[TBATE] -More Than One Godspell-

Barry Warden

...

Encased in a shroud of darkness, the sensation of existence itself seemed to ebb away, leaving me adrift in an empty, vast, featureless void where there was nothing else but me.

And I found myself utterly numb, incapable of doing or feeling anything at all.

The crushing weight of the bear's lifeless corpse pressed down on me. The piercing cold gnawed at my skin. The relentless howling of the wind screaming into my ears and the myriad pains from both grave and minute wounds that had cracked my body a second ago had all gone.

It was oddly peaceful at first. I felt like my consciousness had been separated from my physical form.

Am I... dead?

Fear quickly set in, but even that was nebulous.

There wasn't any frantic pounding of my heart, no rapid, panicked breath, or anything else that could specify my terror.

I was simply scared, in a way that went beyond the limits of my tangible existence.

I tried to stay sane as time passed in a state of nothingness, making it difficult to discern whether it was speeding past or crawling languidly. Moments stretched and collapsed into themselves, making seconds and decades indistinguishable as the passage of time lost all its meaning.

"—ah!"

It was only when I heard an ephemeral sound of something. Though faint and muffled, it was explicit enough to allow the slightest hint of itself to reach me.

So I kept on waiting, waiting, and waiting until I then began to feel some sort of shift.

More thrillingly, my vision brightened as the void I was in gave way to a growing light, which turned brighter and brighter. It was as though I were being pulled back into the pulse of my own flesh, feeling alive once more.

As the white continued to expand, consuming more of my vision, I soon became acutely aware of my breath flowing in and out of my lungs, as well as the steady thump of my heart, and much more to come. Alongside these sensations was a comfy cold that enveloped my entire being like a damp mist, almost as if I were submerged in water.

"Ahh..."

And at long last, my eyes shot open to see myself lying naked in a cold, crystal clear pond, with my face being the only part breaking through the liquid surface and gazing at the sky.

Am I... still alive? Is this still the relictomb?

I held myself, waiting for the sharp sting of pain that I had come to expect. But it never came. No pain, no lingering soreness, nothing. It was like my body had been scrubbed clean of every trace of injury.

Curious, I let my left hand drift across my body to the empty space where my right arm once was. For a fleeting moment, I doubted my own senses, for I felt the solidity of flesh, bone, and sinew under my touch.

With a sharp gasp, I sat right up, the sudden movements sending ripples cascading through the pond. My eyes became wider as I raised my newly restored arm into view, moving it around and watching how my fingers flexed and responded to my thoughts perfectly.

"Hahaha." A spontaneous laugh of disbelief and joy escaped me.

What in the world is happening?! What is this?!! Is this some kind of magic from the pond?!

As the initial wonder of my restored limb subsided, I steadied myself and rose from the water, channeling mana around me to avoid the cold as I worked my way out of the pond.

"Wah!" A soft, melodic sound, almost like a whispery musical note, stirred my attention. I turned in various directions, straining my eyes out to find whatever was making that noise.

And after a while of searching...

"Wah!"

I finally spotted it. It wasn't some massive, invisible beast like I expected, but a little humanoid creature with papery white skin and a glowing conical head that looked like a mushroom.

"Wah!" It has a very adorable appearance, but is it really what it seems?

Maybe it's a kind of predator that tricks its prey with its harmless appearance!

"Wah!" The creature slowly advanced towards me with such suddenness that it somehow startled me.

"Woah, woah! Stop! Stop right there! Don't come any closer, you little... mushroom... thing...!!" I warned, thrusting my hand forward in a gesture of caution as I took a step back.

The creature stopped instantly, its luminous head tilting slightly as if it understood.

"What are—what are you trying to do, huh? Eat me?! O-or plant an egg in chest or something?!" My questions tumbled out in a frantic stream, yet it didn't seem to understand a word I said at all.

"Wah!"

"Is that a yes??"

Without offering any reply, the creature turned its attention to the snow at its feet and started to dig. In a matter of moments, its small form disappeared below the surface.

Just as quickly, the creature reemerged with an object in its teeny arms.

My necklace...

"H-hey! Where did you find that? That's mine, can I have it back?... Please?" I lowered myself down and reached my hand out, unsure of how this thing would respond.

The creature held out the necklace, its glowing head bobbing up and down in what appeared to be a nod.

Cautiously, I lean slightly forward to accept the artifact, with a little doubt that it would retract the necklace at the last moment. However, as my fingers closed around the cord, the creature remained still, letting me have my artifact back.

Relief filled me after I was sure that this was indeed my dimensional necklace.

Of course, I then quickly extracted a set of clothes to wear and enjoyed the warmth as I put them on.

"Wah!" The creature squealed, scrutinizing me from head to toe.

In an effort to express my gratitude, I dug out a piece of jerky. "Here! This is for you. Thank you so much for returning it. I thought I'd lost it forever."

"Wah!" Accepting the small gift from me, the creature seemed quite puzzled. It swung the jerky around, treating it more like an intriguing plaything than food.

"Aren't you going to eat that?" Confused by how this creature behaved, I asked.

It stopped its play and looked at me with a blank expression on its face.

"Hm." Perhaps it wasn't hungry yet.

Tilting its head to the side, the creature let out another "Wah" before making its way toward me and placing its hand on my foot.

Almost instantly, the ground on which I was standing seemed to liquefy. My balance faltered, and I fell down, the world inverting as I sank into the snow. But then, just as abruptly as it had begun, the falling ceased, and I found myself standing upright, as if nothing had happened.

"What was that!?" I exclaimed, panic lacing my voice.

"Wah!"

"What does that even mean?? I wasn't ready for that! You could've just—" I interrupted myself, for what I saw before me were buildings that weren't constructed from stone or wood but were lush, enormous trees in full bloom, with sparkling pink petals that seemed to dance as they floated down to the ground. Their thick, hollowed trunks created perfect living spaces and served as dwellings for countless other fungus creatures.

Looking further up, I saw a dense array of unnaturally thick branches extending out, covering most of the forest in shade, along with numerous orbs glowing softly on every branch like lanterns, providing just enough light to brighten up the city's darkest corners.

"Woah..." It was all I could manage to utter as the sheer, vibrant beauty of this place overwhelmed me.

"Wah!"

"Wah!"

"Wah!" A chorus of delighted squeals echoed through the air as more and more of the fungus creatures emerged from their homes, pulling me back to the present.

"Wah!" They all gathered together, surrounding me with their curious gazes, as if I were some kind of strange creature they rarely encountered. Some of them decided to touch my toes in what I assumed was their way of saying hello.

"..."

It's funny how, just a second ago, I thought they were going to eat me alive, but now I feel welcomed by them.

A grin tugged at the corners of my lips. "I think I'll call you little guys 'Nomes'," I said, the name rolling off my tongue as if it had always belonged to them.

Without much thought, I set off, deciding to explore and perhaps find a way out as the little Nomes toddled close behind me, much like a flock of baby chicks, their numbers steadily growing as every step I took seemed to attract more of them to emerge from the underbrush to join the procession, following me wherever I went.

The first five, then ten minutes, melted away, slipping through my mind until it somehow blurred together, leaving me lost track of time entirely.

Though I'm certain it's only been a short while since I started walking, I already feel like I've been walking for nearly the entire day. Is it just my imagination? Or is there something about this place that makes me feel this way?

As I continued walking, twisting my head from left to right to take in everything around me and the path ahead, which seemed to go on forever with no end in sight.

So I stopped and glanced back to see how far I had gone, but all I saw was a tangled expanse of trees and underbrush, so dense and unfamiliar that I couldn't even recall having passed through them.

"Wah."

"Wah."

"Wah." 

The Nomes, in their own little way, copied my actions and glancing backward in unison.

"Pfft—ehehehe..." Shaking my head in amusement, I let out a chuckle at their endearing imitation behavior, and just before I could fully turn back to the path ahead, a thought struck me.

Why not ask the Nomes to lead me to the exit? Maybe they know the way.

Again, I turned my attention to the nomes, bringing myself down to their level as I cleared my throat. "Ahem, um, hey!" I began, aiming for a tone that was friendly yet not overly desperate. "I was wondering if one of you could help me look for a way to, well, leave this place. You know, it could be a door, a portal, or anything that leads to an exit."

The Nomes exchanged glances with each other, their silent communication almost palpable.

"Wah!"

Among them, one who stepped out was a Nome that didn't look much different from the others. However, with only a piece of jerky in its hands, it was enough for me to recognize who this one was.

"Oh, I see! So, you need to touch me to bring me there, right?" I said, pointing out my finger towards the Nome.

The Nome reached out, touching my finger, and in a way that defied logic and was impossible to explain, how the world around me changed. Colors and shapes bled into one another, dissolving into a blur of movement. And before I could completely comprehend what was happening, I was already standing in front of a carved stone arch.

"Woah! Okay... alright... that's cool..." I breathed, the word barely escaping me. 

I step forward for a closer look at the structure. "Is this some kind of language?" I murmured, my fingers tracing the lines that were carved on the structure. As I did so, a crackling energy came to life within the arch, flickering in and out of focus in rapid succession before it shut off.

Startled, I step back. "Ha! Sick!! Did you see that?!" I exclaimed, glancing at the Nome with the jerky I gave.

"Wah!" It squealed, brandishing the jerky like a sword.

"Yeah, you're right! This is a portal!! I just need to figure out how for this thing to work. I can go back home!!!"