"Good luck!"
Claire's platform rose until it was out of sight, leaving Lucas and Sophia down in the abyss. Beneath their feat, the tiles switched from one aggravatingly neon colour to the next.
"How do we get to Claire's house?" Lucas cried out to Sophia.
"I don't know!"
A shrill screech could be heard from above. Lucas and Sophia looked up to see what used to be Pine and Will diving for them. For the sake of saving themselves, Lucas and Sophia leapt from the only platforms in the whole void. Miraculously enough, Lucas landed on a brand new square tile right after launching himself from the last one. Behind him, the platform he was just standing on disappeared.
"Wait... Do we just have to move forward?"
Sophia brushed herself off. "Well, there's only one way to find out."
"Sophia, wait!"
She gave Lucas a smile. It was unlike any of the smirks he had grown accustomed to during his time with Sophia. Instead, it was one of resignation. "Win for me if I mess up, okay?"
"Sophia!" Lucas dashed to the edge of his tile and reached out to her. He was crestfallen to see that his arm could only go so far. He could only watch as Sophia put one foot forward...
Nothing caught it.
At the last moment, she grabbed onto her platform and she struggled to keep her grip on the paper-thin tile. Still, she exclaimed, "It's good, I'm good!"
Lucas let out a sigh of relief. He backed up as far as he could on his square and began to run. But just before he could leap off the platform, she was swooped away by one of Claire's winged beasts.
"Sophia!"
She opened up her mouth. Lucas never got to hear what she had to say. The beast ripped her head from off her neck — the move was done as quickly and as cleanly as a well-versed butcher separating the different parts of a pig. Lucas winced and looked away, desperate to keep down a sickening feeling rising up in his throat. When he looked back up, the beast was already soaring off with what was left of Sophia.
Lucas wiped off drops of blood from his cheek with a trembling had. He had to win. For Sophia's sake. For Jalen. For, Pine, Will, James, Aidan, Enoch-
"Oh, shoot."
The platform beneath his feet began to flicker. Panicked, Lucas jumped forward. Right before his eyes, a brand new platform came into view. Lucas whooped in glee a moment too soon.
Three sharp daggers dug into Lucas' shoulder before his feet landed on the tile. He let out a piercing scream and shot his hand up to the pain. He felt something rugged clinging to him like a jagged piece of shrapnel. The thing that had gotten its hold on him made a strangled, gurgling sound.
"S... ave m- e..."
"Aidan?"
Below Lucas, Claire's home came closer until it was no longer the size of a pea in his eyes. It finally looked to be the size of a small cottage now. If Lucas didn't rip Aidan off himself now, he would pass the house and likely lose the game.
Shoulders aren't that important, right?
A streak of blood resembling a slim string appeared in the air as Lucas plummeted towards the house. His shins got scratched on the yellow roof's edge, and his arm scraped against the rough texture of the walls. Lucas reached out to grab onto the vines growing on the stone and desperately clung to it to prevent himself from falling into the void.
When the vine proved to be strong enough to hold him up, he let out a shaky, relieved breath. Slowly, he summoned up all the upper body strength he could muster just to level his waist with the house's base. His arms were screaming out in pain as warm blood pumped to and spilled out of them. Lucas lifted a leg and tried to anchor his foot onto one of the vines, but it slipped off.
"No, no! Come on...," Lucas pleaded as he felt his limbs and core slowly begin to fail.
As he slipped farther and farther down the weakening vine, Lucas saw black smoke seep from the cottage's cracks. The black smoke shaped into something like an erratic tornado. It dangerously made its way closer and closer to the young man. Lucas' frightened met with hollow cavities that mocked eyes. The fear creeping through his drained veins was replaced with a tingle familiarity. Maybe that was why he didn't protest when it creeped into the cracks of his lips.
And maybe that's why everything went dark.
✦✧✧✧✧✦
Lucas watched his hand reach into a basket on a market stand. He had no autonomy over his own body — he was simply watching as an unwilling audience to his own show.
The hand Lucas was watching lifted a roll of bread from the basket and hid it behind a dull brown shawl he wore over his shoulders.
"Are you gonna pay for that, brat?"
Lucas spun around to face a man in a black, austere sheriff's uniform. The sheriff had a threatening baton in one hand and used the other to reach for Lucas' shawl. Lucas' hand shot up and stopped the officer's hand, but it wasn't enough. Obviously, the sheriff overpowered him and sent him stumbling backwards. Lucas' back hit one of the stall's wooden beams, causing his bread to fly out of is grasp and into the mud beside him. A blow was sent to Lucas' stomach by the sheriff's baton, forcing a startled yelp from Lucas.
Weirdly enough, Lucas' voice didn't sound like his own. It was... higher, and more feminine. The sound that escaped from Lucas' mouth belonged to Claire.
The scene before Lucas faded then took the shape of something new. This time, Lucas was sitting on a bench this time, gnawing away at a piece of bread. His abdomen still ached from the officer's assault, but it was easily overlooked compared to the sharp pain he felt on his cheek.
"You sure are hungry," a woman beside him commented.
Internally, Lucas furrowed his brows. Externally, he turned to face the side. If he had any control over his body, Lucas would have surely spat out his food in shock. Sitting right beside him, donning intricate golden armour over scarlet linen, was a young Nathalia Reid.
"Yeah...," Lucas heard himself reply sheepishly in Claire's voice. His throat was cleared. "Thanks... for saving me back there."
Nathalia leaned back and gave Lucas a lighthearted smile. It was jarring to say the least, especially after Lucas had only known her with a stern glare on her face. She said, "Honestly, you were doing pretty well even without my help. You could deal some real damage with the right training."
The sting on Lucas' cheek was overwhelmed by a more pleasant, warm sensation. "You think?"
Nathalia nodded. "And if you joined the military, you'd never go hungry again."
With that, the bread in Lucas' hand disappeared and was replaced with a sword. Its size, shape, and weight were nothing out of the ordinary, so it felt comfortable in his grip. After all, he had used the exact same one when he was a cadet.
His arm moved to block another cadet's sword from cutting him in half. It seemed that when Claire first experienced this moment, she, too, was bewildered by the swordsman's actions. Judging by the picnic tables around the scene and the tents just a few feet away, it definitely seemed like she wasn't on the training grounds.
Claire's foe was a young woman with morena skin and a fierce look in her eyes. Lucas recognized her as a fellow former member of the 43rd Cardinal Brigade. Her name was... Rayne. Yes, Rayne. Her departure from the brigade had nothing to do with being revealed to be a Gifted. In actuality, it had to do with her impeccable sense for sniffing out Gifteds, so she was moved to a different division. Thankfully, Lucas only met her briefly when Sarnia wanted to say "hi" to her dear friend, so he was never found out. Even if he only knew her for a moment or so, he never knew her to be this... violent. Well, maybe she was only like that if she detected someone was Gifted.
"What happened to Jake, Claire? I know you have something to do with this," she accused.
Claire sheathed her sword. "I don't know."
"The hell do you mean you 'don't know'-?!"
"Rayne, please sit down...," another cadet (was her name Umi?) begged.
Claire watched Rayne coolly. "Even if I had something to do with Jake's desertion..."
"Kidnapping!"
"...Whatever you want to call it. Tell me, what proof do you have?"
Everyone watched Rayne expectedly, waiting for some sort of explanation for this outburst, but nothing came. Rayne simply gritted her teeth and plopped back down in her seat.
And then...
Lucas was standing in Reid's tent again. No, the furniture here was much grander, and the tent's canvas was a deep crimson. Besides, the person seated at the imposing desk was General Chamberland.
"She trapped me on- on some farm! I didn't question it at first, but there was something wrong with the place. And with my memory. There was something wrong with all of our memories," Rayne proclaimed as she gestured to a group of fellow cadets surrounding her. The young man beside her was probably that Jake guy who was missing in the last scene.
"I see," Chamberland said. "Thank you for alerting of this..." He glared at Lucas. "...cur that has managed to sneak into our ranks. You will be rewarded, especially after escaping from its wretched trap."
Someone was holding up Chamberland's sword to Lucas' throat, but this time, it glowed yellow instead of red. Lucas' breath was shallow and petrified, dreading the blade slowly sinking into his skin. But that didn't happen.
The scene was now of Claire in the middle of the woods, rummaging through her pockets to search for a measly bit of bread crumbs. Somewhere off in the trees, some rustling could be heard. Lucas felt Claire's heart rate spike, but then he felt her relief when she saw that it was just some tall, lanky man who was likely just another Gifted exile. Then he felt a devious grin form on her face.
A blur of several games played out before Lucas' eyes. It was the same story every time. A newcomer to the Yellow Plains would have to solve some mystery, but when they ultimately failed, they would die. Then, when the next game started, they would join Claire's cast of colourful characters. It started with Aidan, then Will, then Pine. Miraculously enough, Brody won but decided to stay for some strange reason. Claire just let him be because his Gift to plant thoughts into other people's minds could be useful to Claire's cause, no matter how terrifying it was. Then finally...
Lucas was viewing things from Enoch's point of view now. He was in his bed for one moment, then the next, he was taste-testing something for Brody. Then he was pulling weeds from the ground with Will. Making flower crowns with Claire.
Now, the sky was dark. The moon was full, and an atrocious amount of stars glistened in the night sky. Enoch was staring out his bedroom window, completely fixated on something on the edge of the forest — a golden wolf.
Then, the sky was bright.
"James?"
James looked away from the clothes he was drying. "Yeah?"
"Were you up late last night?"
"Nah. I was actually able to fall asleep early if you can believe it."
"Oh."
"Why do you ask?"
"It's no big deal. It's j——t ——— golden ———."
Enoch was in the forest. He was searching for something. He looked through bushes, behind rocks, on top of trees. Nothing.
The sky was dark. Enoch was still in the forest. His hands were calloused, and his throat was dry. His eyes were moist, and his nose was clogged. Lucas heard his stomach growl. Enoch lifted his hand and bit into the minuscule berries he found. The moment his teeth sank into the berries, Lucas knew something was off.
The sky was bright. Enoch was alive. He only had to walk a little bit to find himself back in the Yellow Plains.
He blinked. "Weird."
The sky was dark. The sky was bright. The sky was dark. The sky was bright. These memories were getting weaker, getting harder to be shown to Lucas. For a moment, he saw a cave, then a piece of paper, then dirt. Enoch was muttering something to himself over and over again. This place is wicked, this place is wicked, this place is wicked. It wouldn't stop no matter what Lucas was looking at. It only got drowned out by someone else's voice. Pine's.
"HOW COULD YOU-?? THESE PEO——E ——— ———!! I ———, I'LL KILL ———!!"
Flames.
"Let her believe ——— ———, and she'll play right into my hand. Once she's gotten rid of Jal—n, Lucas, ——— ——phia, I can ——— ——— ———, take her kill count, ——— report back."
Lucas' hand was penning those words to paper. The paper was on a counter. The counter was Brody's.
The sky was dark for the last time. Brody opened the door to his house to find someone reading through his notes.
"Hey! What do you ——— doing?"
That someone looked back. He looked like a spooked deer. That deer was Jalen.
✦✧✧✧✧✦
Lucas felt his warm blood dripping down his arm and a vine slipping from his grip. He jolted himself awake and fought with his last bit of energy to pull himself up to Claire's cottage. He found stable footing on a ledge on the wall and used his lower body strength to move into a standing position. Just with that, the door to the house was just a few shuffles away. He could make it.
"NO!" A voice echoed throughout the void. Lucas looked up.
Claire was plummeting right towards him with a furious expression. Panic shot through his veins, forcing him to move towards the door faster. Lucas reached out his calloused hand to the door knob...
The sun's light gushed through and enveloped Lucas in its light.
Lucas fell to his knees and felt the lush, green grass tickle at his bare skin. A light breeze moved around the untidy hair resting on his forehead, and the scent of fresh pine trees drifted towards his nose.
A hesitant smile broke onto Lucas' face. "I... made it."
"You sure did," he heard Claire say. He turned to look at her. Her beautiful, strawberry-patterned dress was gone. Instead, she sat there in the grass, bearing a soiled scarlet tunic and a grimace.
"Lucas?"
Lucas looked to the other direction. "Sophia!"
He jumped to his feet and dashed towards her. He threw his arms around her and pulled her in close, caressing the back of her neck to assure himself that yes, she's still in one piece. She's alright. She's alive.
"...What are you doing?" she asked. Her voice was muffled a bit from being squished into Lucas' chest.
"I'm giving you a hug."
"Oh." It sounded as if she wasn't really enjoying the hug, but she made no move to free herself from it. " 'Kay."
"Aidan!"
James ran up to his friend and hopped around ecstatically. Aidan did his best to return the enthusiasm with a small smile. And off to the other side of the forest's clearing was Pine and Will. They were looking at something on the ground.
"Is he alive?" Will asked.
Pine nodded.
"How do you feel?"
They just shrugged. Lucas finally pulled himself away from Sophia to see what the pair were looking at: An unconscious young man with dark black hair and light yellow paper flowing from his pockets. After spending some time in his memories, Lucas knew who he was right away. He had no need to ask for clarification of who he was. The question Lucas was aching to ask was, "Where's Jalen?"
The escapees of the Yellow Plains all looked over to Claire. She sighed.
"There's three ways you can die in the Yellow Plains," she began. "A death — directly or indirectly — caused by me, yourself, or by another player. I orchestrated several deaths, like Aidan's, Will's, Pine's, James', and Enoch's.
"However, Enoch has caused his own death a few times before I did. He discovered that suicide, whether it was on purpose or by accident, would result in being revived at a certain part of the forest. It was a little mistake I made while constructing the Yellow Plains that has proven... difficult to fix.
"Brody constantly took advantage of that little malfunction and even discovered you could leave that way. You just had to walk a bit deeper into the woods. He also discovered that coming and going as he pleased exempt him from most of the Yellow Plains' rules. We struck a silent deal: He would find Gifteds for me, and... Well, I'm not quite sure what he wanted from me. That doesn't matter anymore since he ran off a while ago."
"Wait, that's why he committed suicide? So he could leave?"
Claire nodded. "He's a coward. Finally, there's the one person who was killed by another player: Jalen."
"And?"
Claire clenched her jaw. "And I don't know what happens when one player kills another player. It hasn't happened until now, and it isn't something I took into account when constructing the Yellow Plains."
"So, you're saying..."
"I'm saying I don't know what happened to Jalen. But since he isn't here... I think I can make a pretty accurate guess."
...
"Lucas?"
"...You okay, man?"
"Where are you going?"
"Hey! Do you mind answering?"
Lucas kept moving. It was like he had zero control over his own legs. He had zero control over his own thoughts. He refused to register the voices calling out to him, and he refused to properly process what Claire had just told him. Because if he did... If he did, he wasn't sure what he would do. He didn't know what to do. Maybe someone did.
Maybe that someone was already back in the Lyrin Desert, waiting for him.
---
A/N
You know that thing in Heaven Official's Blessing where the entirety of Yin Yu's backstory was dumped by having Hua Cheng show Xie Lian all his memories? Yeah, that's what I attempted here. The writing there was super choppy 'cuz I was getting tired, but you know what? It should be choppy. I'm not fixing it. Also.
YOU GUYS SAID I WOULDN'T DO IT. GUESS WHAT. I DID IT.
Anyways, I'm bad at outros...
Bye.