Tempest

Weary and worn, Y trudged across the desolate landscape. Once the shimmering jewel of the east, the Sea had dried up years ago leaving behind an expanse of dust and bone. The brittle seabed crumbled underfoot as Y moved ever closer toward his destination.

Drawing an arid breath, Y adjusted the harness that dug into his chest. He welcomed the pain, his personal cross to bear in order to restore life to this uninhabitable world and find redemption within his own.

The Obsidian Heart strapped to his back was the key to bestowing salvation upon both worlds and he had traveled to the farthest reaches of the earth to retrieve it. In the years following the mass volcanic event that had sealed the sky and transformed the once hospitable earth into this barren wasteland, Y had heard stories of a monument erected in the wilderness that could dispel the darkness that had settled here and bring back the purifying rains.

The heart measured 3 feet in height, anatomical in form, molded from volcanic glass and filled with an elixir of sacred attributes that would power the monument once inserted. Many men of varying intentions had taken up the mantel to deliver it and countless more had died in their pursuit. I will not fail. It will rain again, Y thought as he advanced, burdened by the weight of the tethered heart.

A cannonade of thunder accompanied by the searing flash of lightning tore Y from his thoughts. In the distance, towering clouds threatened the horizon. Y knew that he had reached the outskirts of his destination; the Valley of the Tempest. The dry thunderstorm stirring within the valley offered no rain only scathing winds and blistering heat which scoured what remnants of life remained.

He waits under the watchful eye of the tempest in the sky, the words of the stories echoed back to him. His journey would end there and maybe he would see them both again. He clung to that hope as he began his descent down into the lowlands.

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The air was foul; redolent of scorched earth and singed skies as torrential lightning littered the terrain. Fire whirls bridged heaven and hell together as they blazed across the desert. High winds distributed soot and dust; its howl adding to the hellish overture that reverberated throughout the valley.

Y couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was also lurking here, something alive, thriving in this environment of certain death. He surveyed the landscape as he advanced, wary of any signs of movement. His right hand rested upon the Claymore secured at his hip.

He hadn’t thought it was possible but if anything could survive here it would be the Seviathan. The large eight- legged creatures stood as tall as the average man and resembled Thelyphonida, the demonic crossbreed between scorpions and spiders. They roamed the outside world, outnumbering the remaining human population, wreaking havoc on settlements and devouring loved ones.

Y had encountered the creatures on several occasions and he had yet to escape unscathed. After the Seviathans had raided his settlement, eviscerated his wife and devoured his daughter; he had taken it upon himself to exterminate them all. However, no matter how many fell from his sword, there seemed to be an continual and equal resurgence. No one knew from where they originated which made eradicating them even more unreasonable. The only thing he had left to lose to these creatures was his will and if he could hold on to that maybe he could start to rebuild.

A streak of lightning illuminated the dark clouds and Y noticed a change in the terrain. What appeared to be streams of water was woven across the landscape reflecting the menacing sky. How could this be? he thought. He quickened his pace to the nearest stream ahead on the right. The sloshing of the sacred liquid inside the Obsidian Heart seemed to echo a promise of quenching his thirst. As he approached, Y realized that the stream contained not water but instead was made entirely of glass.

Cursing under his breath, he inspected the reflecting pool closer. The semi translucent glass stream was yellowish in hue and etched across the ground into the distance similar in pattern to the lightning that streaked overhead. Y had heard of these phenomena before; the lichtenberg figure and the formation of desert glass. Both were formed from lighting strikes making contacting with the earth.

He decided to follow the pattern to its origin. Adjusting the weight of the heart on his back, Y noticed two things. One, though faint, the Heart had started to vibrate with each advancing step. Two, in the murky glow cast from the approaching fire whirl to his left, something large was shifting in the shadows.He lowered his stance and snaked along the path of the markings.

The heart now pulsated with a resonating hum perhaps reacting with the electrical charge in the air. Y took it as a sign that he was nearing the location of the monument though he saw no structure in sight. He withdrew his claymore from its hilt and impaled it into the ground to stabilize himself, he was finding it hard to keep his balance against the high winds of the storm and the reverberation of the heart.

Streams of desert glass branched from every direction seemingly converging upon a single point up ahead. Using his sword for support, Y shuffled towards the point of origin and came upon a glass lake. On the opposite side of the sulfur tinted pond was a Seviathan.

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Seviathan

The Seviathan took immediate notice of Y’s arrival and darted across the lake to greet him in animalistic rage. The scuttle of its eight legs on the glass lake ticked off the seconds like an impending countdown to death. Withdrawing his sword from the lakes bank, Y made in effort to counter the creatures attack but was toppled by the continuous pulsing of the Obsidian Heart. He rolled with the momentum, dodging the clasp of the Seviathans pincer and taking that brief moment to reposition himself on the surface of the pond, cautiously flanking the creature.

The Thelyphonidaic creature towered over Y. Its oil black skin had acquired an under-worldly sheen from the fires that swirled around them. Y retreated a few steps toward the center of the pond trying to gain some distance. The Seviathan turned to face him, rearing, raising both claws in the air as if signaling a call to arms. It started the predatory practice of encircling its prey.

If Y was to survive this encounter, he would have to drop the heart which was now pulsating violently compromising the surety of his stance. He brought the blade across his chest, severing the harness and releasing himself from the burden of the Heart with a thud onto the surface of the pond. Cracks trekked across the glass under its weight. The incessant vibration rippled across the entire lake.

WIth the boom of thunder overhead and the crack of lightning dangerously close, the Seviathan let out a shrill cry as it charged. Y planted himself as securely as he could on the smooth surface, angling the blade between him and the creature. The Seviathan swung, its armored exoskeleton sparking upon contact with the steel sword. The force of the blow launched Y a few feet, landing him firmly on his back, sliding shortly before coming to rest.

Before Y could recover, the beasts was upon him, its pincers stabbing into the glass as he attempted to tear him apart. Which would have been an easy task but a violent tremor reverberated across the glass surface of the lake, compromising the Seviathans coordination. Cracks stretched and yawned in every direction, as the beast passed over Y, carried against their will. Y took this opportunity of confusion to strike, arching upward with the Claymore, narrowly missing its exposed underbelly.

Y braced himself with the sword, standing to face his adversary. To the rear of Y’s position, the Obsidian Heart arced with electricity, hovering over to the center of the pond, drawing a volley of lightning from the clouds. With each discharge weaving a more intricate web of cracks along the surface. A large bolt of lightning struck the glass lake, weakening its resolve and sending a current through Y’s body that brought him to his knees. In the light cast from the bolt, Y caught a glimpse of what was beneath the surface.

Rain

The Obsidian Heart hovered over the center of the pond, seemingly suspended by the electrical charge of the air.The electrified hum it emanated seemed to resound throughout the valley. The heart pulsed in rapid succession as the surface upon which Y and the Seviathan stood threatened to give way. The creature, having

gained some sort of footing, clambered towards Y snatching him up in his claws and holding him high before slamming him down onto the glass surface of the lake.

The glass fractured as Y fought to hold onto his now fragmented consciousness. As the creature pinned him, he peered up into the sky. The lightning illuminated the heavens and for a moment and Y glanced upon the faces of his wife and daughter. They were calling him, beckoning him to join them as he started to loosen his grip on this life. The Seviathan once again raised him in the air.

The Claymore began to slip from Y’s grip as he gave into the call. He had a passing thought as he strengthened his grip on the sword once more and aimed it toward the sky. A bolt was sent down, striking the lake where he and the Seviathan stood. The ground opened up beneath them as they fell into the deep abyss below.

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Y had come to rest upon the underbelly of the Seviathan. The Claymore had penetrated he and the Seviathan together in the aftermath of the fall. His senses were slowly waning but he recognized what sounded like steam close by. He opened his eyes, peering up through the opening which had once been the glass lake, into a pregnant sky. He appeared to have fallen into a chamber.

The large structure that he had noticed from the surface was of a man with outstretched arms, positioned as if anticipating rain. Standing at least 3 stories, it appeared to be molded from the same volcanic material as the Heart which now had inserted itself into the cavity in its chest. The porous monument radiated steam generated by the elixir which now circulated throughout the structure.

The steam exited the chamber and permeated the sky, extinguishing the fires, taming the winds and cleansing the air. Y let loose his grip on this world and after a few moments, it started to rain.

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Epilogue

“You should have come to me Yadvinder,” Valerie stated as she wiped the tears that flowed from Dr. Singh's eyes. She had worked along side him during the development of this STEM device; a neuro-therapeutic tool which allowed users to combat their fears, tame their anger and in Dr. Singh’s case, overcome their grief.

He had lost his wife and daughter almost 2 years ago to the day to cancer and he never seemed to fully recover. However, he had used his grief to develop a new IP that he said would revolutionize the psychiatric community by allowing sufferers to confront their issues in a more involved manner besides lying down. The STEM device analyzed your psychiatric profile and simulated a mission that symbolized your emotional shortcomings. A pseudo-lucid dream Yadvinder had called it.

The problem was that it was too effective and without a counselor to lead you through the therapy, users were at risk of losing themselves in the simulated world. Since Dr. Singh had initiated this treatment without a guide, it would be a miracle if he ever found his way out of this coma.