Chapter Seven – From Above

Several days passed. Theris hung alone in the chamber, alone with only the thoughts in her head to keep her company. Alone with reflection. It was an effective means of torture indeed; Reapers needed no nourishment, they needed no care. She could hang there for years, slowly going mad, the unique properties of the shackles holding her causing fatigue to burn deep within her muscles, screaming out for rest.

The worst of it was that there was no sound. No drips of badly made plumbing, no scurrying rats. These things were considered negatives in your average jail cell. Here they would be a relief from the deathly silence. Occasionally she would shout out in rage, roaring at the top of her voice until her throat burned. And then at least, she could hear the echoes for a few moments, before a return to silence.

She roared, at the top of her voice, the scream of anger tearing into the darkness. She rattled at her chains, throwing her body left and right, trying her best to free herself, despite the inevitability of the task.

But instead of mere echoes, she heard a new voice. A Retribution come to mock her, perhaps? No. That was not their way. They would prefer to sit in silence and bask in the torture of solitude that had befallen her. This voice was fresh, undulled by traditions instilled in most reapers. That was interesting in itself. But then, so were the words that it carried.

'Geez, could you be any louder? Some of us are trying to relax up here.' it said. Theris peered around her, trying to penetrate the darkness. She could find nothing.

'Where are you?' she called out, confusion crossing her brow. How could anyone reach here who wasn't either Retribution or a council member?

'Look up.' was the reply. Theris raised her eyes, searching the great expanse of nothingness above her. And sure enough, on a ledge several metres up the far wall, she could make out a pair of legs. And a body attached to them. Metallic shoe soles caught the ethereal light of the place, glinting. She was perplexed she hadn't noticed before; This place was obviously getting to her. Before she could voice a response, the visitor continued.

'I come here for self reflection. Alone time. What do I find? Some chick screaming her heart out ruining my quiet. It simply will not do.' The figure propelled himself forward, falling rapidly from his perch. A long hood covered his head, and trailed after his form, like some sort of cloth snake. Feet impacted against cold stone, and a ripple of dust and debris was launched into the air. He was obviously unphased by the large drop, or at all bothered by the damage he had caused to the floor.

'I shall simply have to remove you.' he continued, rising from the crater and dusting himself off. He clenched his fist, and extended his index and middle fingers, making the shape of a gun, as a child might in play. He pointed at Theris' right foot, and squinted down his arm. 'Brace yourself.' he said, raising his thumb.

Theris let out a small exclamation as she was forced backwards, swinging wildly on her binds. She looked down, and noticed that her foot was now free of its chains. 'How did you-' she began, but stopped abruptly, observing that the man was now taking aim once more. Two more impacts rocked Theris, and she felt her left hand hit her side. She flexed her fingers, checking that everything was in working order. Luckily it was. She cast her gaze up to her right. Only the chain attached to her wrist was holding her up now. If this one was destroyed she would fall to her demise.
'A-are you going to kill me?' she asked, as calmly as she could, looking the figure straight in the eyes. Eyes of azure blue, the colour of life energy. They seemed to resonate with her very being, tantalising in their nature. She felt as if a magpie, beckoned to by a glistening golden treasure. Her trance was interrupted however, by a long, drawn out laugh. Fascination faded to the back of her mind, as she listened. The man wiped a tear from his eye, or at least pretended to. Such mannerisms were often imitated by Reapers and the like, because they felt it made them seem human.

'No. I'm not going to kill you. That would be rude; we've only just met.' He stepped forward, reaching the edge of the precipice. He raised his “gun” once more. 'I just ask for a little faith.' he added quietly, as Theris closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

She felt herself knocked backwards, spinning erratically in the air, and for a moment, falling. But then... Warmth against her form. Strong arms gripping her tightly, and she felt a jolt pass through her as the man landed on the other side of the pit, holding her still. She opened an eye, peering up at him. A grinning face, his skin pale, but not to the same degree as many reapers. A long strand of black hair hanging down to the side, bound by cloth where it met his head, resulting in a curious forward facing ponytail protruding from his right temple.

'You may let me go now. Thank you.' she said quietly. He nodded, and released his grip, allowing her to shakily raise herself to her feet. She took a deep breath, composing herself, and let out a slow sigh. 'What now then? Surely we'll just be captured, and brought back here again if we try to escape through the passages.' she continued, looking around her.

'If we used the passages we'd get caught, sure. But we're not using the passages.' He replied, waving a hand across the wall adjacent to him. The stonework shimmered, and a spiral of darkness appeared, just tall enough for a grown man to step through, and equally wide. A low hum rung out eerily from its surface. Waving for Theris to follow, he stepped into the shadow, fading away into the wall until nothing of him was left.

Theris simply studied the wall for a time, trying to work out the nature of the gateway that now covered it. She stepped up to it, and hesitantly pressed her fingers to it, and pulled them back immediately, as they met no resistance and sunk straight through. Working up her courage, she once again pressed her hand into the darkness, and this time she felt something catch her hand. She was about to resist, when she made out the touch of fingers, a hand, not a monster. Relenting, she passed through the gateway entirely, finding herself in an apparently endless sea of shadow.

Holding her hand was her new acquaintance, leading her along an unseen path. She said nothing, studying the back of his head, the side of her mouth twitched upward in amusement at the trailing hood he wore. It was rather comical, and she suspected somewhat impractical too. They kept walking for some time, and the man seemed certain of his destination, for he didn't stop even for a moment, walking doggedly forward.

The rhythm of their steps became uniform, and Theris drifted into something that could be described as a daydream. Reapers did not dream as humans did, per say, but left to their own devices they could allow their minds to shift into a complacent, dream-like state, allowing them at least a short period of rest. Because of this, she did not notice the time passing until she felt a bump against her body as she walked into the back of her leader. She looked up, and noticed that they had stopped. She looked around, but could see nothing different about this place compared to where they had been before.

The man in front of her waved his hand before him, and Theris blinked, unnecessarily, in the light that burst through the hole that he had created. They stepped through it, and she gasped, as she recognised her place of silent introspection; the Garden of End. Then she gasped once more, as she observed the fifteen or so reapers that stood waiting for them.