In Memoriam - An Unus Annus Fanfiction

27.03 - 03/27 - Having an adventure in VRChat because we can't go outside

»Woah.« The three men collectively stopped to wonder at the spectacle before them. A gigantic cavern opened up before their eyes, illuminated by light from below. Deep deep down, red streams of molten stone drowsily flowed along their path. Rouge took a step forward, gazing down the edge. »I have been to a lot of places. But rarely I have seen something as wondrous as this.«
Unus followed his example, looking down to the magma. The ground beneath his feet began to spin, and he took a step back.
  »Look like we'll have to go this way,« Annus said, pointing towards a narrow pathway, a long bride separating them from a long fall and a fiery death.
Unus went first, which surprised his friend. Usually, he wasn't a fan of heights, but now, he didn't seem to care.

The narrow way soon ended in nothingness. The rest of it must have broken off long ago. There was a wall, seemingly leading upwards a short jump away to the right. If they still had their abilities, it would have been a piece of cake, but now, a single missed stepped could have fatal consequences.
Nevertheless, Unus jumped, grabbing hold on a small ledge. His feet slipped, but he caught himself and and began climbing.
   »Your friend is braver than most men I have met,« Rouge said. »Or blissfully unaware of the dangers around him.«
He followed Unus's lead, and so did Annus. Sweat drops formed on his forehead and palms, and he held on tighter. The white of his knuckles became visible, and he didn't dare to look down. The climb was relatively easy, even without their abilities.

From the top, they could see a net of stone arches and bridges. Like a second story to a labyrinth, it stretched out before them. The air was hotter up here, by a lot. Annus took off his jacket and tied its sleeves around his waist.
There was another, smaller wall on the other side of the room. The path their wasn't hard go find, but more than once, the bridges became so thin that you couldn't put one foot next to the other.
After what felt like an eternity, they made it over. The climb was shorter than the first, yet it feels twice as exhausting. Somehow, he managed to not slip once, but yet he almost stumbled right back down he came face to face with what they had come here for.

The monster was real. It seemed to surprise Rouge as much as them. It was enormous, and strangely beautiful. A golem, no, a Titan made out of dark black rocks and molten lava, vaguely humanoid but at the same time so much more. It's eyes we're glowing like the magma itself as it looked down on the trio. That moment, Annus realized a simple truth. This being was alive, as alive as every one of them. And it was peaceful, because if it weren't, they would have been crushed by it's mighty hands already. He had seen monsters, and this being of molten stone wasn't one.
  »Wait,« he said, with awe in his voice. »We have to kill this thing? Why? It's majestic.«
Rouge shrugged. »I mean, we can just stare at it if you want.«
   »No, seriously. We just come into its home and now we're supposed to kill it?«
Unus shook his head. »I don't think we should do it, Annus.«
   »I don't think we should do it,« Annus repeated. »Who are we to suggest that we are the givers of live and death?«

The two friends sat down at the edge, looking at the creature. Just like that, it could have been over, Unus thought. They could kill this being, and wish for the clock to stop, or for being back in Marks and Ethans minds, or maybe if they were clever, for both. But they'd have to kill it. And  he didn't want to do that. Taking a life for such a selfish reasons just wasn't right. A silent whisper in his head, reminded him that he would have let Dark die, but he shooed it away. This was something different.

He turned his head back to Rouge, who was leaning on a large boulder.
   »Rouge, do you know about the inevitability of the clock?«
  »Our death comes for us all?« The young man nodded. »No matter how many times you smash it, it never stops, yeah.«
   »Yup,« Annus agreed.
»What do you think about the inevitability of our doom?« The man in the black suit asked.
A smile crossed Rouges face. »We'll get there when we get there.«
Unus huffed a laugh. »Nicely put.«

Silence covered the scene like a warm blanket, and for a long time, the three just stood there and looked at the lava creature, each of them lost in their own thoughts.