Alter-Grey: Mysteries Beyond The Outer

The living world is a dream. The greatest unknowns are the horrors beyond the veil we might one day lift onto a stage riddled in the fears of our clouded insignificance.

This world and every other world are all different only connected by merely that they exist and one day they will not.

One is to wonder then as to the context of everything and everyone born of this order, a logic for the world. A world of concept.

Even so, the hands of time coldly and slowly chase each other, eternally bound in a rut unending.

The cycles die out and are born anew. A doggedly hell of cat and mouse.

-N.A.V

...

The ever-present full moon loomed over this city; a work of brilliance.

There walked a feminine figure making her way down an empty street barely lit as her shadow appeared and vanished from street lantern to street lantern.

She walked hurriedly as though she were here and elsewhere simultaneously.

Her right eye, as pale as snow, stalked her periphery, seeing nothing of notable distress, yet an uneasiness persisted, gripping her heart tighter.

Silent, heavy breaths, rhythmic and constant, drowned out the beauty of the night, framing the sky a darker shade and the stars barely a dot of interest.

It should have just been a night like any other, and yet the senses were off-kilter, and she felt the madness of it even in her blood as it burned; nudging her closer to a sprint. Her pace quickened, and her misty breaths grew thicker.

In truth, it seemed she knew not what she did, and who was to say any different?

She simply knew she could not stop moving as she peered back and across the street, dimly lit and too dark to see, yet not for her; even darkness could not allude her gaze.

With the moon barely a whisper, she cut corners and made her way down the next street; her eyes blurred in a frantic haze with the streets around her now fading in and out, like a chaotic soup as the corners and roads seemed to bend and twist before eventually blending into one.

The sky itself crashed onto the earth and fractured the land beneath with thunderous lightning.

The moon, cold and dark masking the stars; an age and era of void, where time spasmed and wrecked the living world of sense and meaning. Not that there was much to be found there anyway.

Her footsteps turned from a walk to a sprint then a run, a melody of fear.

The darkness around her grew and beat a harrowing silence, the houses started to lose all structure and collapsed on themselves leaving only the faint scent of iron carried by a sharper stinging smell.

But amidst the rubble, one building stood against all the dismay, only distinguished by a blood-red door marking its entrance.

Seeing it, a desperation threatened to consume her. Her legs a flame and heart a thunder beating in her ears, a tune true to being... "Terror" a language of the universe.

In her pursuit of safety, she outstretched her hand almost as if hoping it would shorten the distance; even a sliver would be enough.

With the red door close at hand, hope began to flower within her heart before reality briefly blinked away and she felt her legs give out from under her as soft skin dragged across concrete.

Now she lay there, muscles tense and sore, paralyzed as her body refused to persevere further.

So unable to do anything else and frightened of what lurked just beyond the borders of her vision, she paled and flashed her eyes frantically for even a glimpse of the door, hoping desperately to reach it and be enveloped by its comforting presence.

With her vision impaired, a haze overtook her surroundings as she succumbed to darkness, slowly, and in the empty silence of darkness's victory, she felt... cold.

She watched helplessly as the red bled off the door and puddled onto the floor leaving behind withered oak. It slowly ran down the steps and towards her vessel.

"Corr- No, not here... Wh- Why now?"

She muttered incoherently as her conscience sunk deeper in, drowning her in thoughts passed. Uncontrollably, she was attacked by ideas that she had conquered long ago.

In her stupor, she heard in an echoed breathy voice, an otherworldly tongue speaking to her its voice melodic and serenely disturbing in its familiarity:

"Dear sweet child, you are broken. I can help you; I can save you, I can fulfil you.

There are cracks in your soul child, and I can hear it trembling, quivering, stirring deep inside you.

It is close at hand now... Please dear sweet mirror, let me mend you."

Shivering quietly, she eventually collapsed and let the broken pieces of herself succumb to darkness, as all her muscles lost tension and a deep slumber clouded her judgement, dragging her deeper into the inky corners of her mind.

Silently and weakly, she drifted in a sea of missing memories. As thoughts of work, love, dread, despair, and desire all grew smaller and smaller as she sunk further in.

Then, as the silence turned harrowing, a whisper echoed in the darkness, some inaudible echo causing her to frown and engage seemingly in deep thought as her eyes jumped from one spot to the other.

"I remember it all so well, I ate all the smiles and lies you fed to me... then came the poison as the word 'Father' rotted in my mouth.

...

It's long passed now, but in silent corners of my mind, I still repeat the things you said to me... The rest is quiet."

A sigh of relief escaped her as her lifeless figure faded away into the inky pools of her mind; below her was eternity, and it was frightening in its comfort.

Falling through, she was about to close her eyes when suddenly a red door appeared in the pool, drawing her in.

The next thing she knew, she was woken up to the sound of thunder and met with a familiar ceiling.

Strong winds blew outside and grey shrouded the skies, veiling the light of day.

She looked around and could tell that this was her abode, just a house. In confusion, she froze, not knowing how she got there.

Concerned she quickly surveyed the house, checking almost every room for abnormality, but alas, nothing; everything seemed like she'd left it, not a pen out of place, not an easel out of order.

Opening the door to the outside, strong winds blew in, scattering papers across the floor from atop her shelf near the wall; ignoring it, she poked her head outside, looking left to right... but again nothing.

Somewhat satisfied she closed the door and locked it behind her as she leaned against it for a moment and let a tired sigh escape her.

She calmed partially and looked down, noting she was still in her coat and work attire from the day prior; gently she put her hand over her face, trying to remedy her distress.

"Well, at least this uniform proves something; I went to work yesterday. So what happened probably wasn't a dream meaning..."

She sighed tiredly.

"Man, I hate this crappy job, be an Astral they said; it will be fine they said. Liars all of them, at least I'm not contracted to the government, though. Oh, who am I kidding as if the government even cares."

Pushing herself off the door, she gathered the papers from the floor; neatly organizing and placing them on the shelf. This time making sure to put a paperweight over them.

Lazily she made her way to the bathroom and met a strange door that glowed with mystical runes as she passed by. But used to the eerie object by this point, she paid it no mind.

Reaching the bathroom soon after, she ran a hot bath while she brushed her teeth looking at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her reflection was a marvel, almost like marble, with no bruises or scrapes of any sort, just her pale visage staring back at her.

Her face was framed by cascades of long, ebony hair that tumbled in silken waves over her shoulders with a streak of white on a section of her bangs.

Her fair skin, smooth and luminous, held a delicate porcelain quality, adding to the striking contrast of her features.

Dark, thin eyelashes framed her eyes, one of which was a mesmerizing grey that slowly turned a shade of wine, deep and rich as it almost as if her iris was bleeding, near the bottom. The other eye was an inky black, gleaming with an enigmatic allure.

Her eyebrows were gracefully arched and equally dark, perfectly balancing the sharpness of her gaze.

She smiled and her lips parted to reveal healthy white teeth with two canines slightly pronounced, almost playful seeming.

Checking if everythias everything was in it's correct place.

Finished she sighed, put away her toothbrush and walked towards the running bath, her work attire falling behind her. The room filled with steam, and the mirrors got foggy.

She briefly ran a finger through the water and exhaled softly before plunging a foot into its depths and eventually submerging herself fully into the calm waters.

Her soul seemed to find peace in the privacy, allowing herself a breath of relief for once in an isolated moment.

As the outside winds picked up their melody, she started to drift in the ocean of her mind, lost at sea to her questioning thoughts.

"So we survived; but how and why?

The last thing I remember was darkness then... The door to my house?

What does it all mean?

Did the house' arcane barrier somehow extend its reach to protect me and teleport me inside somehow...?

Or maybe Solace or Cassie discovered my unconscious body and carried me in?"

Unconvinced, she sighed and sunk deeper into the tub until her head was but barely an island among the soapy debris, remaining that way as seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned silent.

Until finally, two hands grabbed the tub on either side, and she rose from the water like art, as meaningful as night unto day.

Standing at full height in the bathtub and clutching what seemed to be a washing cloth of a blue palate.

She quickly and thoroughly scrubbed her body clean, making sure to rub down on every curve and crevice, a soapy grave for every grime and spec of dirt.

She dried herself off, wrapped a towel around her body to cover her nakedness, grabbed her clothes from off the floor, and returned to her bedroom.

Her footsteps distorted as a thunderous poetic symphony ever so majestic in performance carried on the winds.

She entered her room, instantly throwing her clothes onto the bed and sitting on its edge with her face planted firmly onto her open-palmed hands as her body slowly sunk onto the floor.

Sitting there, knees up and hands to her face, she leaned lightly onto her bedframe.

"These headaches are such a bother. Persistently and reliably like a... Fly or perhaps some sort of parasite. Why won't they just leave me alone?"

Heavy breaths followed as her index fingers slowly made their way to her temples as her hands clutched gently at her face. Emanating from somewhere a croaky voice spoke:

"Be gentle, won't you? We wouldn't want a repeat of last time now would we?"

She applied pressure to them, lightly pressing and increasing in strength more and more as she rubbed them around the delicates of her mind.

"I said leave me you pest. I don't have time for you now, can't you see?"

Feeling her head give a little she applied more strength to her motions, almost trying to maybe plunge her fingers into her skull. The voice persisted once again, remarking flatly:

"Stop... Stop it now. Don't you see what you're doing?"

Exploring her temples, her fingers finally found the point of most tension and pressed as hard as possible, following subtle but decisive motions disturbed only by a flat voice that beckoned her:

"Self that's enough."

The voice was her own, and soon after that, her hands suddenly spread to either side outstretched as a heavy sigh of relief passed her lips, and her eyes fell closed. The headache faded.

Sat there on the floor; head rested on the edge of the bed as silent breaths escaped her, basking in the sound of heavy rain as her pluviophile nature peeked through, if only a bit.

The droplets of rain played their lullaby for her as she collapsed her head of wet ebony locks onto the bed and leaned against the front of it, looking up at the ceiling, sinking into a calmness.

"Rain... Lovely rain... Nature's tears, and a tear for all the little boys and girls to chase away the tragedy of their birth, even if for but a moment."

Almost lifelessly, her arms fell to her sides as she grinned, giggling to herself in almost silent manic glee.

Her voice, coupled with a rainy backdrop' melody, mused distress into playful mischief.

But suddenly something gripped at her heart like a gentle call or creeping murmur.

She froze, and looked around the empty room; growing quiet, she listened to the murmurs, trying to locate wherever it was that they were coming from.

A listen here, a listen there, and a few minutes later her sights were set on the sliding door to her bedroom's balcony. She could not help but think:

"Good grief, I can never catch a break around here. It's always something."

Coldly she more than plainly uttered, Her voice croaky and oddly unsettled:

"Uhh Hello! Who's there!?"

The room fell static as she slowly lifted herself onto her feet, her brows furrowed as she approached the sliding door, darkness falling onto her features as she looked out at her balcony from behind the glass.

Yet again, all was normal; all was as it should be. Unconvinced, she guided her hands, slow with caution like those of a thief in the cover of the night, reaching for the door as she silently slid it open, and soon poured in a cold gust of wind.

Stepping onto the partially wet balcony, her skin bare against the elements, the winds blew her hair in her face and threatened to steal from her the towel she used to cover up.

But this seemed to pose little concern to her for now as she held it tight with one hand.

"Who's out here? I know someone is out here so you best show yourself now..."

Her words were carried along the winds and dispersed just as easily, as they fractured against the beatings of the storm.

She looked off into the distance as grey veiled the sky above as far as the eye could see. A thought suddenly entered her head.

"That's it I've officially lost it, haven't I? Maybe father was right; maybe I am a fr-."

Interrupting that line of thought, the feeling called to her once more, and her grey-coloured eye glowed a golden yellow, revealing there in the middle of the street to be what seemed like an Outer-Existial.

Wreathed in distorted reality and peering up at her the entity was almost featureless somehow.

Her expression turning pained and sorrowful, she rushed back into the house, headed directly for the dresser, and quickly put something together so she was properly clothed.

She wore black shorts, an oversized plain white t-shirt, and black sandals with white lining tagged "Verdant Weave".

Rushing over to the balcony she leapt off from the second floor of the house, over her fence, landing gracefully on the sidewalk and maintaining her balance.

Her clothes quickly got wet as the winds of the storm picked up their pace, yet even so, her eyes never faltered, and her expression remained neutral, keeping sight of the figure, her heart beat with adrenaline.