Aberration

by Kyle West

  The ground rumbled beneath us, like a beast awakening.

  That was when entire trees began to shatter within seconds of one another, at a terrifyingly increasing pace. We couldn’t waste another moment.

  “Run!” I shouted.

  We sprinted down the trail, away from the cliff where already a rain of crystal shards was pelting down. Formations dislodged above us, shattering right as we passed underneath. Sharp stalactites tore from their parent formations, crashing before us in diamond explosions. I felt a few of the crystals pierce my skin, but I kept running all the same. I looked behind to see a wall of broken crystal shards bearing down on us, while my friends were covered with cuts and scrapes. But all were running.

  The crystal trees came to a sudden end, right at the edge of a precipice, over which a layer of broken shards began to spill over, creating a glittering fall.

  The din of the exploding trees went on for some time, making it impossible to speak. The entire forest was disintegrating before my eyes, and we couldn’t go any further than where we currently stood. All we could do was kneel, hands over our heads, crouched as low as possible. More shards pelted at my back, but none seemed to pierce my skin. All it would take, though, was for one large shard to hit me in the wrong spot at a high enough velocity, and I was dead.

  After several minutes of this hell, the noise finally began to die down. No more shards fell, and the broken crystals half buried me. I was within a couple of feet of the cliff’s edge, and for the first time, when all was finally quiet, I opened my eyes to see what was down there.

  There, I was greeted by the sight of my dreams. The pink ichor sea, and out a good distance stood the island, on which grew the Tree of Wailing, shining white, beautiful, and terrible. Its roots spread outward from its bottom, gripping the entire island like a gnarled, clenched fist. Those roots shone blindingly bright, as if they were drinking up the energy of that roiling Sea. The pink ichor turned deep ebony at the point of contact between root and sea, as if the contact in some way transformed the liquid.

  Isaru looked around. “Seems everyone’s all right.”

  “You’re bleeding,” Fiona said, walking up to me.

  “It’s nothing,” I said. “Just some cuts.”

  “You got the worse of it, it seems,” she said. “But you’re right. Just cuts. They’re already drying.”

  Isa looked at me worriedly but said nothing. It wasn’t as if my wounds could be cleaned in this place, anyway.

  “How do we get across?” Isaru asked, staring across the sea at the Tree.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “This is the point where my dreams ended.”

  The cliff was sheer, a vertical drop and as smooth as polished stone. There was no way down save jumping. I got the feeling that wouldn’t be a good idea; even with this planet’s lower gravity, that impact would kill us, especially since ichor was thicker than water.

  And this wasn’t like the ichor on Earth. It was hostile to Elekai life and would surely kill us.

  But if the Tree wanted us to find it, as Fiona had said, then it would provide a way.

  All my friends were staring at the tree, completely entranced.

  “Guys?” I said.

  Their attention did not waver. Their eyes were glowing with its reflected light, brighter and brighter.

  Something was wrong.

  “Hey!” I said. “Stop looking at it!”

  As one, they all turned to face me. After seeing their eerie, collective gaze, I was beginning to regret those words.

  The Tree suddenly darkened, its bright light fading until there was nothing emanating from it. The pinkish light of the sea reflected off the field of broken crystals behind us, their sharp shadows dancing madly. The humming returned, only this humming wasn’t from the crystals; it was from the Tree itself. The humming increased in volume until it was all I heard, all I knew.

  I fell to my knees, my friends still watching from above with those blazing white orbs of theirs. It was my last vision before darkness took me.

  Chapter 64

  When I woke up, the light of the Tree was still faded, but the sea provided enough light by which to see. Only now, that same sea was completely black, but the blackness itself cast a light, much as the moon might reflect off the surface of a dark ocean.

  And across that expanse of black ichor was a white, transparent bridge, just a few steps away from where I had collapsed.

  I looked around for my friends, only to find that they weren’t here.

  “Isaru?” I called. “Isa? Fiona?”

  There was no response to my words. The words seemed to die in the air as soon as they left my mouth.

  By sheer feeling, I knew that they had crossed that bridge. They had crossed while I had been knocked out.

  It’s taken control of them, I thought. It took Shara, and now it’s taken them, too.

  There was only one way to get them back. I had to cross the bridge myself.

  When I stood, I felt unnaturally heavy. On shaking, tired limbs, I plodded forward. All fear was gone. Only one thing consumed my mind, and it stood across that bridge.

  The Tree was all that mattered. I began crossing, heedless of the black, hellish depths beneath me.

  * * *

  The dark ichor sea beneath the bridge roiled and boiled, its caps stretching to mere inches of the bridge itself, hundreds of feet above. As the liquid neared, my mind was filled with despair. The Tree had been stripped of its outer beauty. There was no illusion now; it was nothing but an object of horror. More than ever, I could feel its raw power, its deeply rooted evil that had grown for untold years.

  The great waves began crashing over the bridge ahead of me, and pieces of it broke away. I walked on, not changing my pace, heedless of the danger. Though the black waves seemed to crash at every surface, they inexplicably avoided me.

  So, you do want me over there.

  The sea calmed as I neared the Tree. It took the greater part of an hour to cross it, after dodging the holes created by the black ichor. When the bridge at last came to an end, there was a small, barren slope that was the last leg to the Tree’s base.

  Despite its brightness, I could stare right at the Tree without needing to lower my gaze. I reached the top of the incline and was perhaps a hundred steps away from two of the roots, in the middle of which was a path leading right up to the trunk. Now closer, I could see there were imperfections along what had at first appeared to be smooth, silver bark. Little blots, like sores, gave me an uneasy feeling.

  Not wanting to look, not wanting to go closer, I knew I had to do both of those things. I made myself go on.

  But as I moved closer, I noticed something strange about those blots. They weren’t knots in the Tree, or any sort of blemish. They were moving, not part of the Tree itself, but rather mounted onto it. With mounting horror, I realized just what they were.

  Bodies.

  They weren’t human, and each was wrapped in a halo of light. Some seemed to have two legs, like humans, others had four or even more limbs. Some had angular, insectoid faces, some had wings and feathers, others had reptilian scales, and others still defied description. Creatures with tens of eyes, others with no conceivable shape. Some seemed to be composed of rock or crystal, others still had shells. There were well over a hundred of them, each of a different kind. There were even dragons, of varying color, but smaller than what existed on Earth.

  As I came closer to the first of the two massive roots, those bodies twisted and groaned in torment, they screeched, they screamed, they made other sounds according to their kind. The light emanating from their forms seemed to keep them pinned to the Tree, which in turn, fed off their misery and somehow grew stronger by it.

  I wanted nothing more than to run, but of course, I could not. I couldn’t bear to think of anyone up there. Couldn’t bear to think that this might be where my friends were.

  I walked toward the center of the Tree, feeling the oppressive weight of all those so
uls around me, their pain and memories intermixing with my own. Visions of dead worlds swam before my eyes. As I passed between the roots, all of them seemed to cry out at me in whatever language they happened to speak, some of those tongues hardly even recognizable as language. Some, I couldn’t hear at all.

  But they all seemed to convey the same message. Warning me away from this place. Asking me to save them.

  All of them had joined the Tree, and if I failed, I knew that I would, too.

  * * *

  The great roots on my either side fused together above me, until I found myself in something of a tunnel. I continued walking, not sure of where I was going exactly. How was I supposed to defeat this thing? All I could feel was fear – sickening, paralyzing fear. And I didn’t even have the Xenofold to aid me.

  The foreboding only grew worse the closer to the center of the Tree I walked. It was an oppressive weight that made me feel like choking.

  But, all too soon, the tunnel came to an end, opening into a hollow space where, in the center, was a perfectly circular pool of black ichor, its surface swirling and shining. The path led directly into it.

  Your friends preceded you, a voice came. Follow.

  I stood still for a moment. As the voice echoed throughout the hollow, the bark of the tree seemed to glow brighter with each enunciation.

  Will I become like those outside?

  The Tree was quiet, seeming to consider the question, but in the end, ignored it.

  Come, the voice beckoned. You must find them. They are in such pain.

  Stop hurting them, I said.

  I . . . can’t. I possess your same will to live, Shanti. Surely, you won’t begrudge me that?

  I will if my friends’ lives are in question.

  That is where we differ, the Tree said. You are small. I will be the universe. What is one soul against inevitability?

  I will stop you, I said.

  We shall see. The Nameless One has granted you this chance. Make use of it, or I, Askalon, will master you.

  The pool frothed violently, as if in challenge. There was no use trading words with this . . . thing. In the end, I had to do what it was asking. I didn’t think it was lying in saying that my friends were in there.

  If I wanted them back, I’d have to go in and find them.

  I assumed Silence, but that was all I could do. There was no Xenofold to reach for, only the quiet meditation I’d perfected from constant practice. Maybe holding that would make walking to my death all the easier.

  It’s not over yet, I thought.

  As I approached the black pool, the ichor roiled madly, as if anticipating my entry. It seemed . . . hungry.

  I was within inches of the ichor’s edge, and it was beginning to rise, little tendrils of the liquid probing curiously at my boots. I reached down and grabbed a handful of it. It burned terribly and squirmed out of my hands and through my fingers. My skin blistered at the point of contact; the pain hardly blocked out by my meditative state.

  So, that was how it would be. I peered down into the ichor, but couldn’t see beyond the first inch or two, so deep was the darkness.

  There was nothing left but to step in, likely to my very death.

  Chapter 65

  There was searing, white-hot pain, and then nothing. I floated in darkness, all sensation ceasing. In the space of seconds, my body had been eaten alive by the dark ichor, and now all that was left was my consciousness, hovering somewhere in the Radaskim Xenofold. But where to go in this pressing darkness, where the Radaskim would know my every move?

  I wanted to start by finding my friends. They had been drawn here, too, and finding them might reveal answers. All of us were in this together, and only together would we be able to defeat Askalon.

  Shanti . . .

  The voice was familiar, though I couldn’t place who it was. Memories were hard to grasp here, running like sand between fingers.

  Then, it came to me.

  Shara! You’re alive?

  Yes, she said. This place is huge. It’s trap upon trap. Torture upon torture . . .

  Where are you? If you could just tell me . . .

  You must reach the center, Shara said. I don’t know how much time I . . .

  There was a bloodcurdling scream, and then, silence.

  Shara? There was no answer. Shara!

  I pulled myself through the darkness. I had to reach the center, whatever that meant. But I couldn’t even tell where that was. I reached out, as if this were the Xenofold back on Earth. To my surprise, I felt something directly in front of me. A cold, repulsive presence. I didn’t want to go that way, but all other directions were empty. This was the only outside feeling I could grasp onto. If I went that way, I would find something.

  So, I reached, and felt myself pulled forward through the darkness. That feeling of coldness and despair only grew stronger. The blackness swirled around me, taking odd shapes and forms full of ghosts, hallucinations, and nightmares. A light shone in the distance, which grew in brightness as I neared it. I recognized it to be a silver archway, like other ones I’d come across back on Earth’s Xenofold. Its outer rim glowed, while its inner plane showed a dark forest filled with snow-clad trees.

  It was a portal from this dark place to somewhere else. I felt myself pulled through it and stepped out the other side.

  I had my body again, my clothing, and even my sword sheathed at my side. The air was frigid and still, while snowflakes danced in the air, floating for an inordinately long time before joining the ground. The snow was about ankle-deep, and completely undisturbed. The trees surrounding me were tall and straight, with only a few overarching, snow-laden limbs. In the gaps of the treetops I could catch sight of the nighttime stars, filled with unfamiliar constellations. This forest could have been on Earth, if not for that. The trees certainly looked Earthlike, being mostly evergreens and pines.

  I felt for the central pull again, the one Shara had told me to follow. It was still distant, but the direction was unmistakable. I pressed on, assuming Silence. To my surprise, I felt the familiar call of the Xenofold just beyond my consciousness, waiting to be embraced. I didn’t question how that could be. It should have been impossible. It had been too long since I had felt it. I reached for it, and its serenity washed over me. I didn’t care whether it was real or not.

  You should care.

  I ignored the voice. It wasn’t Shara this time, but someone – or something – unfamiliar.

  I wandered through the trees, toward that dreadful pull, feeling as if I had gotten no nearer after an hour. I found myself on a hill, and decided to climb to the top, hoping for a view that would reveal more. But when I was about halfway up, the howling of wolves broke the silent night. My blood ran cold. So, I wasn’t alone here. If this world wasn’t Earth, then why did it have wolves? The answer, I realized, was that this wasn’t a real place. It was a vision conjured by the Radaskim Xenofold.

  I’d have to be very careful.

  I reached the top of the hill, a bare escarpment which overlooked the forest, which spread evenly in all directions as far as the eye could see. I got my first sight of the moon; its cratered face larger than I was used to, and its sheen purple rather than milky-white. The sight of unfamiliar stars was jarring. I wondered if any of them was home.

  I felt for the dark pull once again, wondering just what it could be. Was it the source of the Aberration I was trying to destroy? Though the distant forest ahead of me was no different than any other direction, I felt myself pulled that way, nonetheless.

  It also happened to be the direction the wolves’ howling had come from.

  I reached the bottom of the hill and continued walking toward the pull. The howling of wolves once again filled the night, this time much closer. The wolves would intercept me long before I reached wherever I was supposed to be going.

  I’d have to stand my ground. I paused at the end of a clearing and waited for them to arrive.

  It didn’t take long. They prowle
d from the shadows of the forest, their white coats making them look ghostly in the snow. Their eyes glowed yellow as they stalked forward, their outer members darting toward the sides of the clearing. Though I marked all their movements, my eyes locked with the largest one in the center, almost twice as large as all the others, with red eyes and a black coat. Two wolves flanked its either side, their pacing slightly ahead of their pack leader.

  Once the central wolves had crossed half the clearing, I decided it would be best not to wait for them to engage me where I stood. My best chance would be gunning down the formation’s flanks, while they were still relatively isolated.

  I sprang into action, sprinting toward the right flank while drawing my sword. Though vastly outnumbered, they needed to see my confidence, to know that I was a hunter, and not prey.

  Their movements shifted instantly. The left flank ran toward the alpha, while the alpha and his two central wolves shifted toward the right flank, toward which I was running.

  But I was going to reach the two wolves on the right before they reached me. As the first wolf leaped, I took up Treeform, shifting my stance to avoid the aggressive attack while bringing my blade down on its exposed neck. The beast gave a yelp as hot, steaming blood poured from the gash, staining the snow red.

  I didn’t check to see if it was dead, for the other wolf was moving to engage. I withdrew my blade to take up Treeform’s starting stance, my blade pointed slightly outward, right in the center of my field of view. The wolf hesitated; I realized it was waiting for its pack members to catch up, so that they could attack together. I stepped forward and, realizing it had no choice but to fight alone, the wolf gave a yelp and charged, teeth flashing. I slashed it low across its chest, and it collapsed to the snow.

  I quickly straightened and readied myself to take on another wolf, which had charged in from the side. But before I could assume a stance, its paws were already slamming into my left shoulders, sending me sprawling into the snow.