Crossing Fates

Chapter Two

I wake up, gasping for breath, my hands pressed against the cool, rising glass above me. Panic surges through my veins as I struggle to make sense of my surroundings. Where am I? The pod I'm trapped in is like nothing I've ever seen before. My heart races as I carefully extricate myself, cautious of the slippery liquid coating the surface.

Desperation grips me, and I call out for my fellow Grey Warden, "Alistar!" But the only response is the crackling of nearby fires, leaving me with a sinking feeling of isolation.

I continue calling for the others, "Morrigan!" as I climb onto a nearby platform. Where could they be? My breath quickens as I leap over obstacles, scanning the eerie, unfamiliar platforms around me. My voice echoes through the unsettling silence, and the weight of uncertainty bears down on me.

Returning to my pod, I search for any clues, but it yields nothing. An adjacent empty pod offers no answers. Could one of them have awakened and ventured onward in search of help? My mind races with worry as I cautiously approach a fleshy pink door.

However, my progress is interrupted as I trip over an object on the ground. Investigating reveals a corpse unlike any I've ever seen--tentacles protruding from its mouth, clad in bizarre robes. A glint catches my eye around its neck--a captivating opal necklace.

"What in the Maker?" I whisper, studying the eerie figure. It remains motionless, its injuries inflicted by some form of explosion. I glance at the necklace once more before deciding to take it, perhaps a memento of someone this creature once knew. Pushing the unsettling sight from my thoughts, I continue onward, all the while grappling with a mix of curiosity and fear.

As I approach, the fleshy door swings open, and a sudden pain shoots behind my eye. I groan and stumble through the doorway into a scene of chaos and destruction as fires rage on the ground.

To my left, a dead goblin lies sprawled across a table, blood around its eyes and mouth. Nearby, a tablet bears gibberish inscriptions. As I pick it up, a searing pain pierces my eye, and a torrent of visions floods my mind--goblins engaged in rituals and daily activities, an overwhelming barrage of images. I hastily set the tablet down, my head throbbing with the intensity of it all.

A voice calls out from deeper in the room, "Help us. We are trapped." I leave the dead goblin behind, hoping for answers from any survivors. As I approach a strange platform with a glowing red pedestal, the voice grows louder. I touch it, and it ascends, revealing a gruesome scene--a seated elvish man with a gaping skull, his brain pulsating. The voice intensifies, and I feel a surge of both empathy and dread.

"Please help us," the voice implores, though the man's mouth remains motionless. He groans in pain, his eyes darting wildly. The voice seems to emanate from the exposed brain.

"Yes! You've come to save us from this place. From this place, you'll free us!" The brain flexes and moves as the elf's body jerks. The voice is coming from the brain, feeding directly into my mind. I touch the side of my head as the pain in my eye fades into a faint throb, overwhelmed by the haunting strangeness of the situation.

"Please, before they return. They return," The brain voice is multiple other voices layered over each other. I lean down and try to see what magic has been done to cause the brain to be active like this. It doesn't look like an abomination, nor does it act like one.

"What are you?" I ask, seeking clarity from this bewildering situation.

"A newborn. Born anew from this husk," the brain responds, continuing to squirm, and I can't help but feel a sense of pity for this creature, an odd mix of fear and compassion.

"So not helpful," I mutter in frustration. It's a creature more brain than a person, not an abomination I've encountered before.

Curiosity piqued, I inquire further, "What do you need me to do?"