Page 13 of Devastation
Come back to me, Ash.
Chapter Five
Ash
Time feels like it doesn't exist down here. Wherever here is.
I've been in this line of souls that seems to be moving by the centimeter, making it feel never ending. I've attempted to talk to people, but somehow they just look through me as if they can't see me. Or maybe they're just really good at ignoring people.
I'm left with just my thoughts to keep me company, and sometimes that's a good thing, but the majority of the time it fucking sucks.
Somehow, I knew the entire time I was in the dark fae castle and stuck sharing a body with Anshar that this is how my life would end in the battle to save Lana.
I wouldn't change a damn thing about it, even if I knew how things would end up. I'd give my life up over and over again to ensure that she lived and was safe.
Was my death in vain?
Was Erebus defeated?
Is Lana in his clutches?
Shuffling forward two steps, I focus on the two luminous portals I can see in the near distance. They have to be at least twenty feet high each and maybe ten feet wide. One is a swirling vortex of powder blue with a bright white glowing border. In contrast, the other is a plethora of dark shades of orange and red surrounded by a black border.
One portal to Heaven and the other to Hell.
How would I be judged?
Would I be judged upon my time while in control of my body, or for what my own hands did, no matter who was in control? Or would it be my soul that would be weighed? In that case, had Anshar's darkness tainted my own?
So many questions that I suppose I'll get the answers to fairly soon. It's not like I'm in a rush.
The path that all souls are currently on is a precarious two foot wide block of stone, with either side dropping off into an expanse of blackness. I see a few souls toss themselves over the closer we get to the portals.
Perhaps they know they are doomed and just want to accept their fate already?
As I take another step forward, I falter and almost stumble over the side of the path as I feel like a string on my body jerks me.
What the hell?
"Come back to me, Ash," floats through the air and to my ears like a whispered plea.
"Lana?" I breathe out quietly, not wanting to accept that she could be down here with me.
That would mean she is dead.
Once more I feel the tug, and this time it feels like a beacon calling me home. An overwhelming longing consumes me, like I've been submerged in the pits of Hell already. From within me, a burning sensation starts to spread from my chest to the tips of my extremities and I begin to light up like a sparkler on the fourth of July.
I have to follow this tugging and find out if it's her, but I don't know how the fuck to get off this path. I can't just turn around and run in that direction.
Fuck, could I just swap with the souls behind me one by one?
Looking at the stones beneath me once more, it seems feasible that we could shuffle sideways past each other if we're careful enough. With my luck though, one of these souls could be a literal murderer awaiting judgement, and he'd push me off the edge while switching spots with me to fulfill his desires one more time.
Stumped over what to do, a flapping of large wings in the air pulls my attention upwards. Wind blows over us in large gusts from the powerful beating of the black wings I see. Narrowing my eyes, I zero in on the small bundle that is carried in his arms.
A glint of copper makes me want to fall to my knees in despair.
She's here. I failed her.
