On one final expedition, the outcome of which will determine Amelia's financial future, the young Puma discovers far more than she had anticipated, both of the past, and of herself, and takes the first step of a life altering journy...


Well, here's the start of potentially another series of stories from me, The Champions of Reality. This is the culmination of several things, including creating a character capable of some specific abilities and a collection of stray ideas that I'd had written down for potential use that wove together into a mythos that some day I hope to complete into a grand adventure. This is the first instalment, introducing one of the primary character, the puma Amelia, and how she became a Champion of Reality.

While the next intalment is conceptualized, it'll likely be a while before it comes out, as there are other projects I want to complete in the interum. I have too many projects going on, but in a way that's a good problem for a creative mind to have.

I would love to hear from you, and any feedback or comments would be greatly appreciated, especially if you enjoy it enough to favorite it. Your thoughts are the real measure of the quality of my writing, and a few words can mean quite a lot. Thank you for taking the time to read, and I hope you enjoy the time spent.

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Story written by J.R.Sinke


[center]Champions of Reality: Delver of Darkness[/center


There had better be something down here, Amelia thought fervently. There has to be.

All of her findings and research led her here, and though the puma tried to reassure herself, the fact that this was the second week of searching, and that her last three expeditions had been busts, gave rise to a nagging doubt. It didn’t help her mentality that she was almost out of money for the trip as it was, and if this venture failed, she’d be dead broke. She couldn’t stop her mind from extrapolating the downward spiral that would surely follow.

Amelia shivered, despite all the cold weather gear she was bundled up in. While she knew any place still undiscovered had to be remote, she found herself wondering why anyone in their right mind would build a shrine in a place that was so blasted hard to reach.

Because they wanted it to remain hidden, she chided herself, again reminding herself that anything worth finding was worth searching for.

And so, once again, she made sure her pitons and line was secure before carefully rappelling down yet another hole in the cave complex. This one she knew she had to take special care with, for no matter what angle she directed her helmet light, it illuminated nothing. As it was, she wasn’t entirely sure what she’d do if she reached the end of her rope without her boots touching something solid. She had a few stones in a pouch at her side to test depth, along with her trusty light, but even the first few drops from the top of the hole returned no discernable echo, which worried her.

But she had to try, and that was exactly what she was doing. She descended slowly, as much to keep her position stable while essentially dangling from the rope, having nothing to brace her feet against, as to keep from making any errors. Between the gloves, padding, and layers, she could hardly really feel a thing properly. Amelia wasn’t used to layers, more accustomed to warmer climes. Her first few big finds were in jungles, and she had grown to enjoy such warm weather, in spite of all the bugs. So long as one was prepared, it was often lovely weather. It was easy to carry around her stuff, to move, and really take her leisure investigating the sites. Sometimes, she recalled, she would even purposefully take her time translating writings just to have an excuse to enjoy the sun.

She nearly missed the end of the rope as she was lost in thought. Fortunately, that’s why she often made foolproof safeties in her equipment if it wasn’t an included feature, and her clip stopped abruptly as it hit the knot that marked the end of the rope. The jarring stop brought her full focus back to where it should be, and it took a few moments to get her heart to stop hammering from the surprise. Once it settled back to its normal rhythm, she extended her legs below her. As she had feared, they touched nothing but air.

A bit dejectedly, she took a stone out of the pouch, looking up at the same time to make sure that her sudden stop hadn’t loosened anything. She didn’t really have the money anymore to get more equipment, and if this rope wasn’t long enough, there would be no way for her to explore this cavern, at least not that she could think of an afford. After dropping the stone however, she was surprised at how quickly and sharply she heard the impact. That meant that the floor couldn’t be more than a few feet below her, but if that were really the case, then she would have heard something from up top.

Maybe I just hit an outcropping or something, she thought, looking down to confirm her suspicion. Her light illuminated quite a broad area of stone beneath her. Surprised, she carefully turned her head as far as she could without rotating her position, looking both ways, to see how big the shelf was. The examination revealed that it was either an improbably large shelf of stone, or it was indeed a solid section of floor.

Must’ve been a weird play on the acoustics, she thought. But then, why couldn’t I see anything with my light either up top? After a few moments, she dismissed the thought. She was wasting precious time, and time was more valuable than money at the moment, especially with how intrinsically tied the two were for her.

Carefully unhooking herself from the safety latches, she slowly lowered herself down, dangling from the rope from her arms alone. It was a bit of a strain with the gear in her backpack weighing her down, but nothing she couldn’t handle. And as she got down as low as she could, he toes just managed to touch something solid. It would mean she’d have to jump to get back up to the rope, but she wouldn’t be trapped if she let go.

As her feet firmly hit the ground, making hardly a sound as they did, an involuntary shiver ran through her body. She felt oddly chilled, despite her layers, as though she were standing outside late autumn in a chill breeze wearing nothing but shorts. It was now the second shiver to run through her in only a few minutes, but this one was different, being derived from something external instead of internal.

“Place must be a natural freezer,” she mumbled to herself, “among other stupid natural phenomena.” Something about the chill struck her as familiar though. She fumbled a bit with her gloved hands through her pack to retrieve her notes to double check, her fingers feeling even less sensitive then they had grasping the rope. Sure enough, what she was feeling was more or less described by the old journal, though in more verbose and mystical mumbo jumbo. It was her most solid lead in this now seemingly crazy venture, and when she’d first read through it, it had sounded more like exaggeration than crazy talk, which was why she had decided to retrace it.

She hadn’t actually thought it was real, reading it back in her study, but actually being there, she had to admit that in a way it was actually quite accurate. Still, it wasn’t as is “the darkness feed on the light, heat, and even the soul of the living” like the journal put it. Amelia thought it exasperating just how verbose and overdramatic some people could be, even in personal writings. Still, knowing first hand that the description wasn’t much of an exaggeration, it did lift her spirits some. It gave credence to her belief that the writer wasn’t crazy, merely superstitious, meaning there was a good chance that the rest of what was in there was real as well.

Setting the old book back into her pack, Amelia took a deep breath and picked a direction to walk until she hit a wall. From there, she could discern what exits there were and how big this hole really was. It was an eerily short lived search though, as within moments her head lamp illuminated a stone wall of the cavern. A wall that, given how close she was, she should have been able to see from where she had originally been standing.

“All right…this is kinda spooky,” she said, talking out loud to herself. It was a habit of hers that her friends occasionally joked about, as though it usually helped to calm her down, she was rarely conscious that she was actually talking aloud, rather than in her head.

Upon closer inspection though, the stone did seem darker than usual. That would make them harder to see in the dark by itself, and it seemed like they also didn’t reflect much light either. Given those factors, the cave started to become less spooky and more interesting. The stone and acoustics made the cavern some kind of weird dead zone, affecting light, sound, and ambient heat. It was little wonder the journal writer had been spooked as well in this little pocket of natural phenomena.

The stones, and perhaps the whole cave in general, would be more interesting to a geologist though. Amelia had something far more valuable in mind to find, at least from a monetary perspective, not to mention more relevant to her studies and interest. Still, she had to admit that even the stones could be a find, so she made a mental note of it to mark it as an item of interest in her future report.

Luckily for her patience and schedule, there was but one path from the cavern that wasn’t the hole above her, which was also consistent with the journal she’d largely based this expedition upon. With a rising sense of hope, she set off at a brisk pace, the odd chill all but forgotten.

The tunnel was longer than she’d expected, or at least seemed to be. The stone of the cavern was present here as well, its annoying qualities almost making it seem as though her light was dimmer than it really was, making it difficult to see all that far ahead. She could see where she was stepping though, and despite the occasional bends, ups, and down, she was reasonably sure she was still on the same general bearing and elevation that she’d started on, which she thought unusual as well. Then again, it seemed like there was nothing really “usual” about this place, and the last thing she needed was her mind chasing shadows of unfounded conjectures.

She couldn’t really stop her mind from chasing such shadows completely however, flitting about the edges of her mind like buzzing gnats about her head, until she saw the double doors. That they were doors was obvious, looking almost like a set of double doors in her own home, standing near ten feet tall and nearly as wide combined, seemingly carved from the same stone the cavern was made of rather than installed from some exterior make. If that wasn’t enough, she saw what she knew to be Enisha inscriptions upon the door. She couldn’t read them, but she could recognize them instantly.

“Bingo.” Amelia just stared at the doors a moment, letting it sink in. It was really here; her venture was a success. She was a bit surprised at how plain the doors were, about as basic of construction as one could get with no ornamentation, unless one were to classify the writings as such. Still, the simplicity somehow lent an elegance of its own, built for purpose and not for show.

The examination also revealed a lack of any handles, meaning the doors were likely simply pushed open and closed. With a shrug, Amelia stopped forward and tested the door on the right, to see if she could get it to move. As she put her hands on the door, she felt instantly colder, and for a brief moment she felt as though her body was producing no heat, and that her skin was nothing more than a shell covering nothing, as though her insides suddenly matched the void of space.

The bizarre sensation was brief, but gave her pause. She’d never felt anything remotely like that before. Taking her hands away from the door, she slowly set them back onto the stone. Nothing special happened.

“Get a hold of yourself girl, there’s nothing to be afraid of. That’s all that was, fear. Even if there’s nothing inside, it’s still a find, and you will get a finder’s fee. That should surely cover the next few months at least as you look for something else. You don’t need to strike it rich. Just inventory what’s here and you’ll keep yourself from losing everything.”

But even as she began applying pressure to the door, there was that nagging sensation in the back of her mind once again that it had been more than the fear of crestfallen disappointment that would lead to a downward spiral starting with bankruptcy, as real and close as that fear had been over the last few months. She ignored it though, telling herself that she was only distracting herself by analyzing nothing, as the door came open with comparative ease on hinges that were remarkably smooth. She still needed to push, but no more than thick steel factory doors would need. The door hardly even made a sound, and she made a mental note to make sure and examine the doors before she left, to see how they were built.

Turning her head to look inside, all other thoughts were banished from her mind with the sight before her. The door opened into a pristine and elegantly carved chamber, neither ornate nor ostentations but possessing unquestioned beauty, with a seemingly perfectly smooth domed roof, devoid of the light dampening stone, giving her a perfect view of the statues lined along the walls. They were life size representations of people, each a different color in her light, and even from a distance she knew them to be of incredible craftsmanship and unblemished from time.

At the opposite end of the room stood a solid black figure, though the species she wasn’t sure of at a distance, though squinting she thought it looked to have feline features. Looking left and right, there were similar figures in dark blue, light blue, brown, orange, and white, each a different species from the others as well.

“Jackpot,” she breathed, her inner jubilation so great that her body could not even comprehend what to do, and so stood there, almost shaking. She knew what these figures must surely represent; the avatars of existence that the Enisha worshiped like gods. Until this point, there had only been vague references to their existence found, so vague that, though it was the strongest evidence of the Enisha being a truly separate culture, it was debated that it was just interpretation and verbiage and not an actual distinction. This, however, would shut up any naysayers, as this was solid, physical proof.

It took several long moments before she could move, reminding herself that she had to play her cards right if she was going to get the most out of it. And the first step in that was to examine all things present and get a value of their worth, both archeologically and monetarily.

Thinking it easier to go in a circle around the room, Amelia turned to her right and approached the dark blue statue, the first in the line. Stepping into the ring of statues, Amelia felt like she was walking on hallowed ground, that this was certainly a sacred place of worship. It certainly had the vibe, even if it was secluded. Maybe that was the idea, that this place was a cloister of some sort, a secluded spot one must reach and meditate before the eyes of the gods. That seemed to explain a lot of things.

Realizing her mind was drifting, she brought herself back to task, and her attention back to the statue she now properly stood before. Taking a proper look at it, she found it to depict a handsome wolf, devoid of clothes, and anatomically correct in every way, causing her to blush ever so slightly. Though the posing was rather bland, just standing in a neutral position, up close she could really appreciate the exquisite level of detail, so that the statue almost seemed to have real fur. The statue almost seemed to be alive, it was so lifelike. As much as she enjoyed fine art, she had never seen a sculpture with this level of detail before.

Noticing the gleam the material, she leaned in closer, and thought if she had any more shocks that she’d surely have a heart attack. The statue was made of what she was positive was sapphire. How in the world that was possible she had no idea, for either carving it or the sheer quantity of sapphire, but she did know that the finder’s fee on this piece alone could likely be enough to set her for life, let alone the other five. And if the other five were made of precious stones or metals like this one was…

Calm down, she tried to tell herself, the thoughts staying in her head for a change for she was too excited to properly move the muscles to speak, her hands visibly shaking with their inability to fully contain her emotions. Don’t rush it. Appraise this one, then move on to the next.

Taking off a glove, she felt the statue, to see if it felt like the gemstone she thought it was, and to feel if there were any blemishes. Once again, something other than a sense of touch reached her mind. For a similarly brief moment, she felt like she was submerged in water, with a calming relaxation over her. But the feeling was not as strong as what she had felt when she’d touched the door, and also was a more exterior, distant sensation, though it was over just as quickly. That feeling she couldn’t pass off as having a root in her anxiety, as it was almost the exactly opposite feeling. And it didn’t seem to match the euphoria she was dealing with either.

“Calm down,” she told herself once more, taking a few deep breaths to emphasis the command. “You’re just letting your emotions get the better of you. It’s been a taxing few months for you, physically and emotionally. Get through this, take a month off, as you have at least that much, then get the ball rolling on this find. It’ll be okay.”

Thinking of home, her mind saw an almost uncanny resemblance between the wolf depicted in sapphire and her friend Damian. In fact, as she continued to scrutinize it, it practically looked as though the statue were actually modeled off of him, such was the resemblance. Amelia found the coincidence quite amusing. She’d have to point that out to him when she could. Heck, maybe she’d joke about it with him in that month off. She’d been so desperate to find something to bring in some money that she’d hardly seen him in the past year. With this find though, she’d be able to spend a lot more time with all her friends.

As her gaze began to sweep over the room as she made her way to the next statue, depicting a horned lizard that she speculated was made of topaz given the orange hue, her head came to an abrupt stop as it spotted a break in the arrangement of statues. There was an open stand between the brown and white ones, the space she recognized as belonging to the black one, the one that had been directly across the room from the doors. But…it wasn’t there now. It simply just wasn’t there anymore.

Moving her head more to the left, she thought her memory must have gotten jumbled in her excitement, until she saw the black statue standing in the middle of the chamber, where she knew it hadn’t been before. More disturbing, it didn’t look like a statue anymore, the reflections showing off a smooth flowing form rather than that of a carving.

And then it moved.

Amelia stumbled over herself in fear, panic quickly threatening to overwhelm her. There simply was no rational explanation for what she was seeing, unless she was hallucinating. Maybe that’s all it was, that there was something in the air that was getting to her head. But the thing seemed real enough, and it was between her and the door.

Now that it was closer, she could see that it resembled a puma, and perhaps more disturbing than the fact that what should be an inanimate statue moving with fluid grace, was the fact that it possessed an unnerving resemblance to herself.

“You have come,” it said, freezing her in place. The impossible thing’s voice almost sounded like her mother, and she found herself incapable of responding as her mind refused to cooperate, unable to comprehend all the impossibilities and strangeness of the situation.

“I have been waiting,” it continued, taking a step closer. Amelia flinched back, nearly tripping over the pedestal behind her, stumbling a bit before regaining her balance. She tried desperately to think of a way out, but her mind would not calm long enough for any such coherent thought to stick; it was like trying to work a fully constructed desk through a tight doorway. You could angle it all you wanted, but it wasn’t getting through.

The thing stopped its advance, and even through Amelia’s haze of fear, she noted the tilt of the head, and the thought came through that the thing looked…confused. They both simply stood for several long moments, staring at one another, the black entity utterly motionless, Amelia shaking almost violently. The seconds passed like hours. Amelia’s heart rate slow eased down to a healthier rate, though it still felt like it was pounding quite fervently against her ribs, and with it the haze in her mind began to lessen.

Now able to draw a line from one point to another and make a coherent thought, she realized just how close she had been to fainting, along with who knew what sort of other health problems she might have developed from that attack. However, the root of her fear was still present. After a few long, deep breaths with her eyes closed, it still remained when she opened them again, fortunately for her sanity also having moved no closer.

“What brings you here?” the voice asked with a flat, though somehow inquisitive tone. Amelia found it creepy that, though the voice came from the being before her, it remained motionless as it asked the question, its mouth not actually forming the words like it should.

“I-I-I was looking f-for-for this shrine,” she stammered, hating herself for not being able to speak clearly. It had taken an effort just to get that out.

“And why were you looking for this place?” it asked calmly, taking a fractional step forward. This time, Amelia held her ground. It was still a comfortable distance away at the moment. But as she replayed what she heard, she realized something familiar about the tone. It was like when someone asked a rhetorical question, or one where the asker already knew the answer. The thought didn’t put her much more at ease.

“The history,” she somehow managed to get out clearly, trying to study the thing before her, hoping for some explanation to reveal itself. “This is an Enisha shrine.”

Despite the smooth black face, Amelia was surprised that she actually saw a smile appear on its face. She wasn’t entirely sure how she knew it was smiling, as it was difficult to discern any detail on its face, but yet, she just knew.

“It has been some time as far as you are concerned, hasn’t it then?” Its voice was amused, with an odd hint of laughter underlying the words that sounded somehow off, like it was imitating the sound instead of it coming naturally. “And you, young one, are a delver of secrets, a seeker in the darkness, searcher of the hidden, to come searching for this place and its meaning?”

“Y-yes…” While it was more eloquent than she would have phrased it, it was pretty much true, and that cut through her haze quite effectively.

The being took another, full step forward. “You do not fear the darkness, either without or within. You know there is darkness to be found everywhere, but that it is another facet of life, nothing more. You seek what is unknown, and know well how to keep things hidden.”

Amelia could not find a response. Every word it spoke was true; she knew that in her heart. It was almost as though it was taking who she was and phrasing it into an eloquent summary. It was almost as though the thing knew her better than she knew herself.

“You know that of which I speak, do you not?”

“How…how do you know?” Amelia’s intellectual side began screaming to make a break for the door, to run around the thing and get the hell out. But it was more like someone else saying it over her shoulder, and she instead told that part of her to shut the hell up. This was no time to run. As the creature had just said, she sought what was unknown, and she wanted to know how this thing knew her seemingly better than she knew herself. She wanted answers, and she wasn’t going to leave until she got them.

“Because, in a sense, I am that part of you,” it answered, taking another two steps forward. Amelia took a step back, still wanting to maintain some distance, though with that step he elbow touched the wall.

“What do you mean?” There was strength in her voice again, as she wasn’t satisfied with the cryptic response. The frightened part of her mind asked what the blazes she was doing. She shouldn’t be questioning this thing. She had no idea what it was, what it could do. It wasn’t natural. She should work her way around the wall until she had a straight line for the door, cut her losses and run. Damian would house her, she knew, until she could get a nine to five job and get back on her feet. This whole living statue fiasco was nothing she should be getting herself involved with.

Ruthlessly she drove those thoughts back, imagining herself hogtying and gagging that nagging voice. Even if she was losing her sanity, it would drive her equally insane wondering what might have been if she fled now. And there were too many questions in her mind that demanded answers. With a little care, she could get her answers, and then get out.

“You already know the answer young one. You have already felt it.”

A retort stuck in her throat as the realization hit her like a 2X4 to the back of the head. The feeling when she had touched the door. It hadn’t been a shot of fear, but something else, resonating with her soul, the darkness that was a part of her. Even rational, logical side didn’t have a better idea, staying almost eerily quiet. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable realization, but one she oddly felt the truth in. What made it so uncomfortable though was that, true as it felt, she didn’t know what it meant.

“I…I still don’t understand. Who are you?” The question at the end came out unbidden, being both the most nonsensical and logical question to ask at the time, though a part of her wondered why she had chosen to say “who” instead of “what”, and for that she had no answer.

“I am known as the guardian of darkness,” it replied, stepping closer. “The embodiment of the aspect of darkness, one of the six aspects who, together, form reality itself. You, my dear, harbor a soul predominantly of darkness, though the others are present as well, as they are in every soul. Tell me, did you feel the distinction when you touched the statue of the guardian of water?”

Amelia looked over to said statue, half expecting it to appear altered like the self proclaimed guardian of darkness, standing there observing her with equal interest. But it remained as it was, a statue of gemstone.

“I did feel something,” she replied slowly, “but it was…different.”

“Different, and more distant, because it does not resonate as strongly with you. Though you seemed to have felt it more strongly than I would have thought. Perhaps the aspect of water holds strong within you as well.”

“It…it also reminds me of someone.” It was a few moments before she realized she’d heard her own voice in her ears and clamped her mouth shut. When she looked back to face the guardian, she was startled to see the being standing right before her, not having heard it approach. But Amelia merely flinched, her heart jumping but a moment. As much as she couldn’t understand it intellectually, now that she wasn’t so afraid, there was something calming about the thing, a sense of familiarity that helped to ease her emotionally, like she knew the thing well enough to know that it meant her no harm. It was still just a mild bit unnerving, however, that it looked to her like the sister she never had.

“Does it now,” it said, more statement than question, a curious tone in its voice that Amelia couldn’t quite place. Then the guardian extended a hand and said, “Take my hand, young one. Perhaps then, you will understand.”

Even through the mental gag, the logical part of her pleaded for her not to do it. But that voice had grown distant, and soon was little more than white noise as she gazed at the offered hand. It was a shot in the dark to trust this unnatural thing, but if there were judgment calls she was good at, it was knowing when to take that proverbial shot. And so she clasped her hand in the guardian’s, just as though it were nothing more than a handshake greeting with a stranger.

The moment she did, it was almost as though there was no distinction between her and the guardian. Her logical side was but a stranger in a strange land, but emotionally, spiritually, what she felt was familiar territory, but like territory she only had seen in pictures to this point. She felt the darkness, the void, and somehow, felt nothingness. She registered the interesting paradox like it was nothing more than an interesting sight. But there was more than that, more than just the aspect of the element the guardian derived its name from. Amelia felt concepts, some strong, some weak. Ideas, thoughts, aspects, and emotions were present, as real and proverbially tangible as the pervasive nothingness. The darkness was more than just an elemental force. It encompassed so much more, being a myriad of strands without measure that wove together into the other aspects of creation to truly be reality.

Amelia’s head was spinning as the connection broke off, and it took several seconds for her awareness to return to where she was. The first thing that registered was a knowing smile on the guardian’s face.

“Do you understand now?”

Amelia still hadn’t fully recovered, and it was a few moments more before she could produce the words. “I…I think so.”

“What you felt is, in part, your inheritance. You need to take what you felt, to embrace it, and become the champion of darkness.”

“Wait…what do you mean?” Amelia didn’t think she liked what she heard, but she was also aware of that indecision.

“A need has arisen, and I cannot leave this place to attend to it. You must serve as champion, to protect the integrity of reality. If you do not, all may be lost. Already, the other aspects are seeking champions, and some have already been found. I need you, young one, to serve as champion.”

“What…what would I have to do?” she asked, noncommittal. Though the thought of saying yes hadn’t truly entered her mind, neither yet had saying no. At the same time, she thought she was getting in well over her head, while also believing that what was being asked of her was somehow second nature for her.

“Join with me, young one. Embrace the identity of your soul. That is all you need to do”

For the first time, Amelia stepped forward. Her mind, which not long ago had been a hurricane of thought and fear, now seemed almost as though it were empty. It was almost surreal, as though she were watching herself partake in what was happening, rather than doing it herself. She accepted that there was no logical reason that she was doing what she was doing, but her heart and her gut told her this was something she needed to do, and she trusted them more than her head.

As she stepped forward to stand in front of the guardian, it simultaneously stepped forward as well. But instead of colliding, the guardian’s form simply flowed around her, engulfing her before she even understood what was happening. Fear began to rise once again, and desperately she tried to keep it back, to convince herself that she had not been duped in some manner.

Once again, logic could not explain the sensations she was feeling, for even thou
gh there was the sensation of the guardian’s physical being all around here, it felt as though she touched nothing, like she were floating. She took a deep breath to reassure herself that she wasn’t being smothered, and sure enough, the breath went in and out unobstructed. The logical part of her brain, what little of it wasn’t terrified to the point of cowering in a corner, tried to puzzle out how exactly she could be so encapsulated, and yet possess full motion and breath.

In moments, that strange sensation of feeling nothingness began to make itself “felt” in other regions of her body. It was a feeling almost akin to pneumatic pressure, something felt, but intangible, making its way into her mouth and nostrils with a slow yet deliberate progression. She could still breathe, and move her mouth, but even shut, she felt the odd feeling go deeper.

As it reached her throat, the feeling made itself felt in a lower region of her body. Amelia gasped as she felt it enter into her body through both of her private regions. Though unexpected, she could not say that she felt violated, and strangely there was a part of her that reassured her that, though she was a virgin, this experience was not spoiling anything for her.

It was certainly a bizarre sensation, feeling what she could only describe as tendrils of non-obstructive pressure making its way deeper into her body through every major orifice. As it reached her lungs and stomach, her breathing remained unobstructed and unhindered, and the filling sensation in her stomach provided no discomfort. Its progress through her intestines was an interesting sensation to say the least, as she’d never before really felt them in any detail. And perhaps strangest of all, if one thing could truly stand out, was the feeling in her womb. Amelia never really believed she’d ever feel anything there, never believing she would become a mother, but the mild pressure building there gave her the faintest glimpse into what it might feel like.

For a time, it seemed to progress no further. Indeed, as far as Amelia was aware, it had inundated everything it could about her, and she found herself wondering what would happen next. But she relaxed into it, knowing deep down that the guardian meant her no harm. It could have extrapolated on what would happen, to explain it some before proceeding as it had, but it was not a living creature, just a creation doing its duty, and had likely never thought it necessary to explain the details.

It was some time, or at least felt like some time, before Amelia became aware that the guardian had not stopped what it was doing. It was indeed going deeper, and Amelia became aware of the feeling beginning to work its way into her veins. The guardian was making the darkness a part of her body, as it was a part of her soul. By the time this realization dawned on her, she found that she no longer had control over her limbs. Just as blood carried oxygen to the muscles, the darkness was traveling in much the same fashion.

It was only a matter of time now, she knew, but she still wasn’t sure what the end result would be. She knew that she would become the champion of darkness, but what did that really mean? How would that power change her? What would she need to do once she was champion? It was far too late to ask those questions, having taken the shot in the dark rather than first attempt to illuminate it. But like she had taken a risk finding the shrine and found answers therein, she told herself that this was much the same thing.

Amelia passed the time by focusing on the spreading sensations throughout her body, feeling how slowly but surely she was in fact loosing feeling to her extremities. She knew they were still there, she could “feel” them, in a fashion, just not physically. She felt the darkness take hold of her heart, and for the first time, it did something different, capturing her complete attention. As it filled her heart completely, Amelia felt her heart rate begin to slow.

As it slowed further however, she did not begin to feel drowsy. In fact, she was still fully alert and aware as her heart continued to slow, past a rate where it could sustain her until finally, she was conscious of her heart ceasing to beat. That was, perhaps, the most bizarre sensation yet, to be aware of her heart being still, and yet she felt no different.

No, that was not quite true. She did feel different. She could no longer feel her body at all, in a physical sense. It was as though she could only feel her body on some sort of emotional level, to know that she even existed at all. She could still differentiate what was her and what was the guardian, even if the distinction was quite minimal.

But soon, that began to change as well, and she felt as though she were beginning to fade, both in body and mind. But before panic could set in, she recalled what the guardian had said, that she needed to join with the guardian, and embrace the darkness. And that was exactly what she did, until finally her mind could no longer even comprehend its own existence.



When thought returned to Amelia, she was aware of her breathing, of her heart beating strong, and most importantly, that she was cold to the point of numbness from real, earthly cold.

Amelia was amazed at how difficult it was to move, like she didn’t even have control over her muscles. She’d had a friend who’d suffered some muscle atrophy after a long stay in the hospital, and figured that what she was feeling must be at least somewhat similar. However, for a while, she couldn’t even open her eyes.

As she couldn’t yet see what was going on, she decided to suspend her efforts in moving and catalogue everything she felt. Now that he mind was focused on a task, she quickly deduced why she was so cold. She was lying on the cold stone floor of the shrine, completely naked. Given that realization, she was amazed that she wasn’t shivering, considering how cold it was.

Fortunately for her nerves and skin, it wasn’t long before the weakness began to fade, and she was able to open her eyes and sit up. Instinctively she scanned the room. It was as she remembered, but the guardian was nowhere to be found, instead the black statue she had originally seen stood where she had originally seen it. Her clothes lay next to her, stacked in a neat pile, though unfolded.

She quickly dressed, bundling up until the cold stopped being a constant presence. As she looked around, Amelia soon found herself wondering if what she remembered actually happened. Cautiously, she approached the black statue, which upon closer inspection seemed to be made of she guessed was likely onyx. As the guardian did, it possessed a disturbing level of similarities to her.

There was one way, she realized, to know for sure if what she remembered truly happened. Once more taking off a glove, she placed her hand upon the midsection of the statue. Once more, she felt the nothingness of the void within her, even more acutely than before, and a sense of that oneness with the guardian, as though she were not merely standing before it, but felt as though she was the guardian, standing upon the pedestal.

That contact told her everything she needed to know. Quickly putting the glove back on, she hurriedly made her way to the exit, her wired nerves jumping as the door inexplicably closed behind her even as she wondered how she would get it closed. What had happened had been no hallucination, no dream, of that she knew both emotionally and logically. With equal certainty she knew this place had to stay a secret.

What was uncertain to her was the implications of what had just happened. She knew something about her had been fundamentally altered, but was unsure what, or what it meant. She just knew that there was almost no chance of going back to the life she knew. Looking back down to path she had taken to get here, she found herself almost more afraid of leaving than she had initially been of the guardian. The trip, financially, was a bust, and she already knew the inevitable fallout.

But she had to return. What she would do…was an unknown. Amelia straightened up, tightened up, and instantly proceeded walking. Her future was shrouded in mystery, and she had never feared the unknown before. This was just a different challenge, one she knew she had to embrace, lest it consume her. She had once sworn that she would always be in control of her own fate, and she was determined to not make herself a liar. And so she walked through familiar, almost comforting darkness, to face her uncertain future.