VAIN | Inside the Universe

Chapter Thirty Eight • The First Faithful Vow

Now, I've never been prone to fainting, but it happens, right?

Surely it happens. Perhaps, as a first-timer of sorts, things are supposed to be a bit more intense for me. You know, instead of seeing stars, seeing the entire galaxy rush by you?

I don't know when I decided to close my eyes, but I do know that when I stopped spinning a few seconds ago, I wasn't all there just yet. No, I think I'm losing it, actually. Because...

Well, it's quiet.

Quiet enough that, despite the embarrassingly loud attempts to catch my breath, I have to acknowledge that I've settled. And perhaps the very prospect that I could be anywhere other than that stupid farm is the reason why my eyes refuse to open again.

Because — god, because I'm hearing things. Things I shouldn't be. And when I relax for a second, I can hear it so clearly that my mind won't let me deny it.

There's a faint sound of waves crashing in the distance.

With a deep breath in, I supposed the sight of whatever is under my feet would give me the profundity with the least bit of damage. I can at least admit that I've been moved somewhere, and this would be to simply confirm that fact, and nothing further. A little peek can't hurt. Not unless...

"Oh, fuck."

Well, not unless this — the furthest thing imaginable from tall grass, compost, and the risk for Lymes disease.

Solid, regally designed, gold.

Looking down at my feet, my breathing began to pick up again, coming out heavy and harsh.

Oh, I absolutely shouldn't be here. This absolutely, definitely should not be allowed.

And, yet...

Ever so slowly, I began to lift my head up, adjusting to the daylight that was only more blinding with the accompanying golden dome around me. The very same structure that encased me countless times, listening to my pleas to leave, and withstanding my strategies for escape. And now, perhaps too humble to relish in the irony of it all.

No, there was no more denying it. And as if every sense of mine knew by now their need to compensate for how deeply my mind could convince myself otherwise, my eyes began blinking with a purpose, prompting one of my hands to hover just under my forehead. Because the telltale of my reality took the form of the tallest building on the horizon, the palace standing formidably beyond the chromatic bridge, if not simply because it's the bearings of the one man in this universe that I can't lie to, whether it be about him or myself.

I know I have every reason to hate that palace. The audacity of it. The pretentiousness of it. But, god.

Before I could take a step forward, I heard another sound almost just as foreign as those waves were.

I'm laughing. Softly and to myself, but I can't stop it if I tried. In fact, my arm dropped to my side as I surrendered to it, shamelessly.

It worked.

It fucking worked. It shouldn't have. I shouldn't-

It doesn't matter. Because I'm here. I'm here. And for some god damned reason, Heimdall thinks I should be too.

Heimdall.

When I have the time to compile the list of everything I owe him, I'll be sure to double the reward of my every transgression. Our relationship is profoundly unfair to him, definitely unjust to the rest of the world, but for now, I don't think I would make it any better if I didn't get a move on.