Chapter Text
Water a clear blue, and air crisp with the receding effects of unforgiving frost left from long resting winter, the leaves of trees older than entire bloodlines returning with fervour. Spring had come.
Trudging through the muddied path, she held up her pendulum. The black crystal, with the slight multicolour schemes, shone as the sun leaked through whispery clouds. She had decided to use it today, figuring it's best to start learning and bonding with her new 'friend' before going on to use basic spells. Paganism had become a new, yet welcoming addition to her life.
"Lead the way" she murmured soft, dangling the silver chain with the strained attempt to not move it too much. "I want you to show me something brilliant, something that will change the very trajectory of our journey together." Her eyes carefully observed the pendulum. Hazel, hooded, yet tired with bags. An unfortunate outcome of insomnia.
At long last, the black stone moved north east, the slow swishing reminiscent of one inside a grandfather clock.
Nodding slightly, the ghost of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth, she strolled on clumsily with the vitality of an arrogant foal. The energy of the day fluctuating with each emboldened step she took. She hadn't noticed the slight shift in texture of the ground, nor the air becoming increasingly stagnant with vague memories of misguided altruism.
White trainers hit faded and mossy concrete. Eyes glued intensively onto the pendulum. The smell hit her nose first. Chlorine, and the faint scent of iron. A persistent rot accumulating in the air.
Despite the rancid smell that made her nose twitch and scrunch, she pressed further, intent on finding whatever the pendulum was leading her to. Her attention were rapidly ripped away from the smell and the guiding stone as a towering shadow grew close.
"Woah, what's this?"
In her way stood a tall building, weathered down and overgrown with weeds and moss. Scrutinizing it's state, she noticed that there weren't any visible indications of break-ins, and found that even the iron gates closing the more important areas have not been cut through, climbed, or forcibly open through the locks.
Whatever this building was for, it seemed as if nobody had found it until now.
"Huh, maybe it looks different on the inside.."
Carefully making her way to the iron gate at the side of the building, she tucked away her pendulum into the pocket of her brown vintage jacket. The process of climbing over was excruciatingly slow, as she tried her hardest to avoid cuts, not too keen on the possibility of infection. As she were too far from home to clean any open wound with cold water.
"Alright. There we go"
Taking out the pendulum once more, she pushed through the side door. The vibrant red metal groaning in protest at the sudden use after so many years.
The interior, equally as untouched, appeared to be home to an array of computers, an office? Or something along the lines of one. No graffiti or broken items here either, aside from the dust, it's quite pristine.
"There are.... 2 floors i think." she hummed, pressing a finger on her chin contemplatively. "I'll start with this one-" strangely, her words were cut off by the pendulum, it swaying with a vigour never seen before.
"You want me to go upstairs?"
The pendulum moved in a circle. 'yes'.
"Okay then"
The sound of footsteps were muted as she carried on deeper into the building, the carpeted floors a faded blue with tiny specs, crumbs? general dirt? Miscellaneous information you normally wouldn't ponder on.
The further up the stairs she got, the more energetic the pendulum became, glancing once or twice in inquisitiveness as she ascended. On reaching the final step, she noticed the plastic vibrating as though it were alive, It's swaying becoming more erratic, yet still managing to guide her in the direction it wanted.
Closer and closer the approach to the 'destination', the pendulum was practically trying to tear itself from her grasp. Brows furrowed, she turned her slowly to wherever it was attempting to go.
"Is that an...Oculus?"
There hung on a coat hanger was a headset right next to one of the computers, why it was there, she didn't really have much to question about the strange placement of it. Yet the explanation as to why the pendulum was so insistent on her finding it alluded her.
On closer inspection, the headset seemed to not be the typical model of an Oculus Rift, it was blockier, a slight beige colour to it. But most notably was the symbol plastered on the front. A yellow hazard symbol.
Reaching a hand out, she carefully traced the shell with her nails, pausing for a moment to test if it were plastic, and proceeded to tap on it.
Clack clack clack.
Eventually, feeling a slight confidence, placed her entire palm on the visor. As soon as she did, her brain did a momentary buff.
It was warm, it practically buzzed under her skin. Was it on? Does the building still have power? Or maybe she's just overthinking it? She didn't pull away though, feeling this peculiar sensation of some kind of anticipation, as if the air had become charged the moment she touched it. She took a moment, and strained her ears slightly, only to hear whirring of a sort of electrical output.
Looking over to the computer next to her, she hunched over to hear it more clearly. It was the computer. Perhaps someone had accidently left it and the headset running? No. Right? Wouldn't it turn off by itself if it's on for a prolonged amount of time? This was getting weird.
And yet.....
She picked up the headset, feeling this sudden pull to.
"Well... i did ask you to show me something brilliant."
Peeling back the elastic band, she positioned the visor over her eyes.
It was pitch darkness for a moment, before the sudden sensation of both sensory overload and deprivation overcame her, the vivid light barraging her eyes, she thought for a moment it would blind her. Adjusting slightly, she noticed she wasn't in the same building.
It was overwhelming, the colours, the harsh light. It all contrasted with the near-dead silence of it all, save for the echoes of distant voices nearby. How could she hear it? The headset didn't have surround-sound headphones. And her arms...and legs... they didn't feel like hers. She looked down at her clothes, they were also different.
A white shirt, a purple tie with lucid green patterns, purple belt, muted blue flare trousers with pointy black shoes... it reminded her of elf feet in a way.
Her skin was also different, she felt the movement of all of her limbs, including ones that she didn't have originally.
This seemed.. okay?
Before the logical part of her brain kicked into overdrive.
How come she could move her fingers, the headset didn't come with controllers?
How can she feel every movement as if it were real?
The inside of her mouth even felt odd, her jaw had this... unexplainable feeling, she had to grip her chin to understand.
Lines on her mouth, similar to the fashion of what you'd see on a wooden puppet or nutcracker, but she didn't feel wooden.
Pinching at her skin, it hurt. But at least she still had skin and flesh.. or something akin to that.
"Hello?" she called out. Slight relief at the fact her voice were almost the same, it was a little bit garbled, it had a faint undertone of something that you'd hear from an ad on a shoddy TV from the 80's.
The voices in the distance stopped. And by that point she'd had enough of this...weird new world.
Reaching for the headset, she felt her blood run cold and her chest tighten.
It wasn't on her face anymore.