Horror and Hubbub 2019: VoidDancer's entry
Alcor slowly and meticulously measured the last ingredient for his experiment, checking his notes and calculations for the last time. This was it. He would finally show Alnair that science was just as powerful as magic. It had taken him months to find everything he needed; the darkest most desperate souls from Dragonsmaw, the purest ice from Tigereye peak and the scales of a fearsome sea serpent found in the depths around Oceandome. And the centerpiece: a dark crystal he found on one of his expeditions, carved from the heart of a meteor. These materials would create the heart and fuel for the apparatus he built, a machine that would generate unlimited power. Forget about opening magical portals to siphon a star's energy, why bother if he could create all that power right here?
Paws shaking with excitement and anticipation he poured in the mixture and turned the dial that would start the process. One, two, five percent! This was going just as planned. 20, 60, 90, those values were rising too fast! Alarmed he reached for the dial to turn it off again but it was too late. A bright light sparked to life and rapidly expanded, like an explosion but eerily devoid of sound. It passed through Alcor, leaving blinding pain in its wake and he collapsed.
It was dark when he came to again. He slowly took stock and was relieved to find that he seemed to have gotten through this unharmed. Stretching out his paws he started to feel around him, only to find nothing. A dark chuckle made him freeze. "Oh little one, that' s not going to do you any good", a disembodied voice echoed around him.
"Who is there?", Alcor asked, trying to sound calm and failing miserably. "Are you sure that is the most relevant question little cub?" The voice sounded amused. Getting to his feet and turning around rapidly Alcor tried to make out any features around him, any hint of where the owner of the voice might be hiding. He lashed out with his claws at a seemingly denser shadow in the surrounding darkness but just managed to hit thin air. Another chuckle followed, cold, oily and entirely unperturbed by his efforts. "Don't bother, you cannot harm me. And I will not harm you." It sounded entirely insincere. "You don't believe me do you? I have no reason to hurt you, you did me a favour after all."
With that a tiny pinprick of light showed in the murky darkness. Like a window slowly opening to the outside world. Alnair stepped closer, trying to comprehend what he saw. It was...his workshop? The machine sat on his workbench, blackened and obviously broken, the inky crystal at its heart dull and shattered. Then to his horror he saw his own hands working on dismantling it. The view through the windows blurred for a bit, as if they were panning around. Like a head turning. He saw Alnair make his way into the workshop, looking worried. "Are you alright? I heard a crash and you cried out?"
"Oh, I am alright. Just a little mishap with my new machine. The center crystal snapped, seems I overestimated its potential."
Alcor's blood froze. That was his voice talking. He was looking through his own eyes. He frantically reached for the vision before him but before he could make contact the light faded and he was once again surrounded by nothing but darkness. "Do you understand now?" The voice still sounded unbearably amused by the horror that slowly took over Alcor's entire being. "Where am I?" His voice was so quiet he could hardly hear it himself above the wild pounding of his heart. "Now that is the right question. Well done." The voice was smug, patronising. "You are inside your own mind. Over time you will learn how to interact with your surroundings. It is your own mind after all. You'll have s good life. You'll be able to conjure up anything you can imagine. And if you behave I'll even show you the outside world again from time to time. Let you see your friends. Although your so-called best friend seemed quite unsurprised by your failure. He does not seem to expect much of you, does he?" "Stop it! They will realise you are not me in no time! Release me right now!"
Again Alcor resorted to slashing wildly at the darkness around him, not stopping until he was out of breath, never hitting anything but air for all his efforts. He sank to his knees. "Are you done?" The voice sounded bored. "I'm afraid I cannot release you. I am already quite fond of your, well my new body. My old one was unfortunately disposed off by the same people that imprisoned me in that crystal. And I intend to make them pay for that." A dark note had entered the voice, so bitter and acrid it was almost tangible. And then it was gone, just like that, leaving Alcor alone in the endless darkness.
The voice returns from time to time, to tease and taunt him. It shows him the atrocities it commits, using Alcor's hands, revelling in how he suffers in his helplessness to stop it. And he is still there, trapped and waiting in the dark to this day.
Paws shaking with excitement and anticipation he poured in the mixture and turned the dial that would start the process. One, two, five percent! This was going just as planned. 20, 60, 90, those values were rising too fast! Alarmed he reached for the dial to turn it off again but it was too late. A bright light sparked to life and rapidly expanded, like an explosion but eerily devoid of sound. It passed through Alcor, leaving blinding pain in its wake and he collapsed.
It was dark when he came to again. He slowly took stock and was relieved to find that he seemed to have gotten through this unharmed. Stretching out his paws he started to feel around him, only to find nothing. A dark chuckle made him freeze. "Oh little one, that' s not going to do you any good", a disembodied voice echoed around him.
"Who is there?", Alcor asked, trying to sound calm and failing miserably. "Are you sure that is the most relevant question little cub?" The voice sounded amused. Getting to his feet and turning around rapidly Alcor tried to make out any features around him, any hint of where the owner of the voice might be hiding. He lashed out with his claws at a seemingly denser shadow in the surrounding darkness but just managed to hit thin air. Another chuckle followed, cold, oily and entirely unperturbed by his efforts. "Don't bother, you cannot harm me. And I will not harm you." It sounded entirely insincere. "You don't believe me do you? I have no reason to hurt you, you did me a favour after all."
With that a tiny pinprick of light showed in the murky darkness. Like a window slowly opening to the outside world. Alnair stepped closer, trying to comprehend what he saw. It was...his workshop? The machine sat on his workbench, blackened and obviously broken, the inky crystal at its heart dull and shattered. Then to his horror he saw his own hands working on dismantling it. The view through the windows blurred for a bit, as if they were panning around. Like a head turning. He saw Alnair make his way into the workshop, looking worried. "Are you alright? I heard a crash and you cried out?"
"Oh, I am alright. Just a little mishap with my new machine. The center crystal snapped, seems I overestimated its potential."
Alcor's blood froze. That was his voice talking. He was looking through his own eyes. He frantically reached for the vision before him but before he could make contact the light faded and he was once again surrounded by nothing but darkness. "Do you understand now?" The voice still sounded unbearably amused by the horror that slowly took over Alcor's entire being. "Where am I?" His voice was so quiet he could hardly hear it himself above the wild pounding of his heart. "Now that is the right question. Well done." The voice was smug, patronising. "You are inside your own mind. Over time you will learn how to interact with your surroundings. It is your own mind after all. You'll have s good life. You'll be able to conjure up anything you can imagine. And if you behave I'll even show you the outside world again from time to time. Let you see your friends. Although your so-called best friend seemed quite unsurprised by your failure. He does not seem to expect much of you, does he?" "Stop it! They will realise you are not me in no time! Release me right now!"
Again Alcor resorted to slashing wildly at the darkness around him, not stopping until he was out of breath, never hitting anything but air for all his efforts. He sank to his knees. "Are you done?" The voice sounded bored. "I'm afraid I cannot release you. I am already quite fond of your, well my new body. My old one was unfortunately disposed off by the same people that imprisoned me in that crystal. And I intend to make them pay for that." A dark note had entered the voice, so bitter and acrid it was almost tangible. And then it was gone, just like that, leaving Alcor alone in the endless darkness.
The voice returns from time to time, to tease and taunt him. It shows him the atrocities it commits, using Alcor's hands, revelling in how he suffers in his helplessness to stop it. And he is still there, trapped and waiting in the dark to this day.
