{A/N: I'm taking my time with this story because I don't want to screw it up or progress too fast.}
Step by step, an ethereal woman made her way across the transformed landscape. From above the sun relentlessly beat down, but she pressed onward unhindered, her bare feet finding sure purchase on sun-baked stone and shifting sand. What had once been the Australian outback now bore little resemblance to its former self.
For over three days she had crossed a myriad of landscapes, each more twisted and corrupted than the last. From ebony rocks that seemed to drink in light to astral skies that pulsed with unnatural energy, each gate she passed spilled unfathomable powers into the surrounding terrain, warping reality itself.
However of all the corruptions she had witnessed, the one that worried her most was the Astral infection. It had originally manifested when the remains of a dead star were left to fester in the void. With nothing to purge its tainted energy, it had slowly twisted until it became a semi-sentient virus, spreading its influence like a cosmic plague.
Shaking her head to rid herself of those dark thoughts, she continued onward, she'd purify it once she was healed. Bending her knees, she built tension in her muscles before leaping gracefully into the air. Arcing through the sky, she landed with fluid elegance atop a long rocky ridge that had blocked her view.
Looking down the far side, she found what appeared to be the end of the crimson desert. Green grass came into sight, a welcome relief from the barren wasteland behind her. Beyond the sparse trees embedded in the earth and lush foliage, she spotted the first signs of civilization she'd seen since awakening.
Towering above the surrounding landscape, large broken buildings showed the devastating effects of the gates and their corruption on the innocent residents. The skeletal remains of what had once been a thriving city stretched before her, cold and grey amidst the vibrant greenery.
To her left, she spotted the ebony-coloured corruption encroaching on the city limits like a slow-moving tide of darkness. Checking to her right, she saw the astral infection cresting a distant mountain range, its sickly light painting the peaks in unnatural hues.
Taking a moment, she absorbed the magnitude of what lay before her. The remains of the city reminded her of the eye of a storm—a pocket of relative calm surrounded by chaos.
Recognising the futility of trying to stop the corruption with her current condition she could only release a depressed sigh. Shaking off her brief rush of pity she reaches out with her senses, feeling for the fragment of her soul she had been tracking for days, instantly she receives a response from within the city limits, weak but unmistakable.
Moving again, she makes her way down the hill, dodging shrubs and rocks as she sprints down the slope. Reaching the bottom, she slows briefly after noticing a strange creature standing roughly two meters tall. The animal reminded her of a bird with its pointed beak, dishevelled feathers, and scrawny legs, but something was fundamentally different with it.
However most disturbing of all to her, she felt no mana emanating from this strange creature. Curiosity piqued, she turned slightly and jogged closer, stopping within two meters of the large bird.
Taking a closer look, she noticed its beak and talons were crusted with dried blood, while small cuts across its body festered with vile, twisted flesh. The sight filled her with pity as she stepped closer, her instincts screaming at her to purge the crimson blight from the poor creature.
Reaching out slowly, she attempted to touch the bird, only for it to turn sharply and snap at her fingers when she was mere centimetres away. Feeling a small pang of pain shoot through her hand, she looked down in shock as a tiny scratch rapidly closed itself.
"What? How?" Completely baffled, she looked toward the bird again and scanned it for mana. Still, she felt nothing from the creature, meaning it had injured her through sheer physical strength alone.
"Hahaha," she chuckled softly to herself, before quickly stepping forward and grasping the bird by its beak with one hand. Then catching its flailing claw with her other hand, she very carefully began purifying the putrid mana invading its wounds.
Wincing as her soul ached from the effort, she eased up on her mana flow and continued healing the bird. After a few minutes, the creature either realized it couldn't escape or that she meant no harm, because it stopped struggling.
Without the additional resistance, she was able to work faster, finishing the purification of the bird's wounds half an hour later.
Releasing the healed bird from her grasp, she sagged while breathing heavily. Reaching up to her face, she gently wiped away a small stream of golden ichor flowing from her eye.
"Dammit! I could barely help a mana-less creature purify a tiny piece of the Crimson. I need to fix my soul so I can actually help these poor creatures." Straightening up again, she pushed down her turbulent emotions and, eyes blazing with renewed motivation, began moving toward the city.
On her way into the city, she stopped several more times to heal and purify other creatures she encountered, each taking more out of her than the last. By the time she reached the city's edge, she was breathing heavily, cracks spreading across her luminous skin and ichor dripping from her eyes and ears.
Looking up at the last rays of sunlight dipping below the horizon, she grimaced. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she reached down to grab a sturdy stick from the ground.
Leaning against the makeshift walking stick, she took a moment to catch her breath while surveying her surroundings. Strange metal structures sat abandoned everywhere—recognizing that these objects had wheels, she theorized they were some form of transportation, similar to mine carts but without rails, perhaps closer to the golf cart she'd once seen the Golfer use.
Brushing aside these observations as unimportant, she looked down at the road beneath her feet. She instantly recognized the material as asphalt, though in a strange turn of events, it didn't seem to affect her movement speed as it should have.
'Where am I? This world seems so similar to my own, but... I've never seen anything like these strange constructs. And why is the ambient mana so unusual?'
Faced with question after question, fatigue quickly overpowered curiosity. Sagging against her stick, she fought to keep her eyes open while looking around for somewhere to rest. Noticing a building nearby with a gaping hole in its wall, she made her decision.
Moving closer with sluggish movements, she ducked under the low-hanging roof and squeezed through the opening into the dark building. With her eyes growing heavy in their sockets, she stumbled a few steps before tripping over something and crashing into a wooden shelf that tumbled over with a loud clatter.
Lying on the ground with her face turned to the side and her body covered in dried ichor, her stamina finally ran dry and her consciousness fled.
Unbeknownst to her clouded mind, someone had been watching her since she healed the first animal. Situated far away atop a crumbling high rise building, the rising moonlight glinted faintly off a scratched sniper scope. Behind the scope, a scarred man watched intently as she stumbled into the building.
Waiting several minutes to ensure she wouldn't emerge, he finally untensed his muscles and stepped back from the rifle. Rolling his shoulders, he grunted at a younger man standing nearby, who immediately took over at the weapon.
Shaking out his arms, he walked away from the edge and deeper into the tattered building, weaving between corridors and broken walls until he reached a set of stairs. Pushing open a thick metal door, he revealed an enclosed room with a small generator humming in the corner and numerous people performing various tasks.
Weaving his way around some children, he stepped between rows of packed cots until he eventually reached the back of the room where an older man with rippling muscles and grey hair stood talking to a younger woman.
Seeing the scarred man approaching, the older man wrapped up his conversation and turned to him. Stopping a few steps away, the scarred man saluted sharply before waiting at attention.
"Danny, I told you to stop with the saluting—we're not in the military anymore. Anyway, you seem to have something to say?" Addressing the scarred man, the older man inquired about his purpose.
"Sorry, sir. I'd like to report that I observed a strange humanoid entity leaving the crimson zone to the south of the city." Still maintaining his rigid posture, Danny spoke with utmost respect, his report quick and direct.
Sighing, the old man rubbed his brow before responding. "Danny, I've told you to include more detail in your reports when they're of concern. So what's so interesting about this entity that you felt the need to tell me?"
Fidgeting awkwardly, Danny glanced away, caught again with his bad habits. Still, he recovered quickly and continued. "At first I was going to eliminate this entity, but I hesitated. The being appears to look like a woman made of light and stands roughly three hundred and twenty centimetres tall.
When she entered the uncorrupted region surrounding the city, she immediately moved toward an injured emu. At first I thought she was going to attack or consume the bird, but after observing it for a few seconds, she approached and captured it.
For approximately thirty minutes she remained in place with the emu in her grasp. I wasn't able to see exactly what she did, but afterward she continued to stop every time she encountered an injured animal.
By the time she got close enough for me to observe her actions clearly, she had some form of golden liquid covering her and appeared injured. What truly caught my interest, though, was when she captured a parrot afflicted with corruption—the affliction quickly receded and the bird flew away completely healed.
Sir, I believe this entity is capable of purifying the effects of gate corruption."
Finishing his detailed explanation, Danny took a deep breath and stood waiting while the old man mulled over the information. After a long moment, the older man addressed Danny again with a stern expression. "Where is this entity now?"
"The entity retreated into a building at the edge of the city, sir." Danny responded quickly without faltering.
"Okay... okay... Here's the plan. Danny, you need to assemble our strongest hunters as soon as possible. We'll move out an hour before dawn and surround the entity before it can flee. We cannot miss this opportunity."
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Hours later, a stray beam of sunlight gently streamed through a crack into a dilapidated building, bending slightly in the dusty air it seemed to defy physics before falling upon the unconscious form of a wounded woman.
Absorbing the light, the woman's wounds slowly knit shut and she began to stir. Groggily sitting up, she looked around in confusion for a few seconds before clarity returned to her eyes.
"I overdid it again," she sighed quietly to herself. "I've got to stop using my mana until I heal my soul... but those poor animals." Mumbling softly, she slowly rose to her feet, her head striking the low ceiling partway through the motion.
Frowning, she tilted her head to examine the ceiling, then looked around the room. A low space stretched back into the darkness, filled with rows upon rows of wooden shelves in various states of disrepair all around old and damaged books covered nearly every surface.
"Books? I must be in some form of library." Curiosity piqued, she reached out and grabbed one of the random small books from the floor. Flipping it open, she scanned through a few pages but didn't recognize the language.
Dropping the book, she reached for another, holding the small volume awkwardly as she flipped through it as well. Frowning, she tossed it aside before moving deeper into the building while crouching to avoid the low ceiling.
Picking up any book she passed, she briefly examined them before tossing them aside, not recognizing any of the characters and unwilling to attempt translating them at the moment.
Reaching the back of the building, she was nearly ready to give up finding something readable when she spotted a small book full of pictures. Reaching over, she picked up the illustrated volume and opened it to a random page.
On the page she saw multiple panels lined up from top to bottom, each containing interesting pictures. Intrigued, she moved over to a beam of light streaming through a hole in the roof and pulled a shelf over to sit on.
Flipping through the pages, she attempted to guess what the characters might be saying based on the context of the images. Smiling lightly, she eventually reached the final page. Quickly flipping through the book once more, she memorized all the images and words to study later.
"This is quite interesting. I wonder what else I can find around here." Murmuring absentmindedly to herself, she made her way to the back of the store where she collected a few more of the illustrated books.