Chapter Text
He stared ahead of him. The glistening void calls forth, beckoning with its glow. The stars pulsate, the colours shift. His glare could burn a hole straight through, Yet the void absorbs all emotions. His anger seemed to be consumed but the inky black.
The towers stood behind him. The edge of a city sat just out of view, He had decided he needed a break, the eyes watched his every move. Higher beings have judged every step he took. Xelqua was warned of the horrors of the void. Every life who had fallen in had never left. Each ambition that was stripped from the victims became the stars. Heartbeats emanated from within the stars. That was the only sense of peace he could feel.
Xelqua couldn’t stand here much longer. The council would begin to look for him, they would treat him like a child again. Sighing, he took heavy steps back towards the city. Spires of pale yellow stone tipped with purple crystals. Ships of magenta floated above the people, the sharp spires threatening to impale the delicate ships. Yet somehow the city works in perfect harmony that they alway seem to miss.
The city stood upon the same stone used to create each building, yet it was unrefined. Holes littered the ground, thick layers of dust sitting that had been shaved from the tops of the stone covered all untouched lands.
The dust had all been cleared from the cities scattered around the islands frozen in the sky. Each island was a different district, with the centre island becoming the main hub.
Xelqua’s footsteps were cemented in the ground, his weight compacting a portion of the dust he stood upon, each step seemed to disappear more as he approached the commonly used stone.
His steps rang loudly across the slate floors.
Each step brings him closer to the tower in the centre. The only spire which is not stained a light yellow, the only spire which holds a glowing white frame. The head on the building held the only clock in the city. The council explained it as other clocks didn't work, only this one will.
The doors of the centre tower towered over Xelqua, He felt tiny compared to the arches. It was a given at this point that he would never be as tall as the others who roamed the islands. The council said it was a defect with his code, he wasn't allowed to argue.
The main hall of the building stood bright, the floors polished to a point where it appeared as a mirror.
The council had summoned him again. Speaking of a new mission he was to partake in. They spoke in distant riddles. Times of old and fairytales of the world. In this way the council delivered their orders to the short man. A mission away from the void he grew to know. Into the other lands fabled amongst the old
Be hidden within their world of green,
Gather information of their horrors
For blood is one hefty scene
The people speak of glitches
Of which you are one
And so help the world
For our games shall be fun
The lands of green had been nothing more than a scary tale, one which was used to scare children. Of which the original council had attempted to guide the humans that resided, Yet they rebelled against the council, forcing them to go into hiding. Forcing them to create cities deep within the void.
Xelqua had heard his fair share of the stories, the elders loved telling them. The stories became progressively more unhinged as he grew older. They went from telling stories of how the colours came to the world by the hands of the council, to how the first war of the divine broke out.
They spoke of demonic creatures rising from beneath the green, ready to consume the void. But the council had held them off.
Xelqua had now been tasked to stand amongst this world. A world he only knows through stories. Whatever reason had been hidden, just like every task he had been given before. But this wasn’t like before, Xelqua could not prepare to gather new items for the city. Xelqua could not prepare to fight a creature that threatened the younglings.
His thoughts had led him down the short walk of The Hall of Doors. This building, like the others, is a mere fable to the younger generations. He had walked down the golden corridor once before, during his first day working for the council. They had dragged every new recruit down each and every hallway.
Each door stood a different colour. Most Xelqua could not name, the young were only taught basics on colours. They weren't necessary to the jobs that needed to take place. He knew of shining yellows, malevolent purples, pure whites, the bloody reds and green. Green, a colour he had been told the name of, yet never seen. That's all he needed.
Xelqua’s steps came to a halt. Two soldiers stood tall above him. Their height being of what Xelqua was expected to be at his age, 11 feet tall. Yet he stood at the height of a child, being exactly half the height of his peers. The two soldiers greeted him with their standard words, leading him down The Hall of doors.
The three sets of footsteps were drowned out by the groaning of the doors. Each door appeared to have its own sound. A possible hint of what lay behind. The trio eventually came to a halt. A door consisting of a colour he had not yet seen, text sprawled across in an unfamiliar language. The closest of the soldiers to the door appeared to hold a key. Carefully slotting it into the door before joining the other to stand behind Xelqua.
The door swung wide, once again the frame was larger than himself. He felt like a mouse in a house of giants. All of his clothes had to be tailored, yet the tailors of the city refused to do so. Believing that Xelqua was a child, that he was not worthy of the uniform he must wear.
In turn Xelqua learnt to tailor his own clothing, if anything he believes hes pretty good at it too. His uniform looked just like a smaller version of his peers.
A quick stomp brought him back to reality. The soldier on his left had noticed Xelqua was beginning to zone out. His eyes focused back on the now open door. The room held two items, what appeared to be a map that covered the entire floor and a rectangle made of a deep purple.
The soldier that sat on his right spoke fast. “Memorise what's on the ground. It's a replica of what you're going into. We will know when you start to fix it, the ground will change. Once you are ready head towards the box. Your mission starts as soon as you step in it”
Both people behind him turned on their heels. Steps leaving quickly as the door shut. Xelqua as left in a room of forign sights. He could not explain what he saw, the colours began to overwhelm him. His eyes darted to the only item he knew. The obsidian gateways, it was the only item in the room of which reminded him of the void.
The bright lights became too much, taking a few large breaths he moved towards the gateway. Each step made the obsidian light up more. The second he was in front of the almost black stone flashed a bright white, igniting into a flurry of purple shades.
Xelqua’s last step was directly into the gateway. Nausea rushed through him as his vision blacked out.