It was an enchanting evening in the semi-material asteroid of Tifereth, as the sun was setting beyond the prismatic cliffs that rise above the always smooth Selenian Sea. The notorious outlaw Arion, ruler of this magical world, and I were sitting on a purple reef near the shore and talked in low voices under the carmine sky. Two young lovers together in the sunset; it could have been a romantic scene, but our conversation was not romantic at all.
“Tifereth is no longer what it used to be,” said Arion, with a dismal face. “I'll try to explain as simply as possible: The atmosphere seems to be heavier now; the elemental fairies are getting harder and harder to meet; the sirens have hidden deep into the sea; even the sun seems to have lost some of its brightness; but the worst of all is that my people are changing too: The once joyful inhabitants of Tifereth have become uneasy, stressed, aggressive; they are neither innocent nor carefree anymore. Moment by moment they seem to resemble the inhabitants of the so-called Material World: They have started to claim property, they compete each other for social prevalence, they even seem to be aging faster; it is as if an adverse wind were blowing all over Tifereth, an insofar unknown Evil marching into our souls, and nobody can do anything to stop it...”
I was listening to him carefully, without uttering a word. I had never seen him so dejected before. I wished so much to tell him that he was wrong, that it was all a bad phase he was going through, but no; I couldn't say that. Unfortunately, he was right about everything he said; for some strange reason, I couldn't experience the familiar sense of joy and lightness I once experienced in Tifereth. The landscape was still exquisite of course, but all the magic seemed to be gone now; it felt just like one of those exotic tourist resorts, where everything looks great but you get the impression it is all a kind of stage scenery that might fall apart the very next minute.
“How can this be possible, Arion? Have you got any idea about what has caused such a sinister change?”
He lowered his eyes only to give a hesitant answer: “The Ethereal Flame, our most sacred gem, which balances energies all over Tifereth, has been lost, Sandra! I know it sounds incredible, but somebody managed to take it from the Ancestral Sanctuary...”
“What? But how?” I burst out in astonishment. “Ordinary spaceships cannot reach Tifereth. Only the Zephyrus can travel to semi-material dimensions.”
“It seems that a dimensional vortex has been opened somehow,” he answered quickly, averting his eyes.
“If so, Tifereth is not inaccessible anymore! Our enemies will find out, sooner of later!” I exclaimed, hardly believing that I was uttering those words.
The breeze got colder as the sun was sinking in the golden horizon, under the scarlet sky. A sudden chill made me shiver. No, this place was not the Tifereth I knew; it still looked the same, but quite soon this would change too.
“What... what can we do, Arion?” I stammered, fearing what the answer would be.
“There is only one way,” he sighed. “If we enter the dimensional vortex and follow it all the way back, it will lead us to the Ethereal Flame and to who stole it.”
“But there is no way we can find out our destination before it is too late...”
“Afraid so.”
“We shall do it anyway; we cannot allow that a fairy world like Tifereth to be destroyed,” I assured him solemnly.
“I knew I could count on you, Sandra,” he smiled and kissed me softly.
….
Contrary to my expectations, the Ancestral Sanctuary proved to be a rather obscure site. It must have been impressive once, but now it stood half-ruined and muddy, as signs of violent intrusion could be seen everywhere. It the centre of the stone room there was an elevated round base made of a shiny green material, two separate flights of stairs leading to it. Under the base there was a strange cylindrical chamber with transparent crystal-like walls. Oddly enough, the whole structure stood in perfect condition -unlike the rest of the ancient edifice.
“This is where the Ethereal Flame had been kept safe for centuries,” explained Arion, pointing at the chamber. “The dimensional gate is right on top of it, as you can see.”
“How did the gate first appear in Tifereth?” I asked to know but Arion was already climbing up the stairs to the round base. I had to run in order to keep up with him but we both paused instantly when we reached the green circle, as we both sensed an aura of intrinsic danger still lingering inside its perimeter.
“The dimensional vortex is due to open in a few minutes,” explained Arion. “It opens more and more frequently ever since the holy gem was stolen; for the time being, it opens once an hour for three seconds. Unless we find the Ethereal Flame and put it back in its place, the gate will soon be continually open.”
“This doesn't sound good,” I acknowledged, full of concern.
“If this happens, an alien dimension will invade Tifereth and will cause it to collapse -and this for starts!”
….
Arion had insisted on taking neutrino-naser guns with us, which surprised me a lot. We rarely use such weapons because they consume a lot of energy, they can cause extreme damage to anything made of matter and reduce to burnt dust any organic tissue within a second. Apart from that, he also chose to carry a laser sword.
“We must stay inside the gate, as calm as possible, and wait for the vortex to open,” were his last instructions. Then, we both knelt down in the middle of the circular base facing each other; we held hands, closed our eyes, emptied our minds, and waited.
At first, there was absolute dark; nothing but void stretching to infinity. Multiple layers of space and time fluttered in a rhythmic alternation of being and non-being; then, the void began to whirl into a black spectral vortex, carrying my conscience into deeper and deeper levels of nothingness; soon the vortex became a reluctant dream of blurred images that shook violently together in a horrible dance. Suddenly, there was a strange, acute odor -a suffocating sulfuric stench. The atmosphere was still too hazy to see anything as I sought to lean on a wall, a rock, anything, in order to stand up on my feet; I finally touched down but I had a peculiar, loathing sense on my fingertips, as if I were touching raw meat.
“Arion? Where are you Arion?” I asked with a faint voice.
No reply.
“Where are we, Arion?”
Still no reply.
After a few long moments, I heard him shout: “Oh, no!”
“What's the matter? What's happening?” I asked to know, just before my eyes had cleared and I was stunned at the sight of the weird environment that surrounded us; yet I was certain that Arion had seen something else here, something extremely dreadful, which had now vanished.
“That needn't be so; I hoped it wouldn't be so...” he cried, ashen with despair.
….
The ground we were standing on was a smooth, greasy surface in the colour of vomit; the walls around us were an abhorrent structure of dark green flesh and jointed bones, interlaced and distorted in unbelievable combina-tions. The stench was still there but it grew fainter and fainter; I assumed I was getting used to it.
“I'd hate to see the inhabitants of this place,” I uttered in a low voice and Arion gave me a look that made me freeze.
“We'd better hurry,” he said. “The gem can't be far from here; it's only that these walls... hmm... change every now and then!”
“What?” I cried but he had already moved on, with his laser sword in hand; as we were walking, he kept testing it on the fleshy walls, causing them to bleed here and there. I was trying to guess why, when suddenly a big hole appeared in front of him, as a mass of gristle withdrew at the touch of his luminous blade.
“This way!” he urged me to follow him through the opening.
“Tell me Arion, have you visited this place before?” I asked softly.
Again, no answer.
I had no alternative but follow him into the hole, climbing up all those repugnant fleshy masses that oozed a purulent liquid from bulging cysts, only to end up in another revolting place which looked like an abnormally long intestine. The dark crimson walls were entwined with a thick network of veins; weird boney outgrowths sprouted up all over the greasy surfaces.
“What is this place, Arion?” I demanded to know once more.
“This is the Nether Zone,” he answered bluntly.
“You are kidding, right?”
“It is dangerous in here! So, keep your eyes open and your mouth shut!” he announced firm and quickened his pace.
We waded for a while along the shallow stream of gray slime that flowed slowly all the way along the fleshy tunnel; I was constantly striving to forget my disgust, as well as a growing suspicion that Arion had actually led me into this hell; for I was almost certain that he knew exactly where we were...
All at once there was a thundering noise; an abnormal groan (produced by what kind of throat?) echoed deafening all around. We both stood there frozen, watching with wide open eyes the abominable walls split asunder and four nightmarish gigantic beings troop in with deliberate steps. They all had beast-like heads with huge tusks and long antlers, emissions of a white steaming gas in the place of their eyes, and sturdy bodies well hidden inside a heavy exoskeleton; but the most hideous thing about them was the aura of pure evil they sent out.
“We have just found the Keepers of the Treasury; the gem must be somewhere near,” announced Arion with a compo-sure that surprised me more than the appearance of the monsters.
“How do we fight them?” I only asked.
“We had better not; you just try to reach that round gap on your left, alright?” answered Arion, thrusting his laser sword back in its sheath.
Next moment he launched an attack with his neutrino-naser weapon, trying to cover me as effectively as possible, while I was running frantically towards the gap that was already closing fast. Once or twice I nearly bumped on gigantic arms, which I should have dodged a lot more easily, since those beasts were rather sluggish. But, for some strange reason, ever since we set foot in that unholy place I felt somewhat heavier and less supple than usual -and I could tell Arion felt the same too. Anyway, I didn't have time to think about it now; hardly avoiding another terrible blow from a monster's fist, I finally sprang through the dark gap, having no idea where I was going to end up. The last thing I saw before jumping through, was Arion being swatted down by a gigantic palm and his weapon slipping off his hand.
I stood up breathless, and began to explore the room with my eyes. It was even darker in there, but I was surprised to see that it looked more like a crypt than a monster's bowels. There were numerous items crowded in that odd chamber: Some were lying in piles on the floor, others were neatly placed in built-in shelves made of bone. I recognized most of them, since they represented mystic symbols widely known in many human and non-human civilizations, such as swastikas, crosses, pentacles, circles, crescent moons, arrows, as well as idolatrous items and statuettes of gods and goddesses. There were also numerous gems of different colours and sizes kept in transparent showcases, but I knew at once that none of them was impressive enough to be the Ethereal Flame. I started searching all over the place impatiently, carefully observing all the items one by one; this soon proved to be a rather difficult task, since the room was purely illuminated by a soft blue light that came through the vaulted, membranous roof.
I can't tell how much time had elapsed, but my joy was indescribable when I finally discovered the Ethereal Flame resting on an elaborate lofty base built of bones, metal and leather at the furthermost corner of the crypt. Without a second thought, I grasped the azure-coloured gem with the eerie dim shine and threw it inside the pocket of my garment. Then, I turned round and got ready to flee; only that I didn't know how...
Right at that moment, the petrified wall on my right side split apart and two of the Keepers rushed in furious. I took out my neutrino-naser weapon at once and fired; the thick radiant beam fulminated one of the menacing giants who froze for a split second, just before he was reduced to fetid ashes whirling in the stuffy air. The other one had just turned round and disappeared through the gap again, with a quickness that really surprised me. It was a strange but fortunate thing that these creatures carried no weapons at all... My heart was beating like a drum, as I barely had the time to pass through the narrow passage which was closing fast behind me. Next moment I found myself in a tracheal tunnel, and I was extremely relieved to see there was no sign of the monsters there. Then I started running frantically along the grayish tunnel, without even daring to look back.
In the meanwhile, just when he thought everything was lost since he was badly cornered, Arion suddenly watched his most dangerous enemies grow indifferent towards him, turn their backs and disappear into newly-opened exits on the abominable walls; and he understood he had no more time to lose.
….
Before long I was relieved and astonished to see Arion running towards me in along the tubular tunnel with the tracheal walls. As though he knew exactly where to find me, was my first thought as soon as he came into view. It was a most pleasant surprise to see that he was holding his weapon again, but that was no time for us to rejoice; we both knew that the battle with the ghastly creatures of the Nether Zone was far from over yet.
“I've got the Ethereal Flame and killed one of the Keepers; but how shall we get the hell out of here?” I asked breathless.
“We must be extremely careful from now on,” he frowned. “They know we have the gem, so there is an alarm all over the Nether Zone; moreover you have killed one of their kind, and they must be outraged; and the dimensional vortex is going to open in a few minutes; this means we have to last that long and return to the gate, which is the place of our arrival.”
“Can you, at least, tell me a few things about this land and these beings?” I wanted to know, as we kept walking along the tracheal passageway -Arion constantly on the lookout for an appropriate spot to open an exit.
“The inhabitants of the Nether Zone are considered to be the darkest entities in the whole universe; only the most corrupted souls, those who have served Evil willfully during their lives, end up here after their physical death!”
“It is a land of the dead, then; but we are here, though still alive!”
“Not exactly,” he chuckled.
“Not exactly?!”
“This world belongs to a dimension of very high density of matter; that's why you feel heavier and slower here...”
“You mean we are virtually dead, in a land of the dead?”
“Something like that; we are trapped in the den of the most powerful and malicious beings in the universe. I wouldn't even like to imagine what will happen to us in case they capture us with the Ethereal Flame, but it will be worse than anything you can think of!” he explained flatly, always striking the fleshy walls with his luminous blade, opening bleeding holes here and there, but not an exit yet.
Next moment, the tracheal passageway split in two. I was bewildered, but Arion took the left path without pausing at all, as if he knew exactly where we was going. “Are you scared, or what?” he asked then, and I hated his complacent look as I had never been more scared in my life.
The surrounding environment looked even more abhorrent now, as the fleshy walls looked thicker, maybe swollen, studded with purulent cysts and long bulging veins.
“We are shortening the distance,” he explained calmly. “This is the shortest way to...”
“Have you been here before?” I interrupted him.
“Let's stop chatting and move faster, alright?”
I considered that an affirmative answer.
All at once, I noticed a two-metre high membranous opening in the shape of a lozenge, shimmering on the left wall. Arion paid no attention and kept walking, always looking for a way out. I knew I would regret this, but I couldn't control my curiosity and approached to have a closer look inside. Arion followed reluctantly. Next moment, we both stood dumbfounded at the atrocious sight: Inside the vast cavity, there were countless human and humanoid figures; all of them were tied to strange thick chains that shone like metal and immobilized every single part of their bodies. All the figures were more or less mutilated, distorted, transmuted. Some of the captives had one or more limbs missing; others were growing alien body parts entirely ill-matched to the rest of their bodies; human heads were slowing turning to something I didn't want to know about; others were growing tentacles; others had membranous wings of various sizes and colours; and all of them were gradually changing into something horrid. I let a strangled cry of horror when I realized that they were all not only alive but fully conscious, moaning and groaning with their endless misery.
“So, this is what happens to all those who get captured here,” said Arion in a low voice, as we kept on walking hastily. “These unfortunate souls usually become undying slaves of the dominant tribe. And this fate is worse that death...”
“Is the tribe immortal?” I asked to know.
“Yes, you could say that...”
“Where is the damn gate?”
I had barely finished my question when a gruesome shuffling noise echoed behind us and made my blood freeze. I heard Arion cry “Watch out!” harshly; as I turned round at once, I saw one of the monsters entering through a newly-formed gap on the wall, while others were arriving fast behind it; at the same time, the dimensional gate began to gradually take shape only a few steps ahead but not near enough...
Soon the place was full of gigantic beast-headed monsters with steaming eyes and the worst intentions. Arion and I drew our neutrino-naser weapons simultaneously, while a spectral vortex of tiny sparkling lights was whirling brighter and brighter on the eerily illuminated dimensional gate. “We have to move fast! The gate is about to open!”, cried Arion and then he sprang aside with an impressive somersault, hardly evading a dreadful blow from a huge clawed hand. I, however, didn't move fast enough to dodge another terrible blow from another clawed hand, which tore part of my garment and sent me flying through the stuffy air. I bumped hard against the opposite wall, yet this didn't hurt as much as I expected and I managed to stand up on my feet almost immediately. Eventually, it was fortunate that those walls were not made of stone. Next moment I realized I had just lost the Ethereal Flame. To my horror, I saw it shining dimly between a monster's skeletal legs. I had no other alternative but dash towards it, recuperate it in a split second and roll away on the scaly ground, in a desperate attempt to reach the gate on time. Right then, just a second before it would pounce on me, the creature was fulminated by a white radiant beam and fell apart in burnt dust; Arion had just fired at it with his neutrino-naser weapon. A horrifying roar of extreme wrath echoed all over the place and the rest of the creatures rallied against us, more ferocious than ever.
I heard Arion shout “Move now!” and then I saw the spectral vortex which was now seething furious just two steps away. There was no more time left; we had to escape immediately or stay in that horrid place for another hour -the latter was out of the question, of course. Fighting hard to overcome a relative sluggishness, I barely avoided hideous gigantic arms by performing multiple somersaults, while Arion had to rush down and roll on the bumpy ground amongst monstrous legs; but we did it at last, we finally darted together into the swirling vortex, which shrouded us in a blinding embrace.
….
Our return to Tifereth proved to be a lot more frightening than our descent into the Nether Zone: It felt like being disintegrated in a bottomless whirl of darkness, my conscience shut down to nothingness; and then I was born again. The first thing I could discern in the haze, was Arion's expressive face with the emerald slit eyes and the wavy red hair -a beloved presence that helped me put myself together again. Fumbling around instinctively, I finally touched smooth rock, which meant that transition had been successfully completed. Yet, I could feel something was wrong, for the same repulsive stench was still in my nostrils -the familiar odor of the Nether Zone and its inhabitants. How is this possible? For a few moments I thought my heart were going to stop and I saw Arion barely breathed, as we both waited motionless for the haze to melt away in an ominous silence.
Suddenly, there was a tremendous rumbling sound and the earth shook vehemently -a phenomenon insofar unknown in the fairy-like world of Tifereth. All at once, the ground burst under our feet with a deafening noise; we were violently thrown off the circular base, as two of the horrid giants of the Nether Zone rose over the ruins of the Ancestral Sanctuary. Next moment I was screaming, trying to keep my balance against a lofty jagged rock; fiery, smoking eyes focused on me angrily, exploding gases were still scorching my feet. As the air cleared out a little, the full size of destruction was revealed: The Ancestral Sanctuary was no more there; only a small crater was now in its place. However, the dark green base was still intact, which I considered very strange: Can it be really indestructible? I wondered; right then I found out I had lost the Ethereal Flame -once again. Full of anguish, I scanned the whole place quickly and I saw it rolling down towards the centre of the crater, shining dimly with its eerie soft light.
Next instant Arion rushed to get back the gem, while the taller one of the monsters was casting its huge threa-tening shadow over him. I had to distract it somehow, before it were too late; without thinking twice, I swooped down with a flying kick and a loud martial cry, fortunately taking the giant by surprise; my left foot kicked hard its broad forehead, forcing him to make one step back. No big victory, but it gave Arion the time he needed to grab the gem, turn round fast, draw his neutrino-naser weapon and fulminate the other one, who had just rushed down the crater and was about to grab him. Gray ashes swirled up on the velvet sky, while another deafening step made the ground tremble; Arion barely dodged a gigantic foot by rolling fast towards the edge of the crater. The Ethereal Flame slipped off his hand and ended in a narrow fissure between two boulders; he strove hard to reach it but his hand couldn't get through. In the meanwhile, the remaining monster was rising threate-ningly, ready to seize him with his dreadful hands. Arion turned round immediately but stumbled slightly on a jagged stone which happened to be exactly behind his right foot; yet he maintained his balance, raised his neutrino-naser weapon and aimed at the monster, which was now too close. He fired at once but to his and my horror, the monster just kept standing there. I was taken aback only for an instant; then, I knew: There was not enough energy in his gun, not enough to eliminate a creature of the Nether Zone. I took out mine and fired immediately; I sighed in relief when I saw the giant monster disintegrate into swirling ashes.
I ran to Arion, helped him stand and kissed him more passionately than ever. Then we had all the time we needed to seek and find the holy gem under the boulders. But there were still some problems to be solved:
“Very soon the dimensional vortex will open again. More monsters will appear. Can't we seal it somehow?” I asked, fearing what the answer would be.
“The gate must be destroyed. A reinforced neutrino-naser weapon can do that, but it will consume an enormous amount of energy. We need new guns; let's not waste time,” he replied thoughtfully and beckoned we should leave at once.
“The Sanctuary has been destroyed. Where will the Ethereal Flame be kept from now on?”
“I suppose a new sanctuary must be built in its place, the sooner the better.”
“Something like this has never occurred in Tifereth before. How will you explain all this to your people?” I was curious to know.
“Frankly, I have no idea...