Jason could sense a pleasant light seeping through his eyelids, stirring him from the darkness which had brought upon his slumber. He opened his eyes to behold a bright sun. It hurt his eyes to stare, but the light was welcoming, so he did not turn away. He let his hands slide along the ground next to him. Jason found it to be a pool of cool, slick strands. He clenched his hand and heard a small tearing sound as he lifted a blade of grass above his head. He smiled. It was another field.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DCYlYJOBi
The sun warmed him and comforted him. It was a friendly distraction after so much stress in the apothecary. But soon the brightness tore into his eyes, and he could not stare any longer. With some difficulty, he lifted himself upright and gazed upon the world in front of him. It was not as he expected.
To his sides and front were an abyssal black. Jason stood abruptly, taken aback by the sudden change in scenery. He felt small and vulnerable and useless; that darkness stole all of his previous comfort away from him.
He looked down first, searching, in fear, for his footing. He found that below him was a grass field, as he expected, but only in a proximity of a few yards. Then he looked up to see the sun which had warmed him earlier, still shining on the small crop of grass. Everywhere there should have been land, save for where he stood, was shrouded in darkness.
After visiting so many vast places where a whole new world and means of living were to be discovered, the sheer smallness of this world stunned him. He did not know what to make of it. Was he the only human? This the only place?
"Hello?" Jason called.
There was no answer.
"Hello-o" He called again, with tease this time, as if expecting someone to jump out and scare him. He heaved a great sigh and sat back down in the grass. "What now?" said Jason, "Do I wait for sleep to come upon me again?" He sat for a few moments, contemplating.
He had to discover more about this world; If not today, some other. He remembered that not everything is as it seems.
Jason lifted himself to his feet and walked to the edge of the platform, looking down. All black. He walked to the opposite side. All black. He walked every which way, looking with every which angle. All black. He closed an eye. Still black. He stood on one foot. Still black.
It seemed there was no trick of the eye. Everything around him was undeniably black. Jason had one more idea before he would have to resort to extreme measures.
He walked to an edge, and with care, dipped his foot down, feeling for some surface. There was none.
That was it. He determined there was nothing more to test in this area, and the only place he could go was down.
If he jumped, he might fall and die, or he might just fall for eternity, or, if fate would favor him, he would land, preferably before he died from the pressure.
Jason jumped, his eyes closed, hoping for the latter.
Almost immediately he felt a force pushing against him, catching him and lifting him until he felt solid ground. He opened his eyes and was immediately scared he would fall. Below him, still, was all darkness. And above, the land he jumped from was out of sight. Jason lifted his hand in front of him, and, despite the lack of light, was able to see it clearly. He assumed that the place around him was not simply shrouded, it consisted of nothing. If there was something, he could see it clearly, just as he could see his hand. Of course, that did not answer why he was standing there instead of falling, and why his body was illuminated in the first place, but he made the assumption anyways, hoping for the best.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIB1ZGfMMt5
Jason turned behind him, looking for something, anything, that was not darkness. He was pleasantly surprised to find a human girl.
It took him a moment to consider the situation, but Jason soon found himself saying, "Hello?" and walking towards her. She looked up at him with her head tilted, but her confusion soon turned into a smile.
"Hello, stranger," she said. She was young, ten at most, with long black hair, fair skin, and a flat face. She wore a long, white tunic which twisted as she dangled her tiny feet below her. "I didn't expect to see anyone else here."
After a moment of thought, Jason asked, "Where is here, exactly?"
The little girl curled her mouth into a thoughtful frown. "It doesn't really have a name," she said, "but it is the abyss, the emptiness, the place where nothing is. It's where travelers go when they jump off the edge and don't have a destination in mind." Her frown turned flat, as if reflecting on something. Nowadays everyone knows where they're going. Even if they wanted to they probably couldn't get here." Then she turned cheerful and stared at Jason with glowing eyes. "Which makes it the perfect place to hang out!"
"I see," said Jason. He was lost in thought, trying to piece together all of the rules of the world he now occupied.
The girl looked as though she expected Jason to say more. When he did not, she asked, "So, why are you down here?"
Jason began to think of something to say, but he could not think of a reason he would be down here, besides the girl's or his own. Anyways, the girl looked at him so innocently and sincerely that he could not fathom lying to her if he could, so he said the truth: "I'm," Jason stuttered, "not really sure."
The girl looked confused, "you're not sure?" she said, but then happily concluded, "well, no wonder you ended up here!"
Jason was happy of the ignorance of her response. She did not inquire any further.
"My name is Daisy," said the little girl, "You wanna see my shell collection?"
Daisy's enthusiasm and randomness made Jason smile. "I would love to," he said sincerely.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yo2vZ4U0L
Daisy was happily surprised. It seemed that most of the people she knew were not very enthusiastic about her collection. Of course, Jason was. He was interested in anything that would tell him more about this world.
Daisy yelled, "Yay!" She galloped forward a distance, motioning for Jason to follow. After Jason stopped by her side, she said, "Just hold on to my hand, like so," she grabbed Jason's hand and lifted it to the level of her chest, Jason's waist, "I'll count to three, and on three you jump. Okay? Then we'll be home."
Daisy meant her home, of course. It is the nature of little kids to only acknowledge their own perspective. But that did not matter. The mention of the words, "we'll be home" was enough to make Jason temporarily insane. His mind wandered in countless directions, searching for a place, any place, which held his childhood. When he could not find any, he began to think terrible, cruel thoughts of himself and his burden and his future. His soul was consumed with dark thoughts and he began to piece together a place fitting for his despair.
When Daisy said, "3," they jumped, Jason's mind still flooding with dark sceneries.
It just so happened that there was a place in the large world of Ascanine which fit Jason's dreadful creation almost perfectly.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHY7ASYr2B1
Jason had his eyes open this time. He watched as a gray mound formed beneath them, then as an invisible force pushed and turned them so that they fell onto the surface which they had thought of when they jumped. This was a world, Jason determined, where small pieces of ground were jumbled in space and isolated, where one could travel anywhere with an appropriate understanding of the destination and a leap of faith.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcQVWThRqg
Jason's eyes widened with horror as the scene in front of him became that of the one he had envisioned. He turned to Daisy, momentarily blaming her for taking him there, but he quickly saw Daisy's fright and confusion, and realized that it was he who had taken them to such a horrid place.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlV1yfz2wr
A mountain loomed in front of them, so tall that its peak could not be seen. Red matter fell ominously from every direction, heading to a gray floor where dead trees, bushes, and animals waited fearlessly. Lava coated the majority of the ground; It was a volcano, a volcano more terrible and more perilous than any other. It had been built for the sole intention of causing pain.
Daisy finally collected herself enough to speak, but barely. "Oh no," said she with a tone devoid of any emotion. It was a voice of someone deprived of all will to live, a voice which accepted its own hopelessness.
"Daisy," spoke Jason, weak with fear, "Do you know this place?"
It took a moment before she showed any sign of response. Then she gulped and said, "I think," she paused, "I think this is the prison."
"The Prison?" questioned Jason in disbelief. He had never seen or heard of any prison like this.
"Yes, it's where bad people go." She was still shaking with fear.
"Okay," reasoned Jason, "how do we get out of here?"
Daisy closed her eyes and pursed her lips, as if attempting to hold in whatever she had to say, "We can't. It's a prison."
Jason's heart stopped. He screamed, "What?" His words brought the girl out of her daze. "We just stumble in here, and that's it? We can't just stumble out?" He was angry and confused.
"Well, yeah. Normally, no one would be stupid enough to think of this place when---" She stopped herself, confused. She had not yet reasoned that Jason was the one who had brought them there.
Jason interrupted her train of thought. "Then, how do the people who put the criminals in here get out?"
"They don't," replied Daisy.
"They never get out?" said Jason, surprised.
"No, no," Daisy shook her head in correction, "When a bad person gets threatened by the law, they try to flee. When they do, they think of the place they could be if they get caught. Then they end up here. My mother says it's kind of ironic."
"Yeah," said Jason, with a sight grin that disappeared as quickly as it came.
If I die here, Jason thought, and this world is real. then everything is over. I die for good. Jason did not want to die, but he did not know the laws of this world; he did not know what he could do to save himself.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPt4c55CrY
Jason and Daisy shared a moment of silence, listening to the rumble of lava as it streamed across a dip in the ground close to them, then a quiet roar, then the sound of a burnt tree cracking and falling, then a louder roar, then the sound of a man laughing, then a very, very loud roar.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAB3P7emPsW
Jason was the first to turn behind him, and before Daisy could even turn her head, he swept her up in his arms and took off running.
Daisy was simply confused, but Jason was terrified. He had seen the beast. It was a four-legged fiend with a boar's head and feet, and the body and tail of a whale. He could hear the rhythmic thump of the pursuer's feet as it chased him. He began to feel warm breath on his neck, warmer as the creature grew closer. Fear clouded Jason's mind -- he no longer was paying attention to where he was running.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIcnPTDonz
Suddenly, a great pain swarmed Jason's legs. He screamed in terrible agony and toppled to the ground, throwing Daisy, crying, in front of him. Jason tried to rise, ignoring the pain, but fell again when he tried to regain his footing. He looked back to find that his feet were gone. He saw black masses floating along a stream of lava right behind him. Then he saw the colossal beast nearing them, Daisy bruised and crying, and with the pain it was all too much.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8NjvuxNHc
His consciousness momentarily left him.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRleNmuNsH
