Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

The top of the mountain seems to stretch endlessly above Ihra, she almost feels like she's slowly descending the mountain as she looks at it. The air already feels thin, and there's a few black crystal shards nearby next to a large boulder.

 

"How strong of an illusion?"

 

"Strong enough to make three people think they're somewhere else."

"I mean, where else would you find a shadow...?"
Ihra taps her staff's crystal, the unidentified magic letting her breathe slightly better before she continues on after a minute (and reverting her staff into an axe).

 

I stop at the entrance, attempting to communicate with Stella before I leave.

 

The link goes through, but this time she appears as a hologram off to a corner of your field of view.
"Yes, Thirteen?"

 

Ihra finds more dead shadows as she continues on, and a few skeletons too. As she passes them, they seem to weigh on her, drawing energy and breath and making the climb harder and harder. What was once a path seems to have turned into a near constant climb.

 

"I was wondering, when, exactly, am I supposed to be doing the thing I'm supposed to be doing?"

 

She continues on and keeps pace, but it's clear to any onlooker she's not entirely conscious.

"You have 2 days, 8 hours, and 7 minutes before you will be permitted one attempt to break the glacial barrier."

 

"Is there anything I'm supposed to do - or need to do - before that happens?"

 

"Need to, not that I'm aware of. Supposed to, no. You should be free to explore or go back at any point, though the ship's crew may want you present for one thing or another."

 

By the time Ihra's a third of the way up the mountain, it feels like she's being crushed under a hydraulic press. Every step she takes seems to feel like a thousand, and the dark sun seems to glare at her as it falls toward the horizon.

 

She sits down again, looking into the sun blankly as her body starts to wither.

 

"Good to know. Thank you."
I end the communication with Stella.


Meanwhile, Crystal clanks through the Void Palace library, looking for Emerald.

 

There's no sign of her, and the archives are locked.

 

Crystal carefully knocks on whatever door there is to the archives.

 

There's no response, nor a sign of any response.

 

Crystal knocks again, but louder.

 

Same exact response - nothing at all.

 

Crystal crouches down to see if he can look under the door.

 

He can’t, but he seems to have attracted attention.
“You aren’t the only one looking for her right now.” A centaur says from behind Crystal.