A Hand-Woven Universe
/ A Hand-Woven Universe 42 42. The Fall I
Elder Omias and the others all felt extremely uneasy when they looked towards the city. The warehouses were far enough away that they should not be able to sense anything from there.
"Elders…?" The others who were sitting nearby had noticed the elders' strange reactions. They looked in the direction of the city, however they felt nothing. Many of them had been stirred awake by the elders' actions, and their minds were still a bit blurry.
Elder Omias turned to another and spoke discretely between the two of them.
"Go check out the city and find out what this feeling is… I will stay here and check with Pride to make sure everyone in the warehouse is okay." He didn't wait for the other elder to respond and began to walk towards the warehouse. The unease in his mind was growing greater by the second.
The friends and families who were nearby were becoming uncomfortable as they watched their unexplained anxiety. Whatever they had sensed, it was clear that it had them worried. They turned to look at each other and then moved closer.
When Elder Omias approached the warehouse and reached out to talk with Pride, his eyes went wide.
"What-" The door to the warehouse was thrown open, narrowly missing Elder Omias. He jumped back swiftly despite his small old form - staring into the dimly lit cavern. Before he was able to comprehend what was happening, people began to rush out of the narrow doorway.
Looks of fear and exhaustion could be seen on their faces, when they saw the elders standing nearby they rushed over to stand with them. The presence of the elders gave them all confidence. Although to them it seemed that they had been in an endless struggle, the reality was that only a minute had passed from beginning to end.
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"What is going on!?" An elder yelled, everyone present was deeply confused by what was happening. However, no one was blind. They could see that these people were all scared out of their minds.
Elder Omias continued to stand just beside the door, watching as volunteer after volunteer scrambled out. At this point he could see Pride and many others who he recognized. Their backs were to the door as they faced the horde of the turned.
He grabbed the arm of one of the younger volunteers who had dashed out of the door. The girl was scared out of her mind until she felt the energy the elder emitted.
"E-Elder…" She stared into his eyes like he was the last beacon in a dying world.
"Explain to me what happened." This was not a request. He could guess vaguely. However, he wanted to make sure first. If what he thought had occurred, then the situation would be far too dreadful.
"Um, yes!" After stammering for a moment, the woman collected herself and explained as quickly as she could. During this, Elder Omias never took his eyes off pride, who was constantly at the front of the volunteers, taking the full brunt of the oncoming horde of the sick.
Despair could be seen in the eyes of everyone present. Even the elders could do nothing more than stand and watch. Offering what support they could. If they were to attempt to rush into the narrow opening while all the volunteers were running out, it would only create more chaos and confusion.
"Pride! Quickly get out of there. The elders can handle them if they get loose. But we need you to get out of the way." Elder Omias spoke to Pride, attempting to provide some logistics. Once the volunteers all exited the warehouse, it was no doubt that many of the sick would quickly follow. Although it would be rough, they would all have to work together to herd them back into the warehouse to contain them.
Pride didn't respond but the elder knew he heard him. Panic continued to ensue as the many friends and family of the sick pieced together what was happening.
"No… No! My wife! What do you mean she's…" They looked on helplessly as they realized all of their friends and families were currently fighting against each other. Their hearts bled with anxiety, and one man fainted when he caught a glimpse of the chaos inside.
Eventually only a few volunteers were left in the warehouse. They stood shoulder to shoulder slowly backing towards the narrow entrance, not letting their attention slip up for even a moment. When Pride felt that he was growing weary or running low on energy he would back up a pace to take a quick swig of the attuned liquor that Elder Azelle had given to him.
This reckless use of energy was wreaking havoc on Pride's insides. He felt the power lines on his body grow thin and weak as unprocessed energy repeatedly crashed through them. His veins and arteries grew unstable and shattering in some places. At that moment, Pride's eyes were red with broken blood vessels, and power pulsed all around him. He looked like a war-beast come home from slaughter.
I won't be able to last any longer. He felt the weight of the bottle in his hands, trying to think past the pain and figure out his options. If he dashed for it, he would certainly be able to escape - but doing so would also cause the many sick to break free from the warehouse.
While the elders could certainly contain most of them… there were more than a thousand. If even a quarter of those made it to the city, Pride shuddered at the thought of hundreds of these things running loose. He shot a look back, making eye contact with Elder Omias.
Finally, he set his mind in order. There was only so much of the liquor left, and his body was already wrecked beyond repair. Even if he lived past today, he would be useless for the next hundred years. That wasn't even considering if Tapestry would survive that long.
"You all, in 10 seconds dash back out of the warehouse. I will be the last one out! As soon as you are through, be prepared to help the elders!" Pride made a plan. This way he would have the highest chance of success. The seconds ticked by with each volunteer left counting the time. Their backs were now in the doorway. In front of them, close to a thousand human-monsters clambered over each other, fighting against the pressure of their attunements.
"Elder Omias, as soon as we dash through, use your powers to push the doors shut and to blast as many of them back as you can!" Pride shouted out, not bothering to look at him. He couldn't afford even a minor slip-up if his plan was to work.
When he heard Elder Omias' confirmation, he felt a tinge of regret in his heart.
Ten seconds passed. "Alright, now!" Suddenly the space around Pride was empty as the other volunteers who were fighting with him made a hasty retreat through the doorway.
The doorway which once seemed very narrow, now seemed like an impossibly large floodgate. On the other side of which, a thousand terrible creatures lurked. And in between the creatures and them, a lone figure stood. Pride faced the horde, downing the entire bottle of liquor as they rapidly approached.
Elder Omias was already on the move by the time he noticed that Pride had not dashed back with the rest. The elders' eyes went wide as he attempted to redirect the power he already unleashed. But it was too late. A compression of air shot into the doorway, blasting the doors shut with a resounding boom.
As Elder Omias was trying to overcome his shock, a brilliant light shined through the cracks in the door, like a sun had been born in the warehouse. Pride who now stood alone, was face to face with the creatures, his back though was pressed firmly against the door.
After he downed the rest of the bottle, he felt his internal organs begin to rupture and disintegrate. The arteries in his body burst, and the veins turned to ash. The power lines also tore open, elemental energy began to crawl across his skin, flowing through him freely without direction.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood but remained standing with his back to the door. The light shining off of him illuminated the faces and bodies of his former friends and families. Gradually his eyes grew dim and stopped working, but his mind still fought hard to direct the energy surging through him.
The ground around his feet shifted slightly, becoming extremely smooth and glossy. Not just the ground, but Pride's feet as well. Gradually a petrification began to work its way up his body, rising along the door behind him sealing it with stone.
Although the turned continued to claw at him, the energy coursing through Pride immediately repelled them. Pride could barely feel them through the pain of the energy that was tearing him apart. He continued to stand firm, petrified up to his waste now. The light that was shining through the gaps in the door was beginning to dim as he used up every ounce of energy to seal the doors.
Outside - Elder Omias stood in front of the door. Behind him, the rest of the elders watched silently. They could tell very clearly from the energy being emitted that Pride was giving himself up to seal the infected. Tears began to well up in the eyes of those who were closer to him - especially Kaji, the first person he had called out to when he noticed something was wrong. But more-so than sadness, they all stood in muted horror. Shock was slowly setting in.
Kaji's eyes were blank as he stared at the doorway. He could feel Pride's energy diminishing, along with his life energy. Everything pride was doing, was to seal the sick inside. Tears flowed down his face. "I could have done more…" He mumbled to himself. However, could he really? Everything had occurred too fast.
Finally, the light stopped shining through. On the inside of the warehouse, prides body was entirely petrified. The door behind him was sealed tight, with stone filling the cracks. All the life force in Pride's body was gone. His skin which was originally healthy and smooth was now hard like marble. He had become a statue - acting guardian and sealing in the sick to protect the city.
Outside it was quiet except for the sound of shocked weeping and volunteers attempting to catch their breath. Eventually Elder Omias turned around to look at everyone present. The elders and volunteers, the friends and family. He was at a loss of what to say.
"Were there any other casualties?" He did not bother to be discrete about it. Asking without bothering to hide it from anyone. The volunteers looked between themselves, searching for the faces of their friends. In the desperate scramble to escape, it was impossible to keep track of all sides.
Kaji still stood alone staring at the door, he was in disbelief of what had happened. In the span of minutes, they had lost not only a thousand friends and family, but also a strong prospective elder. His brain throbbed as he attempted to come to terms with what was happening.
"There were four… In the beginning." One of the volunteers who had been close with the girl who died spoke out. He was shell-shocked by what had happened. Everyone was. To die a death by anything other than old age was a rarity. To die in such a gruesome violent manner… that was unheard of.
If a stranger were to meet the people of Tapestry, they would call it a peace-loving city. However, this was not necessarily true. It was just that - in Tapestry - there was nothing but peace to worry about.
Above them was a broken desolate world, and beneath them was nothing but an endless ocean. Inside Tapestry, they were all connected by the common heritage. It was not that they loved peace, but for an eternity, they knew nothing but.
Chapter end
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