Fine. You made me do this.
T'rahnu Ihka blinked and rubbed at her eyes to clear out the discomfort from the extremely sudden change of clime - a task she'd began to perform routinely as her teleporting jaunts became more common. This time, however, there was definitely something wrong - this place did not resemble any place she had even seen in Eorzea. Hells, this didn't seem like a place any Earthly body could contain! Wait... Am I in Hell!?
The Seven Hells were supposed to be a fictional place, the tales of which were told to gullible children to get them to behave as according to the good of society. And yet that was the only phrase that came to mind to describe the burning, firey, torturous expanse of evil that stretched out before her. How she was not yet burning alive, or how she was even able to think at all, was simply a mystery to her.
"'Ello again. Long time no see."
No. No, that's impossible. What could he be doing here? Where even is here?!
She slowly turned her head to face the source of that vaguely familiar voice. Though she had only met the boy for an instant, many years ago, she could not mistake that look for anything in the world - only now he was clearly fully grown, wearing a decorated robe of some kind of hellish design. His countenance had a severe expression, one doubtlessly hardened by his time spent in... wherever here was.
"Wh... what? Why are you here? Where... where are we?!"
"Yer my servant. An' yer goin' to help m'get out o' this... Hell."
She simply stood there, staring, eyes wide, in utter disbelief. This can't be real. I must be dreaming!
The first step, of course, was denial.
"I... I'm not your s...!"
"Kneel."
Suddenly, she was hit with an overpowering urge to kneel, like doing so would go against her very nature, her entire reason for existence. She could not resist it, and soon found herself on her knees. The boy-now-man whose name she did not know reached out with a hand, and she suddenly felt a tug pulling her head to the side, something she felt should not be possible. I have nothing there! How is he...!?
She reached up to feel at the side of her head, and nearly died of shock. Horns?! Why do I... Why do I have horns?! Tears welled up in her eyes as she fully realized the dire predicament she was now in. Somehow, she had been summoned to the Hells, and worse, she had been transfigured in the process. There was no mirror to look at, but even just investigating her body with her hands told her that her new countenance was now probably more demon than Miqo'te.
"Good. Very good. Now... we jus' change places."
He smirked, and began chanting in a tongue that she was certain no mortal was meant to hear. Wicks of burning aether began to surround him in a whirling cone, coalescing above his head, building up in a crescendo before a great flash of light consumed him... and he was gone.
But she was still there. In the Hells, transformed into an abomination, and in all likelihood, stuck there for all eternity.
"NO!!"
She sat up straight suddenly, blinking the sweat and tears from her eyes as they registered the darkness in front of her. Relief caused her shoulders to slacken as she began to return to reality.
Oh, Twelve, what a nightmare! She gasped and sobbed quietly, holding her head in her hands as she wondered at the fate of the Keeper boy she'd left behind in that one little heist some years ago, why her thoughts passed at him now, years after the fact... and especially why he was at the center of such a terrible nightmare. Surely nothing bad's happened to him... right?
T'rahnu Ihka blinked and rubbed at her eyes to clear out the discomfort from the extremely sudden change of clime - a task she'd began to perform routinely as her teleporting jaunts became more common. This time, however, there was definitely something wrong - this place did not resemble any place she had even seen in Eorzea. Hells, this didn't seem like a place any Earthly body could contain! Wait... Am I in Hell!?
The Seven Hells were supposed to be a fictional place, the tales of which were told to gullible children to get them to behave as according to the good of society. And yet that was the only phrase that came to mind to describe the burning, firey, torturous expanse of evil that stretched out before her. How she was not yet burning alive, or how she was even able to think at all, was simply a mystery to her.
"'Ello again. Long time no see."
No. No, that's impossible. What could he be doing here? Where even is here?!
She slowly turned her head to face the source of that vaguely familiar voice. Though she had only met the boy for an instant, many years ago, she could not mistake that look for anything in the world - only now he was clearly fully grown, wearing a decorated robe of some kind of hellish design. His countenance had a severe expression, one doubtlessly hardened by his time spent in... wherever here was.
"Wh... what? Why are you here? Where... where are we?!"
"Yer my servant. An' yer goin' to help m'get out o' this... Hell."
She simply stood there, staring, eyes wide, in utter disbelief. This can't be real. I must be dreaming!
The first step, of course, was denial.
"I... I'm not your s...!"
"Kneel."
Suddenly, she was hit with an overpowering urge to kneel, like doing so would go against her very nature, her entire reason for existence. She could not resist it, and soon found herself on her knees. The boy-now-man whose name she did not know reached out with a hand, and she suddenly felt a tug pulling her head to the side, something she felt should not be possible. I have nothing there! How is he...!?
She reached up to feel at the side of her head, and nearly died of shock. Horns?! Why do I... Why do I have horns?! Tears welled up in her eyes as she fully realized the dire predicament she was now in. Somehow, she had been summoned to the Hells, and worse, she had been transfigured in the process. There was no mirror to look at, but even just investigating her body with her hands told her that her new countenance was now probably more demon than Miqo'te.
"Good. Very good. Now... we jus' change places."
He smirked, and began chanting in a tongue that she was certain no mortal was meant to hear. Wicks of burning aether began to surround him in a whirling cone, coalescing above his head, building up in a crescendo before a great flash of light consumed him... and he was gone.
But she was still there. In the Hells, transformed into an abomination, and in all likelihood, stuck there for all eternity.
"NO!!"
She sat up straight suddenly, blinking the sweat and tears from her eyes as they registered the darkness in front of her. Relief caused her shoulders to slacken as she began to return to reality.
Oh, Twelve, what a nightmare! She gasped and sobbed quietly, holding her head in her hands as she wondered at the fate of the Keeper boy she'd left behind in that one little heist some years ago, why her thoughts passed at him now, years after the fact... and especially why he was at the center of such a terrible nightmare. Surely nothing bad's happened to him... right?
