A Dip Into The Nether [Calypso Solo]

The crunch of debris and small stones sounded beneath her feet, eyes looking to the sky, which was barely blocked by whatever standing buildings were left. Her heart was tight as she traveled these destroyed lands, the resting place of Jefferson. She was surprised - Nobody had come to even fix the land up. It merely rested, being a big black scar on the lands, a reminder of something she had forgotten…

But she still remembered their panicked faces, knowing many didn’t make it out despite their best efforts. Walking and weaving through piles of debris, tilting burnt buildings, there was a purpose for the young demon to have come here, but it didn’t feel right not leaving anything for the troubled souls who died here, to be remembered by. This torn apart city, she didn’t feel it should be remembered as a giant black scar. What she was looking for, was someplace that was full of open soil, maybe a park or something.

Enough searching lead her to an open space, the looks of melted lamp posts and the wideness of the area put her hopes on this having been a park, though the discovery of patches of grey soil with small traces of plant life instilled confidence in her that it would be possible to do what she wished to do here.

Hours of time later, she had worked herself filthy, digging holes, having taken her time to put together the startings of a garden - At least someplace within the husk of this fiery hell would be on a better path to recovery.. The sun barely dipped beneath the horizon when she finally finished, the reds and purples of the evening sky being her only light to what was now a space filled with assorted saplings, flowers, bushes, and more, placed together to bring some life back to this place, the young Asthavon dusting off her hands as she looked around at what she had done. She did her best to clear up the soil so they wouldn’t be obstructed from growing, but she still feared that they’d somehow wilt from something she didn’t consider.

“.. Just in case.”

She got onto her knees, placing her hands on the black soil. She certainly felt enough attachment to this place for the wish to be strong enough on it’s own, and thus she relaxed her body, lifting her head, and softly spoke to the world,

“I wish for this garden to grow healthy and strong, so that this land wrought by hellish flames may recover and see new life...”

The energy streamed from her like a fresh breath in the morning, going about emboldening the plants, their foliage growing all the more lush, as even grass would be enticed to crop up from the burnt earth and flourish, until this place resembled more of a young garden than burnt remains. Her eyes softly opened, looking around at what she had done, smiling softly as she was thankful they would be alright for the foreseeable future.

The sun had thoroughly set by time she was done, a twilight sky shimmering above her as she would set for the main reason she had come here.

Her feet stepped on the fresh grass, walking over to one of the strengthened saplings, before sitting down and staring at the sky, the silence of this place proving to be both eerie and relaxing. Slowly posing herself into a comfortable position, her eyes would shut as she would seek to impose a state of meditation upon herself.

Why had she come here? Why, to put her abilities to the test - She wished to see.. If she could speak to someone. How or by what method, she was unsure, but she felt diving into the realm her own concepts would yield something, anything, for she did not know what kind of rabbit hole she was troubling...

“...Well, here goes nothing.”

With the cool night air and the loneliness of the area, Calypso falling into deep meditation wasn’t difficult by any means. She felt the plane of reality slowly melt away from her, more and more, until the dark warmth of unconsciousness took her mind.

Her eyes reopened, however she didn’t see anything she hadn’t before. An endless hallway of doors showed itself to her, a sight she was all too familiar with. She grunted softly, looking around the galaxy-like place, as the doors never appeared to be hinged to anything, to her it looked like it was nothing but empty space full of stars to her. She was trying to discover more of her element on her own, so come on, it wouldn’t hurt to try something she hadn’t before, right? Not like any shenanigans would break the place, as far as she knew as long as there were minds to make it, it’d be there.

Thus, she would move to the spaces between the doors, reaching a hand to see if it would allow her through. But.. Surprisingly, her hand was stopped by an invisible force. It was if there was a wall there, but as far as she could tell, no shadow was being cast on a solid object, it didn’t feel like glass or plastic. A force simply.. Did not allow her hand to move any farther. She tried the ground, the sensation feeling exactly the same as if she tried to cross the wall, an unseen force just keeping her within the bounds of understanding.

Only avenue she never truly interacted with was the ceiling, her gaze slowly raising to look at it as she felt her heart slow as she stared into the deep void above. It was almost a mesmerizing sight, any time she was foolish enough to look up. It was just.. An abyss, one that went on forever, yet staring into it gave the feeling to look deeper, and deeper, as if something to be sought laid at it’s core. She couldn’t help but stare, getting lost in it’s gaze…

“..Aahh!”

Calypso gasped as she suddenly shot upright, sitting in a star-speckled bed as she would then look around, until she sensed a gentle gaze on her, the demon’s head snapping to look down. Pseu’s large, childish eyes were gleaming, as her young form lied on the other side of the bed, silken sheets draped over her small body as she sighed and sat up,

“You stared at that void for too long again, didn’t you?”

Calypso looked to the side, face sparkling with embarrassment, “..N-no.”

“..Lying to a demon of lies, eh? Come now Calypso, i’ve taught you better.”

She hugged herself, looking to the side, “..I was trying to figure something out, okay? I.. I need to learn more about my concept on my own, I can’t rely on everyone else to build me up.”

Her eyelids narrowed as she would bring out a heaving sigh, “..My concept has just been a bit weird for me to really figure out on my own.. Like yeah I can travel between dreams and create things from desire but.. Is that everything? I feel like there’s more, more I haven’t uncovered. I want to learn more about what i’m capable of.”

Pseudologoi’s finger was touched to her chin as she hummed, clearly deep in thought, until she reached up and gave Calypso a pat on the head,

“Ah, your biggest problem has always been hesitance. Even if you’ve learned to accept the ghoulish aspects of yourself, that pretty little head of yours is still hung up on holding back, of thinking how your actions and developments will affect others. While it’s perfectly fine, it’s simply your personality my dear, but-”

“It stifles my growth if I let it control me.”

“There it is, I knew you were smart.” Pseu’s gaze looked to the side, sweeping hair out of her face, “..Well, if you’re looking for a shove into new territory, I suggest going to the Endless Soul Plane.”

Calypso blinked about three times, before tilting her head, “..You mean.. In Vicara? That Endless Soul Plane?”

“Yes I mean that Endless Soul Plane. Don’t give me such a brainless look, girl.” Pseu sneered, her eyes narrowed into slits.

“..Isn’t that where we drop off dead bodies to fuel Demon World and.. Stuff..?” Calypso seemed visibly confused yet unnerved.

“It’s also a deeper connection to Za Koa itself, as well as a valuable source of knowledge. Treading those waters could assist your little pursuit in seeking new understandings,” Pseudologoi shot her an annoyed glare, “And NO, going in the water won’t kill you. Well, you may feel like you’re dying for the first few seconds, but, you’ll be fine i’m sure. I’ve gone there myself when I thirsted for knowledge and a broader understanding of myself. It has purposes beyond feeding the realm, child.”

Calypso swallowed, staring at Pseu like a deer in headlights, her hands tightened on her lap, as she was uncertain about this advice, but.. She didn’t have a reason to distrust it, honestly.

“Well? Are you going to look at me like soft-headed livestock or are you going to go make something of yourself?”

“Y-yes! I mean, i’ll.. I’m.. I’ll go!”

As Calypso's presence left the world, Pseudologoi couldn't help but give the softest of sighs, her head dipping as a small smile formed on her face,

".. Good girl. Keep learning and growing. They're the most valuable assets in this wretched existence."

Calypso could feel the haphazard flutter of winged insects in her stomach as she touched to the ground, faced with the massive red ocean that was the Endless Soul Plane. She stood a ways away, taking a deep swallow as she would approach the blood-like waters, a heavy mist hanging over the sea, blotting out a clear view of the sky as she would approach.

“Pseu.. I know you’re right, but.. Jeez this place makes me nervous..”

Her tone was low and quiet, speaking as if she wished not to disturb whatever entity could have resided here. She didn’t feel alone, not in the slightest, rather it felt oddly crowded, the sensation only growing in obviousness as she slipped closer to the tides. She swore she heard whispering, and felt a multitude of presences around her as she stared into the water’s reflection. She felt almost as if she was at the edge of a panic attack, but at the same time she was eerily calm, the only thing betraying her pounding heart was her labored breath as she felt almost mesmerized by the crimson pool.

“.. Hello..? Is someone there..?”

Her body felt flashes of numbness as she leaned closed to look into the water, swearing she saw the shape of hands. It felt like she was being called, tens, hundreds, thousands, crying out to her to come to them. She had an odd sensation in her stomach, but it didn’t distract her from her movements towards the water, reaching her hands out as she felt a great many reach and clasp her flesh, begging her to come with them, into the sea…

Her consciousness faded, her mind going blank for a moment, until her eyes slowly peeked open, feeling terribly drowsy as she was lying atop something soft and warm. Her eyes slowly blinked - she could hear her own breathing, her pulse in her ears, as she felt so relaxed, so quiet..

..This is nice…

She rested like that for a little while longer, though sometimes interrupted her state of peace - Something snagged her ankle. Her eyes shot open as she realized several dark hands had reached out to grasp onto her, suddenly being dragged down into darkness. But.. It wasn’t darkness. It was a sea of what looked to be shadowy, formless bodies, all possessing blinking white eyes, wailing and moaning as they would reach out to grab her, to pull her deeper into their fray.

“A--Aaah! Let me go!”

The sense of relaxation faded from the woman as she would begin struggling against the multitude of hands grabbing and yanking her, touching and tightly grabbing at every corner of her they could grip. She grunted and yelled as she struggled against so many wills, panic in her being as tendrils would snake out of her body defensively, whipping around,

“I SAID LET ME GO!”

Calypso screamed her heart out as her tendrils would oblige to her desires, becoming sharpened blades as they whipped around, slicing off her assailants arms and hands as she would force her way back up through the sea of bodies, kicking, screaming, panting, and crying to get back out to the surface as the beings cried out and tried to pull her right back down again.

Her adrenaline-filled movements eventually got her to the surface, the girl panting and whimpering as she climbed atop the bodies that filled the space, squirming and fighting towards the black, sandy shore adorned with small white sparkles as the creatures attempted to grab and pull her back in at every movement. She tried to materialize her wings, grow her body, something, anything to get her out of this hell faster, but.. Nothing happened. Her body didn’t form the way she wished, not in this panicked state.

It was gruelling and ugly, but she managed to pull herself onto the soil, panting as she then felt a looming presence behind her, a wave of pitiful creatures having moved to climb out of their place reaching their shadowy hands towards her as they sought to pull her back into the crowd, Calypso shaking her exhaustion and quickly getting onto her feet and running. She had to run right now, or they’d yank her back under to do.. Whatever they wanted..!

She sprung back into action, running, pushing herself to run as far as her feet could carry her, dodging all manner of darkly-rooted trees or jagged obsidian stone underneath this dark, lightly shimmering sky. She ran, and ran, her chest burning, eyes stinging, as soon she skidded to a stop, falling over as she looked behind her, eyes searching the darkness for those beings, only even remotely beginning to settle when she was certain the mob wasn’t coming. She placed a hand on her cool chest, trying to control her breathing as her hand tightened into a fist, pushing herself upright as she would stand up, beginning to move in the opposite direction of the odd sea.

She knew that place was weird, gods, gods she was so stupid.. Maybe she did something wrong, maybe she-

“Oof!”

She grunted as she walked right into something, something very hairy. She quickly backed up, getting a better look at the thing she walked into. It was black, obscured in shadow, not much unlike the creatures who tried to drag her down, but it looked.. Different. It looked more like a beast than a humanoid, white streaks and outlines upon it’s odd body as it’s head was raised, pure white orbs for eyes soon drawing down to her, resting for a moment, before the massive creature went on it’s way, booming footsteps following as it huffed and bellowed softly.

“..Wait.. Something isn’t right..”

She got a better look at her surroundings, noticing a common trend - Everything was black, only given light by white outlines and streaks, along with the soft white particles that floated about freely. This looked nothing like the path she took before, it didn’t look like any of the terrain around the sea..

She walked up to feel one of the trees, though she stopped as her hand came into view. It was white, adorned with the soft pulsations of darkness, stilling her to silence as she rose her other hand. It looked similarly mystical, prompting Calypso to fall onto her knees, dipping her head as her pulsating locks draped her face,

“..Where the hell am I..?”

She had no idea how long she dwelled in this strange space so far, her only concept of time being what looked to be a scattered star and a shattered moon acting as any formal change in time. They had cycled at least three to four times, Calypso having continued her movements under the strange sun.

The only facts she had so far was, this odd place was filled with strange shadowy figures - some humanoid, some more beastly - and some places resembled familiar locations, though they were oddly.. Twisted, in a way, these shadowy figures occupying these spaces, most going about as if they were normal citizens, though there was the select few who seemed genuinely disturbed, huddled away in alleyways or other corners. She tried speaking to several of these creatures, those either she would get ignored, or intelligible nonsense would be flung her way.

She kept trying to keep her wits, and trying to figure how why she was here - And how to get out. This definitely had to do something with The Endless Soul Plane - Was this a place her concept had attachment to? Was it someplace she created? She shook her head, the former was far more likely than the latter, like who falls into energetic soul juice and suddenly pops a world into existence? Though, she had no apparent control or ability here - Her magic was.. Limited wasn’t the right word, maybe beyond her reach was a better description. It wasn’t that she was suddenly weak.. If anything she felt plenty fed and alive. There was just such an odd feeling of dissonance within her, and she couldn’t figure out why, like her inner tune was turned into a chaotic melody upon falling into this place.

As she travelled what she could only assume to be grasslands, watching the grass sway despite the sound and sensation of a fresh breeze being absent. Gods, it felt oddly empty here, the right details for such natural movements were here, but the soul behind it wasn’t. She inhaled softly, head raised, sitting down as she would look upon a field full of shadow folk, a few seeming to converse, a few walking alone, a few even holding themselves close as if to express tender love. She wouldn’t know - She couldn’t hear their hearts, it was like a brand new level of deafness to her as she slowly went onto her back, watching the odd celestial body begin to descend from the sky as she got lost in thought.

“Hey.”

Her heart damn near lept out of her chest as she rapidly sat up, head whipping around to find the source of the small voice. Soon she laid eyes on a little boy, couldn’t have been any older than 7, a sleepy look on his face as a finger hung at the edge of his mouth. He was dressed in pajamas, and had a good grip on one of her white locks. She was almost overcome with joy at the appearance of someone who wasn’t a shadow person, quickly reaching out to put her hands on his shoulders,

“AH! Hi! H-hello! Do you know how you got here?”

“You have funny eyes.”

Calypso sighed, dipping her head with a hand on the side of her face. First mirror she managed to find in this place and she looked like a simplified creature with pitch black eyes and swirling dark patterns all over her body. She was barely recognizable, but she had to deal with it,

“Y-yes, I have funny eyes. But, please, do you know how you got here?”

The young boy shook his head, frowning slightly, “I woke up here.”

“Do you remember what you were doing before? Can you tell me?” She kept her voice even and gentle, her hands trembling at the mere sight of this revelation.

“Uhhh.. I was playing with my mommy, and then.. I think I went to sleep.”

“Went to sleep?”

The kid shrugged, sucking on his finger as he blinked tiredly. Calypso sighed, giving him a pat on the head, “Don’t worry, i’m stuck here too. Want to come with me? I don’t think there’s anyone else who would want to help you out here.”

She couldn’t even sense his emotions, a despairing state for her as she was so used to hearing the hearts of others.

***

She had learned his name was Dariel, and before ending up in this place he lived with his mother. He was a little halfling, part demon part human, living with his demonic mother. She didn’t care about his blood or roots, he was a little child she wished to attend to, and help through this lost realm, even if she was just as lost as he was.

“So whats your name?” He asked as she had held his hand, leading him through a misty dark forest, her white abstract feet not ceasing movement as she looked back, face glowing with a smile, “Calypso Asthavon.”

The boy’s eyes went round with surprise for a moment, “Astavon?”

“Yep.. It’s okay though, i’m not scary, I promise.” Calypso’s voice slipped into weariness for a moment, though she noticed the boy didn’t stop walking, only maintaining his interest.

“My mommy calls themmm.. Ingorius.. Bastards!” He slapped a hand over his mouth, “O-ohh. Don’t tell her I said the bad word..!”

“Hey, hey, Dari - Can I call you Dari?”

The boy nodded.

“Dari, I won’t tell your mom, I promise. Secret’s safe with me.” She gave him a tender pat on the head, as the kid giggled softly as relief entered his gaze, “But.. As far as my family, I guess you could call them ‘inglorious’. But.. It might be hard to believe, but i’m not like them. At least, i’m going to try to set myself apart..”

The young child tilted his head - Of course he wouldn’t totally get what she meant, causing her to stop their progress, sitting down to stoop down to his level, kindness in her gaze,

“So you know how your mommy calls my family ‘mean’, right?”

“Uhuh?” The child blinked, staring her in the eyes with his own bright gaze.

“Well, I want to make it so that people like your mommy don’t think of my family as ‘mean’. I want as many people as possible to feel guided and cared for, especially little cuties like you~!”

She gave his cheek a gentle, affectionate pinch, the boy’s face turning a light shade of pink as a smile crossed his features, his head leaning into the gesture as his two small hands clutched her arm,

“So that’s why i’ve been trying to get stronger and prove myself. It’s hard to ignore someone when they’re right up in your face, yknow?”

The boy’s gaze lit up a bit, “So, if I get stronger too.. I can help my mommy?”

“You can do a lot of things when you’re strong! But yeah, you definitely can help your mommy if you grow up big and strong.”

The young child threw his arms off in a flexing position, holding his breath as if he was trying to flex what nonexistent muscles he had, “How.. S-strong.. Am I.. Now?”

“Oy oy, put your arms down Dari.” She laughed, patting his head, “Strength isn’t just physical strength.”

“But my mommy always says being tough counts!” He puffed, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, but what’s up here,” She pointed to her head, “and here,” she rested her hand on her heart, “Also matters a ton. You have to have a strong character along with a strong body, or else you’ll end up crumbling.”

He squinted, tilting his head, clearly not entirely getting what she was trying to say, but she patted his head, “Don’t worry, it might not make sense now, but you’ll get it more when you’re older. Just remember, developing what makes you, you, is just as important as making your actual body strong.”

[b]“..Okay..”

***
Several days passed, the two had hunkered down in a massive, hollowed out tree stump. Barely any creature dwelled nearby, so she figured it was the safest place to keep him for now. She feared for his safety - A few close calls with larger creatures and hostile ‘life’ got her increasingly worried for him. He was just a little boy, he didn’t deserve to be stuck in such a desolate place. He had a mother and home to return to, and plenty of life to live.

Calypso tried everything so far, from conjuring her energies, to looking for some tear or mysterious ways out, anything.. But to no avail. She was getting increasingly anxious, but she wouldn’t stop until this little boy was safely out of here. She didn’t even care about if she left or not - As long as Dariel managed to leave, she was fine being here a little longer.

Keeping a little kid occupied was a bit of a chore, but all the fun in the end. Though tag was a classic favorite, hide and seek was her method of torture today as days had slowly become months. She was the seeker today, her 103rd time. She tucked herself into the hollow, giggling as she called out to him,

“Alright Dari, you better hide fast!”

She could hear the little boy giggling and running off, unfortunately no sound of the bushes shuffling. He was always ridiculously easy to find, from his inability to stifle his giggles, to the lack of sound to drown out his own, though she still tried to play him up despite it being so easy to just pluck him up, just to make the game interesting.

“Okay! One! Two! Three…”

She kept her eyes covered, slowly counting her way up to..

“TEN! Alright! Ready or not, here I come!”

She paced through the woods, looking around and tapping her chin as her gaze scanned the forest, “Oh Dari, oh Dari.. Where could you have gone..”

She slowly walked up to one of his usual hiding places, a large twisted boulder, gently creeping up until...

“WAH! Bah, darn it, he isn’t here..” She chuckled gently as she continued on her way. He gave up using that thing as a hiding space forever ago, but she liked going up to his old hiding spaces just to spice things up - she knew he could hear her yells.

She jumped at a good few hiding spaces, laughing evilly as she felt she was getting warmer, “Ohhh Dariiii~ Little munchkin~! Come out come out!”

She kept going about, searching the place, though a sensation of worry formed at the pit of her being. She normally found him pretty quickly.. She swallowed gently, sighing,

“..Uh, hey Dari? Okay, you win. You can come out now! Game’s done!”

She called out, but there was no response. A sinking feeling weighed her chest down,

“Dari, i’m serious! We’re done playing! You can come out now!”

No response.

Her heart went ice cold. Did something happen? Did he fall asleep? This place was perfectly safe for months, there wasn’t a hostile being in sight.. He had to be fine, right?

She started frantically searching, bushes, trees, all manner of forms as her breathing quickened.

He has to be fine.

Dug through bushes, screamed at the top of her lungs.

He just fell asleep. He looked tired to begin with.

Her eyes teared up as she kept running, searching, and calling.

He must be fine...!

But then, her heart stopped as she heard the sound of labored breathing from behind a series of trees. Those breaths sounded high, soft, like.. From a child. She quickly pushed her way past the trees, only to be met with a horrible sight..

One of the shadow folk, towered over the child, hands pressed around his throat as he struggled to breathe, his poor little face paled.

“DARIEL!”

She could feel her throat shred as she shouted, jumping into the scene as she tried to summon up tendrils to slash the creature’s arms, but no matter how much she swung and slapped, it’s grip remained unchanged. She desperately pulled and grunted, crying and straining as she tried to pry the creature off. Adding insult to injury it didn’t even look like the being had a very tight grip on him.

“WHY?! WONT?! YOU!? LET?! GO!?”

Calypso screamed in desperation as she kept pushing, and pushing. Her hands were so tightly gripped to the being’s arm any normal creature would be long past bleeding at this point, but she wasn’t dealing with any normal creature.

“LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO! HE’S JUST A LITTLE BOY! PLEASE DON’T DO THIS!”

She cried and pleaded with the creature, trying desperately to make it reflect on the situation, but no matter how much she struggled, screamed, and cried, those white eyes remained unfazed, unblinking, as the boy pinned down below seemed to appear faint, gentle afterimages appearing as he struggled to go on.

“PLEASE! HE HAS A MOM! HE HAS A MOM TO GET BACK TO! HE HAS HIS WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF HIM!”

Her chest tightened, throat strained as she was powerless in this situation, pushing with all her heart and soul against this thing.

“LET! HIM! GO!”

Suddenly, she fell forward. It was as if she never was fighting against a creature to protect a little boy. She panted and coughed, slowly sitting up, her arms trembling, hands barely holding the black soil as she looked around.

As if in a puff of wind, the two were gone. Illness filled her being, as she wished to throw up, but instead her body slumped onto the ground, weakly curling into a ball. Something happened. Something.. Absolutely terrible happened, and she wouldn’t see that poor little boy ever again… She knew it.

What day was it again..?

She spent such a long time in that tree trunk, remaining in the same position, wrapped in silence. Ever since Dariel was.. Taken, she hadn’t moved from their old abode. It wasn’t like she needed food or water, she never felt hungry or thirsty or any yearning. The silence of isolation and trauma had taken her, a deep depression weighing down on her body and fouling her soul. She had no desire to explore, to create, to discover - the loss of the first and only being she had any lasting companionship with in a while hit her hard, an innocent child’s soul taken so brutally - and she could do nothing to stop such horrors.

She remained curled up in the dark quiet, having long run out of tears to cry. Her dark eyes were sullen, no light dared enter them, as her previously brilliant white body had faded to a deep gray, any pulsations of life previously witnessed having slowed and steadied, as if even her own body was succumbing to the brutal silence and loneliness of this realm. Occasionally, one of those shadow folk would poke their head into her home, stare at her for assumedly hours, before leaving. At this point she didn’t care if they took her too - She was certain she would never feel the amount of pain and horror that Dariel felt having his life taken away just like that.

She failed him, and her fears and traumas kept her from coming back out, to find another unfortunate creature to befriend and lose all over again in this nightmarish plane.

During several of her days of endlessly staring, she swore she saw someone out of the corner of her eye, but her gaze dared not adventure. She felt no hope, no light for now, as endless days went on and on, all she prayed for was that Vanyel didn’t somehow end up in this awful place to die.

“How long are you going to ignore me?”

She heard a young girl’s voice - it wavered with a sense of childish fragility, but had the naive strength and determination any child would possess, before learning of the world and it’s horrors. Finally, the woman’s gaze faltered from it’s position, daring to finally glide across the dark roots, to look upon a girl standing before her, dark locks and a long red scarf giving a sense of familiarity to her, but she barely recognized this creature.

“Well i’m paying attention to you now.” Calypso’s tone was dry, neutral as her eyes laid on the being, who had puffed cheeks and her arms crossed in response.

“UGH! You even SOUND gloomy!” She huffed, stamping her foot, “How long are you going to lie around like a sack of potatoes?!”

“I dunno, forever?” Calypso gently blinked, her eyes sliding to look away.

“That’s stupid!” The younger girl pranced over to gently beat at her head, “You’re being dumb! You should be right back on your feet and going out there to find a way out!”

“What’s the point?” Her voice was low, hopelessness bubbling in her heart all over again, “There isn’t anyone here. It’s a desolate wasteland, begging me to roll over and die.”

The girl was taken aback, but only seemed to get more angry, “That can’t be true! You don’t even know that much about this place, how could you say that? How can you be so quick to give up on doing anything?! That isn’t you! You don’t GIVE UP!”

“It’s all so hopeless now, though...” There was a gentle sob in the woman’s throat, “I can’t hear anything, I can’t feel anything, i’m blind and deaf in this cruel world that’s so quick to take away whatever good I can have.. I can’t even use my power here..!”

“So you’ve given up on Vanyel? Is that it? Is that what you're doing?”

“...” Calypso didn’t give the girl an answer, only tucking further into her wallow as she hugged herself as tight as her chest felt.

“Weren’t you going to marry him? Didn’t you want to give him a family to be a part of?”

“..Stop..”

“Didn’t you want him to be as happy as you could ever help him to be?”

“Stop it..”

“Didn’t you want to cherish, take in, and adore every precious moment with him?”

“I’M AFRAID, OKAY?!”

For the first time in quite a while, the woman sprang from her resting place, sitting up as she stared at the girl with a great, stewing sense of anxiety burning her chest, her heart, her breath, as the cobwebs strung on her being were torn, “I’m afraid, i’m not enough. Enough for him, enough for my family, enough for my kingdom, enough for anyone..”

The scarfed girl crossed her arms, her scarf endings performing the same action, as if manipulated by her as Calypso trembled.

“No matter how much I grow, I always have that stinging reminder... That i’m still just that small little feeble child inside, and that’s all anyone will ever think or expect of me. Like im trapped, being weak and vulnerable..”

“What’s wrong with being a child?”

Another being appeared in the room, the girl’s gaze lowering to a smaller, younger looking creature, not quite seeming to possess a concrete gender, clawed fingers grasping Calypso’s own hand. Their colorful eyes were fixed on her, with an innocent glow.

Calypso was speechless.

“Just because you feel like a child inside, doesn’t mean you’re weak. Children can see and understand things better than adults can, sometimes. And in a world of dreams, that sight is a powerful one.”

She was silent, her gaze lowered as she would then speak, “..I’m.. I don’t want to be treated like a child.. But I grew so quickly.. I don’t really know what i’m supposed to be.. I don’t feel like an adult, but I don’t want to be seen as a child either-”

“Then stop rejecting yourself.” The older looking of the two approached her, grasping her other hand, “Accept the childish parts of yourself, don’t push them away. You can only truly be enough when you’re present with your whole self, not fragments that you think others would like better.”

“But a better attitude-” Calypso was sharply cut off by the younger of the two, “Isn’t going to save kids like Dariel. But you must understand - That tragedy wasn’t your fault.”

Both of them squeezed her hands, staring her in the eyes, into her very soul, the two speaking in unison, “But if you wish to prevent any future tragedies, learn. Learn to listen closer, see clearer, look through the childish lens you’ve rejected, or the mist of this realm will swallow you in your complacence in the darkness.”

Calypso stared at them, wide eyed, a whimper in her throat, as their demeanor became gentle, “So please, are you ready to go outside?”

Tears collected in her eyes, her lip quivering, as she slowly slid onto her feet, “..Help me, please. I.. I want someone to hold my hand. I’m scared to do it alone.”

“You aren’t alone. You’re never alone.”

Eyes clouded with tears, her eyes burned as she blinked hard, fear raking her heart as the two slowly led her out of the hollow, until Calypso no longer felt hands touching her own, gently breathing in the scent of a fresh breeze as a sound met her ears - A young woman’s voice in the distance,

“HEY! YOU! YOOHOO, OVER HERE!”

Her dark gaze moved over to the source of the voice, but she wouldn’t have ever imagined the sight her eyes would catch. Two figures were in the distance, a woman waving at her as a taller, grisly man stood by her, his gaze following her own as both had their sights on her. Calypso’s heart was as stiff as ice as she saw these two. She knew.. Exactly, who they were.

They were two of the demons who were killed by that mysterious woman, so long ago.

She couldn’t believe it.. They were here. How.. How could they be here? How could this be possible?

Speak to them. Learn. Don’t turn away.

Though her flesh creaked with months of despair, a candlelight of curiosity and determination flickered in her soul, her feet moving slowly, but her gait came from a silent stride, to frantic running as she rushed towards the two. The man quickly came in front of the woman, as a defensive gesture, though such a thing would prove unneeded as Calypso ran into and gave him a firm hug. The man was in shock, trying to figure out what the hell she was doing, poking her head,

“..This is.. A strange attack.” Though his features were rather intimidating, he had a soft spoken, deep voice.

“It’s not an attack.” Calypso spoke through sobs and whimpers, her face pressed into his top, “I’m just so glad to see you again..”

“..Uhh.” The woman came out from behind the man, a finger on her chin as she squinted and stared at her, as if trying to figure out who or what she was, “..Well, ya definitely sound familiar.”

“..Does Calypso Asthavon ring any bells?” She gently released the man as she watched the two go wide eyed. Yep, that definitely was what did it.

“Calypso? Like Calypso who treated us before we…” The man’s gaze became crestfallen, lavender eyes sinking as his hand drew to his chest, the woman’s hand drawing to her neck with a similar look.

The strangely formed demon’s gaze darkened, questions forming in her mind, “..You're both long dead.. But why are you here..?”

***

She walked with the two of them, the three talking as they walked. It had been a while, a long while. Avery - The redheaded woman who had gotten decapitated during the attack - had told her that while she managed to find Akira, neither of them managed to find anyone else killed in this strange realm.

“..So how long have you guys been here?” Calypso tilted her head, looking at Avery. Somehow she wasn’t sure if the answer was something she wanted, but she dared to ask regardless. Avery’s face hardened, as the two were resting on a black rock’s outcropping.

“Years.” She spoke softly, as if the idea itself was hard to admit, “Hundreds, I swear. And we’re the newer of arrivals… Some guys been here for thousands, millions...”

“W-wait, years? That.. That can’t be right! You’ve only been dead for around a year!” Calypso was in shock at her answer.

“..God damn it, AKIRA! HA! I FUCKING TOLD YOU!” She threw a small rock at the man resting on his side, laughing dryly as she pinched her nosebridge, “You called me wrong, ya called me crazy, millions of times dude, but guess what? HA! I knew I was right!”


Akira just grunted in response, remaining on his side, as if they had this debate several times and he was sick of it.

The woman slumped back down as her laughter turned into a sad sigh, covering her face, “...He’s a total hardheaded jackass but, he’s my best friend in this fucked up place..”

She wiped her face, inhaling sharply, “Which, turns out to be a lot more fucked up than I thought it to be. Piss.”

Caly tilted her head, as she just couldn’t get this sinking sense of dread out of her stomach, “..So, what was the working theory on the time here..?”

“Well, obviously we can tell now - It’s fast as hell here. How fast, is the real question, but I doubt we’ll know for sure from this end. All n’ all, seems you’re going to be here for a while.”

She crossed her arms, tilting her head as she got a good look at her, “Though.. That begs the question.. How’d you get yourself axed, royal? Anybody who ends up here typically bit it in some way, temporary or permanent.”

“Oh I.. I actually didn’t die.”

Avery’s soft mint eyes widened, “..Wait, you aren’t dead?”

“I think I just.. Sunk here, or something. I was trying to discover more about my powers and I ended up here..”

“Wai-wai-wai, I know you’re a Danava, remind me what your concept was again?” The woman looked thoroughly shocked, yet intrigued, as she leaned in.

“Concepts. They’re Dreams and Nightmares.”

“Hmm.. Guess aspects of this place must be linked to you in some way. Would explain the body theatrics. You must be here in mind and soul.”

“Mind and soul?” She tilted her head.

“Alright well, let me put it like this,” She got a darkened twig, drawing three circles in the black, sparkling dirt,
“So the first circle here, is the typical person you see here. The thing about everyone here is.. We’re.. Made of memories of the dead.”

It looked almost hard to admin, the woman looking to the side.

“..So, you mean like..”

“It’s... Hard to say. You could call us clones or copies of the people who were alive, but.. We have their memories regardless. Same experiences, same knows. We just lack a soul to have these things anchored to.”

“People here.. Do you mean the shadow people who’re all over the place?”

“Shadow people? Hell you mean?”

“Majority of anything i’ve seen here is just.. Some person or creature made of shadows with white eyes.”

She gently took the stick, drawing a quick picture, “Like that.”

Avery put her hand on her chin, humming gently as she tried to think of the possibilities, “Maybe.. We see people here differently.. But i’m not sure what the hell determines that. Anyway, my stick? Presentation’s not done.”

Caly nodded, handing it back as the woman then pointed to the second circle, “So this circle, are the fellows who are either in between life and death, or fall so deep into slumber they bumblefuck their way here. Usually coma patients or really mental people.”

Calypso’s heart froze, swallowing hard as she knew exactly who met this description. Avery noticed her expression, “I’m guessing you met one and a ‘shadow person’ ‘killed’ them, huh..?”

She sniffled, and nodded. The woman pulled her in for a hug, patting her head,

“It’s okay. Most likely case, they aren’t dead.”

Calypso looked up in silent shock, “..Really?”

“It aint bright and shiny but, it’s better than someone getting screwed over and killed because some jackass wanted to bodyjack.”

“..Explain, please..”

“Alright okay, so the thing about these guys, who end up here by accident but still have connection to a real body, possessing a soul and whatnot, is that they’re vulnerable to any amount of crazies lurking about here. If someone really wanted to get the hell out of here that badly, they could grab one of them and try to merge.”

She drew two figures, drawing arrows between them, “Now, merging, is weird as all fuck. Anybody caught and pinned already is forced to merge, and that instantly yoinks them outta here. I’m not too certain what happens, but i’ve met a few guys who’ve been here when they were alive, and ended up dying and ending up right on back here, as rare as anyone still alive ending up here is.”

“First,” She drew two intersecting arrows, “They could end up binding normally with the lurker, of which they end up in a weird… Unconsented body buddy relationship. They share a mind and junk til the host dies, or the intruding personality takes over. Dunno, depends on the kind a’ crazy that gets stuck in your brain.”

She then drew two more lines, though they had a noticeable break in between them, “Then there’s the janky bind - they end up mixing up into one person. Weird as hell, definitely aren’t the same ever again.”

“And finally, the super janky bind,” She just drew two haphazard zigzag lines, “Some shit went super wrong in some way, like more than one guy trying to take the same person or some crap. That’s why you stay away from anywhere with tons of death on topside - highest chance of running into a ton of rabid crazies there and practically giving yourself a condition comparable to severe psychosis or some shit.”

“..Like where The Endless Soul Plane is..?” Calypso’s voice fluttered nervously.

Avery stared wide eyed at Calypso, “..Holy shit, you ended up over there?”

She nodded awkwardly, “It’s where I went to sleep, and I guess woke up in too.”

“..You’re either tough as nails or lucky as fuck to be in one piece, even if you’re a unique case. Those fuckers would tear anybody apart. They’re the nuttiest nutters to have ever nutted.”

Calypso gently snickered at the phrase, the woman’s clawed hand patting her on the head, “..Wish we found you sooner, kiddo.”

“It’s not your fault. I’ve been trying to find a way out this entire time.”

“Well, that isn’t super obvious to us, either. Sometimes, people just… Poof. They gone. Probably end up back with their own new body and soul, I guess. Dunno, this shit gives me a headache. But, I almost forgot, presentation isn’t over.”

She then laid the stick on the final circle, “And this one.. Is you.”

“Me?”

“Yep. You’re a completely unique factor here. Survived getting torn apart by nutter fuckers, no crazies could bind you, you literally stick out like a sore thumb with that shiny body and swirly whirls. Some crazy bidniss going on with you, and I think it’s worth figuring out. Hell maybe we’ll find a way out for you.”

Calypso’s eyes shimmered, “..But.. What about you guys?”

Avery looked to the side, uncertainty in her gaze, “..Look. We need to be realistic here. We don’t have any easy way back, you do, at least comparatively. So.. Maybe if you go about the place for a while, you’ll figure something out for yourself and get to go home. We’ll be with you the entire way - It’s the least we can do to pay back for your caring about and remembering us little guys.”

The young demon had a weary look on her face as she nodded, the redhead putting a hand on her shoulder,

“Hey, hey.. Don’t be so down. Try to get some rest, we’ll get back to it soon.”

Another day of just.. Walking, was ahead of them. That’s all they really could do - Just travel, travel and search for answers. Days trailed into weeks, weeks trailed into months, as Calypso traveled with the duo, though her pace gradually degraded.

They had taken a dark mountain path, the vast view of this netherworld visible, though the two admired it, Calypso was silent. She didn’t feel anything about the view - what view even was it? To her, it lacked color, it lacked soul, it was just another reminder of her condition- Trapped.
She was watching them, walking ahead, talking, laughing. She stared ahead, with doe-like eyes, gentle yet distant. She wearily blinked, a dizzy feeling to her senses returning as she blinked several times quickly, her gaze becoming unfocused as their voices, their laughter, slowly lost meaning to her ears, fizzling out into white noise as she saw them get further and further ahead, every blink she performed they became more distant, more blurred to the distance, until they vanished.

Silent, she stopped her movement, staring ahead blankly. There was nothing but silence - The loose tufts of grass at her feet swayed, but she couldn’t hear the voice of the wind. The world spun and twisted, contracting and expanding, as the sensation of a dull pain ached in her chest.

Calypso was too familiar with this feeling - She was alone.

Oh… They’re gone.

What am I supposed to do now?

I’m trapped here, all by myself again.

She felt the world teeter and twist around her, as her gaze gently went over to the cliff, the view below being nothing but a pit of unfeeling, pulsing darkness.

Will I ever get to see him again? Will I ever get to see any of them again?

Her feet slowly moved towards the cliff, footstep after footstep as she approached the edge, white locks swaying around her.

Maybe… Maybe if.. I…

A distant yell buzzed in her head, but she couldn’t hear it’s words, merely unintelligible screaming at the edge of her consciousness as she stepped close to the edge.

..Maybe.. If… I kill myself here… I’ll wake up..

More of that awful screaming burned in her head, but it didn’t matter to her here - In this state of mind, she had found her escape. Her heart glowed with a cold smile as her foot went over the edge.

“..I’m coming, Vanyel..!”

The rush of gravity tearing her from her place was felt, until a counter to such a force abruptly halted her descent. Calypso let out a sharp gasp, her mind snapping back to the truth of the situation as her gaze looked up to see the desperate face of Akira, tightly gripping her arm as she hung off the side of the cliff.

“Holy shit..! I got you, I got you..!”

With effort, he slowly pulled her back up onto the cliff, Calypso panting and lying on her side, Akira quickly pulling her into his arms as Avery skidded to a stop by the two of them.

“Oh my god, are you two alright? Ho-lee fucking...” She held her chest, panting heavily as she sank onto her knees, “That was so goddamn fast..”

“..I.. Wha.. What happened..?” Calypso was frazzled, tightly gripping the large man’s arm, her eyes wide with confusing, “What’s going on..?”

“You almost fell off the cliff..” Akira sighed, trying to slow his own breathing, “What on earth happened? We were talking and suddenly Avery noticed you weren’t with us and then we just saw..”

“Lets.. We can talk about this later.” The red head put a hand on the man’s broad shoulder, “When we’re calm. But for right now, we’re not letting you out of our sight.”

“I.. O-okay..”

***

Yet another sleepless night, Calypso was leaned against a tree, silent as she saw her companions resting underneath the shattered moon’s light. She stared up at the sky, though soon the sound of footsteps would interrupt the deafening silence. She knew who it was - after all, this was typically a nightly talk, it was more than normal at this point. Calypso didn’t move, she didn’t tremble, she merely sat, staring ahead as she felt that familiar dark presence next to her.

“Hello.” She spoke softly to the familiar entity, feeling a dark, cold hand touch her shoulder.

Oh.. I’m a little disappointed.. You used to act so nervous, so scared when I showed up..

“Yup. I sure did. But it’s different now,” She smiled, as the world fragmented before her eyes, “I’ve kind of gotten used to it at this point, you come so frequently.”

I suppose so.. Well, you know the drill.

“Of course I do. Go ahead. Not like I can stop you.” Her voice remained soft, quiet as she remained in the same position, a distant smile on her face as she gently braced for what was to happen next.

You know we’re never going to leave this place. It’s been months, I would even say years at this point, that we’ve been meaninglessly walking around, talking…

“Yeah.. That seems to grow more likely by the day.”

Aren’t you scared?

“Of course I am.”

You could try killing yourself again.

“Don’t you remember? Akira gave me a long talk about that months ago - Killing myself wouldn’t do anything but serve to put me through more anguish here.”

How do you know he isn’t lying?

“I trust him.”

Why?

“I just do.”

Seems like a terrible reason to trust someone you hardly know, especially running into them in such a strange place.

“Neither of them have tried to do me wrong so far, so I don’t see any reason not to believe them.”

Oh, but isn’t that strange? They’ve been so terribly nice to you..

“They have.”

Are you sure they aren’t planning to do something to you? Take advantage of that trust? What if they’re just trying to figure out a way to use you to leave?

“That could be possible, but I don’t have any reason to think that’s what they’ve been doing.”

What about last week?

“Last week?”

Akira. He was talking to that shadow for an awfully long time. He could be plotting something with them.

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

How do you know? It’s not like you heard what he was talking about.

“We were lost in the middle of nowhere, we needed directions.”

Avery was leading us. What if she’s also in on it? What if she got us lost to give him that opportunity?

“..I don’t know. That doesn’t sound like her.”

Do you really know her?

“.. I don’t.. Know..”

How can you trust either of them? How do you know they’re truly the people they claim to be?

“..What do you mean..?” Her voice had a fluttering sense of worriedness to it.

You come out of your shell, and all of a sudden two people deeply tied to a traumatic event that you’ve missed and thought about are suddenly just… Here. It’s suspiciously convenient.

“..I don’t like this.”

But it’s true, you know it’s true. You feel that creeping, icy suspicion gnaw at your heart every day, don’t you?

“...I…”

Several shadow folk poked into our little home throughout our inactive state. Who’s to say one didn’t poke through our mind to figure a way to manipulate us? We’re a unique factor here after all, we stand out like a sore thumb, why not take advantage of us?

“But we don’t know if they can even do that..”

Says who?

“...”

That’s right.. Who’s to say they or anyone here are real people?

Calypso felt the presence’s voice come close to her ear, whispering softly as she felt fear and insecurity claw at her heart.

What if they’re just monsters who want to use and destroy us..? How will we ever get back to Vanyel, following and listening to their lies..?

The world around her was melted and twisted, she barely could comprehend where she even was anymore, an ill feeling in her stomach as she slouched forward, covering her face silently.

There there, I know, it’s a harsh truth… But I just want to protect myself… I can’t be a naive little child anymore..

“Calypso.”

She jumped in her spot, a dark shape having kneeled down in front of her, lavender eyes shining in the darkness.

He knows..! He knows..!

“Calypso, can you hear me?”

He’s going to kill me..! He’s going to kill me..! I have to run!

She struggled onto her knees, trying to scramble away from the shape as her heart burned with fear, panting heavily as she tried to escape, but she felt something grab her arms.

“Calypso, please.”

Her feet kicked at the shape, the sound of terrified effort scraping from her throat as she struggled to get away from him, but alas her body was pinned to the ground. Terror tore at her mind as she was in such a helpless position, not again.. Not again..

Get away..! Get away..!

“Five things. Calypso. Look around. Name five things you see.”

She whimpered and cried softly as her eyes closed shut, crying out to whatever force to save her. She was helpless, alone, afraid, once more..

“Calypso, i’m begging you, please… Please do it. You need to get out of here, don’t you want to see your fiance again?” His usually soft, stable voice shook with a sense of worry and concern she had never heard from him before, a sense of genuine nature carried in his tone.

Silence stilled her movements, as she softly nodded.

“Then you have to keep your mind sharp. I know it’s hard, but please.. Open your eyes. Open your eyes and name them. You can even just do three if five’s too hard right now.”

Her eyes slowly opened, scanning the dizzy environment.

“..T-trees… Moon… Boulder… L-leaf…”

“Thats it.. You can do it, almost there.. Just breathe..” She felt the weight on her body ease off as she rested on the ground, her eyes slowly looking to see Akira, not the terrifying being she had moments prior.

“.. P-pers..on..”

“There you go.. Good job.” He put a hand on her head, slowly reaching down to pick her up, “..You haven’t been sleeping, have you?”

She was silent, gently shaking her head.

“Why?”

Tears formed in her eyes, “...I can’t..”

The duo walked up a nearby hill, the pale moon’s descent upon them. Calypso held Akira’s hand as if she were a small, sleepy child, her head gently bobbing up and down until they both stopped at the mound’s apex. Akira gestured for her to sit down, of which she followed, slowly sinking into a seated position, until she slowly lied back in the gently swaying grass.

“Can you hear the wind? Feel the breeze?”

“No. It’s so deathly quiet.”

“Can you hear your heart? Your breathing?”

“No.”

“..I see,” The man sighed, looking to the side as he shut his eyes in thought, pinching his nose bridge, “..It must be a serious disconnection.”

“..Disconnection..?”

“With yourself, with the world. No wonder you’ve been slipping into such deep, dissociative states.”

“..Dissociative states..?”

“Like daydreaming. Except it’s when you don’t want it to happen, and it isn’t very pleasant, just completely losing touch with reality. I’ve noticed you had a lot of those lately, severe ones.”

“.. I don’t understand..” Calypso seemed listless, mind fuzzied by so many internal and external factors.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to understand everything at once. I can tell this place has impacted your ability to think and function.. I’m so sorry Calypso, I don’t think it’s going to get any easier, but, you have to hang in there. You have to survive.”

“.. Yeah… But.. I don’t know if I understand what that means anymore..”

“Hey.. How about this.. Try to hear the wind. Lay back, close your eyes, breathe, focus outside of yourself.”

“How will that help me hear the wind..?”

“It’s more a meditative exercise than anything else. It’s to help you focus.”

“..Are you going to do anything to me while im breathing..?” Calypso looked at him, hints of fear in her eyes as his lavender hues tinted with concern.

“No. I wouldn’t do that to you. I’m indebted, and I.. Care too much.” He faced away, his tone fading as he had a feeling he was not the source of such fearful and defensive thoughts.

“..Okay..” It was a satisfying answer for the demon, shutting her eyes and taking a slow breath in, holding, and then releasing.

“That’s it, in and out, nice and slow.. Focus outward.”

She went on for several minutes, the quiet guiding voice of Akira aiding her as she went on, until she swore she felt the gentle touch of the wind on her flesh, smelling a fresh breeze, slowly opening her eyes. Though the sensation was gone as soon as it came, she knew she felt it.

“That feel any better?”

“..Kind of. I feel less scared, at least.”

“Good.”

The two sat in silence for a while, before Akira broke the silence once more,

“..You know, Avery almost bound herself to someone, once.”

Her eyes widened, “.. She did?”

“Yeah. But.. She was in really shit shape. Nearly went full crazy ass jackass before I found her. She was losing it, being alone so long. This place does things to your mind if you’re ill-prepared. Even seen the most headstrong motherfuckers reduced to shivering victims given enough time.”

“...” Her eyes dulled, “.. Does this mean i’m going to lose my mind, too?”

“If you were still by yourself, i’d say yes. But you’re not. You won’t be immune to the cracks and breaks this place will do to you, especially since you’re deprived, but.. We’ll be here anytime you fall into that abyss. To yank you out, even if you don’t understand what’s happening in the moment. We won’t let you lose yourself, Calypso, you just have to trust us. We’ll figure this out, I swear.”

The young demon let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes, “..Okay.. Ill try my best.”

***
They were up to walking again, Calypso firmly held by Avery’s hand as they crossed a field together. Her mind drifted, sensations of dizziness and confusion settling in as she felt a weight on her back.

So we’re trusting them?

“Yes.”

Are you sure? This could be another trick.

“There weren’t any tricks to begin with.”

How do you kno-

Calypso reached up and squeezed the middle of her face, growling softly, “Shutupshutupshutup, just shut up already. I’m so tired of it. Let me figure out things on my own for once, would you?”

Huh.. Fine. Suit yourself. You’ll know where i’ll be.

“I’m all too familiar.”

She quietly walked, Avery looking back at her, smiling sympathetically, “..Hey, you want a shoulder ride?”

“..A shoulder ride..? Aren’t I too big for that?”

“Pff. You’re a total fucking fry. I could carry you, easy.”

“...So do you feel ready to tell me about your sister now?”

This had been talk some number out of another number now - Calypso had spoken to Akira about her thoughts and feelings damn near always. The man never faltered during these talks, he had the patience of a giant sturdy tree facing increasingly strong summer storms. Today’s storm was one that he was trying to get out of her for months - Her older sister, the Princess.

Recently Calypso had lapsed into excited, manic periods rather than quiet and depressive, having heard the name ‘Algos’ and references to her floating about during her talks and tyraids. The demon was on her knees, kneading at the ground with clawed hands and wide eyes as she stared at him, gently laughing and tilting her head,

“Which one? I have a lot of them.”

“You know which one I mean.”

“Do I really?”

“Yes.”

Calypso gave him a leer, “You’re no fun.”

“I know. Can we talk about her now?”

“Ugh, fine.” Calypso covered her face, slowly falling back onto the soft sands they sat in, gently shuffling her feet, “..Algos was a big stupid smelly bitch to me and I don’t like her. Happy?”

“You know that I know you’re lying right?”

“...Nuh uh.”

“Your hesitance speaks volumes.”

“No it doesn’t, you stinky jackass!” Calypso huffed, her nose wrinkled.

Akira looked amused, “My, what language.”

“You say jackass all the time, jackass!”

“We’re getting off subject,” He put a hand on her head, “Let’s just talk about your sister, alright? It’s clearly bothering you.”

“..Fine. But you ask the questions.” She scowled lightly, “BUT. They can ONLY be yes or no questions.”

“Alright alright, i’ll play your game… Do you like your sister?”

“...Yes.”

“Do you have a good relationship?”

“..I.. N… Y… Too hard.”

“That’s alright. Do your think you and your sister are equals?”

“No.”

“Has.. Your sister harmed you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you feel like you deserved it?”

“... I don’t know.”

“Does she enjoy hurting you?”

“I don't know.”

“Do you know why she hurts you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Has she ever expressed any desire to control, or own you?”

“Yes.” Calypso steadily looked more and more shaken as the questions came. Her teeth ground, fingers digging into her legs as she hugged her knees, rocking back and forth.

“Do you see her in your hallucinations?”

“... Yes. Yes I see her.” She giggled softly, raising her hands to her head, fingers grinding against her scalp, “I see her so much, in the corner of my eye. Watching me, mocking me, waiting for me...”
Her voice fluttered as the creeping of paranoia poisoned her thoughts, laughing gently, “Sometimes, I feel like she’s seeing all of this.. Through my eyes.. Just watching my suffering, drinking it up, having a gay ol’ time on the surface.. I almost want to rip them out.. So she can’t mock me anymore.. So she can’t lord another thing over me...”

“I see..”

Calypso let out a gentle sob, but laughed soon after, “It drives me crazy, that idea.. It gnaws at my mind… The thought of her watching me suffer in this hell, thinking ‘Oh poor little Caly, such a mess you’ve gotten yourself into!’”

Akira covered his face, sighing and rubbing his eyes, “..Alright, so, I had an idea, but i’m not sure how well it will work out.”

“What do you mean..?”

“Remember how i’ve said I think your powers and mind may be affected by inner discord?”

Calypso nodded rapidly.

“Okay, good. I think.. If we figure out ways to resolve that discord, you can start going down the path of tuning to your power again. I have a place in mind to maybe help with this, but.. Im just a little hesitant, I don't want you getting hurt.”

“Please. Let’s just do it. Im up for anything at this point.”

***

The two of them stood outside a dark cave, Akira putting his large hands on her shoulders, coming down to her level to speak to her,

“Alright, listen. Inside here, there’s a tunnel that possesses a lot of reflective surfaces, it goes in a small circle. I’m giving you thirty minutes to walk in, and walk back out. If you aren’t back in thirty minutes, it’s alright, i’ll come get you.”

“.. Hah, ahahaha.. Are you joking Akira?”

“No.”

“What would stop me from walking around a little tunnel, tripping on a rock?”

“Calypso, i’ve seen how you’ve reacted to your reflections while under stress. They’re an avenue of projection for you. You see scary things, you see sorrowfully happy things, you see things that instill some strong emotion in you - If you can get through this tunnel without a breakdown stopping you, it’s a step.”

“..Okay, fine.” She chuckled, her shoulders bouncing as she did so, waving him off as she walked into the tunnel, “See you in twenty minutes.”

“It was thirty.” She could hear the man’s voice behind her.

“You know what I mean!”

***

She made confident strides through the tunnel, only feeling better and better as she actually performed the challenge. What did he have to worry about? She could handle this! She’ll be FINE. Light faded out behind her as slowly, the silence of a lack of company would settle, as she could see images of herself cast everywhere, reflection after reflection laid over the walls and floor.

“Hahaha, this is great.. This is fine.. I feel fine!”

Her voice didn’t even echo in such a space, nothing but the sound of her blind reassurance could be heard as she walked. Shadows crawled at the corners of her eyes, prompting her to look around ever so often, eyes wide as she would then laugh and shake her head.

“Akira you ass, i’m doing just fine.. Can’t believe you were so worried about me walking through a tunnel..”

Her false confidence kept her walking, as she felt the sensation of eyes on her as she proceeded, her footsteps slowing slightly as the sensation of a presence being with her growing ever more obvious, until she slowly stopped, gazing at her reflection towards the side.

There was a taller, familiar outline right behind her, the outline of a wide grin on the form as it crept behind her near unrecognizable form. She stared in silence for a moment, before realizing the figure was laughing, even if she couldn’t hear it.

“Ha.. Ha ha ha, I know right? Very funny, very fucking funny Algos. Is that all I am to you, an amusing little plaything?”

Calypso hopelessly laughed as she approached the mirror, watching the featureless figure continue to laugh.

“Stop laughing. Did you even hear what I said?”

She only saw the figure laugh harder. Her body tensed, teeth grinding as her hand turned into claws,

“You can hear me, you just don’t want to listen… You never listen..”

The laughing only got harder, and harder as Calypso then slammed her hand against the reflective surface, “I did all I could for you, and how do you repay me..? You steal my body, my peace of mind, my sense of security.. How can you be so high and mighty while also being so ungrateful..?”

Her claws left deep scratches in the surface as she sunk to the ground, gently laughing as she pressed her head against the mirror, “I should be the high and mighty one.. I’m so much better than you… So why.. Can’t I show it..?”

Suddenly the scene changed. It was the street of Minatumi - The day Algos attacked the city. The familiarity of the scene immediately triggered anxiety in the demon, the girl beginning to hyperventilate as her eyes scanned the familiar terrain, however something was different.. She was standing, she was doing things, someone tied in chains in the background..

This was Algos’ perspective.

Calypso fell to the floor immediately as a strong wave of illness hitting her as she gagged, feeling a disgusting sensation in her throat, before wheezing and spilling her guts.

However, it wasnt any liquid substance - It was hair, pure white hair.

Calypso was horrified, especially in that it didn’t come out by itself. She grabbed the white locks, pulling and pulling, trying to get the disgusting sight out of her body, but it just kept coming. She felt sickened terror as it just didn’t stop.

Her surroundings were filled with laughing figures, surrounding her, mocking her as she struggled to rip out the hair from her throat, tears rolling down her face as she wanted to scream at them to stop, but was silenced by the blockage. She mentally begged for it to just end already, to stop, she wanted her to stop doing this - to stop hurting her already. She suddenly stopped pulling hair out of her throat, lifting her claws to stare at them.

Hey.. If this is Algos’ fault, why not punish her?

She slowly reached her claws to her own eyes, the tips gently touching her flesh.

Take away her sight.. She won’t be laughing if she can’t see…

Her fingers curled, mentally prepared to scratch, to claw, to gouge.

Punish her how she punished us.. If she’s going to be ungrateful, we’ll be ungrateful right back!

She began pressing down, penetrating her flesh, but…

Someone grabbed her arms before she could do it. Her throat no longer felt blocked by hair, her gasps filling the silence as her hands were pulled down. What she saw, was an image of her mother, Mana, however she lacked a face. She was holding her arms down, Calypso’s gaze slowly looking down to see how strained and ready to dig out her own eyes said hands were. Her shaky gaze slowly looked back at the figure’s faceless head, an ugly frown on her features.

“..Why… Why didn’t you stop her..?”

Her voice was weak, trembling as she asked, “You had to have known.. You had to have known what she did to me.. So why.. Didn’t you stop her..?”

She sniffled, tears dripping to the ground in droves, “I needed you.. I needed you so much.. So why didn’t you come..? Why didn’t you..?”

The figure would reach out, pulling the girl into a close girl, as if to communicate an apology. Calypso’s eyes were watering as this was reminiscent of a familiar scene.

“Why are you hugging me..?” Her voice was low, filled with a sob, “I thought I was trash to you. I thought I didn’t matter. I came out wrong, didn’t I..? Isn't that why you abandoned me?”

The tender hug only grew closer.

Calypso released a long, sad laugh, as her arms reached out to hug the figure back.

“...What am I saying.. We’ve been through this.. I guess… This family is cursed.. But… If i’m facing that now… I want to be the last one to face it.. I don’t want anyone else.. Going through this pain..”

She let out a long, long sigh,

“..I want to end this curse… This curse of madness and pain…”

She pressed against the figure’s chest, her breath steadying, the sensation of warm, white flames licking her flesh,

“.. Even if you’ve committed so much wrong, to me, to others, I can’t help but love you as a mother…”

“..I love you mama.. I want to make it all better, for all of us.”

***

She swore she was being carried, confused of what was happening to her until she saw the dull light of the outside. Gently, she was propped up on a rock, a figure slowly sitting down next to her.

“..Akira…?”

“You did your best. Did you learn anything?”

“..Im not.. Even sure how to begin.”

“It’s alright. You were down there for an hour.”

“..I thought you said thirty minutes..”

“Sounded like you were working through something heavy, I didn’t want to interrupt unless it got dangerous, but you managed to stop yourself, so that’s good.”

“.. I’m tired.”

“Then rest.”

“O.. kay…” She felt her eyes heavy, a sensation she hadn’t felt in such a long time. She heard something, a gentle howl that touched her flesh, along with the sound of something rhythmically heating.

“..Did.. You say something.. Aki...r…” Her eyes fluttered shut, consciousness slipping from her, finally, for the first time in years.

She could hear the sound of her breathing, water raining down as she rested in the inky darkness of sleep. Every individual drop was picked up by her ears, splashing against endless pools, as she slowly opened her eyes. Water droplets hit her face as she slowly sat up, looking around. Her surroundings were black, though there were endless pools of white, glowing water all around her. The darkness acted almost like a constructive influence, guiding this white, glowing water down into bigger and bigger pools.

Though the calming sound of drips and roars filled the space, Calypso herself did not speak. In silent wonderment, she followed the streaks of graceful, pulsating white upon the guiding, shaped darkness, hearing the sound of her footsteps as she went along. A peaceful echo, marking progress, as Calypso calmly shut her eyes, lifted her head, and let out a sigh as she continued her way, until she came upon a massive lake.

Light and darkness swirled in it’s depths, though at times they didn’t act together gracefully, losing harmony at points as she watched. She had noticed similar lapses, as at points the water did not drip the same way it had previously at points, skipping a beat or doing multiple too quickly. The occasional visual or audio inconsistency popped up, but the demon had no idea what any of this could mean.

But.. She didn’t care right now. She felt calm, this was the most relaxed she had been in a while, slowly reaching her hand into the pool with great curiosity. Her hand caused the surface of the water to ripple, further jumbling the harmony within this place, and in return she was met with the sensation of burning.

Her hand burned, pulling it out of the water did she see it engulfed in white flames. She couldn’t scream, rather she whimpered, her hand tensing and untensing, though the longer she looked at the flames, the calmer she felt. She soon didn’t feel any pain, as the flames wrapped around her body, acting as an embrace.

Do you remember me?

I think so.

Do you know where this is?

I’m not sure, but it’s nice.

Do you remember your mission?

..To leave the Nether, right?

Yeah, but what was your plan after you leave?

It was.. To.. To… I.. I can’t remember.

You can do it. You can remember.

I.. I wanted…

The image of a man appeared before her. He was so familiar - his sharp yet caring eyes gently laying on her.

..Vanyel.. That’s right.. I wanted to get back to him..

What else? Can you tell me?

The… Kingdom.. The kingdom, I needed to get back so I can guide everyone.. To a better future..

You’re forgetting something very important..

..No.. I haven’t forgotten.. Mom.. I.. I need to help mom.

You remember everything, that’s good. So how are you going to do any of that?

I… I’m not sure..

Come now, you know me, you know the answer.

Calypso slowly brought her arm out to look at the trickling flames, watching them dance along her flesh, gently forming into wisps of flowers, opening their flaming petals as she felt herself begin to drift from the realm.

Wake up. You have to wake up, and open your inner eyes to the truth. Find your path.

***

“.. And then the voice was telling me to.. Open my inner eyes to the truth. I’m not quite sure what to make of it.”

Calypso lobbed another stone across the dark pond, sighing as she sat by Avery, “.. I can’t believe I was out for months.”

“Nice throw. But hey, it’s alright. It’s not like it was a huge issue carrying your tiny beanie body.” Avery chuckled, picking up another smooth stone and giving it a good throw, leading to a few skips before it ultimately plopping beneath the dark waves, the woman giving a disappointed shrug.

“Why do you always gotta call me short?” Her nose wrinkled.

“Cause you are, short stack.” Avery grinned mockingly, sharp teeth visible.

“Clam it jackass, i’m about beat you anyway!” She sneered, grabbing another small, smooth stone, and threw it as hard as she could. However, it ended up only skipping twice, losing momentum as it plopped beneath the waves.

“Oh how the prideful fall..” Avery chuckled as Calypso was a blushing, flustered mess beside her. She threw another stone, sticking her tongue out as it skipped a few more times, “And there’s thirty-two. I win.”

“Oh come on! You only won coz you distracted me!” Calypso hissed with annoyance.

“I dunno, maybe you shouldn’t have let yourself get distracted.”

Calypso was puffed, but she soon settled into laughter, sighing as she sank down, her head lifted as she thought for a moment, “..I just.. I’m trying to figure out all of this. It’s so confusing, and new..”

“Hey, it’s okay. We literally have all the time in the world to figure it out.” The red head smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder as she looked her in the eyes, “I’m just happy you finally got some sleep. You really were losing it, but now it’s real easy to just sit down and talk to you without you floating off into hell vodka-laced La La Land.”

“Man I could go for some alcohol,” Calypso sighed, “Or any drink. Or any food. I kind of miss food.”

“Fuck yeah.. I miss ice cream, and hamburgers.” The woman lied on her side in the grass, seeming wistful towards the inability to have her favorite things.

Calypso chuckled, giving her a pat on the hip, “..Well, if we ever end up back together topside, i’ll figure out how to get you a killer hamburger.”

Avery tiredly sighed, “God i’d want that. Hell yeah that sounds nice…”

A tender smile was on her features, as she would lie down, in thought about her dream, “..I just.. I have to figure out how to ‘wake’ myself up. Hell, maybe it’s my way out.”

“I’d be over the stupid shattered moon like a bucking-mad ass if that was true.”