Madoka felt numb. It was a painful, static feeling that danced along his nerves. A feeling that grew more and more intense with each passing second.
A low rhythmic beat shook the room. Sending pain through his body. Every jolt sent a flash of lucidity through his body. Clearing his vision to show the fleshy horrors that surrounded him.
And there was only one thing he could attribute it to in those moments. Hell. He was in utter hell. A hell that was so visceral that every time his mind cleared. It was almost like he was rediscovering the situation again for the first time.
Breaking his mind more and more with each wave of lucidity.
Eventually Madoka would notice the intense stabbing pain that shot down his arms from his hands. Slowly looking over, panic seized in his throat the moment he saw two twisted black metal spears skewering his hands, leaving him dangling in the air with the weight of his body slowly pushing him farther down them.
Though eventually. The pain he felt was slowly replaced by a completely different sensation. In its place, was a feeling of comfort so deep, it was near impossible to focus on anything. Even breathing.
His mind struggled to make sense of what was going on. Feeling like pieces of himself were breaking and chipping apart. His memories grew more and more blurry the more he tried to focus on them. Seemingly like they were being sequentially removed in a random order. Until nothing made sense anymore.
The more he pushed against the feeling, the more it intensified. Making every attempt almost feel like a fight. A fight that Madoka was well on the way to losing.
There were however a few choice memories that he held onto. One half faded memory of his sister cooking an american breakfast for the first time, and the resulting small fire that ensued. He remembered starting to help clean up the mess, talking to someone he suddenly couldn't remember.
More of the same happened with the next memory he could grab onto. The memory of when he first met Yuichi, all the way back in- Was it preschool? Primary? He couldn't remember. And that added to the sense of pure cold dread that consumed him from the inside out. Almost like he could feel it crawling around just beneath the surface of his skin. Digging ever deeper, ever slowly.
Behind the dread, was the feeling of emptiness, like whatever was effecting him was consuming everything about him including-including. Including what?
He had forgotten. But how could he forget? But, what was it that he had forgotten? Wait. But did I forget?
No, I don't think I did. I'm tired. Maybe I should just get some sleep. But if I go to sleep now. I'll miss it.
Miss wha-?
There was a noise that echoed from the distance, capturing his attention. Looking around, he could barely make out anything with his blurry vision. Everything just looking like a mesh of colors that lost their luster. Going from hues of red to hues of black, white, grey. All mixing together as everything melded together, then expanding into a kaleidoscope style pattern.
All of it had grown too much for Madoka to bear. Bringing him closer to throwing up, yet he found himself unable to. Like something was keeping him from doing so. Was it himself? He couldn't tell.
All he coul- there was the sound again. Ringing in his ears reverberating throughout his mind. Echoing upon itself until it made some semblance of a word. A word that was so overwhelming that it almost drove all of his senses over the edge.
MADOKA
That word repeated itself through his mind, as so many different images rushed forward and through him like he wasn't even there. Seconds to years passed him by as one singular thought pushed through to the front of it all.
Who is Madoka?
It made the numb feeling turn painful in an instant as he fought to dig deep into his memory. To find out who Madoka was, who he was. But no matter how hard he tried, nothing solidified. As there was nothing left.
O-f
"Madoka!" Nema cried as she ran down the escalators that led to the deeper parts of the subway station. She had just barely managed to push past the Manifestations of Decay. Making her way across the blood covered ground, lit with a sourceless white light that gave the room a far more intense eerie feeling.
The deeper she went, the more intense the tremors became. Almost as if she were close to their epicenter. Which only ment one thing.
She was close. To both Madoka and the Embodiment of Decay that had finally gotten ahold of him.
The final obstacle. That was all that stood between her and Madoka. If she could get to him, she could save him. At least that was what she was told. She didn't really know how it worked. All she did know was that this was the time that she had waited two long years for.
Entering the second sublevel. Nema gasped at the sight of the growing black mass of bulbous flesh. It was more violent and methodical compared to the red flesh on the outside. The black, consumed everything in its path hastily. Seemingly seeking out sustenance to grow. And what Nema noticed first and most importantly. Was that the more the mass had grown. The faster it consumed.
This was something new. Something she hadn't prepared for. Looking at the kitchen knife in her hand, Nema was sure it wouldn't do much to stop the mass.
She was sure something might.
But what?
As she tried to figure out what she was going to do to get around the mass. She felt several hands on her back. Earning her attention as she looked at the priestly figures. The sounds of bustling excitement ringing out from the crowd. Then they pushed her down the steps.
Though there was a moment where time seemed to slow as she fell. Turning around mid air, she saw the manifestations standing there. Right behind where she had been standing. Just close enough for a few of them to touch her.
Why?
That was the last thought Nema had as time resumed, feeling herself plummeting to the ground, and instead of just hitting the ground and everything going to black. Nema instead sunk into the ground falling deeper into the oddly colorful void that consisted of shades of blues, greens, browns, yellows, reds. The colors of life, the colors of the world.
The longer she fell, the more that things took shape around her, where the blues of the sky separated from the rest. Completely surrounding her
Which was something that struck a familiar chord within her. Especially when she felt the tickling sensation of grass across her skin as she gently touched some form of surface.
This was definitely different.
Daringly, Nema pushed herself from the ground onto her feet. Gasping at the sight of a seemingly never ending expanse of grass that spanned as far as the eye could see. She definitely hadn't been prepared for this.
How could she be in her inner world? And why was it just below the surface?
But her resolve never wavered, she just chose a direction. And began making tracks. Walking for what felt like forever, with the only thing that really felt like any form of progress was the occasional blade of grass that looked just somewhat different than the other. Darker, more malevolent. The occasional blade grew more and more frequent the longer that she travelled through this unknown realm.
The more she walked, the more that things seemed to take shape around her. Aside from the darkening blades of grass, trees also started to form around her as if from thin air. Popping out of the fog that surrounded her. The fog that was now growing thicker the more she progressed.
Eventually she heard the sound of something shifting through the fog, just outside of her view. Pausing, she listened carefully to the sound that wasn't just coming from a single source but from multiple. And they all surrounded her.
She hesitated a moment before continuing further, with whatever was in the fog surrounding her coming close enough that when it moved passed her. It was just barely close enough to make contact.
Yet she didn't let that dissuade her, she continued to push on even through the sudden pains that burst along her skin. Feeling the trickling of something other than sweat down her arms, legs, and sides. With each strike being more concentrated and directed. It was only a matter of minutes before she was once again covered in blood. This time her own, and the aggressors never coming into her view. With each strike nearly knocking the knife she held out of her hand, yet she retained her iron grip on the handle. If only just barely.
Nema only slowed when it became too hard for her to move as a result of her injuries, and her wonton charge through the fog. But she was close; she knew it.
She just had to get whatever was attacking her to stop.
Pressing her back against a nearby tree, Nema stood waiting for one of the creatures to come close enough for her to react. For her to actually do something other than letting them hit her.
But the more she stared, the more they seemed to avoid her. Or rather the more they stalked her like prey. Taking a deep breath, she studied the situation she was in now that she had in some way bought time. She glanced down at the several gashes that covered her body, each one in the shape of a set of claws.
It was then she noticed just how bad her knees were shaking. Either from the pain or the blood loss, but neither something she could focus on. Not for long when something struck the tree she used as cover hard. Shaking it violently.
That was when it clicked for her. Sight. They focused where she wasn't looking. So she took a deep breath before doing something that definitely wasn't the smartest decision. She closed her eyes, and waited for the sounds the creatures made to grow closer. Before striking out.
The seconds that stretched on feeling like forever. Whatever was supposed to happen didn't. Where she was supposed to feel the full weight of whatever was charging her to hit. But she just felt nothing.
Slowly opening her eyes. A shrill of fear caught in her throat as she was face to face with the same familiar smile that had been tormenting every night for the last two years. The embodiment of despair.
It stared right into her eyes, but it felt more like it was staring right into her soul.
Nema held its gaze watching as it reached out with black its black tipped hand. Stopping just short of her face.
"Heeee's noot heerrreee to proteeccttt youuu~" The creature giggled as it spoke those words. "I wouldn't be hereee if I were youuu."
For the first time in two years. Nema found herself afraid. Only for that fear to turn into sheer terror when she noticed that the fog around her slowly receding. Revealing that there were a few more of the Embodiments than she thought there was.
Quietly she counted those she could see without moving her eyes, by just staring past the one in front of her. There were more than ten alone there. Each watching, laughing, enjoying the sight before them. Enjoying the way that the world broke around them.
"If I didn't. Want to be here. Which way should I go?" Nema found herself asking. Each word shook through her quivering lips. She didn't know what possessed her to say those words, or why she thought it was a good idea.
But the one thing it did succeed in doing was catching the Embodiment of Decay off-guard.