Tales of Undeath: The Von Virtus Chronicles

LI. The Plunge

Ballo: Now, close your eyes... And focus.

Virno: Focus?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Release me old man, you tricked me into this!

Virno tries to free his body from Ballo's magical shackles, but it was no use. The more he struggled, the more paralysing his imprisonment became. Soon, it felt like his entire body was stiff. Only his eyes could still dart around.

Ballo: Silence, Virno. The more you fight it, the tougher this becomes.

Even his mouth had become frozen. Try as he did, he could not muster to speak a single word. His eyelids began closing against his will, as his skin became more and more sensitive to any outside stimulus. 

Ballo: You will not see, you will not hear, you will not move... But you will feel.

From the sigil cast above his forehead, a single droplet of water began to form. It fell squarely on Virno's forehead, colder than anything he had ever felt. A painful shock travelled from his head all the way down to his toes, its impact magnified by Virno's overly-sensitive state.

Ballo: Almost all your senses have shut off by now, all but one -- your sense of touch. It has become heightened in response to the rapid cessation of your other senses, causing even the slightest breeze to feel as if blades are piercing into your very skin, evoking feelings of unimaginably sharp pain. Though your body will be safe... Your mind faces potentially ruinous damage.

Ballo's voice became more and more muffled, as Virno's hearing worsened with each passing second. Whatever momentary peace he could feel was perpetually shattered by the gelid droplets that irregularly fell from from the incantation looming over him, like frozen hammers dropping onto his head. 

Ballo: You must focus... Or else your mind will break. Focus Virno, focus...!

Before he knew it, he couldn't hear anything any longer. Alone in the darkness of his mind hearing nothing but the sound of silence, try as he might to wake, his body would not heed his will. And then, pain. Again. Anger gave way to desperation, as the coming of each droplet slowly became his only certainty. How long had it been...? And how much longer would it still take? Each freezing pang caused him to spiral down even further, to the point where there was no longer space for coherent thoughts. Fear was taking over and, with it, the realization of how heavy his burden was. How could he protect those dear to him when he himself could be left so powerless...? 

Greed: Snap out of it. You're pathetic!

He recognized the voice that spoke to him, yet he could not discern its direction. As he looks down, he notices that the ground beneath seems to be transparent. On the other side, was a young man who looked very much like himself... 

Greed: I thought you were better than this.

The other him crouches down, grasping Virno's leg through the glass, as it bends and twists allowing for his arm to pass through. With a strong grip on his ankle, he pulls Virno through the transparent floor and into his domain.

Greed: Were you so desperate to return here...?

As he makes it to the other side, Virno sees what he couldn't from behind the transparent yet elusive glass: the cradle of the world. The buoyant water, the dark skyscrapers... He was back. But, he was still not himself... Not fully. His entire body trembled, utterly overwhelmed by terror. As Greed drops him into the warm water, Virno notices he still could not speak.

Greed: Well, you're here now. I wouldn't waste time, if I were you.

He tries to talk, but no sound comes out.