AvA: World-Wide War

Ch. IV - The Fall To Oblivion

Victim free-fell through the dust and smoke. He thought back to the time he'd first arrived in the void, with not a person in sight, nothing to see except gray space.

He disliked the void. Ever since he'd left it with the help of Silverfrost, he'd vowed never to set foot in the void ever again.

But he'd broken the vow. First, it had been that expedition to rescue Uni after Uni had died. Now, he was most likely heading into the void for the second time since. He knew he was dead. He couldn't fly, or even do any of the cool things others could.

His thoughts were disrupted by the sound of someone screaming below him. The sound sent a shiver down his spine, and his vision tunneled, with the faint sensation of the small of his back being ripped apart.

—

Metsa plummeted through the smoke, her tattered clothes billowing around her. The wind ravaged her face and screamed in her ears as she fell.

She could see nothing but smoke, hear nothing but the roaring of wind. Stones scraped her skin. Pebbles hit into her flesh.

The smoke cleared before her eyes, and Metsa took in the ghastly sight before her. Something surfaced in her sea of thoughts— the image of gray tendrils snaking across a yellow-earthed island. An image she'd glimpsed on the screen of Second's phone two years ago. Her eyes widened as it dawned on her what she was looking at.

She screamed as she fell into the depths of the void.

The air around her became uncomfortably charged. She closed her eyes, waiting for death.

A pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her waist, and she felt the air around her shift, becoming cool and soothing, as she was lifted upward.

"Metsa?" a familiar voice called. "Hey, Metsa!"

Metsa opened her eyes and stared at the delicate and slender arms surrounding her waist. With trembling fingers, she reached up and touched them gingerly, then looked up into the eyes of none other than Victim.

"Th-thanks," she breathed before noticing the large black wings sprouting from Victim's back. "When did you...?"

"Have wings?" Victim shrugged. "I'm not sure myself, to be honest."

He was so close, Metsa could feel his heartbeat. She realized he was just as nervous as she was. He was just trying to hide his feelings. Metsa stared at him, into those dark eyes, and hoped he'd understand.

It seemed to work. Victim's eyes widened. Metsa blushed.

All of a sudden, the air next to them exploded, knocking them sideways. Victim beat his wings frantically, trying to remain airborne while supporting the weight of two people.

A distance away, a large black square formed. It split into eight parts and swirled around, as if it were alive.

Victim stared at the thing. "So that's what's going on."

"What do you mean?" Metsa looked at the alien entity floating around lazily.

"That feeling..." Victim murmured, "it's coming from that Hypostasis."

"Hypo-what?"

"Hypostasis. They're these manifestations of organic matter and elemental energy. But that's not the weird part."

"What is it?"

"Hypostases don't spawn naturally in the void."

Metsa's eyes widened. "Which means...?"

"Whether or not this is the work of Dark's lot, we have to take it out. If we don't, it'll destroy the entire Internet. It's usually weaker when spawning, so this shouldn't take too long."

The Hypostasis swirled menacingly. Apparently, it had spotted them.

Victim swooped over to a floating body of rock and set Metsa down. "Stay here until I'm done, alright?"

Metsa swallowed and nodded. "Be careful."

Victim smiled. "Back soon."

Turning around, he roared at the Hypostasis, void energy sparking all around him, and charged.