Lana sits at a round coffee table, a book in her hands as she taps her fingers against the bright pink fur on her arm. She reaches up, scratching her scalp beneath her heavy black afro before setting the book down and exhaling. She then pulls herself upright, towering at 2.1 meters tall.
“Nothing,” she mutters, bringing the book with her as she stands.
“Legends and Tales,” the cover reads. She flips the book to the last two pages, grasping her forehead.
“After everything, after Maroon, Mark, and Shank formed Ammolite, I thought that maybe these legends were true, but I've tried everything; every ritual, every strange and dangerous location, every page of this book I've managed to personally disprove while searching for something, anything to get rid of them… And now, there is only one left. If this doesn’t work, then I don't know what is left for me to do,” she mutters to herself, staring at the page.
“Celestial Inheritance,” the page reads, a wall of text below it.
“Once I do this, there will be nothing left in this book to try.” Her eyes scan the page as she starts to read aloud to herself. “Long ago, during the creation of the vast, five siblings managed to accumulate enough raw power to reach godhood, catching the attention of a higher being. This force offered each sibling power over any two concepts of their choosing in exchange for a cap to be placed over their rapidly expanding capabilities. Puerza, the first sibling and the most caring, accepted this offer, asking to be given power over passion and love, wishing to ensure that these feelings remain present throughout the universe. The higher being granted her wish, causing her to transform beyond her mortal body, joining the higher being in the void. The second sibling, her closest brother…” The rest of the page seems to have been ripped out, leaving only one final page. Lana flips to it, taking a deep breath.
“For billions of years, the five siblings worked well together, using their power to ensure harmony.” A large portion of this page is also ripped out, leaving only half of it. “After the fifth sibling left, chaos broke out between them, causing three of the remaining four to plot behind Puerza’s back, combining their powers into a single being so that they may live on for all eternity as one entity with infinite power, breaking through the limit they agreed upon. They called this being the silver eternity, blasting the shell they had created from every angle with celestial power, granting it domain over everything that was gifted to the siblings, slowly granting it more and more beyond what they were given. But just before they could finish, Puerza caught them doing this. Puerza was furious, seeing their actions as a betrayal of the agreement they had made. She called it an atrocity, while her brothers deemed it progress. As a final effort to stop her brothers, she cast an overwhelming portion of her own power into the shell, disrupting the balance within, causing the mix to become uneven. In a desperate attempt to solidify their place above the vast, they tried to cast their souls into the shell, but before they could, a new soul formed inside it. For a moment, an entity with both free will and infinite power opened its eyes, casting a silver glow so bright that it coated every single reality inside the vast with its light. Moments later, the brothers were thrown back, a large portion of their power being ripped away and forced into the shell before it bursts, obliterating billions of realities and ripping the shell apart, sending powerless fragments hurtling through reality, followed by a clump of nearly limitless celestial energy that has been said to tear through hundreds of worlds, finding rest in the core of an unknown planet. The three brothers were outraged, considering Puerza’s actions as a declaration of war. In a fit of rage, the eldest brother struck her down, tearing her apart before sending her body hurtling into a realm filled with nothing but powerless beasts, her body breaking into many pieces as she grew closer to the earth. After billions of years, only one piece of her body has been found inside Mount Emerald, the massive shard of celestial mass becoming a monument buried inside the mountain.” Lana sets the book down, exhaling.
“Mount Emerald… I know that place, it’s not that far,” she mutters, turning to the door before glancing back at the table. “He shouldn't be home for another few hours, I can finish this before Amber gets home. If it’s fake, I don't have to say anything, if it’s real, then I can surprise him.” She grabs the keys from the wall, her wolf-like ears twitching as she backs towards the exit. She turns herself, grasping the doorknob before pulling it open and stepping through. As she exits the house, she looks back at the building, eyeing the boarded-up windows, spinning around to look at the rest of the houses in the town, every visible window covered in boards. She sighs, backing towards the car parked in the driveway, the run-down looking vehicle covered in mud and oil. She grips the handle, pulling open the driver's side door before sliding into the seat. She places the key into a small opening in the armrest, pressing her finger against a small button beside the steering wheel, causing the car to hum to life. She grips the lever beside the wheel and shifts the gear into reverse, pulling out of the driveway before shifting it back into drive and pressing her paw against the pedal, driving down the street. Lana grips the wheel as she takes a deep breath, her eyes scanning the road. She glances down at the book, swallowing as she looks back up at the road.
The car comes to a stop in front of a forest, a thin path open between the trees. Lana presses the button once again, shutting off the car before climbing out. She grabs her backpack from the passenger's seat, a large wooden guitar strapped to the back. She places it onto her back, not yet noticing her guitar as she approaches the path. Her eyes scan the dirt as she steps into the forest, leaving her car by the curb. She glances around as she passes by the trees. The woods are silent, lacking animal life. As she passes through, she notices sunlight in the distance. Seeing this, she sprints forward, approaching what appears to be a massive clearing of Land. She then runs face-first into an unseen wall, knocking her back. She clenches her jaw as she hits the ground with a thud, grasping her snout.
Lana pulls herself to her paws, snarling as she stares into the clearing.
“What?” she mutters, rubbing her nose before a black line appears in the air, a doorway opening from the top down in the invisible barrier. An old woman stands in the opening, looking up at Lana.
“Oh dear, you're tall,” She mutters as Lana looks down at her.
“I get that a lot… what’s going on?” Lana asks.
“A scientist, a little ways away, gave us this cloaking technology. We surrounded the entire town in it.”
“Town?” Lana remarks, kneeling down.
“We have stayed hidden from ammolite for the past six years, so we’ve created a town, waiting for people like you to run into the wall so we can invite them inside.”
“I’m… grateful for the offer, but I’m here on business,” Lana replies, standing back up and looking past the old woman.
“What could you be looking for that we can't provide?”
“It’s complicated, and only based on an old legend, but I need to get to Mount Emerald.”
“Oh, honey… we’ve tried that. I’m over a hundred and ten, I've seen many people try and fail to get through that place, people stopped trying about twelve years ago.”
“I… maybe, but it’s worth trying again, isn't it? Maybe something’s changed.”
“I have about forty years left, hon, I’m hoping to avoid seeing anyone else die. Just come in, let us show you the town.” Lana nods, watching as the old lady smiles, backing into the doorway as she gestures for Lana to follow. Lana steps through after her, shielding her eyes from the sun as she steps into a massive glass dome, the streets crowded, filled with colorful booths and people.
“How… many people are here?” she mutters.
“Our population has reached about two hundred,” the woman replies, turning to Lana, who grasps at her heart, tears forming in her eyes.
“We have a good thing going on here, just stay. If you have other people in your life, bring them as well. The more people we have, the bigger the chance we have.”
“I understand that, but then… I can’t give up. Submitting is what got all of us into this problem.”
“It’s not giving up, it’s starting over,” the woman replies, watching as Lana turns to the tall mountain on the edge of the town inside the dome.
“I can't just start over. We can't be docile anymore, not now.”
“But we’re safe here.”
“For now, maybe, but what happens if Shank stumbles across this place? Or Mark? What happens if she finds you? If Maroon discovers everyone here, all three of them would tear them apart,” Lana adds, grasping her hair.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“There’s nothing we can do.”
“You can let me try. It's most likely bullshit, but it’s still a chance.”
“I can’t stop you, but please, just stay with us.”
“Maroon is running out of people to hunt out there, what happens if she searches this area again? Amber has seen her tear apart buildings.”
“Amber?” the lady remarks, watching as Lana exhales.
“We’ve done so well as a species because of our nature, but at the same time, it’s why Maroon took over so easily. I’m happy for you, I really am, but I can’t join, not until I try.” Lana pulls away as the lady reaches forward to touch her arm, the woman’s expression concerned. She holds her own hand as Lana backs away, turning to the mountain.
“Just… please be careful,” the woman mutters, watching as Lana sprints through the street, passing by the colorful stalls. She watches as people hand out food before she emerges from the crowd, reaching the end of the road. She looks up at the mountain, her eyes locking onto the opening before her, leading into a cave. Lana exhales, taking a deep breath. She steps forward, approaching the entrance. She glances at the lights on the ceiling as she passes into the cave, water dripping from the walls. Lana gasps as the light closes to the entrance shatters, showering the floor with glass. The next then bursts, the darkness growing closer. She watches as the floor near the entrance collapses, falling into a deep pit below. Lana takes a step back as another large section of the floor falls, drawing closer. She turns, sprinting down the hallway as the floor starts to crumble behind her. Lana exhales as the path gives way to a drop. She reaches forward as she falls, hitting the floor with a thud, the drop only about a meter. She glances back, watching as the crumbling stops.
Lana groans as she pushes herself upright, the cave becoming pitch black as the final light shatters. She grasps her head before reaching into her backpack, groaning as she feels her guitar.
“Shit, I didn’t want to bring that.” She then pulls out a flashlight. She switches it on, the light illuminating the long, stone corridor. She takes a step forward, glancing around at the walls as water pools at the ground. Her steps echo around her, reaching deep into the chasm as she turns to writing carved into the walls. The solid pink symbols are strange and unfamiliar, all with extreme detail. Almost none of the symbols repeat, as if each represented its own word. Each symbol consists of about fifty lines, all sticking from a singular point in the center, with three circles placed along random lines at random heights. She looks back down the tunnel, eyeing a large door resting at the very end. She starts to walk once again, the symbols flashing with silver light as she turns away.
“This place doesn’t seem that dangerous so far,” she mutters, slowly approaching the door.
As Lana reaches the door, she extends her hand towards the small engraving, grasping the edge and pulling. Lana releases her grip and steps back as an eye appears on the surface, staring at her. The door suddenly breaks apart into many small shards, flying past her. Lana shields her eyes as small clumps of stone bounce off her skin, the door rebuilding itself behind her. She spins around to stare at the back of the barrier. She then turns back to the opening before her, the tunnel giving way to a large open chamber. She glances at the door another time, her breath shaky as she exhales. She looks up at the massive wall of pink before her after she returns her gaze to the chamber, foreign symbols flashing over the surface as she takes a step forward. A pulse of light passes through the room as a large eye forms in the center of the pink barrier, staring at Lana. She takes another step forward before a long rope shoots from the eye, curling into a tendril as a flower-like pattern opens at the end, another eye forming inside. She backs away as the tendril snakes across the floor towards Lana, a long needle sticking from the pupil. Lana watches as it rises into the air, the pink energy surrounding it flashing before becoming a dark red. She stumbles back as it leaps towards her, the needle clashing against the stone floor. It directs the point back towards her. Lana reaches behind herself, pulling her guitar from her back before swinging, the wood smashing against the tendril as it stabs towards her once again, sending it hurtling into the floor. She backs away, inspecting the cracked wood of the guitar before the needle turns to face her once again. She knocks it away with the neck of the instrument as it leaps forward again, the needle catching in the strings. Lana spins the guitar in her grip, bending the needle as she pulls against it. She is thrown back as the needle snaps, sending the sharp point flying through the air, stabbing through the stone. With the sound of shattering glass, the broken needle breaks away from the eye, another taking its place. She stumbles to her paws as the eye lunges towards her. She raises the guitar, the needle stabbing into the wood, piercing through and sticking from the other side as Lana holds it at bay. It shoves Lana back, her paws digging up dirt as the eye pulls away and stabs forward again. It tears through the guitar at an angle, lodging the entire needle into the wooden frame as she pulls away. Fractures then spread through the wood, glowing with pink Light as Lana hesitates to let go.
Her eyes lock onto the engraving of her and Amber’s names as pink electricity climbs up the strings, causing them to snap away before being directed by the energy around them. The strings wrap around Lana’s arms, holding her hands against the guitar. She releases her grip, trying to pull away as the strings hold her in place, sending energy down her arms and into her veins. She looks up, watching as the massive pink wall cracks, sending a shockwave through the chamber. The blast fractures the stone around them, causing the broken needle to fall from it and hit the ground with a crash. Lana hits the wall as the tendril pushes her back, pulling energy from the wall and pumping it into her guitar. The pink structure then starts to shake, collapsing into itself, forming a small gem that passes through he tendril, vaporising segments behind it as it reaches the eye, leaving nothing but a floating eye with a needle stuck inside the instrument. Lana is then thrown back into the wall, her guitar bursting into an explosion of pink, slamming her against the wall with enough force as power pulses through her veins, her eyes glowing the same color. She grips her head as electricity crackles through her hair, pulses of energy surrounding her.
“I don't want it for myself!” she shouts, her plea being met with silence as the walls crack further. A gargantuan hole is left where the pink wall used to be, Energy dripping from her eyes as she stumbles forward, falling to the floor. Her heart races, a sequence of shapes flashing between her hands that grip the dirt, flexing violently before a copy of her guitar forms inside the stone. She forces herself upright, her jaw hanging open as pink tendrils flail from her eyes and mouth. Her guitar then rips from the ground, tearing in half, creating a massive burst of pink directly in front of her.
Lana tears through the side of the mountain, being thrown away from the town as the hill starts to collapse. She slams into the dome, a loud crack shooting behind her, fractures spreading across the glass. She exhales sharply, the tendrils receding into her skin as she starts to fall. Lana watches as the ground grows closer, looking down at herself as pink energy continues to pulse beneath her skin. She turns, noticing a grey shape ascending the wall. She closes her eyes, feeling the wind fly past her before something slams into her, causing her to jolt awake. She opens her eyes to see someone holding her, their grey fur flowing in the wind. She looks up at their face, their wolf-like ears, and black, well-kept mohawk causing Lana’s eyes to widen.
“Shank? How… why… are you here?” she mutters, each syllable sending a pulse of energy down through her veins. She watches as he stabs his right arm, which consists purely of a blade, into the wall, slowing their descent. Shank hits the ground with a crash, his legs being crushed slightly by the impact before springing back to normal, the bones inside snapping back into place after a few seconds. Lana looks up at him, her heart racing as her ears droop. She breathes heavily, grasping onto the glass wall beside her.
“Why would you…” she mutters, frozen in place as Shank places her against the ground. He then backs away, a door opening in the barrier as he ducks through it. Lana gasps as pink energy shoots through her body once again. She grips her heart, gasping as a loud burst echoes from her chest. She then collapses onto her back, her vision blurring before she blacks out.
Lana gasps, shooting upright as she grips her heart. As she does this, a woman beside her screams, dropping the phone in her hand as she stares at Lana, crawling back.
“What… happened?” Lana asks, grasping her head.
“What the fuck! You were just dead!” she shouts, gripping her head. “Your heart was gone! It had burst!”
“I… feel fine, though,” Lana remarks, looking down at herself, the pink pulsating now gone.
“They sent a few of us down here to check for anyone who was injured. I found you lying here, dead. I did a quick scan, and your heart had burst open, but now you're… alive. Do you have any idea what happened here? The entire mountain collapsed, you’re the only person we could find.”
“I went into the mountain, and I… I think I found… do you know about the legend of Puerza?” Lana asks.
“Yeah, everyone here knows about that legend, what about it?”
“Well, I found this pink wall inside the mountain, and was attacked. Then, it's all kind of fuzzy, but I was thrown out, and… and Shank! He…” Lana begins, looking back at the entrance. “I don't think Shank is… one of them…”
“We know… A lot of us were actually brought here by him; he’s been given his own key to come and go.”
“But… why? If that's what he does, why doesn't he make it more known?” Lana asks.
“We assume he’s afraid of Maroon,” the woman replies, watching as Lana stumbles to her paws.
“I… I need to get home,” Lana remarks, looking around.
“Well, what’s your address?”
“No, I… I don't live here. I live outside the town, there’s something important I need to do.”
“You really should stay… if you really found what was in the segments of the legend we have, then maybe it’s best if you stay here for a while.”
“I just… need to go. It’s important, okay? I might come back later, but for now I need to get home.” the woman sighs, looking around.
“Alright, you can go, just… after whatever it is you have to do, come back, okay?” she asks, staring at Lana, who nods. The woman presses a small button attached to her hip, and a door opens behind Lana.
“And about the legend… has most of the page been torn out of yours as well?” Lana asks, backing towards the door.
“If yours had parts physically ripped out, then you have the original; ours are only copies of what was left of the pages.” Lana nods, backing through the doorway, watching as it closes. She takes a deep breath, beginning to walk around the dome.
Lana continues to glance down at her hand as she drives through the street, looking up at the sky as it starts to rain. Lana slams on the brakes as someone tumbles down the hill and into the road, hitting the concrete with a thud.
“Amber!” she shouts, swinging the door open before tearing her seatbelt off, stopping for a moment as the buckle is ripped away with it. She then shakes her head and jumps out of the car, rushing to Amber’s side.
