A continuation of my tale from Part 3.
It was only the next morning, but things were not good. I was still broken and weak and The Abyss was managing to hide from me now. Far worse than any of that though is the hell that had been unleashed upon the planet. Dark red clouds covered the sky causing a surreal red ethereal glow. Blood rained from the clouds 24/7. But worse of all? The demons that had been unleashed upon the Earth. Feral, evil, angry demons now roamed all over. Dog like in the sense that they walked around on all fours and looked remotely wolf like. Demon like in the fact that their eyes glow fire red, their ‘The Abyss’ black scaly skin looked like it could swallow your soul, monstrous teeth that were so sharp you were sure they’d tear right through metal.
You knew you were safe physically from them, they were somehow connected to The Abyss and could not physically harm you. But that meant little for everyone else. You hide in a cave with them, too weak to protect them from the demons. The good thing was The Abyss was so fearful of you now the demons seemed to leave you and your people alone. You can’t protect everyone though, even if you weren’t broken to protect the whole earth for more than a mere moment was asking way too much of your abilities. You made it this far on luck and The Abyss being more confused and afraid than you are.
…
A week passed; little had changed. Your people, including you, were starving and slowly dying to death of exhaustion and dehydration. The Abyss couldn’t hurt you but you were sure natural human processes could. The demons still ravaged the planet and even though you felt just as broken as ever your powers were slowly returning. You could feel the fear and despair, you could feel it every time a person lost a life to the demons. But you couldn’t do anything to stop it or help anyone.
Then finally after a couple more days, and the fact your group managed to get their hands on some water and what little bit of plant life remained to eat, you were strong enough to search for her. You reached out, it had been so long you felt a little rusty, but then you found her.
She’s alive.
She’s alive.
But then the despair, the fear, the pain of hunger. It filled you in a way things never had before, you thought your connection with emotions and people had been strong before. For a moment, just a moment, you found yourself in her mind.
A father leaving his family.
A mother dying too earlier.
A tough life in the foster system.
Last bit of family dying.
The day it happened, the day he arrived. Everyone around the entire world knew this was the end, if only the beginning of the end.
And I was back. And something was different. I was no longer broken or weak, I no longer felt hungry or thirsty, and I rose. I opened my mind and reached out, I felt her again. I sent hope, happiness, and did my best to relieve her pain and hunger. Once I felt her become a bit stronger, I focused elsewhere. The world was dying, not just the people but the world. It felt like the very Earth itself was having its soul sucked out.
My people watched as I walked out of our cave, and I saw one in the distance. A demon. It looked at me and I felt the connection, not just with it but with The Abyss. Exactly what I wanted. And it felt me instantly, but it was still very broken and weak. Much weaker than I was, he could not block himself off from me.
“You know,” I say to it, “you could end this now. Leave, and enter your eternal slumber. Sleep forever and I won’t have to kill you.”
The Abyss stares back at me with an evil smile upon its face, “oh my poor human, my poor living soul. Do you think you scare me? Do you think I don’t see into you? What motivates you? I will get to her, and I will destroy her. And when I do it will destroy you, and your soul will be mine. And you know what the best part will be? I was going to end life slowly, but not now. My retribution for what you have done will be the end the entirety of existence shortly after you. Not just life, not anymore, I will consume everything until there is nothing left. Then, then I will slumber.”
And I was blocked, pushed out. The Abyss had managed to find enough strength to block me off. The demon now lies dead on the ground. I consider taking it back for food for the rest, but something told me it would kill them quickly. Definitely poisonous.
I return back into the cave, down and afraid. I tried to put on a good show, but The Abyss not only saw straight through it but could even see what would hurt me the most. It isn’t just her life on my shoulders, it’s literally all of existence. So, I sit and meditate. I connect not only with the people but the planet itself. It is dying. Like not just the planet either, through the planet I feel a deeper connection with the cosmos. The whole universe, multiverse? Is dying. Slowly, very slowly, but I was sure everything that lives throughout time and space could feel something bad was happening.
And my fear only grew. I wasn’t sure what The Abyss was doing or how it was managing being so weak, but The Abyss had set off some chain of events. I think he’s recovering by literally draining existence’s soul. Which means something worse, he’s not just recovering. He’s powering up.
I search into my heart to find the soul of the woman I had locked away and protected, I felt a great heat and energy fill me. I reached out to the world I was currently on and everyone in it, and I sent healing energy. It wasn’t much, but I could feel a small change.