33 A Magnificent Message (1/2)

The starry sky appeared bleaker the longer he looked at it; after all, it wasn't even real in the first place. Reed woke up not too long ago and had slipped out of the spire for a spell. He needed some time to think, to breathe, and to reflect on what he learned.

Reed shot up into the air like a rocket, hurtling into the deep blue, intent on reaching out into the great beyond. He'd been flying for several minutes at a monstrous speed into the upper atmosphere but eventually came to a crashing halt; he found himself unable to fly any further.

There was a mysterious, fog wall that stretched out across endlessly. After many attempts at passing through the massive fog wall, Reed concluded that it was impossible to go past it using conventional means. Every time he tried getting through it, he'd end up getting redirected back where he started.

Reed knew that there was some mechanism or property inherent to the damned wall that allowed it to bend the fabric of space, he just couldn't understand how it worked. It curved space-time in such a manner that anything that tried leaving would end up back at their point of origin as if it were a giant mobius strip of sorts.

”So, the dome truly does exist. The sky itself is nothing more than an illusion, albeit an impressive one,” Reed thought to himself. Who could have ever imagined that such a thing was even possible? He suddenly wished he'd never learned the truth; it completely ruined his mood.

Reed stopped channeling Anima into his body and let gravity do what it did best — he plummeted down like a shooting star — passing through a sea of clouds on his way back to the ground.

He closed his eyes and counted backward from ten as he continued to fall aimlessly. Many thoughts raced through his mind as he fell: His future, the responsibility he'd been entrusted with and the immense weight that came along with it.

Eight.

Reed tore through the sky as the surrounding wind screeched like nails on a chalkboard. He instinctively channeled Anima into his body as he fell. A distant, almost imperceptible speck of light fell down from heaven.

Seven.

Why was he brought over to this world by the black shadow? What was his purpose in this world supposed to be? Reed felt lost; a tinge of anxiety sprouted up within him, but he quickly banished the feeling into oblivion. He denied himself the luxury of feelings and purged his mind of any unnecessary thoughts.

Four.

The shining meteor continued falling down, marking the firmament up above with a brilliant streak of golden light as it passed through the sky. Waves of turbulent, dense Anima formed around the meteor as it reached the ground, provoking dramatic transformations in the weather.

It was fine. He'd focus on the task at hand and put everything else on hold. Surviving was priority one for Reed. Nothing else mattered. That was he told himself, at least. The words rang hollow, but he pushed aside his conscience and resolved himself once more.

Two.

The meteor descended upon the earth with great velocity as it approached its final destination. Booming thunder and pouring rain heralded the arrival of the fallen star and then, suddenly, silence reigned across the frozen taiga.

One.

The earth trembled in fear, amber flames shot up into the sky, and the echo of a terrible explosion resounded across the land. A horrifying shock wave spread and turned everything within a five-mile range into dust and hot ash.

Everything came to a halt in the forests and plains that had been close to the impact. For miles upon miles, all manner of creatures stopped dead in their tracks. Even most ferocious predators of the forest flinched and kept quiet as they waited for something to happen...

”...”

”Where have you been, bud? We came over to check on you after Maya told us what happened to you,” asked Astor. Everyone had tagged along with him after they heard that Reed had fallen ill.

”Oh, you know... here and there. I went outside to get some fresh air,” Reed said. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders as if they had caught him red-handed.

The group looked concerned as they inspected Reed from head to toe, peppering him with questions about this and that. Reed knew they meant well and reassured them that it was merely a headache that got to him, that he slept it away and he was feeling better.

”You sure, man? If it comes down to it, you should still get yourself checked out just in case,” Horatio replied. ”The Spire's medical facilities are top of the line, even by the most elite standards.”

”Mhm, I'll do that later,” Reed said. If paying the doctors a visit would assuage his friends' fears a bit, he'd play along for their sakes. He doubted they'd be able to explain anything about his... unique condition, though.

Astrid perked up when she heard Reed's response and said, ”For now, why don't we go the usual spot and go over what we've learned?” She jerked her head towards Astor's room and everyone regroup at their unofficial home base (to a certain prince's great consternation). He hated how these bastards kept eating his rations every time they came over.

Once everyone had settled into their usual spots, the Council of Sages started their discussion. The topic? Axtorius's mind-shattering lecture and their thoughts about the terrible can of worms they'd been given, so to speak.

”What do you think about it all, bud? Have any pressing concerns about our new arrangement? You look awfully calm given everything that we've learned,” asked Astor. He grabbed Reed's shoulder and closed the distance between them.

”Even Horatio couldn't keep his steely expression after all of that,” he whispered in a soft voice. Astor had still spoken loud enough that Horatio had heard what he said and snorted in denial. He roughly pulled Astor off of Reed and put him in a cobra twist in retaliation.

”I don't know where to even start... The fact that we're living in a cage to keep out the Infestation is depressing as all hell. It all seems like a big joke to me, if I had to be perfectly honest. A terrible joke that's become a reality...” he replied.

Sebastian nodded and said, ”Yeah, that's pretty much on point. In short: We're fucked. Not only that but from the very start without a way of remedying the situation. It's completely hopeless.”