Chapter 1: Beyond the curtain

*** Somewhere ***

*** I ***

My eyes open and I stare at the ceiling of my cave for several long moments. The shallow breaths I took froze on contact with the icy atmosphere, and the slowly created crystals float away.

They are beautiful and anticipate my death. I didn't expect to wake up another hour after I went to sleep. That means this world has given me another chance to survive.

I move and my bones creak when I get up. How can it be that I feel so old? Ah, but I'm old. Now I remember.

Long ago this world was warm and full of life. Then the sun darkened and the ice came. My people hid deep in the earth. But over time the cold followed us there. I watched them slowly lose their vigor.

Some were engulfed in ice, but most languished in time. There is no greater enemy than time. Death can be defeated, but time keeps slowly passing no matter what you do. And when you try to stop it, all you get is to stop along with it.

I rise from my resting place and a thin layer of white frost falls from the cloths that cover my body. They are the only thing that offers any protection from the environment.

My eyes sweep over my little cave for the last time, but there's nothing that can help my survival. No food and nothing that could be burned. The last water reserve is frozen and useless.

Slow, silent footsteps led me to a wall where a fissure appeared. It's small, but I feel cold air coming through it. It's always like that. It follows like this... until the day you won't wake up after going to sleep.

I turn and push the large, round stone to the side that sealed the entrance to the cave. It creates some unwanted noise, but it can't be helped. The stone sealed my lair against the outside world.

The hallway in front of my cave is clean and I can't feel presences. Then I turn around and walk down the path that leads me up. For the cold. The desire to go deeper is strong. Until the last remnants of heat.

But I know there's stuff down there... unspeakable terrors that are capable of killing me. And there's a certain... end to this path. A point at which you can't go any deeper where the cold will eventually get to you.

So I choose to run away and come out on top. One last time. I limp forward while I'm pulling my bad leg after me. It has been useless for a long time. But I've decided to keep it, thinking there might come a time when I feel hungry enough to...

A sound makes me stop. Something's coming my way. I went into a nearby crevice to hide and concentrate, to keep my breathing to a minimum. The entrance to my false hiding place is in this part of the cave for this very reason. The walls are full of cracks that make it easier to hide.

Three pale figures pass me. A hunting party. They've been looking for me for weeks. I don't know when they first appeared, but they seem to be degenerate versions of my people. Although they have adapted to the cold.

They were gone as fast as they came. But I keep hiding in my hiding place. My senses tell me there's another. A slow one. I lick my lips and wait. He walks by and my hand shoots out of my hiding place, grabbing the straggler in his windpipe and squeezing it.

Not a sound escapes as I pull him into the shadows of the rift. He struggles, but the limbs keep banging around senselessly. My fingers dig into his flesh and eyes with a piece of intelligence widened to mine.

I saw fear, hatred, and madness in them. A set of emotions. I don't care about it as I drain the negligible amount of life force from the thing. Her eyes become transparent and I drop the corpse to the ground.

With some of my strength restored, I continue on my way. In the past I hid all the corpses that were too close to my cave, but I don't plan to go back, so it doesn't matter now.

A little further on I choose the path on the left where the corridor splits. The cave gets narrower from that point on.

Finally, it's just a tiny mine shaft that leads abruptly upwards. I start crawling and climbing with the practice of many years. The bad leg and the missing two fingers on my right hand are holding me back, but I've learned to deal with it.

After a short eternity I arrive at my destination. It is a flat dome near the surface. The floor is perfectly smooth and mysterious with small lines and symbols. They're full of my frozen blood.

I bend down and search every floor to see if there's any damage to my magic circle. But there aren't any. Just a few rocks that fell from the ceiling. They are easily removed and I place myself in the center of the circle.

Then I start thinking like yesterday and the days before... So many failures. I want to escape from this world, which is at the end of its life. The will to survive has taken me to great distances.

I even tried to teleport. Although I would soon have to admit that there is no use in teleportation if you don't know where you want to go. Then there was the option to summon magic. If the people of my world can call the servants from somewhere else, then there may be other places to which you can be summoned.

The trick lies in how to respond to that summoning ceremony. Or intercept one. Then I clear my mind and start listening to the melody that calls beings from afar. I'm looking for the same music every day. This place is strong and full of life, so I wish to go there.

Magic summons me from the universe almost every day. But I could never sync up with her. Today it's all or nothing.

Hours go by and nothing happens. When I try to move, I realize it's not possible. I reach for my feet and realize they're frozen. The cold claimed everything at one point or another and I made my decision on the path I'm going to take. It looks like I'm not going to survive.

Then I close my eyes again and listen as I'm slowly asleep. Somehow I know I won't wake up this time.

***

A beat! I feel it! The pounding beat of life is calling from afar! I release all my mana and pour it into the magic circle beneath my feet. With despair and hope I reach the melody of life that calls me the flame of the universe! Although I feel something more answering the same call, I still search for it with all my might.

And then I feel like I'm floating! An old, wrinkled body lies beneath me, it sinks and a final breath escapes its mouth. Is it me? Did I just die?

I don't have time to think. An unbelievable force pulls me away from my world and the stars blur as they pass by! Stars? How long has it been since I've seen them?

*** Between Worlds ***

*** I ***

I open my eyes and find myself on a rocky plain. Everything is gray and white. Is this the afterlife? So the summoning failed? Or did someone else manage to respond to the summons first?

My old wrinkled hands and body are still the same. I'm really wearing the rags I was used to. Didn't I leave my body behind? Or is this some kind of dream world where you look like the image you have of yourself?

Something growls behind me and I turn around. And when I turned around, I saw a strange creature. It was red and has two horns on its head. The face is a violent mess and sharp teeth come out of his mouth. The hands are very long and have four deadly-looking claws. A long tail is curled behind it and its legs are folded back, ending in awkward paws. He is naked, and a uselessly large weapon hangs between his legs.

"You! Intercepted! My! Invocation!"

The thing screamed at me. What a pity. This mutant can't even speak normally.

"I won't! Let you steal! My reward! From me! This world! It's mine! To take!"

He screamed again and jumped on me. So slow. Maybe I should end the pain? What's the point in life if you're so weak?

My body moves out of the way of the claws that were almost hitting me. The poor thing is simply too slow. Back in the depths of my world, the hunters were much faster.

One of my trembling hands reaches forward and grabs the claw, twisting it. The finger snaps and the poor monster howls. My body goes through the thing and I grab the tail.

A quick push separates its owner's tail as I kick the monster's shin. The thing falls off as it continues to howl.

The torn tail finds its way around the poor mutant's neck and passes at one end, while I pull with my right hand over the other.

"How? On this plane! There just is! At will! From the individual! How can you! To be so strong!"

The thing continued to bark nonsensical things as I was getting close and disarming him. An unbelievably loud howl makes my ears hurt, so I shove the monster's gun down his throat to shut up.

Finally, the poor thing stops writhing. He lived longer than I expected from such a deformed creature. I wish I had been able to end his miserable life in a less painful way, but he attacked me. And I don't like to be attacked.

So I feel myself being pushed away before I'm able to take a look at the thing. The world gets blurred around me and I'm pulled somewhere else away.