Insulator

2.7 - Farewell to a bottle

I didn't know when it started, but the route I was taking began to go higher and higher. I was still just following the road, going from one town to the next, but I noticed that there were a lot of mountains in this area.

I decided to continue upwards as long as I could.

My time was coming to an end, soon, and maybe somewhere high and secluded might be the best place to go...

It was a lot more work walking up hill all the time, but most of my movement was unconscious, so I wouldn't be surprised if it felt the same to me. Despite just being a lonesome wanderer, it felt like I would sometimes get caught up in all kinds of scenarios, but way out here there was no one to find me.

I slowly walked for days on end without incident. Despite how weary and tired I was, I enjoyed the silence out here, the lack of life. I would come across the occasional town, but they were small and I never stayed for long.

I felt like I was finally alone and away from it all. I think I really was ready to go, and I could tell that my timer was nearly at its end too.

I passed the last city, ventured past the last road up here, and went as far as I could away. I didn't climb vertically much, since I didn't have gear or know where to go, but instead continued horizontally as far as I could away from the last town. I ended up reaching the edge of a cliff, with no path forward left to take.

I sat down and stared off at the world below, for as long as I could stay awake.

There are so many lives out there...

"Mr Insulator? What are you doing way out here?"

I looked to see the blue girl walking up the track I came from.

"I was looking for you actually, though I didn't expect to find you up here? It's quite the beautiful spot, eh?"

"You've been here before?"

"Of course! I come here all the time. You can see so much of the world from up here. I actually came here to see if I could see any signs of you out there. Your explosions make their marks. Look, you can see a few over there" she said pointing.

"They look so small from up here..."

"The world is a big place, eh?"

"..."

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, taking it all in.

"But why are you here? I didn't think you to be a climber" she asked again.

Oh, right... It's going to be soon...

"You should probably leave, by the way" I said, taking out the indestructible bottle that was at its limit.

"What's that?" she said with a serious tone. She seemed to understand that much, at least.

"I bought this bottle years ago. It was supposedly impossible to break, so I filled it with a fire spell and sealed it off. This whole time it's been slowly growing in strength, and the bottle won't be able to hold it for much longer."

"That's a lot of power..."

"It's more power than should ever exist, but there's no stopping it now"

"Why do you still have it? Why not try to throw it in the ocean or somewhere secluded or something?"

"It's my burden to bear... I am the reason my father and best friend are no longer alive. Since I am the one that made this thing, I think it's only fair that I go down with it..."

"What are you saying..."

"Look, you can stay or leave, it's up to you, but I'm going to spend the last of my time here."