[attr="class","star2tsu2"]In the end, you could not resist
the call of the void.[break][break]
You're down in the deep again. Against your better judgement. Against all reason. [break][break]
A constant drumming heartbeat pounds in your ears. You can't tell anymore whether it's yours or an echo of the pulsing star you saw in your dreams.[break][break]
You wonder if there's a real difference anymore.[break][break]
It's self-mutilation, the worst possible thing you could've done to return here, and now you're at the bottom of the sea again in this place that devours dreams.[break][break]
You follow behind Navy, absentmindedly reaching for something that could generously be called platlife if only in an abstract sense. Growing beside a crystal that glows with an ever-so-familiar light, it recoils on touch, curling reflexively like a feeler of some submerged beast.[break][break]
You stop and gaze into the crystal in front of you. It fills you with a warmth you’ve forgotten, something so full and inviting you want to dive straight into it. [break][break]
Impale yourself on it. [break][break]
You’ve almost forgotten what true happiness feels like, bathing in that light. The ambient hum that soaks off that light drones incessantly, both a warning and a call to come closer.[break][break]
”The lights are… pretty…”[break][break]
You say it like you’re half asleep.[break][break]
The glowing light is a mere refraction of something that glows brighter than the sun, a mere remnant of a god. Still, you float in its direction, captivated.[break][break]
Reaching for it, you're tugged backward by something wrapped around your ankle. Tendrils that trail into the dark, remnant of a fluttering mane, something grabs hold of you and pulls you away from it. [break][break]
You turn to look, and that seems to break the spell. [break][break]
She is the same ghost of the deep you encountered the last time you were here. Something you thought was a fever dream, a collective hallucination staring back, purring as if she were a cat.[break][break]
”... You're… that ancient pokemon?”[break][break]
You swallow, and realize suddenly how dry your throat has gotten. Your heart is racing a million miles per second. [break][break]
But in that cold gaze of hers, your dizziness seems to find peace, and you right yourself. Her captivating ancient stare grounds you, time stands still in the presence of this primordial whisper forgotten by the void.[break][break]
”... No good, huh…?”[break][break]
You sigh.[break][break]
The ecosystem seems to be supported by these glowing hotspots. But you, touched by the call of the deep, can’t venture too close without tempting eternity. [break][break]
She seems to know. She seems to want to stop you from making the same mistakes.[break][break]
”Fine… fine, I get it… I owe ya one. You live here, don't you? I remember you, from before.”[break][break]
You reach out a hand and place it on her head. It passes through harmlessly, and she gives a knowing smile.[break][break]
”You wouldn't happen to know a good place to set up shop, by chance, would you?”[break][break]
It feels stupid to ask, but she seems to respond eagerly, taking off into the air and turning about to beckon you forward. [break][break]
Nobody else reacts like they can see her. [break][break]
Maybe you're seeing things. But all the same, figment of your imagination or not, you start to take off after her, not a word to Navy or anyone else.[break][break]