Through the Abyss

by Daniel Litchfield

  Continuing his struggle with the controls, “So help me Hunter or I will…”

  CCCRRRAAASSSHHH

  SSCCRRUUNNCCHH

  Euphretes slowly opened his eyes and gave a sigh of relief, the Hunter still had power flowing to the cockpit. Every monitor reflected a bright, solid white surface. Suddenly, a slimy rose colored object rubbed on the outside of his visor, leaving a slobber trail.

  GGRREEOOOWW! GGRREEOOOWW! GGRREEOOOWW!

  “I’m awake, I’m awake,” Euphretes yelled, hoping his voice would calm down the frantic licking and yelping.

  “It’s okay girl, it’s okay. I’m here, I’m here,” He continued to pacify the creature until his tactic finally worked.

  Euphretes unhooked himself and opened the main exit on the Hunter. Less than a second later, a powdery white substance dumbed inside the cockpit and all over its inhabitants. “Is this snow?” he asked himself, confused. Looking around and suddenly noticing the lack of any heads up display on his visor, he realized that his armor must have powered off.

  “Awesome,” Euphretes grumbled. Pulling himself out of the Hunter to get his bearings, it suddenly dawned on him that he hadn’t checked if the planet could support life. He had left the cockpit door wide open!

  “Kyurious!” Jumping back inside, he found the small chamber empty. Doing all that he could to stay calm, he quickly scanned through the Hunter’s assessment of the planet.

  “What are the odds,” Euphretes exclaimed with genuine shock at the site of his instruments. Not only was the air breathable for his furry friend, but its gravity, atmospheric pressure, and contents were nearly identical to that of Custos; the Galactic Group’s extinct model planet. With twenty-four hour days, the model planet also closely matched the vast majority of habitable star satellites across the universe. The very first Yare territory, Custos became the beacon for freedom and human development during the initial great expansion. Unfortunately, Custos’s star strangely went supernova despite no warning signs, killing everyone within the entire star system. Out of respect, the Galactic Group decided to make Custos’s galactic movements the standard time for interstellar travel along with making its language the universal language for conducting business.

  Climbing back out, Euphretes looked up at a spectacularly blue sky. Legions of fluffy white clouds marched across the horizon while a painfully bright star blazed directly over his head.

  BEEP BEEP BEEP The near silent tones told him that the star’s solar rays were starting to recharge his antique Kit’s power source.

  Gazing around further nearly took his breath away. Jagged mountain peaks consumed everything as far as he could see. Low hanging clouds straddled a few valleys while a river of turquoise ice carved its way down and around the mountain side. Dark grey boulders and out croppings of rock played their part in breaking up the continuous white landscape. Squinting his eyes and starting to analyze his surroundings to the best of his abilities, Euphretes started to see unnatural rock formations far up above him. Repositioning his torso, he could see the remnants of giant stone towers just breaking the mountain’s horizon line. Despite the distance and lack of any assistance by his helmet, he thought he could pick out a few red flags flapping in the wind. As soon as he saw the towers, he KNEW that was where he needed to go.

  GGRRAAWWPP GGGAARRAAA GGRRAAWWPP

  Turning in every direction trying to find his white companion, Euphretes finally found Kyurious after an explosion of snow burst from the ground.

  GRAWP GAWP GRWAP

  Kyurious excitedly chomped away at the snow. Flying through the air, she hopped and jumped, then flung herself down to roll in the cold white powder. Her joyful noises filled the air, allowing Euphretes to breathe a sigh of relief that he not only found her in good health, but having the adventure of a lifetime. She was obviously loving every second of it. Remaining as still as possible so he wouldn’t interrupt the moment of elation, Euphretes watched the beautiful animal’s first encounter with snow; cursing the fact that his helmet didn’t have enough power to record the event. As he watched, all of the worries and concerns that had plagued him with the absence of Neuma started to melt away.

  “You have enough fun?” Euphretes said after watching her for a while, the innate desire to climb the mountain and solve the mystery of what he was experiencing driving him onward.

  Kyurious’s magenta eye quickly turned to face him as her rose tongue hung out of her mouth, creating a perfect smile. Thankful that she was with him, Euphretes looked up the side of Fate’s mountain and planned out his ascent. The second he made the final decision, another round of supernatural urging pushed him out of the Hunter.

  THUUTH!

  The snow cushioning his fall, “That’s mature!” Euphretes grumbled to the invisible force that seemed to enjoy bullying him. Having to scramble back up the Hunter to grab his MR870, “Ready to go Kyurious?”

  The enormous fox-wolf hybrid looking animal jumped on all fours in her excitement at her companion’s words. After several moments of scratching behind the ears, Euphretes looked back up the mountain, filled again with an insatiable need to see the stone towers reaching into the sky.

  Chapter 11:

  A Conversation With Destiny’s Advocate

  CUSTOS DATE: 00000000000

  The rugged mountain proved extremely difficult for Euphretes. Without Neuma fortifying his body and telling it how to be more efficient, his armor felt heavy and his lungs burned. Deep, thick snow made each step strenuous and brought the realization of how much the Bio-Dependent AI helped his body overcome physical obstacles. Rocks, hiding everywhere under the snow, made the trek feel more like an obstacle course than a hike up a mountain.

  Adding to his misery was the fact that his Kit was charging at an agonizingly slow pace. Because the systems had to be turned off to charge until they reached twenty-five percent, he was forced to survive on the mountain’s thin air until his helmet’s oxygen compressors and scrubbers could kick back on.

  “That’s it,” Euphretes grumbled to himself.

  CLICK.

  CLICK.

  “Oh, come on,” He griped with even more frustration as the heavy armor plating refused to demagnetize from his suit. Taking a deep breath to try and stem the rising anger, Euphretes pressed on. Using his MR870 as a walking stick because he refused to get rid of his only form of protection, Euphretes slowly made his way up the mountain side. He had climbed hundreds of mountains in the past without even breaking a sweat, yet now, his head was pounding and every muscle in his body ached. Kyurious, on the other hand, was running all over, completely unaffected by the lack of oxygen. At least she was providing Euphretes with some entertainment with her crazy antics.

  Euphretes paused to take a break. Panting like a mad man, his eyes wandered across the gorgeous landscapes. More low flying clouds had moved in, creating a false impression of the bottom of the mountain. Gusts of wind far off in the distance picked up snow and spun it around into mini tornadoes. An unseen avalanche rumbled in the unknown. As Euphretes took in the breathtaking beauty all around him, his eyes subconsciously wandered back to the peculiar rift in the sky.

  “What the?!” Euphretes thought to himself in between gasps for air. The same mystifying swirling black cloud from before was starting to drift out of the portal and make its way toward the planet. Filled again with a super-natural longing to keep climbing the mountain, he was suddenly shoved to the ground as if someone had plowed into his back at full speed.

  THRACK!

  Euphretes’s adrenaline kicked in. He jumped up, readied himself for a fight, and prepared for another blow. Nothing. No one.

  THRACK! Again, from some unseen foe, he was tossed to the ground like a rag doll. This time, seeing a flash of white, Euphretes dropped his stance and looked for Kyurious’s red eye or black snout. Catching a twinge of movement in his peripherals, he turned and managed to catch the playful beast mid-flight as she went to tackle him for a third time.

  THUSH! With
laser sharp precision, Euphretes managed to snatch up Kyurious’s front and back paws and gently tossed her to a pile of fresh snow. The explosion of powder was followed by another blast as the energetic creature burst from the snow.

  “Guess your leg isn’t hurting after all, huh. You little actor!” He laughed with love, the pitiful images of Kyurious lying on the ground beginning to fade. The white ball of energy bounced on top of Euphretes at the sound of his voice. “SSHHHHHH Girl. SSSHHHHH, we’ve got to get moving.” Surprisingly, as if she understood what he was saying, Kyurious stopped her frantic licking and looked up the mountain as if to say, “Well, lead the way then human."

  Euphretes breathed a sigh of relief, “So you speak Custosian?” He said sarcastically, referring to the Galactic’s Group primary language. Met by a single wink of the magenta eye, Euphretes shook his head in disbelief, “Not falling for that one, Kyurious. Nice try though, I’ll give you that,” the Admiral remarked as he turned his focus back up the mountain.

  “Is it just me,” Euphretes said to Kyurious, his eyes staring ahead, “or did that temple thingy just get closer?”

  The sweet face looked back at him and cocked her head to the right, trying to understand what her companion was saying. “I’m telling you girl, I would have bet that we had twice that distance left to go,” he declared. “It’s probably a good thing I don’t gamble!”

  Euphretes turned around to face the rift in the universe before continuing his torturous hike. His concerns started to grow. The otherworldly darkness had picked up its pace, and was starting to billow and develop into enormous anvil clouds.

  CLICK. CLICK. SSSHHHRRRR.

  Euphretes unlocked both sides of his helmet, allowing his ancient visor to expose his face to the frigid air. Drawing in the painfully dry and bitterly cold molecules through his nose, he could feel even the atmosphere starting to develop a tinge of urgency. “Man this sucks,” He mumbled, his lungs now feeling as if they were in full blown rebellion. Looking back up the mountain, the towering temple-looking structure now felt like it was light years away, when in reality it was a mere half mile at most.

  “Ok, I’ve about had enough of you,” He moaned while reaching for the heavy armored plate on his chest.

  CLICK.

  CLICK.

  CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

  No matter how hard he ripped at the armored plate, his efforts came up empty, driving him crazy. “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!” The frustration and fatigue had mounted to a nearly intolerable level. He dropped to his knees in the snow and cried out, “Neuma, why aren’t you here?!”

  CLICK! CLICK! CLANK CLACK CRACK! CRACK! CLANK!

  “You have to keep going Euphretes. Finish strong.” Neuma’s words of encouragement from the past played through his memory. “I’ll never leave you. We’ll never be alone again.” The promises had always ignited a sense of purpose and motivation, but this time there was only the sting of abandonment.

  Euphretes found the strength to get back up and turned to gaze upon his objective ahead. Looking at the slate colored stones and ragged red fabric whipping in the wind, his gut suddenly started to feel as if it was churning magma on the inside. A tormenting need to move gripped his muscle fibers. Feeling torn by the uncontrollable desire to press on, Euphretes hunched over and placed his hands on his knees to draw a deep breath before trying to force out a few more steps up the mountain side.

  THUSH!

  The same antagonizing force that had been following him felt as if it had kicked him in the back of his knees, toppling his body backwards and getting snow all over his exposed face. Immediately looking for his companion, hoping that she had just caught another playful spirt, he saw her sniffing at a rodent’s hole several yards away, indicating her innocence.

  “What are you trying to tell me?!” he screamed out in exhaustion. Hearing the despair in her companion’s voice, Kyurious sprung to his side and lovingly licked the snow off of his face. “Where have you been all my life?” he asked with appreciation.

  SSSHHHRRRIIISSSHHH! An unforgiving gust of wind came out of nowhere, forcing Euphretes to grab his companion and hunker down to prevent them from being swept away.

  SSSHHHRRRIIISSSHHH!

  “…must make it to Destiny’s Throne.”

  SSSHHHRRRIIISSSHHH!

  “Did you hear that girl?” Euphretes asked Kyurious, having heard the whisper within the tempest but having to shout with all of his might just to hear his own words. With the wind biting at his face, he closed his visor and pressed Kyurious and himself into the side of mountain as hard as he could.

  SSSHHHRRRIIISSSHHH!

  As suddenly as it came, the whirlwind ceased. At the same moment, information began streaming down the left side of Euphretes’s visor, indicating that the armor’s operating systems finally rebooted. He looked at his kit’s diagnostics. “Because that makes sense,” he mumbled while shaking his head. His helmet and armor were inexplicably fully charged. Feeling the oxygen compressed air flowing within his helmet, the mountaineer’s stamina felt instantly restored. He was relieved to finally be feeling like himself again.

  “Well, you ready to see what’s at the end of this crazy ride?” He asked his companion who was still lying in the snow. Kyurious’s torso immediately started wiggling and her forked tail flailed around in excitement. She clearly sensed Euphretes’s renewed vigor.

  “Alrighty then. Let’s get to it!”

  Euphretes looked back toward the rift. It was nonexistent, consumed by the darkness. “How fast are you moving?!” He thought to himself with shock at the vicious void’s progress. It would only be a matter of minutes before it descended upon the Hunter that he had left only three hours ago. Thankful for the helmet’s assistance, Euphretes turned his attention back to the task at hand, and charged ahead.

  The climb became remarkably easier once the ridiculously thin air was no longer a factor.

  Adding to the reprieve was the fact that the steep incline began to give way to more level ground as he marched closer to the temple. His spirit rejuvenated, Euphretes made quick work of the remainder of the journey until he stood before an ancient gate way. The iron barrier, that once held intruders at bay, was now long gone. What remained was a stone archway with the words, “Adoenye’s Sanctuary” carved into its face. As if she could read and understand what Euphretes could not, Kyurious laid down before the gateway in reverence.

  Euphretes’s heart fluttered, “Where do I know that name from?” He thought to himself. The name struck a chord, but its meaning remained a mystery. Abruptly, the fire within his soul reared its ugly head, forcing Euphretes to flee his day dream.

  Coming back to the present, “Did you feel that too?” He asked Kyurious while his hands instinctively reached up in preparation for another attack by the phantom adversary. With her painfully adorable face, Kyurious looked up at Euphretes, then returned her attention to the path leading toward the structure. “Guess not,” he replied to himself once he realized that the coast was clear. He was thankful not to be picking himself up off the ground again.

  Euphretes stopped just outside the ancient gateway’s stonework and peered into the sanctuary. His focus was instantly drawn to a dignified, yet foreboding space. The worn and weathered stone had obviously fought the sands of time, yet still stood victorious in spite of the onslaught. It appeared to have three arms reaching to the heavens in different angles. At the base of the massive structure was an aged bronze fire pit big enough to consume Euphretes and Kyurious, however, everything appeared to be sealed off. Knowing that the entrance had to be hidden or on the other side, Euphretes began looking for a way to get around the epic structure.

  Finding what looked like the right walkway, “Whelp, let’s go see what crazy ghosts we can stir up,” Euphretes said to Kyurious’s smiling face before walking through the archway.

  With the white animal now walking calmly by his side, Euphretes magnetized his MR870 to his back and switched on his helmet’s
Environment and Threat Analysis programs. Thankful to have the cumbersome weapon out of his hands, he lovingly looked down at the beautiful companion. Euphretes gave Kyurious several well-earned ear scratches before continuing his walk, vowing to protect her at all costs.

  The pair followed the sanctuary’s old stone road through an abandoned market. Red flags adorned with gold stitching and elongated shreds of tapestry, flapped in the wind. Another stone walking path appeared from under the snow out of nowhere, begging Euphretes to follow it. Feeling as if someone had tied a rope around his waist and was pulling him down this new walkway, he couldn’t help but submit to the insatiable urging. He shook his head, thinking he was most likely walking into a trap, but pressed on anyway, quickening his pace to escape the eerie elements. Just as he paused to turn around and assess the sky, a timer in his mind space started to sound its terrifying alarm. The swarming darkness was now only a quarter mile from the gateway, its winds beginning to pound his armored body. Even though Euphretes was completely covered, it seemed as if the wind was biting at his skin.