Desperation, Death, and Devastation

“We have to flee this place! Now!!” Izhari cried as she found her staff and forced herself onto her unsteady legs.

Only now did Tomita notice her disabled and braced leg that dragged beside her. That, coupled with her blindness and the look of pure terror in her eyes, revealed the visage of an endangered creature at the end of its life. None of this made sense to Tomita.

“What is going on?!” he shouted.

“Run! WE HAVE TO RUN!” she cried as hysterical tears returned to her eyes.

The voices were closer now. Flight instincts seized Tomita’s mind, and he grabbed the cat girl’s hand.

“Goddammit!” he growled as he pulled her forward.

“Your hand is barely bigger than mine…” she muttered in resignation.

“Again- five foot seven! Now tell me where to go!”

“There’s only one door out. We’re going to have to fight them. I barely have any strength left. We can’t face them head on…” Izhari whispered in a panic.

“Well then, make a door!” whispered Tomita.

“What?!” she asked.

“Blow a hole in the wall! Get out the back!” Tomita responded as he pointed to the opposite side of the wall.

“This is a sacred hall I cannot possibly damage-”

“It’s either break a few dirty old stones or die here!” Tomita roared in annoyance as she weighed the decision.

“...Fine! Machina forgive me!” Izhari said as she closed her eyes and looked away while extending her hand.

To Tomita’s surprise, the spell from her hand was not explosive. There was a strange ambient hum, then a portal-like frame burned into a cropping of stones that was big enough for the two of them to fit through.

“By my mind, this shall no longer exist. Be gone and never return,” Izhari said as the stones ignited and then dissolved into nothingness.

The wall was open to the roaring storm outside. Tomita grabbed Izhari’s hand and moved as quickly as possible. Once the two of them were outside of the Sanctum hall and into the storm, Tomita finally got a view of his new reality, and the view was mortifyingly overwhelming.

“Whoooooaaaa shit!” Tomita shouted into the rain as he swiftly stopped near the edge of the cliff they were against.

The Summoning Sanctum was anchored against the edge of a cliff that fell into oblivion. They were airborne, seemingly floating in the sky on an island of stone and moss. Chains with links the size of buildings were mounted to the sides of the island, which drifted downward and outward into the foggy haze of the world beyond. Glowing purple rain pelted the ground all around them as howling winds threatened to pull the two of them from the edge.

Behind them, the doorway burst open.

“Are we at the ledge?!” screamed Izhari as the new pursuers entered the Sanctum behind them.

“Yes!” shouted Tomita.

Izhari inhaled and grabbed a vial and a small blade from her pouch. Without a moment's hesitation, she stabbed the knife into her leg and let out a scream.

“What are you doing?!” screamed Tomita, but she ignored him.

“Essence for essence! Take my sacrifice and give me that which is needed,” Izhari spoke to the vial before consuming the black liquid within.

There was a sinister growl from inside Izhari’s throat that did not seem to be hers. Ink-like smoke poured from her mouth, and her eyes turned pitch black. Rushing footsteps echoed behind them and towards the door.

“Now you are here. Now you are gone,” growled Izhari as she extended her hand towards the opening beside them.

Back in the Summoning Sanctum, the pursuers were running forward. There were five of them. A portal appeared before them, and two of the pursuers ran through before being able to stop. Then another portal appeared just beside Tomita at the ledge. The two pursuers burst through, glitching across the entire gap of the Sanctum in a millisecond. Their momentum was too strong, and before they could stop, the two of them were tumbling with a scream into the oblivion below. Tomita had time to catch a view of a human-esque being and an ashen, stone-like animal covered in light armor. His eyes met theirs as the two of them fell to their deaths with terror and confusion etched on their faces.

“Hollllly….” Tomita whispered.

“I am not holy, please stop saying that,” choked Izhari as she lurched and vomited up the remaining smoke, which fell from her mouth in a lumpy, contaminated pulp.

Tomita glanced at her leg, which was now turning black around the wound.

“Your leg…” he said.

“I’ll deal with it when I’ve regained mana. I can’t craft any more spells for now, or it will kill me.”

Tomita accepted her stern answer and held her hand once more as they moved around the edge of the Sanctum’s exterior wall. Izhari’s attack seemed to slow the captors for a brief moment, as Tomita could now hear their footfall approaching more cautiously.

“Do not let them touch us!” Izhari commanded.

“Roger,” said Tomita.

“What is a ‘rogger?’” Izhari asked in concern.

“It’s a phrase- nevermind.”

Just then, Tomita heard the remaining pursuers exit the Sanctum and begin their pursuit around the tower. For the two of them, their ledge was widening now, and the cliff edge was several meters away. By now, they had nearly circled the tower and were near a cropping of boulders and ruined storage buildings. Izhari began to slouch from exhaustion. Hiding was not the best option. Tomita’s panicked mind raced until an idea hit him.

“Wait, they don’t know I’m here, right?” he asked Izhari.

“No.” she replied.

“And I don’t look like a guardian familiar?” he asked.

“No…” she replied once more.

Tomita formulated his plan. He was no great warrior or brilliant tactician. He had no armor or weapon, no understanding of this strange new realm, no magical abilities, and only one shoe. One shoe. He took off the shoe for consistency. Padding his jacket for ideas, he heard a ring of metal and realized he still had his business card case.

“Alright, I’m going to pretend to capture you, okay?” he said to Izhari.

“What?” she asked in a frightened, untrusting voice.

“Just trust me. We can’t sit here hiding and hope they give up. We’re going to walk right at them. With any luck, I can trick them,” said Tomita as he opened his card holder to remove a handful of business cards.

“I do not know about this…” Izhari said, her fingers tensing around her staff for support.

“Just trust me. No matter what, do not move or try to attack. You must act like you are unconscious.”

Hints of fear snuck through her forced composure, but Izhari inhaled and steadied her breath. After a moment, she accepted.

“I’m going to need to carry you, okay?” Tomita asked.

Izhari could not speak and merely nodded in response. Winds howled and blew her robes across her body as she stood still and waited for Tomita’s embrace. After sizing up her form, Tomita was ready.

“Here we go,” he said.