THOMAS TRANCE: REVEAL OF THE TRUTH II
Thomas groaned as the crown pulsed above his head
"Not again..." he muttered
Pure darkness surrounded him, an empty endless void.
Almost like space, except without stars
Thomas was the closest thing to light
He and the crown carried a faint golden glow
The jewel on the crown glowed faint red
Creating a mixture with the golden light Thomas produced.
The boy raised his right hand, looking into his palm.
He could see right through it, almost like he was a ghost
The crown floated above his head, yet somehow remained aligned
It pulsed consistently
A wave of its glow floated into the darkness
Then Thomas noticed it
The void was shifting
He tensed, eyes locked onto the shifting target.
Then another part of the void started to shift
Then another
And another
Thomas' eyes flickered from left to right
Burning because he had stopped blinking
The void was moving. The crown was pulsing way faster than before
Like a runner's heartbeat after running four laps
Thomas twisted his head in every direction, slowly floating backward.
Then it happened
Something shifted behind him. He watched as something pierced through his translucent frame
A long, pole-like object came out from his front
He swiftly turned and threw a right hook
But his translucent hand passed right through
He backed away from the shifting target
Eyes unsteady
It wasn't attacking. None of them were.
Just slowly forming into-
Shapes?
The void that he bumped into grew taller
While some parts of it branched horizontally from its body.
The crown was pulsing way faster.
And everything was forming much quicker
Thomas moved while glancing around, trying to avoid the shapes
Then, he started to sink
"H-help," his voice barely escaped
His waist and below had already sunk
Suddenly, there was ground beneath him that he was sinking through
The crown pulsed so fast that its sound merged
Like one continuous pulse
Colours began forming within the now reformed void
White, brown, faint traces of green.
But mostly white
Thomas was breathing hard
Hyperventilating as colors started popping up everywhere
Then it froze
The crown pulsed slowly.
Thomas didn't even know when it happened
But he was yanked suddenly upward into the white-filled air
Darkness crept in
...
His eyes fluttered open, the light blinding him.
The crown floated beside him floating
This was all too familiar
Thomas was no longer with the group in the damaged castle yard.
He was years back in time
Floating above a city
The crown on his head continuously vibrated at a steady rhythm
Then-
The colors started to pop up. Shapes began forming into a new environment.
Snow
The trees were filled with snow
Some didn't even have leaves, yet they were still coated in snow
The sun was shining faintly
The land was heavily coated with the white canopy. Traces of footsteps could be seen along the path
A figure was walking within the empty forest
No noise
No animals.
Just trees
It was a man wearing a huge black coat, with a puffy mask covering his mouth
His breathing grew heavier as each leg sank deep into the snow with every step
An orb rested in his palm, pulsing green waves at the same pace.
Suddenly, he stopped.
He stretched his hand forward
The orb pulsed at the same pace
He slowly began turning to the right
30 degrees
50 degrees
70 degrees
90 degrees
He stopped again. Instantly he twisted back to 60 degrees
The orb was pulsing rapidly
"Got ya!" the man shouted.
Instantly, something flew out of the snow-covered tree
The Black Omen
It screeched, charging toward the man midair
The man didn't flinch
The orb pulsed violently
A 360-degree, green wave of energy burst outward from the orb
Flattening anything around the man
The trees fell. Even the snow around him melted-making the ground visible
The man walked toward the horse, the orb pulsing rapidly
Covered in a lot of snow and fallen trees
Instantly, it leapt out of the debris
Purple liquid oozing from its cut
It panted while staring at the man, it's eyes swirling like an empty void
Slowly, its face and mouth split open into four sections
Jagged teeth ran in circles along its five foot depth
"Yuk." The man muttered
The orb pulsed, glowing completely green
The horse shrieked, it's face slowing closing as it backed up
"It's time... Your rampage ends here," the man said
The light glowed brighter
The horse grew paler, its purple eyes beginning to fade to grey
The horse turned and started running
Stumbling like a drunken man as it dragged itself farther away
The man only walked
The horse was moving, but even the snow started to feel too heavy to cross
Its face opened into sections again, but each part hung loosely
Purple liquid falling from its mouth
The horse stopped farther ahead
Despite the sun shining, it was still too blurry to see more than a flicker up ahead
The crown pulsed, bringing Thomas closer to the ground
He could now see it clearly
Esther, years younger-probably an early adult.
She stood still as the approaching Black Omen got closer
Thomas tightened his fist, face hardening
The man hunting the beast finally came into clearer view
He stopped.
"Lady Esther!" he shouted. "Stay away from that monster!"
Esther didn't move
"Don't let it touch you!" he shouted again.
He dragged his feet forward, his foot thrashing against the snow
But the Omen was too close to her
"Lady Esther!" he shouted. "Run!"
Slowly, Esther reached out and patted the beast's head
"What the fuck?" Thomas swore
His eyes flickered between the man and Esther
The man stopped walking, watching as Esther patted the beast
A soft smile formed on her lips
"No..." the man muttered. " It can't be."
Thomas watched the man stare at the ground, as if he had been hit by a wave of truth
"I see..."
His left hand tightened into a fist. The orb glowed greener
"No-dammit watch out!" Thomas suddenly called.
But the man didn't hear
He couldn't
Footsteps grew closer quickly, the snow crunching beneath her feet
By the time the man looked up
Esther was already close, her eyes glowing cyan
The man wanted to move, but he couldn't
Almost like the eyes didn't want him to
Then-
A cold blade pierced his chest, inches from his heart
Esther held the blade in place
No sound.
Her eyes stopped glowing. Briefly, she began panting
The man gasped, looking at the blade
Blood seeped from his wound, dripping onto the snow
"Gah-ugh," the man groaned
He raised his hand swiftly
Trying to grip Esther's hand holding the blade
But she backed up quickly, leaving the blade stuck
The man didn't waste time
Despite his trembling arm, the man raised it
The orb glowed, firing a focused beam toward Esther
The beam melted the snow as it traveled across it
Esther's eyes widened as it traveled closer
Just as it was about to hit, a violet portal opened up
Swallowing the beam
The man exhaled, sweat dripping from his face
Blood leaked from his lips, as he fell to his knees
Another violet portal opened up the moment he hit the ground
He turned his head to the right
The horse stumbled out calmly, despite being injured
It walked out and moved to the right
The portal still remained
Slowly, from the center, a green circle grew wider and brighter
"Huh?" Thomas wondered
Before the man could react
The green beam passed through the portal
Striking the man and passing through his upper body
The man screamed, his flesh slowly burning away
Involuntarily, the orb pulsed
A green circular shield enveloped him, causing the beam to bounce and split
While hitting different spots around them
One near Esther, one knocking a few trees to the ground, and the last struck the ground where the man already was
The whole area exploded into smoke and melting snow
A grey haze everywhere
From above, Thomas watched, eyes wide
The crown beside him began lowering to the ground
Thomas followed
Through the haze they went
"N-no..." a voice muttered
Esther stood over the man. She picked up a pendant that seemed to have fallen from him
Her eyes studied it with intent. Even the horse peeked beffore letting out multiple neighs
"Don't you... dare," the man muttered
He shifted slightly, but he winced
His entire upper body had been scorched
"Don't you... dare," he muttered again
But the two entities were already gone
The pendant had fallen into the snow
Thomas moved forward
He knelt to get a look at the pendant
Inside, a picture rested.
The man and his family: a woman, boy, and girl
The boy looked strikingly familiar, though
Thomas' breath hitched slightly
Little Bob
Before he could process this any longer, the crown began vibrating
Time lurched instantly.
Darkness.
...
Before the rest of the world loaded in, Thomas could see fire
Below, he looked down
A wooden house came into view, part of its roof caved inward
Through the crack, he saw Bob's dad again.
Injured, but still fighting Morthar
He had just fallen to his knees.
Morthar stood over him.
The man raised his hand one last time
The orb glowed
But then shattered
"Dad-" A terrified scream echoed
Thomas turned.
In the back of the house was Bob's mother, stifling his screams
As she pulled her two kids away from the house.
Tears streaming from her cheeks, she pulled the kids farther away
Trying to go down a path
Thomas didn't have anything to say
The crown vibrated again
He closed his eyes
Time turned again, briefly, he opened them
He saw nobles and royals surrounding the wrecked house
A few villagers in the area surrounded them
Briefly, Thomas heard one of the nobles say, "monster attack"
...
Time shifted again, the crown pulsing faster
Suddenly, it stopped.
Thomas floated atop another house
It was no longer snowing. The city was in the distance
Thomas was lowered through the roof
The first thing he saw was a girl in her late teens
She knelt in front of her mother, whose skin looked shriveled and pale.
Her hair was withered and white
The mother was on the bed, breathing hoarsely.
The girl knelt beside her mother, a cup of tea in her hand
Thomas lowered himself through the roof onto the floor
He looked at the sickly woman lying limp
Then-something shifted in the corner.
A cloaked figure, a mask hiding everything except one eye
The figure stopped at a distance
Staring at the two women
That's when Nina stood up sharply
Thomas watched as she reached for a knife
And stood over the sleeping woman
"No... N-no... No!" Thomas shouted. He turned away, closing his eyes
It wasn't a clean sound. Just a dull- wet, heavy thump
Over and over again
Thomas clenched his fist, refusing to look back at Nina
The door leading to the room opened instantly
Bob
"Nina!" He shouted.
Before he could process it
Nina charged with the blade, thrusting forward.
Bob gripped her hands, getting pushed backward into the wall
"N-Nina... What have you done?" His voice cracked
While the two wrestled, the figure in the cloak moved silently
Rubbing their hands on the furniture as they got closer to the siblings
Then something flew past their face, grazing the mask.
Something tiny that, if it hadn't reflected the light in the room, the figure wouldn't have noticed.
The tiny object vanished through the room.
Every piece of furniture behind the figure suddenly had a perfect hole through it
The figure turned toward the window
Outside was a man, his hands mimicking a gun
It was Maxwell
"Shit!" he shouted
The figure turned to retreat instantly
While moving toward the door, the lower half of their mask fell to the floor
Revealing a soft chin beneath a pair of pink lips
Suddenly, two other men flew through the window.
Richie and Percy
Richie charged, a golden constructed mace in hand
He started swinging
Esther barely managed to dodge the first few
When she saw Percy's hand igniting with...
Green flames?
The whole side of the room exploded
Thomas barely knew what happened
He only saw Nina run through his translucent frame and into the bushes
Through the smoking house, the cloaked figure walked out
The mask crumbled to the floor
It was Esther, blood leaking from her forehead
She limped forward through the wreckage
"You aight, mate?" A familiar voice asked
Thomas turned
Richie stood over Bob, who clutched a wound on his right side
Maxwell stood behind Richie, arms folded.
Percy appeared from the smoke
"She's gone... again," he muttered, squeezing his fist
Richie sighed
"We'll get 'em next time."
Before the smoke could even clear
The crown was vibrating, pulsing louder and louder
Then
Darkness
....
The crackles of a flame could be heard, like wood snapping under pressure
"So... That's what happened?" a voice asked
It was Leo.
The trio sat around a campfire in a small cave
The crown was beside Thomas
His eyes were wide, bags hanging heavy beneath them
Autumn sat silently, fingers fumbling.
End