Closed Return to the Aperture. (Abstract)

[Ximal]

Summer 67th 513AV Xi stilled his nerves....It'd been well over a season since he'd last been down into that black abyss...And he still wasn't entirely sure whether or not he had actually been down there. Even as the stones he'd acquired from the last time were burning in his hands...He glanced down at them before making the decision to put them into the pouch around his neck. Barring his clothing...he was going to take the monks challenge. He was heading down into that blackness in little more than his clothes and carrying a full water canteen. Xi took a deep breath mulling things over in his room...Was he sure about this ? What if he met gregor again ? What if he met the woman in purple again ? What if he by some miracle met a god down there...Or by some curse was condemned to meet the spawn if the abyss itself...Xi took a deep breath and locked his room. he'd given a spare key for the school to revy and zand. If his school was a mess during his absence there would be hell to pay when he came back. Xi pushed all thoughts of not returning from his mind...He was going down there and he was coming back alive...Xi stripped the steel from his arms and his legs,and walked for once down the streets of nyka in just his clothing, his shirt, his pants, undergarments, gloves and boots. The pair of stones in a pouch around his neck with the key to his room and the school. Xi closed his eyes ad stepped through the streets of nyka headed towards the aperture. Arriving at the lip he was met with a monk who simply handed him a rope before giving him a smug look. Almost expecting him to die after what happened the last time in spring. Xi glared at him and took the rope before starting to climb down into the black abyss...He was met there by no-one and nothing...And then the rope was pulled back up...XI took a deep breath and started to walk forwards...or so he thought.

[Abstract]

For the first few chimes, Ximal's walk was quiet, almost peaceful. He came across nothing, and nothing came across him. A strange occurrence, actually.

Finally, however, there was a figure in the distance, barely visible in the darkness. Human-seeming, and moving about in one place. If Ximal moved closer, he could see that it was a man, body stiff with fright. This man, seeing some one else approaching, yelped and jumped back a step, hands ready for a fight. He would say nothing, just tremble slightly but refuse to move.

At an even closer distance, the man looked quite normal, actually. Around the same age as Xi himself, he had short but slightly scruffy brown hair. His eyes were wide and slightly wild, but barely visible with the lack of light.

The darkness around showed no sign of any wall, so if Ximal thought about it enough, he could estimate the rocks were approximately 20 meters away or more. In fact, nothing could be seen but the slightly bumpy texture of the floor, and the man before him. In the air hung a tense feeling, as if something was almost... waiting for him. Biding it's time for the right moment...

[Ximal]

Xi took a slow breath watching the darkness head a man coming into view, almost leapt away with fright. Xi watched the round around him more worried about the darkness than the humanoid infront of him. regardless of what that was he thought he might be able to deal with it however something about the air around him felt...As if it was approaching. Xi pulled his djed out and around his body filling up his usual muscles ready for whatever might happen. Xi's own long black hair hung heavily around his head and against his back the beard adorning his face picked up a bit of a breeze. Xi kept his eye's focused upon the man in-front of him. but hsi ears were focused on listening to the darkness. The man before him was only a good sixty feet away possibly sixty-six. Xi held his gaze on him and closed the gap slowly, his hands half closed and his body prepared. Taking a slow breath Xi smelt the air having little to no light to rely on was a harsh mistress. For any and all reasons but it was enough for him to try to deal with. eventually he spoke out with about forty-five feet between himself and the brown haired man. "Hey! You there...What are you doing down here ?" No response...Xi held his range uncertain of what might happen and remembering gregor the man mountain who'd looked human at a distance...Xi was taking no chances down here. Xi took a deep breath and listened to the blackness where he couldn't see. He still couldn't quite shake a feeling he knew all too well...A feeling one being watched.

[Abstract]

The man, seeing Xi approach, stiffened, then relaxed. He'd been expecting some kind of humanoid monsters, but those didn't speak. "Wh-Why am I here?" He repeated, almost speaking to himself. "I don't know. Why are you here? Where is here?" The words came out almost musingly, as he slowly let his guard down.

Apparently seeing some kind of new threat, he stiffened again, and readied himself for a fight. "Who are you?" He demanded, his personality changing rapidly. It was clear something wasn't quite right with him. His pure white outfit was perfectly clean, but crumpled in places. He appeared to be unarmed, and not too powerful either, as his figure was skinny and lean.

Slowly, but not obviously, the darkness was actually shrinking, the distance Xi could see shortening bit by bit. It crept in on them, now only a foot away from the man, though several from Ximal himself. The sense of being watched increased as slowly as the darkness decreased, almost as if the two were related...

[Ximal]

Xi watched the man before him relax as he spoke, then he heard a response from him. Why was he here ? Where was here ? Xi was a little puzzled As the man's demeanour changed with the second...Xi sighed and responded slowly. "Here is the aperture in nyka...as for why your here, i dunno. As for why i'm here...It's personal. And as for who i am...My name is Ximal...I'm a, well i'd like to think of myself ads a fighter." Xi then listened out still watching the man before him, why was he in white? And pore importantly, why was he so damn clean ? A think and lean figure, no weapons either. Xi stepped closer again this time taking a half step the feeling of being watched crawling up his spine like a cold chill. He was now on edge, not quite jumpy but not quite calm. though what shocked him as as he looked at the man the whiteness of his out fit seemed to be growing more grey, was the darkness, closing in? Xi took a deep breath and stilled his nerves. His djed still pooled and placed around his body he himself ready for whatever may come...Mind if i ask your name? And you might want to come closer...It looks like the darkness...is getting steadily closer..." Xi's hands tightened into fists at his sides...Whatever was coming...It wasn't particularly friendly from the air around him...

[Abstract]

The man frowned almost sadly as Xi answered only half of his questions. He looked almost disappointed, in fact. "Humph.." he grunted, childlike in his manner. "Name...? Um..." He scratched his head, as if trying to come up with an answer. "Karl." He said slowly, sounding out the answer. "Yea... that sounds right... And move back? Wh-" He never got to finish his answer, as a piercing shriek filled the air.

It was quickly matched by a slightly lower, but almost as equally loud scream, this one coming from Karl. He was crouched low, head covered by his hands in fright by the noise. There wasn't anything to see, except maybe a slightly glow visible out of the corner of Ximal's eyes. The screeching lasted for almost half a chime, before stopping abruptly. If Xi looked behind him, he would spot the fleeting glance of a flaming, grinning, and monstrous face.

After all had settled down into complete silence, the man whimpered quietly, his eyes shut tight. It took another half chime for him to look up and whispered "Is it gone?" His manner continued like a child's, and his eyes were wide with fright. Karl gazed at Xi as if the warrior was his only protector, his only hope at ever doing... something. "Why are there monsters Ximal...?" he asked, though seeming to speak to himself. It was more of a muse than a serious question, almost rhetorical, but he watched expectantly, waiting for an answer.

Since the 'attack', the change in darkness had ceased, but by now there was only a small bubble with a meter of a radius of light around them. All else was pitch dark. At least the watching had subsided, returning more into a casual glance than anything intense.

[Ximal]

Xi took a deep breath and watched the man before him, h announced himself as "karl" before trying to continue with the questioning. Which was cut off abruptly by a scream that could chill blood to ice. Then there was the lower second scream coming from the now cowering karl. Xi lifted his hands to his ears trying to blot out the scream, Xi noticed a glow at the corner of his eyes was the darkness it;'lf alive or was it being controlled by something forcing the light to flee. Xi swung his head around trying to catch a hold of the source of the scream. Xi flicked his head behind him to catch the face of a fiery beast from the depths of the aperture itself...An unholy smile across and adorning it's fire marred face. Now he knew what karl was cowering he'd spotted that, Xi'd just caught it before it turned to flee. As it fled the silence crept back in as the man before him asked if it was gone...Xi swallowed before answering..."I don't know...I can still feel it watching us." Xi could still see that unholy visage etched into his vision. He exhaled slowly and heard karl speak again asking why where were monsters..."Because the gods hate me? Or just like to play around with me...I don't know, whichever it is...I wish they'd for once at least tell me what the blind petch hey wanted of me..." The creeping darkness receded as the light stabilized between them a three ft bauble of light surrounding the pair of them...The sheer oppression of the blackness was staggering...Xi stepped forwards again closing the gap to karl still unsure of whether or not he was friend or foe himself. But at the moment he seemed like the best option. Xi kept his djed at the ready holding himself ready to flux a limb to full obliterating strength...Should the monster return or should karl be an enemy. "Karl...How long have you been down here? where did you come from?" Xi took a slow breath and kept hsi ears open slowing his breathing and now calming down his heart rate...Trying to fgure out if that thing was till in the darkness stalking them.

[Abstract]

Karl mostly ignored Xi's answer to his question, despite having been so expectant before. He continued to crouch, arms wrapped around his knees, and watch Ximal. When he heard the other inquiry, however, he reacted. "How... long?" He muttered quietly, thinking. "A while... and Up. I came from up" The second answer seemed more certain, and he pointed above them as if to prove his point. The childish grin had returned, and Karl seemed to have completely forgotten his recent fright.

The darkness drew nearer as the two men did so, but another thing was obvious. Soon after Karl had spoken, another voice appeared. This one sounded like a three year old, voice whiny and sad, and slightly insulted. "Why say it's the gods? There's always other things around.." It explained, almost sad that Xi had overlooked it. Apparently the man didn't hear these words as his expression refused to change, that silly grin still stuck there.

That, however, quickly changed. Karl's face suddenly turned serious and somber. "Move. We need to move. Now" he insisted, providing no real logical reason. Still, he stood up quickly and easily, turned, and began walking away into the darkness. In a moment, he was invisible, but through the silence breathing could still easily be heard. "You coming?" he asked, footsteps pausing only a few feet from the edge of the light. His voice was tense, as if something dangerous lay in the other direction. Something he wanted to avoid. If it looked like he even remembered the face, it might have been that, but no trace of fear had sat on his features. It was as if his emotions had been completely reset.

[Ximal]

Xi watched the man before him, the man cowering like a scared child before answering in a rather scared voice, that he came from a long while ago and from above...Odds were he was from nyka...And from a long time ago, time in this place seemed to move at a very different rate to up on the surface. A childish grin crawling across his face in an almost creepy way. Then as karl drew closer to him the darkness around them seemed to grow, almost as if Xi and karl were both emitting light...Then from the blackness came a childlike voice asking Xi in an almost insulted tone why always the gods? Xi spoke out again against that. "Because it's almost always the gods playing around with my luck...Not like i blame them but still, it fluctuates wildly." Xi then looked back at karl whose attitude had changed drastically. Serious, and hard...Xi watched him walk past himself and then say that they needed to move. But move from what? That fire faced thing? As Kaarl walked into the darkness Xi followed before he could even finish hes sentence of are you coming? Xi could almost feel the darkness engulfing them like the aperture itself was throwing the weirdest things it could at him. However the thing which stuck in his head was that childlike voice asking why the gods...Xi sighed for a half second, and then regulated his breathing.

[Abstract]

As Xi answered it's question, the child-like voice sighed slightly, as if disappointed with the answer. Still, it didn't say anymore. As the pair walked through the darkness, the floor became more and more uneven. After only a few chimes, the rock walls had also closed in, now barely wide enough for both of them to fit through.

Though he'd seemed calm before, Karl's breathing became more and more harried, as if exhausted, or frightened. Suddenly, he tripped with a quick yelp, falling flat on his face. If Xi aided him or not, or he heaved himself up, his clothes would remain perfectly clean, despite the slightly muddy ground below them.

It took another little while, but finally the walls widened and the floor flattened. In fact, in the darkness, it could feel like... stone. Only after a few moments after Ximal entered this chamber, torches would flare up, dimly lighting the room with their purple glow.

Karl ran ahead, stopping in the center of the room. Once Xi reached the same spot, something would appear. It came from apparently nothing, as the area around them was completely sealed in stone blocks. Including their original entrance. The voice returned, squealing in delight "I'm not a god! And I loooove messing with people too!" He laughed maniacally, and silence resumed.

It was not there for long, however, as something grew out of the stone wall. A man-shaped thing made out of the same stone blocks as the walls, though moved seamlessly as if he had joints. He was missing a head, and his arms reached his knees, but he had visible and flexible hands. He roared once as exiting, somehow creating noise though lacking a mouth. He stood in front of the wall after finally emerging, with all four limbs on the ground like a Jamoura. He was several feet taller than Xi himself now, and twice the size.

OOCSomething you can punch! And I have no idea why I call it a guy... really, I don't