh. “Good one! It’s really just been finding prey to kill off. Keeping these threats at bay, until they’re all gone…”
He gets up from his old position. He’s on his feet now, and… Is he taller? Is his skin getting darker?
“Well, that’s cool… Do you enjoy fighting off the atlanteans?” My voice is starting to tremble. I manage to repel the fear for now.
“Quite a lot, actually! Seeing the whole crew get involved against these beasts is invigorating, we’ve never felt a thrill like it!”
He approaches me and gives me a pat on the back. As he comes closer, I can’t help but recognize these dubious details more; his skin looks more rigid and scaly. Small spines are protruding from his arms and legs, few and far between. His bandages, the ones which reinforced his strength and agility, were now completely gone.
My fear was pushing for freedom, the butterflies in my stomach yearned to come out and slap me in the face. “Besides killing atlanteans, what else has your crew been doing?”
“Truth be told… Not much. It’s mostly the wave we’re killing off, we can’t let them get in and pollute the bronze sea. It’s terrifying, but in a pretty fun way. It’s thrilling!”
He sits down next to me, and out of habit I sit next to him. I can’t help but gaze at his body, something was up. Cuts and wounds were sprinkled around his body, but his scars and scabs were purple and oozing. His teeth, it was as if he was developing fangs. And his hair… Were those large spikes in there? Those hands… Are his fingers becoming claws?
Don’t worry about it, Corrina. At least he’s not trying to eat you.
Vega stares at me as he waits for another question. I look at my hands, folding my arms.
“Say, you need something to eat? You feel like you’re starving. Should I get something from my boat and feed you?”
“Uh, sure. Let’s have at it, you’ve always been a great cook.”
He rises up, his giant feet stalwart and menacing. I can’t help but gaze at the spines growing, and at his left leg - It’s growing a natural metal coating, lavender-gray in color.
“Alrighty! Let’s go get you fed. Why not make this a giant feast with my crew as well?”
“A large dinner with your crew? I doubt I’d mind it…”
“Gotcha. I’ll come back with supplies and I’ll cook something up.”
He quickly stomps off to his boat, much faster than before. On his back, I can’t help but realize that there are some more spikes there. But unlike his frontside, his back has far more spines present.
What was happening to my brother?
Stomp, stomp, stomp and he’s away. I can’t help but allow my mind to trace a path of its own, to let those butterflies out of my gut, to try and pray that he’ll be fine.
What kinds of atlanteans has he been fighting in order to allow those things to happen to him?
Was he immune to mutation without injury?
What would happen to him if he was allowed to transform further? Should I warn him and keep him safe?
What could I do to keep the outbreak from worsening?
Am I strong enough to fight a crew of atlanteans by myself?
Thoughts whirred around my head like a bird on wind, searching for a place to land. I don’t know how long it was, but eventually he returns.
A frown decorates his face. He stares at me, clearing his throat.
My head raises, and I look back. I see his expression.
I ask, “Something wrong?”
He responds, “Sadly, indeed. We’re out of feed, at least something for you to eat.”
“So, we don’t have anything for a large dinner then?”
“No. But, I bet we could Improvise. I have an idea…” His leg raised, clad in a sheet of burning metal.
“What is it? Are you going to smash trees and take the apples from them? Rob the cultists for resources?”
“Those are neat ideas, yes. But the plan I had… It needs a little… how do I phrase this??”
I get up on my feet. “Robbery? Theft? Smash and grab?”
“No… It needs a little…”
His fangs bear, and his face twists into a demonic smile so bright it’d reach prometheus and scare him stupid. My body, frozen in terror, couldn’t react.
“It needs a little blood sacrifice, that’s what!!!”
Shortly, I’m pummeled horribly by his thorny leg and sent into the ground, burnt and bleeding. In a sense, my fear thawed and I was able to realize what was happening.
That next moment, I leap up with a jump spell and take off running using my lightweight body to gain speed and distance.
Heavy stomping ensues as my brother - now predator - chases behind me.
“COME BACK HERE!” He roars in a nearly inhuman cacophony of speech. I’m startled and nearly thrown off my feet, but I manage to keep my speed going.
Turning back, my brother’s smile is gone but instead replaced with a dark, dangerous frown. The scene was ominous, especially with how dark it was now. Nighttime has fallen.
He readies his fire - now bigger and stronger than before - and fires a blast towards me. I dodge it without any effort, and retaliate with two snow beams to attack.
My attack bounces off of his bulky body, unsurprisingly. His face was now wrought with terrible rage, his eyes curling down to make a hardly-discernible mutated frown.
I sweep low and hide beneath a pair of trees. He follows behind me, growling, and cleaves down the vegetation with his leg to get through. His increased size was starting to sting him in the back.
My head struggles to keep itself on track as it remains dizzy from his opener. He swings his leg at the ground, creating a giant tremor and wave to try slowing me down.
I find myself flung into the air in a blurred fury, struggling to find my footing. I eventually fall into a bush, making less than a sound as I land. I can feel him stomping very close by, searching for the small star of white light which was myself.
Somehow, he doesn’t see me. I lay low, trying to conceal my breath and noise.
Shortly, I feel something touch my leg. It’s his hand, he was searching the bushes for myself.
He tries to claw me, but I get out of there quickly enough and try to fire at him using a snow blast. He sees what I do and dodges, but he’s too large to get out of the way.
Another hit. Maybe with one more strong one, he’d be too chilly to keep up between our speed difference.
Despite being so large and formerly, so slow, he’d become so quick thanks to his mutations and further training. He could now keep up with my haste, mostly existing due to my unique lightweight body.
It’s not like I couldn’t outpace him now, however. Just a good chilling attack was all it’d take…
A circle appears on the ground nearby, and the environment becomes an inferno. A bright orange light engulfs the nearby area as my brother dashes through the flames, through the foliage, and towards me, unphased.
Using my magic wisely, I keep up my speed and manage to continue outpacing him.
He begins charging with his leg intact, like a bull at a conquistador. He’s plowing through tons of trees now, wrecking the entire island in his enraged, desperate wake.
I interpret this and dart to the left, but he’s able to turn quickly enough. I dash back to the right, and his charge misses me. I keep up the chase by picking up more speed and power.
In a few moments after that, my energy had gathered. Summoning my power, I place an aura on myself. Empowered, I Stare him dead in the eyes.
He brakes, and turns straight at me, eyes locked.
“Hmph. You really think a puny snowball will be my demise? You’re ready to meet an uncanny demise.”
“My goal isn’t to kill you, Vega Raye Anchor. It’s to get away. You’re becoming one of them.”
He was taken aback when he heard his full name, but his expression grew even more rageful.
He roars again. “That’s it. Make this easy, just let me kill you!”
That’s a clear sign of lower intelligence. He wouldn’t use such blunt tactics to get what he wants, normally.
He charges, and I create a wall of dense snow to protect myself. His attack hits mine, and snow scatters everywhere.
I’m blown into the air, but I used this to gain better positioning. I puff out my dress, slowing my falling speed by a lot.
I can see his outraged eyes glaring at me from below. He fires at me with another blast, but he’s off target by a whole lot.
That’s when I decide to launch it. Using my aura and a great deal of my strength, I fling a consuming snow pile towards him.
Unable to react, he takes it head-on. The island is soon covered in masses of snow, a mess of melted ice cream.
When I land, there’s no sight of him to be seen. He was buried beneath the frozen layers, struggling to get free.
Using this advantage, I make my getaway. Hiding near some foliage, I sit down and breathe a heavy sigh of relief.
Now’s a way to get out… How could we do that, actually?
I think, but to no avail.
The sailboat’s too damaged. Nobody on the island can repair it, at least without a fee.
A frozen bridge would take too long and be way too obvious. No.
I get up and begin trotting around, thinking of ideas to escape.
But those ideas were short-lived. A bullet pierces my arm, coming from the deck of the ship.
Vega’s crew. And they weren’t happy.
Crowds of lost sailors and lesser-mutated atlanteans come flooding towards me, glaring and gurgling with hateful melodies. Extreme stress consumes me.
Instinctively, I run off. Building up speed with my magic and body, I can get away… But not for long.
One of his crew members - one sporting lavender-yellow robes and a sharklike face - was closing that gap extremely quickly. They fire a shadow blast towards me, and they score a hit with perfect accuracy.
Now, I’m on my last legs. Barely able to maintain momentum after that blow, my mind stresses more and more.
Was this really it?
It’s ending here, isn’t it…
This stress soon becomes… a spark.
A bright spark. Something growing in my head.
As I’m keeping speed going and flying across the island, losing my breakaway from these monsters, I could feel a potential growing in my mind.
Before I know it, magic circles grow on my hands. I’m taking flight, and my legs leave the ground.
Confused, I looked down. Soon enough, I’m several feet above the ground and can see the horde getting smaller with every second I spend rising into the air.
The atlanteans of his crew roar with heavy wroth. Soon, I’m far too high in the sky for them to ever dream of hitting me. I check the surrounding area, and limestone key enters my line of sight.
While this happened so suddenly, I try to control my momentum and direction.
In doing this, I’m suddenly taking a steep nosedive towards the island’s shoreline. I try to brake, but it’s of no use.
In a matter of seconds, My face slams into the soft sands of limestone key. Battered, bruised, and bleeding, I gaze back at the burning, snowy forest of cerunno.
I sit near a palm tree, gazing at my hands. How exactly did I begin flying there? Was it a kind of miniature-awakening?
Did the stress flip a switch in my mind that allowed me to do something so new, so quickly? That’s so strange… But it means I have a more easy way to traverse the world.
Being able to fly over humongous ship battles… Hold on, that actually sounds like an extremely massive boon.
Hold on. Had I just found some sort of personal neuroplasticity?
My thoughts about flight quickly fade, and I gaze back at the island.
“So…” I speak to myself, “He’s one of them now.”
I can feel a tear ride down my face as I say that.
He was like an idol to me, and now for him to be a monster? This felt devastating.
He guided me forward, in a sense… but for him to be gone? What would I do now?
How would I survive in this apocalyptic world now?
Thoughts fly in my mind as I shortly drift off into a sleep, and pass out for the remainder of the night.
