6 The Isle of Infinity (2/2)
Reed felt a chill run down his spine when he locked eyes with her for the first time. Her eyes that glittered with amusement gave away her true intentions, despite her best efforts in maintaining her poker face.
He knew at the moment that he had lost to a superior actor, someone who had mastered the art of bullshitting. ”As expected of a noble lady such as yourself, Miss Dragoncrest. This humble one begs for mercy,” pleaded Reed as his eyes began to mist up in preparation for what was about to happen.
”No, no. Baaad Reed. It's Astrid, not Miss Dragoncrest, okay? This is just the way of the world, the weak have to obey the strong. Just accept your fate,” she sweetly said as she dragged Reed towards the edge.
Even Astor and Sebastian stopped arguing when they saw her dragging Reed with her towards the sinkhole. Astor yelled out, ”Stop, she-devil! I already claimed that boy for the North last night! Cease, you damn thief!”
Alas, it had been too late for anything to be done. Astrid ran at full speed and jumped into the sinkhole, Reed still in tow. Her giggling and Reed's screaming echoed ominously as they both plunged into the endless abyss, leaving everyone above shocked.
Immediately after, Astor and Sebastian quickly jumped into the sinkhole chasing after them in pursuit. Horatio and Ophelia grinned and jumped into the abyss, too, leaving the rest of the class speechless.
It had all happened so fast they had no time to understand what had happened. They saw Lady Astrid jump off the edge with a boy and then the other nobles rushed in after them. Who was the boy that jumped off with Lady Astrid and why where they in a hurry? Rumors would soon spread about the group of powerful descendants and the mysterious guy that associated with them...
Wind furiously rushed past Reed and Astrid as they descended into the maw of the world. Pitch-black darkness engulfed them as they fell towards the flickering light at increasing speed.
They'd been falling for such a long time down the sinkhole that Reed finally gathered up the courage and screamed, ”Just how much longer do we need to keep falling for?! How fucking deep is this goddamned hole!”
Laughter echoed across the darkness and a familiar voice loudly responded, ”We'll be there soon, man! My father told me that since the Soul of the World can't be accessed by any other means aside from these sinkholes located across Mulia! That's why even conquerors have to jump into these sinkholes if they want to meet the Will of the World; they can't just warp there like they also do for everything!”
Astor wasn't wrong about what he had told Reed and not too long after, the faint blue light that the group had been keeping their eyes on had grown significantly in but a moment. Reed's first impression of it was terrifying beyond description. It had the appearance of a giant, raging ball of flame. It wouldn't have been a stretch to have just called it an enormous blue sun that looked capable of incinerating anything in its path.
The closer he got to the sun, the greater his concern grew but found that this blue sun gave off no heat no matter how close he got to it. By then, he had found himself separated from everyone else during freefall. Whatever happened from then on, he'd have to deal with himself.
He simply continued to fall into the star's gravity and was eventually dragged inside of the colossal celestial body without incident. A blinding light forced him to shut his eyes closed for a couple of seconds until a hard fall forced him to open them again. The light disappeared and Reed found himself in a place that left speechless.
An endless expanse of tall, golden wheat stretched out across the horizon. The sky seemed like it had been locked in place because the sun would never set no matter how long time passed. An eternal twilight perpetually cast an orange glow upon the bountiful harvest that laid before him. A soft breeze carried the faint smell of salt across the field that tickled his nose.
This was a place that had not been by desecrated the filth of the mundane world. It was a golden landscape that did not belong to anyone.
No one deserved to set foot upon this land; not men, gods, or even saints. This holy paradise was reserved for a special individual. Someone who was... truly worthy.
The stars themselves shone brilliantly as he had never seen before in his life. They twinkled like precious jewels that had been put into the sky by someone because of the way they had been arranged.
The heavenly firmament had been rearranged to form a portrait of a woman. She was beautiful beyond comparison and was without equal. The day she died was the day that the world lost something irreplaceable.
Reed felt an indescribable pain in his heart that grew the longer he gazed at her. But why? He found himself fiercely fighting the urge to burst into tears and finally tore himself away from her smile.
He continued to walk for miles and miles through the golden fields but found nothing else of note. Exhausted, he laid down on a patch of wheat and closed his eyes in contemplation. Eventually, his thoughts began to drift and his eyes grew heavy; he had drifted away into a deep slumber...
A soft and delicate warmth enveloped him as he slept soundly; it felt as if he had been embraced by someone. It gave him a sense of security he had never experienced before in his life.
She held him in her arms as they laid on a patch of wheat. Only she knew how much time she had spent waiting for this moment. Now they'd finally be able to start the second act of this wretched play. This time, she'd make sure that nothing would get in their way. She didn't believe that they'd get a third chance, after all.
”I have to make sure to not mess up and ruin the opportunity that's been given to us, [ ].”
She placed her hand on her chest and a warm light began to flow into Reed's body as he slept. The world seemed to stand still as she poured radiant light into him, afraid of possibly disturbing her concentration.
Finished with her work, she held him for a while longer as he gazed at his face, doing her best to engrave his features inside her mind. A long sigh escaped her lips and she reluctantly let him go after a what seemed like an eternity.
Soft light enveloped the boy's body and he vanished out of paradise. As soon as she saw the last bit of his essence disappear, she faded silently into the landscape until she was completely gone.
Silence reigned across the land, as golden wheat swayed back and forth, but if you listened very closely, sometimes a noise could be heard.
If you pried your ears and listened closely, now and then a woman's joyful laughter could be heard in the distance...