Warning: Brief mentions of death by hanging, allusions to drinking, child endangerment
Two wanderers look over a shattered valley. The mountains in front of them are cracked in half by thick black lines. The mountains are beginning to float upwards, no longer tethered by gravity. The snow-tipped mountains are already dissolving into nothing. In the center of the valley, a large black rectangle sits. Tiny dots that represent people are funneled in.
"Come." The Wanderer summons their staff. They grab Colin by the cuff and run down the hill, Colin pulled along.
"Hey! I can run!" Colin shouts, legs running in the air. The Wanderer drops him and he tumbles down the hill. When The Wanderer reaches him, he notices where they are: A large grass field with the ARK sitting on it. The only thing stopping them from reaching the ARK is a large metal fence. The Wanderer steps off, brushing pine needles and grass off their travel cloak. When Colin finally steps off the staff, The Wanderer is at the fence. They place a hand against a door in the fence. It rapidly rusts over, then crumbles to dust. Colin watches with wary curiosity. The Wanderer turns back to them, the last bits of gold emptying from their eyes. The haze over their face has returned.
"It's ok. Come, we don't have much time." The Wanderer steps through the doorway, the edges already beginning to deteriorate.
"What about the airship?" Colin gestures behind them. By now, large chunks of ground have floated upwards. The valley seems to be the only place in stable enough condition. The Wanderer stares.
"It'll be fine." They start jogging to the ARK.
"What if I could bring others back from the dead?" Colin breaks the silence.
"Like a necromancer?" The Wanderer frowns, curious.
"Yeah. If I came back from The Edge, maybe I can bring others?" The Wanderer turned to Colin and placed their hands on his shoulders.
"No. No one comes back from the dead. That's a rule of the realms." The curiosity is gone, replaced with steel-firm words.
"But what about that other guy? Who hung himself on Yggdrasil?"
"He knew it would be a serious risk. People don't just kill themselves expecting to come back." Colin tenses.
"Couldn't we experiment though? Maybe I'm immortal, truly immortal."
"Being immortal is what gets you killed." The Wanderer steps into the end of the line. Millions of people stretch in front of them. "And that man? He knew he was going to die. He was incredibly lucky to come back." They look up from the map and point to the left. "Besides, I won't have you dying again. Especially that way."
"But...what if I could save people? What about those who were unjustly killed?" Colin catches up.
"I believe in honor, but Yggdrasil does not. I will answer no more questions about this."
"I-ok. What is this Ark?"
"I'm not sure. It must be strong enough to withstand the void long enough for The Collector to consider it. I trust that man, even if I disagree with his thoughts."
"Hm."
" Yes?"
"Do we even know if they have extra space? Or any? What if they're uploading their minds into a network or something like that?"
"I've seen much. I know that people in the Parcion are still people. No matter how heinous their crimes." The Wanderer eyes the line of people. It is slow-moving. "Here we are."
"How are we gonna get in?" Colin asks The Wanderer. They smirk.
"I am Entropy, after all." Their eyes glowed gold, shining through the smudge.
Director Lillix watched the doors to the Ark, trying not to fall asleep. She knew that she should be awake, but she had barely slept at all over the three days. Suddenly, people start to rush through the doorway. Lillix tries to stop the flow, only to be pushed aside. The Wanderer rushes past, pulling Colin along. Greeters point the way to the sudden crown, who follow. After winding twists and turns, the group enters a long hallway, filled with strange pods. Other directors and assistants split the group into long streams entering the pods. One of them speaks, addressing the crowd.
"Welcome, welcome everyone. Please be calm. Remember procedure. This will be done much faster if everyone proceeds in a calm and orderly fashion. Behind you are stasis pods. These should preserve you and your mind. Our psingineers have constructed a world we can temporarily live in while we are inside this Ark. Once inside, your mind will be connected to this world. It is just like our own, only digital. You will be safe inside this Ark, and safe inside these stasis pods."
"That's not true. Nothing can be frozen forever." The Wanderer whispered to Colin.
"Thank you. I feel very safe now." Colin whispers back, sarcastically.
By now, the speech is over, and people are being funneled into different groups. The wanderers were funneled into an identical room, filled with empty pods. Ladders climbed the walls to the empty pods, people already slipping in. The Wanderer and Colin climbed up identical ladders, falling into the pods.
"To seeking?" Colin asked, mimicking The Wanderer.
"To finding." The Wanderer confirmed, pantomiming raising a cup.
And thus, two wanderers entered a new world to outlast the fall of another.
