We're all in this virtual space together.
Tramontana

You know the only way is forward, and you step towards the soundhesitantly, unsure of what awaits you. The laughing and crying both go louder,an endless nightmare unlit by the fluctuating otherworldly glow and puredarkness.

As you feel you must be close, the sound stops and you feel asthough you’ve made a terrible mistake. Soon, loud shrieking fills the areaaround you and it is all you can take not to drop everything you carry tosqueeze your worn hands over your ears in terror. The shrieking continues forwhat seems like years of torturous sound, before silencing in a sickeninglyhorrible gasp.

You right yourself, clutching your weapons tighter to you. Youfeel the sword on your hip itching to jump into battle. The air around you isstill and stifling with the final screams of you wish you knew who. The spacearound you is suddenly illuminated, and you are blinded for the moment by thesudden change and the inability of your eyes to adjust.

You are blinded and momentarily helpless. Whatever caused theshrieks of pain is still in this virtual space with you. You feel trapped andhelpless as your eyes refuse to adjust. You hold up the shield as a last ditcheffort to protect yourself but you know if whatever is in here wants you goneyou will be erased like the others.

What do you do?

The path stood beforethem, looming as it was glorious. Myos took a deep breath, and stared down thegilded gold hallway like it was his judgment day. Amaya looked at him, worryingher lip as she waited for the fiery maned and spirited boy to say something.Achernar cracked her knuckles loudly, the oak strong woman ready for anythingthat may come. The ravenette and, sometimes to his dismay, Myos’s best friendlooked ahead with an indeterminable glint in his eye.

“Well, Myos. This is thelast chance to turn back,” Zeke said at last, sighing and shifting his tensedweight to a more relaxed position, rocking to the heels of his boots. His chestwas still bare, finely toned structure paling in comparison to the jarringappearance of the large black star over his heart juxtaposed to his otherwiseunblemished skin. Their mark. Myos mark.

What do you do?

The text that wasbeginning to become all too familiar flashed across Myos’s screen, and hedidn’t even need to ask to know the others had not gotten the same message thathe had. The lime screen that covered his face had both been his downfall and hislifeline, the thing that he had used to disconnect him from his own realitybecoming something to join him with it, only to revert back to alienating himagain. And yes, heroism wasn’t his initial reality but there was no reason hecouldn’t make it his now. The fates had aligned the five of them, so differentyet with the same calling to drive them forward.

They had decided onlythe stars could decide what was in store for them. No mortal human had thatprivilege bestowed upon them, and no one deserved it.

Myos took a deep breath,straightening his back and stealing his gaze. “Let’s go, guys.”