Lost to the Ages (Ongoing (Spotty Updates))

(OoW)- Episode 10: Emerge! Black Turtle

*Yin*

"What happened?" I said, opening my eyes. I find myself knee-deep inside a pool of murky water. "Wait, is this a swamp? Why am I here? Yin? Kang? Biming? Anyone there? Hello!"

"This place is the 'Realm of Dreams'," the voice in my head called out. A majestic white tiger walked stepped into the water. The murkiness of the water didn't even seem to muddy its fur.

I smiled. "So, we finally meet in person. Is this your doing?"

He nodded. "Though, it seems that I failed to bring you to the place I had desired. This isn't the territory of my Queen. It's her husband's territory. The place closest to the realms of the awakened, the Northern Marshlands."

I tried to recall all the dreams I had ever had.

"I don't buy it. This place doesn't look anything like where my dreams take place," I muttered.

The majestic king of the beasts focused its icy blue eyes on me. "Those dreams are similar but not exact. This world is not a figment of one's imagination. It's called the 'Realm of Dreams' as it's only assessable through sleep."

I walked over to him even though doing so was difficult with the thick water weighing my legs down. "That kind of makes sense. So, why did you want to take me to your lands? To meet your queen? If so, why?"

The tiger shook its head. "You ask too much at once, young child. However, curiosity isn't bad. I did so as she can help us with your training. At the same time, she can help me regain my physical form, the one I used in your world."

"We're parting ways, already?" I said. I looked down at my mud covered clothes. I sure hoped that I wasn't covered in mud back in my world.

The tiger nodded its head. "Yes. Plus, I think that you might just be the right child for what my master desires."

What she desires?

"I don't know much, but I do know that she seeks someone to represent the five lands of the dream realm back in your world. As to why? That's anybody's guess."

"Halt tiger, child," a voice echoed from the marsh I had just emerged from.

I gulped. "What was that? There a swamp monster here?"

"This is a marsh, not a swamp. There's a difference," the voice underneath the blackish waters called out.

There is?

A turtle pushed its head out of the water. Its body and shell were as black as the blackest starless night. Its eyes were the only part of it that weren't black. The irises were a light red.

"Why are you in this territory?" it said, keeping those red eyes of it on us. "Do you wish to speak to the King? He is currently out. It seems that there's trouble in the lands beyond this continent which they must deal with."

"Who is this 'they' you speak of?" I ask.

"The other world rulers of this continent. They also left with him." The reptile inched closer to me with its eyes narrowed. "Boy, who are you?"

"He's the one who my master might need," the white tiger said.

The black turtle darted over to the tiger marsh. "Ah, in that case, would you mind if I take your place?"

The white tiger chuckled as it turned around. "He's currently cultivating. Be careful not to kill him."

The turtle grinned and stepped completely out of the water, revealing it's full size. The beast was as big as a one story house. "If he's the one then he won't die."

I laughed nervously. I sure hope I am the one they're looking for...

The tiger closed its icy blue eyes while the turtle closed its red eyes. A black marble, similar to the white sphere I had found on the canyon floor, formed in the turtle's mouth.

"Prepare yourself," the tiger warned.

A sharp pain ran across every fiber of my body. I fell to my knees and began to cough out blood as the white marble emerged from my chest. However, it seemed to be missing a part.

The tiger moved away from me. "I'll leave you a part of me, that way you won't die."

I felt the muddy ground underneath start to blur. I swayed back and forth. I almost felt as if my body was leaving my soul behind.

For a split second, I could hear screams that sounded like my sister's, telling me not to die and blaming herself. It sounded as if she were desperately trying to break something.

"Hurry up!" the tiger bellowed at the turtle. "The power I left behind can only keep the child alive for a couple minutes."

"I'm coming. Perfection requires time," the turtle said in a calm tone.

The pain only grew worse, this time, it struck my bones. I could feel them ache as if they were shattering, almost as if I had fallen down from a canyon...

I shook my head as I realized what was going on. The tiger's words from when we met, how he had told me that he would keep me alive. I...had died, or at the very least was near death when he had saved me.

I closed my eyes. Please hurry up, turtle! I'm going to die again at this rate.

**This Chapter ended up being rather short. I wanted to leave it on a cliff-hanger of sorts so I decided to end it where I did. Considering that this chapter was also kind of an info-dump, that might be for the best ^^.**