"Not death, to describe it best."
That bizarre feeling. He could see the infinite universe once again, but rather than perceiving it, he was one with it. Marco's body felt like it was burning from the overwhelming feeling of nothingness. His eyes flickering from place to place in an instant, his mind being reeled in with the overwhelming information. Unlike last time where it felt like an eternal trip, time was instead frozen all at once.
He could not try to look, for he was not in control. He could not try to change his perspective for he could see it all at once. But with it all, none of it stayed, it was as though he was facing a wall constantly while being able to tell the ruckus that was going on behind it. He had no desire to look around it, but it killed him to not be able to tell what it was.
Until finally he fell. He was completely naked in a vast snowy field. He was splayed out on the ground, facing the night sky which was dotted with stars and a green and red aurora which circled over him like a giant halo. He gripped his hands, he could feel the hard plastic on the one and his rugged flesh on the other.
He stood up slowly. It the same field he saw in that one dream, however it was cold, extremely so. The indifference he had before was no more, instead the feeling of seeking warmth overtook him very quickly. The air reeked of sulfur, the same as in the void. Marco looked everywhere, his eyes adjusting as they darted around trying to find somewhere, no, someone to go to. He was compelled to find a person, not a place.
His walk began slowly. every joint in his body ached, his stomach growled deeply with hunger, his head and fingers felt tingly from dehydration. How long had he been out? How did he even get here?
At the start of his walk, the snow barely reached halfway up his feet. It was not long until it was up to his calves, and sooner than he'd realized, he was treading knee deep. It was heavy, extremely so, finer than any actual snow he had seen on earth or any other planet. Moving through it felt more like sloshing through water than a powder.
It was then he decided to finally look down, he opened his hands and inspected his palms. A slight purple swirl on his left, and his prosthetic right. It was then that he saw his stomach. The white patch that covered his side was completely gone, in its stead was a purple mass. He reached down with his prosthesis, it felt coarse like sandpaper. Looking more like a dry ube mash than flesh, his left hand emanated a soft glow when it came near it. The rose within slowly budded, his palm opening up into the familiar vortex from which he summoned his sword.
The ground beneath him crackled. He could not see why but he could feel under his soles as whatever he was standing on trembled and shifted. He kneeled down, using both of his hands as shovels, ignoring the cold pain of his left. He reached the frosted bottom, wiping the thin layer with his right, he uncovered the floor beneath.
It was clear like glass, like fine crystal jewelry. It was dotted in very dim white spots, but he could not see deep at all. He took his left hand which was glowing from the contact to his stomach and placed it against the glass. Waving it around, he could tell very small nooks and crannies in whatever he was looking it.
In the next moment, he saw it dilate. What he was looking at was not some bottomless pit, but instead, the eyes of a giant creature. One which he could only assume was following him this whole time. The white dots not something underneath the water, but the reflection of the stars overhead.
He quickly stood up and tried to make ground. Running with all his might, he felt as the ground behind him caved in with intensity. A loud roar bellowed through the air. Despite his best efforts, he fell through the ice.
The cold above was nothing compared to this. Whatever it was above felt as close to what his brain could conceive absolute zero. A thousand tendrils wrapped around him, leaving only his face uncovered. Not like it was necessary at all, his body was already completely frozen the moment he was dunked into the liquid.
It was dark, so dark that black would be a light shade to how little he could see. The tentacles took a tighter grip. They squirmed all over his body, covering every single inch except for his eyes.
He could feel it moving, swooshing and swimming around him. Or them, he could not tell whether it was one or several creatures were around him. It had many eyes, though not visible, they pierced through him like a million daggers dashing through his soul.
Until finally it stopped all movement, not just in itself, but in the water. It was in control, he felt his hair come to a dead stop while he was in its grasp. Cold and dark, he felt more vulnerable than ever. With that, he did not feel an ounce of fear. Not regret, not sadness. Only one thing went through his mind.
Fight.
In an instant, he could see. The dark waters turned into a white array, just like the sky above except many times brighter. The creature that held hem was almost like a long snake. Staring down at him directly from overhead. Its long body was far from him, the tendrils extended from what he imagined were its eyes. White circular masses with black dots that spun slowly, some of this had hairs coming out of them, of which many extended towards him and were the ones wrapped around his body.
It was black, perfectly so, befitting of its environment. He looked down, however long it was, it was large enough that despite its coiling, it reached what looked like miles below. He looked up again, the creature's head came closer. It had one big eye with the thousands of small ones which lined it.
It did not have a mouth, whatever his purpose was for it, he did not want to find out. He used all his focus to summon his gun, to no use. An itching on his left hand grew stronger, and he did the first thing that came to mind.
He summoned his sword, it appeared and immediately stabbed through the few tendrils that surrounded his hand. The creature retreated its head, from above, tightening its hold on him.
He adjusted the grip, flipping the sword in his hand and slicing the tendrils which held his arm to his torso. He held it in a backhanded grip, flipping it again and slicing through the binds on his right. Both of his arms were free now.
The creature wrapped over his eyes, briefly blinding him before he reached with his prosthesis and ripping a chunk clean off his face. A purple mist filled the air in the places where he sliced and ripped. He reached for his neck with his right and sliced between his legs with his left. Almost free at this point, he raised his sword once again to cut at the joint in his ankles.
The creature retreated, quickly pulling him down with it. He felt the cold liquid go up his nose and into his lungs, but it did not deter him. With all his force, he swung down and freed himself completely. The creature swam around him in circles, making a large sphere around him which slowly enclosed. It was dark yet again, but he could see its very fast spinning body getting closer and closer. The motion moved him as well, disorienting him slightly.
Its tendrils extended out once again in another attempt to hold him in place, but before they did, he swung his sword in a full arc right before they stuck to him. Slicing through it in one motion, he swum through the cut he had made. Its body wrapped around him as he went through the wound, almost holding him in place before he swam out of it completely. Without looking down once, he swam upwards.
A tendril came from directly under him and held onto his ankle once more. Without a moment's hesitation, he tried to summon his gun once again, succeeding this time. He turned, quickly aiming the pistol downward, the giant eye was at his foot, it inched closer and closer as the weapon whirred in his hand. With a pull of the trigger, he fired, blasting a hole straight through the creature's eye and inside it's body.
The tendril did not release as it was wrapped tightly on his ankle. He had opened it in a straight line completely, only for about 20 feet before the creature's body curved away into the coil. It fell slowly, his only concern now was to get out of the water slowly. It had been several minutes at this point, he could feel himself running out of air. He paddled his feet swimming upwards, right before surfacing, he looked down once more.
The mile long body was now thousands, no, millions of small separate eyes. Each about the size of himself and round in nature. Each and every single one looking just at him, all separate but all at once. Their presence was now undetectable to him unlike before. Was it the overwhelming essence of all of them focused on him? Or something else? Either way, he might be able to take a single much stronger one, but the many of them at the same time was not something he could fathom.
He reached the crystal layer once again, aiming upwards and firing his pistol at it. It broke through, shattering it into tiny pieces before he pulled his torso over the edge. He retched, throwing up water and blowing it out from his nose. The adrenaline had now worn off, his lungs felt like they were being stabbed and stinged while being doused in ocean water. His eyes were red, dripping with a thing black liquid. The more he threw up, the more the snow under himself cleared. He could see under the ice again, pitch black like before. He could only wonder if they were looking at him.
It was not his concern at this point, he flipped over, letting the cold take over him while he spread his arms. He reached towards the sky with his right hand. His hand was splayed, bright white with ball joints, the stars peeking from between his fingers.
A small tear ran down the side of his head. It was the first time in this whole ordeal where he had this feeling. Regret.