"You make it sound like the damn thing is alive."
Understanding was beginning to dawn on him as to the grim nature of the brand he bore. If the faceless captain was to be trusted, the mark wasn't a benevolent source of otherworldly power. But a curse that changes a person.
"I can only say this much to you. I apologize."
As he said this, the searing purple brand began to dull in its glow. Fading back into the captain's skin. The cracks surrounding the mark that were actively expanding across the canvas of his flesh started to withdraw, as if the call to retreat had been issued.
As the mark grew dimmer and dimmer, the empty void of his face began to pulsate erratically, chaotic waves of motion cascading along its surface. Dawn let out a pained grunt, bringing his hands up to his head. Mere moments later, the pale color of flesh had returned to his face.
The vibrations continued, collisions of energy crafting a human's features in real time. It was like watching an artist paint the life back into a lifeless doll.
Dawn locked his newly reformed eyes with Cassians, clearly noticing his questioning gaze.
"The safest action for you to take is to remain safely within the labyrinth. Do not attempt to fly."
With that, he rose from the chair. Stumbling briefly giving the impression he was lethargic. The moment his figure left the metallic seat, it crumpled in on itself. Folding again and again until it disappeared entirely into the fabric of space.
Turning towards the exit as if done with him, Dawn began to leave the cell.
"What now?"
Cassian was still wary of the man. The sudden personality changes he showcased would give a schizophrenic a run for its money. Pausing his exit, the captain took a moment to think. Clearly trying to choose his words carefully.
"There is a single fate worse than a man bound by a curse with a deadly cost."
He gleaned back one more time before leaving the room
"A man bound by a curse still shrouded in the unknown."
"So stay here, and do not put on the wings."
With that, he strode through the decrepit doorway. Slamming shut the entrance to seal him inside.
And Cassian was once again left with nothing but his own thoughts.
A significant amount of information had been dumped on him in that conversation. Some of which was directly said, and some that could be easily inferred.
"What is this damn thing?"
Cassian cast a look at his arm, which was bound by the array of metallic chains. Underneath lay the now familiar arcane mark. He assumed the soft azure glow was still steadily emanating from it- but that too was shielded by the metal.
What was it Dawn said?
It is powerful, yes. But it is not benevolent. If there's one thing you take away as truth from this conversation, make it this.
'Benevolent' was the word that stuck with him. How can something without an ego be able to have intention?
It must be alive, or hold an imitation of life at least.
Further backing his theory was the voice he heard within the void of his own consciousness telling him to wake up. It echoed throughout the empty space in the exact same manner as his own thoughts, as if it belonged to him.
But it didn't belong to him.
Gazing listlessly at the cell wall, he pondered what to do. In the last day, Dawn's behavior had flipped on a dime multiple times. He started by acting friendly, using that as an excuse to worm his way into Cassian's mind. Then he became violent- attacking him unprovoked. Finally, he grew calm. Not returning to the friend act, but instead showcasing a strange melancholy. All of this was suspiciously synced with the depth and luminosity of the mark's glow.
Is it some sort of parasite then?
Intention, action and ego. If the mark- whatever it was- bore these three traits, then it was most certainly not inanimate. Leaning back, Cassian came to one conclusion.
I need to enter that void again
There was no way the void was a dream. It had to be connected to what was going on with him.
But how would he enter that place?
His previous interaction with the space was completely unintentional. His consciousness had been skirting between light and dark while the foreign power wielded by Dawn burrowed its way into him. Causing some sort of.. Reaction?
Feeling somewhat lost, he pushed himself up from his slouch against the damp wall and entered a lotus position. Cassian had never been one for meditation, putting it down to a waste of time. But since humanity's inception, there had been claims that meditation put you in tune with your own body and mind- and that, was exactly what he needed right now.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*drip*
*drip*
*drip*
Never-ending, the water droplets continued to hit the floor. Again, and again, and again. Like an infinite cycle.
Infinity… huh
An unmistakably human concept for a phenomenon so alien. How can something be both never-ending, while simultaneously having never begun?
Yet that was exactly the feeling given off by the boundless void he had been expelled from. An infinity so vast that the very concept of size seemed to break down within it.
*drip*
*drip*
*drip*
Attuning himself to the dogged repetition of the sound, with each falling droplet, he traced the echo as it bounced around him. Keeping his mind entirely still.
He felt his hands shiver under the tenebrous cold of the cell.
He felt the dull pressure of the chains binding his arm.
He felt his heart beat slowly, undertaking its Sisyphean task of pumping the blood around his body.
*drip*
*drip*
*drip*
Gradually, he began to feel something else moving beneath his skin. A soft, repetitive vibration- almost too subtle to feel.
And that vibration cascading throughout his body… It came from the mark on his arm.
Got you!
He narrowed in on that feeling, analyzing it closely. Every fiber of his mental acumen locking on to the epicenter of this energy. Cassian did not feel any hostility, but realizing what the mark did to Dawn, his suspicions remained rampant.
This continued for an unknown amount of time. Cassian remained in the lotus position, spectating this strange energy as it idly spread throughout his body.
Eventually, something- or someone- gazed back.
[It's much too early for the torch to be passed, however- the cycle must continue.]
A familiar feeling hit him like a truck. Cassian's previously omniscient perspective over his own body was once again ripped from him, the laws of space bending around him to form a boundless dark void.
Beneath his feet, the pale blue path cheerfully pulsated as if it were welcoming him.
[Welcome, Successor]
Turning around towards the source of the sound, he was greeted by the azure visage of a female figure. The woman was significantly taller than he was, with long flowing hair cascading down around the simple robe that embellished her elegant physique. Her face bore an utterly ethereal beauty, as though painstakingly carved by a master craftsman.
But she wasn't human.
Adorning her perfect face was a pair of sharply pointed ears like those of the elves told in children's tales. Multiple gems adjourned each ear, each varying in size and shape.
But even that wasn't the most uncanny feature Cassian saw, as protruding from her head was a set of sleek, crystalline horns. Reflecting the glow of the luminescence that surrounded them.
The woman gently smiled at him, making his heart skip a beat.
[Neither of us has much time left I'm afraid]
Cassian attempted to interrupt her, utilizing the void to vocalize his thoughts- wanting to ask what the hell she meant by this. However, the space around them remained silent.
[So please allow me to tell you my story. A story you are now the protagonist of.]