Ruby Eyes.
Prologue
The skies were clear and not a single cloud in sight. Some would go as
far as to argue that it was a beautiful day. In his case, he just
didn't care. Sure the scenery complimented and suited his mood, but
something was very wrong. Extremely wrong. And he liked it.
To sum it up, there wasn't a soul in sight. Chuckling at the
ironies, the stranger continued his sojourn along the beach. Lulled by
the soothing sound of the waves breaking on the shore, he glanced at
the possible romantic settings and the bright full moon. Magic was in the air. Some would say, that all that was missing was a certain
someone.
All around were defiant ruins and legacies of man and science.
Skyscrapers or what ever the natives called it, declined in decay while
surround by emptiness and water. Even the beach was littered with
rusting or broken junk. More interesting was the decapitated synthetic
doll he found a little while ago.
Everything seemed stained with red. Crimson like the sky, sea
and moon. All red and all bloody. In the heavy silence, the atmosphere
and emptiness seemed to suffocate. And the stranger smiled.
Chapter 1
The stranger continued to walk along the shore for what seemed like an
eternity. Here, time seemed irrelevant. Mortal concerns and
responsibilities soon drifted and faded into the dark. It was almost
like a return to his youth and when things were almost simple.
Since the first day of arriving, the drastic changes of scenery
and natives were amusing at first but he was getting well... bored. The
first few days were fascinating and amusing, but since then things went
down hill. And he wasn't becoming a very happy camper.
A week or two ago, he could hear and if not for a better word:
sense life. But now there was nothing. No sounds of life and no
empathic resonance. Only the sounds were the soft tread of his boots
and the lapping sound of the crimson waves. Other then that, it was
completely silent. In other words it was almost paradise for most of
his dull-witted kind.
More than ever at times like these, he felt the distinct
differences and dislocation, more in mind and soul of belonging. Home
was were the heart is, but where the heart was he forgot or lost it
long ago. Reflected off the new moon, his brief smile seemed almost sad
and bitter.
Turning his focus on some thing less personal, but more
relevant, he was getting bored. Nothing to do, nothing to feel. In human terms it was simply hell.
Giggling at the irony, he briefly became introspective then
bounced back. Well, if you've seen one post-apocalyptic scene, you've
just about seen it all. Besides this whole place is just repetitious.
Ruins, blood and more blood.
Red blood seas. Flooded man-made constructions. A damaged giant
tanker ship. Collapsed bridge. rusting motorised transport vehicles.
Broken ceramic tiles and nick-knacks. One stale and discarded
cigarette. Another partially devastated little girl's dolly. And layers
and layers of sand and silt coating the area and shore.
Tapping in head in speculation about starting a broken doll
collection, while his naked hand was gently caressing the lingering
traces of the turmoil of emotions and memories. Happiness and pain,
were conflicting and warring with each other while rushing their
secrets. The intensity and purity were mentally refreshing. The
simpleness and honesty like that only children could reveal was
exceedingly rare among his acquaintance. Spiritually it was like an
overwhelming spices or flavour from a dish. Tasty, but spiritually
unfulfilling. These were just shadows, lingering remnants of the past.
Something otherwise lost and forgotten in time. Tossing it in another
dimensional pocket, he continued on.
Again he felt that strange buzz, the origin seemed closer and
slightly stronger. Sharply he turned away from the beach and towards
the origin of the source, he begun to analyse and calculate the
possibilities. The energy was almost nothing like he ever felt. Very
little machinery and technology could still function, while everything
was a complete abandoned mess. More importantly there wasn't any signs
of existent life anywhere. Well... maybe except for the two children he
was warned about. But that's a secret.
Of the two remaining humans, he was specifically ordered by
L-sama and his master to avoid any contact or manipulation. More
importantly, the creator of this dimension allowed him to visit but
stipulated that he could not have any interactions either of the two
pilots. While this realm had it's own quaint charm, he found rather too
solemn and restricting. Once again, he felt the tedium of boredom rise
and the disparaging note of being stuck here for a little longer. Well,
time does become irrelevant for an immortal.
To summon the dimensional gate was difficult to say the least.
Like most higher black and white magic, it required the specific
permission of the gods and extremely high casting skill and raw magic.
To say the least he was incredibly powerful, the dimensional travel
spell had the potential to be universally devastating. Even the
infamous Gigaslave paled to the raw energy required to begin the spell.
To add the mixture, sorry hanging around a certain red-head too much,
was the added difficulty to control and adapt the spell in a foreign
dimension. Especially with the suffocating true-shamanic energy in the
atmosphere.
While the true-shamanic energy was general considered
'neutral', it was potentially dangerous at higher levels.
Unfortunately, both immortal races can't use magic other then their
specialty, due to their origin and 'taint'. In memory, only a couple
humans have ever attained that required level to rival the raw power of
an immortal. Both of them were considered to be one of the five great
'sages'. While their powers and abilities were grand their fates
weren't. Faded into obscurity, both of their personalities eventually
changed and became antisocial. One became primal while the other was
obscure and profound. Almost like that Buddhism cult in that Prime
Dimension #43 and it's parallels, or as he called Dimension Boring.
Once again calculating and adapting the spell for his next
'jump', he distractedly continued to that strange energy signature. In
essence, the original spell was still the same, but the governing
principles to control the spell were completely different. Each god or
higher entity had their own rules and differing universal principles.
Like in one dimension, science replaced magic. Primal evolution
replaced creation and so forth. In the end, each had its charm and
disadvantage. Of his favourite, Dimension Insanity or a parallel to
that Dimension Boring, has the highest amount of chaos and destruction.
While the levels of destruction were slightly higher than home, the
variety and fusions of powers between the Prime Dimension made him feel
content.
Absorbed by the spell and using his empathy to locate the
strange buzz, he didn't notice a pair red eyes staring at him.
----
Staring at the stranger in dark black robes and carrying a
staff topped with a red orb, she felt a strange emotion. Curiosity.
Stepping in front of him, she noticed his eyes were closed. Curiously
she noted the way he gracefully avoided the obstacles in his path,
while his eyes were kept shut.
"Who are you."
----
Startled by a strange girl standing directly in front of him,
he could barely hide the shock on his expression. Involuntary opening
his eyes to stare at the girl like another girl in his life, he could
only stare while scrambling his thoughts. Her eyes were familiar, yet
completely different from that red-hair in his life. Even her voice was
similar, but that was were it ended. While Lina-chan was vibrant and
full of life, she was pale and almost lifeless. The chaos and raw
intensity of Lina-chan made the strange girl seem frozen and invisible.
Even her words wasn't even considered to be a question, more flat and
almost like a statement.
Something about her seemed made him feel belong. While it
wasn't love or anything like he could compare, it felt like that old
emotion of his youth. A sense of belonging, that only being among
fellow outcasts could feel. Almost like a family, except by
circumstance, not by passion or love.
End teaser
Sorry, gotta abruptly leave this for the moment. Will work on it later. Note: ROUGH Draft, need help, comments and opinions.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com