I thought that I was dreamin'
when you said you love me
Ivy by Frank Ocean
An obnoxious noise rang through y/n's ears, not unlike a gong. Instead of being a physical noise, it was the headache-inducing pound of their head. The constant rhythm of it made them suck in a shaky breath and grasp a cut-up hand on their forehead.
The stinging feeling of open scratches burned under the light rain. Y/n groaned in response and fluttered their eyes open with furrowed eyebrows. They breathed quickly to ignore the constant pain shooting up practically every bone in their body and instead moved their eyes across the landscape around them. Thankfully, it seemed like they were on a large mound of shrubs and bushes, alleviating the possibility of multiple broken bones.
Ah, the fall.
They squinted their eyes to recall the situation, taking notice of the many scraps of metal surrounding the ground they lay on. An exasperated sigh escaped y/n's lips, before they shut their eyes, too tired to move—or do anything. The pain in their body didn't help either, the constant feeling of stinging bones and tight muscles worried them, but it wasn't so bad as to feel like a death sentence.
They were tired, drained, exhausted. The calm pattern of rain hitting metal, their unsteady breaths, the rustling of the trees, and the whistle of the wind filled their ears, lulling them into a deep sleep.
"I don't want to get up." They thought, imagining the peace of falling asleep and ignoring the stinging pain across their body. As the rain slowed, so did their breathing as they calmed their body, getting used to the aching feeling.
Y/n groaned and opened their eyes once more, using a slightly bruised arm to push themself up on the muddy bush and rubbed their eyes with grimy palms. They sat there silently for a moment, hoping the slightest bit of motivation could push them forward.
Hoping didn't help much, but their thoughts did. It hit them like a bullet and immediately their heart sank. Bile grew in y/n's throat and they stood up shakily, catching their breath as they got up on two—heavily sore—knees. Burying their face into their palms to wipe the dirtied rainwater across their muddied cheeks thoughts of Aether crashing into the ground flooded their mind.
Their head shot up and they shook their hands to dry them of the liquid, soon regretting it as the soreness in their arms caught up to them. Y/n looked around at the scene, thinking carefully about what they could do. It's not like they knew where Aether was and didn't intend to fall.
As they settled on the option of finding the castle, they felt a breeze push against their nape, pushing their body forward slightly, as if it was someone shoving y/n. Their eyebrows raised and looked around, wondering if it was truly the wind that pushed them with so much force.
Once again, the breeze moved through the air and pushed y/n's feet forward slightly, their eyes darting forward to where the wind had been motioning them. They took several steps forward, letting the consistent wind press against their wounds lead the way. They soon continued moving, except instead of tip-toeing, their footsteps grew heavy and quicker.
They felt ambivalent about the situation, following the wind like it was trying to bring them somewhere, but it wasn't like they could stop now. Y/n's footsteps tracked along the cold, muddied ground with small splashes. The unfortunate puddles beneath their feet swept onto the rest of the ground around them as they trekked forward, feeling the direction in which the wind grazed their skin.
After what felt like hours yet was mere seconds, something in the corner of y/n's eyes caught their attention. A light in the darkness, a colour in the grayscale... a door against a mountain. They stopped moving, the calming breeze that pushed against them came to a halt, and their eyes wandered towards the all-familiar door. Something they'd seen continuously for the last few months, something engraved into their mind from pure sightings.
"The castle's door." They thought, faltering closer to the wooden door. A doubtful feeling washed over them as they stared at the door, the knob seemingly on the verge of falling off. Y/n's eyes wandered across the door to its dial, watching as the hand hovered above the black dial. They shouldn't go in, they knew that. Before, Aether had come out of this door stressed and tired, who knew what was on the other end?
But for some reason, a strange feeling drew y/n towards it. As if they were destined to open the door, they felt all their senses become attached to the broken handle, and they raised their hand slowly to open the entryway. They squinted to get a better look at the area, wavering between stepping into the door or shutting it.
Before them lay nothing but darkness, either a pitch-black room or an area with absolutely no colour. Either way, the longing for that area increased, and what pushed them forward hesitantly was the wind once again blowing against their back.
They shuffled their feet forward and entered the room, feeling a cool chill fall upon them. The darkness encasing them felt crisp and moist, with the humid air leaving goosebumps trailing along y/n's battered-up arm. Their breath fogged in front of them leaving an unsettling feeling in their stomach. They turned back to see how far they'd made it, wondering if the temperature had increased due to how far they'd gotten, but any trace of the door behind them was nowhere to be seen.
They were alone, wandering aimlessly through a room of darkness with no exit.
A shiver ran up y/n's spine as they turned back around and took a deep breath. Once they faced ahead of them again, their eyes fixated on a completely different scene. Their pupils dilated at the new sight, and they blinked numerous times to accept the reality before them.
Y/n eyes darted to their sides, the sky, and behind them, realized the darkness that surrounded them became nothing but a memory, ultimately disappearing out of their sight.
They looked beneath them and caught their breath. Under them was what was presumed to be an ocean, however, with no raft or glass beneath them. Y/n's stomach dropped at the sight and they took various steps back, holding their breath as if they had already fallen under the water. Yet they never did.
Waves circled beneath their footsteps, following their movement like they were walking on water. Y/n stood still for a moment after realizing this, understanding they were still dealing with witchery. They breathed in hesitantly and watched as nothing happened. They took a second to look away from the water, now unwillingly accepting they arent going to sink.
Their eyes wandered across the ocean-like scene to a beach that rested ahead of them. With furrowed eyebrows, y/n walked slowly toward the land, seeing the cliff that hung not too far from the sand.
Then they noticed it. Two familiar figures with golden and silver hair, standing near the edge of the water.
Aether.
It was him, how was he here? He fell, didn't he? How was he not hurt? And how was Paimon there?
Y/n's footsteps stopped in their tracks the moment they understood what had happened. "Aether's memory. The black door, the darkness, the water, Aether and Paimon. It all makes sense, this is one of Aether's memories."
"Aether, you know the archons trusted you with that gnosis, right?" A squeaky voice echoed, involuntarily making y/n turn their head in the direction of their conversation.
"I know, but I think you having it will be safer for the both of us. I'm not sure what I'll do with it currently, but you understand it's better if you hang on to it." The blond responded, carrying the conversation.
Paimon nodded and latched onto the familiar object. Y/n recognized it was the gnosis she had shown them earlier.
"It sounds bad, but I'm not sure if I even want the gnosis," Aether said to her, looking towards the sky. "I might as well give it to the Tsaritsa if she wants it so bad."
No. Aether, don't do that.
"I don't think I'll ever have any use for it, anyway."
Y/n's eye widened at Aether's suggestion, taking a few steps forward in shock. "He can't do that, it wouldn't be good at all."
"Aether."
They started running, the duo's conversation being drowned out by the splash of water underneath y/n's feet.
"Aether, stop!"
They rushed, their blood running cold as they moved quicker to warn the boy.
"Ae-ther!" Their voice called, barely above a crack.
"Aether, Paimon, don't give the Tsaritsa the gnosis! You can't, she's a terrible woman!" Y/n screamed, rushing with soaked feet. Why were they soaked if she was above the water?
"Aether!" They cried, finally catching the attention of the duo. They smiled, finally seeing their eyes widen at their slowly sinking state. The water created something similar to a crater, swallowing anything above it, including the panicked y/n.
They gasped feeling a cold sweat come across them and their knees stiffened at the feeling of falling once again. They gasped, and looked into the blond's eyes, accepting the short interaction.
"Aether," they yelled, slowly falling as if gravity had decreased, "find me in the future!"
Then they fell into the void, leaving the duo speechless, and the silence of a still, sinkhole-free, ocean.
I have a lot of projects rn, but thankfully there is about 1 more chapter left! Thank you for bearing with me through this slowly updating fic.