A Bloody Sky

You awoke, on the deck of the white ship. Where was once a dream: a beautiful archipelago brightened by the summer sun, dense with healthy trees and clear blue waters, now stood a nightmarish sight.

The clear waters were now dark, and sinister, stained with dark red and browns. The trees were bare, their branches like bony fingers still singed with embers. Hidden behind the tall ivory mask was an Onyx abyss, a starless sky twinged by the crimson hue of a blood-red Moon which cast everything in tones of scarlet.

You peered down at your hands and found the digits swathed in a black flame. Your arms too steadily burned, as the flickering paradoxical light of pitch-fire blazed across every inch of your skin.

"What's happening to me?"

That's when you remembered "Morgan? Morgan!?" your feet moved silently across the back end of the deck, but your temporal mentor was nowhere to be found on the helm of the white ship.

Moving down the bow, however, you found her. There it was, an abominable image, A vast winding mass of dense ash-white brambles had crawled from the foul waters below, constricting around the long bowsprit.

Nestled within, was the nude form of Morgan herself. Trapped in the sharp thorns her lean body was shrouded in her endless mane of ivory hair, her eyes clouded and watery as eldritch mumblings escaped her cracked lips.

"You did this to her."

The voice made the sky rumble, the boards of the ship trembling beneath your feet. It invaded your mind and boomed from every direction, you fell to your knees clutching your head as it stabbed with pain.

"She and all like her will fall, the Wolves will fall, the entire world will fall. All because of your failure."

"Stop." You demanded, feeling the flames within grow hotter, the red moon above looming closer and closer.

"You truly thought you could bear the weight of the world on a whim, refute the power of a god? You have abandoned your own, neglected your family, forsaken your destiny."

"Shut up!!" You cried, unable to withstand the world-sized voice growling like a thunderstorm above.

"I am your past, I am your present, I am your future. You had your chance to take me back, but you chose the path of least resistance and now everything you love will pay the price...."

The Black sky shifted, and the gleam of what you at first thought were stars... revealed themselves in full to be the shine of black flaming scales, wrapped in a whirlwind which slithered to reveal its colossal body. The Moon had... split in two, no no that wasn't it, they weren't moons... they were a titanous pair of eyes, burning like crimson twin suns.

"Your pitiful existence will be but an appetiser to me, the rest of the world will be consumed with delight, all because you couldn't win a simple wager, because you could never accept your sins... You are your own destruction"

Forcing yourself up on your feet, you glowered at the humungous serpent above, and spat out into the black aether it slithered within.

"You're right, I will be my own destruction, but I will fight to my last breath to protect my world and my friends!"

"Not if you never leave this place."

The World Serpent - Wrath

The colossal serpent that filled the sky, opened a maw that seemed like it could take a chunk out of the United States itself, its flaming teeth whirling in a pitch-black inferno as it began to descend towards you.

Erupting in a sudden dash, you sprinted up the bow of the ship, pushing out the disparaging hiss that echoed from every corner of your mind to leap on the long Bowsprit.

Pulling yourself through the tangled brambles as the great gaping jaws came closer, you ignored the tearing pain of your blazing flesh as you dove on Morgan, placing a flaming hand on each of her cheeks.

"Morgan, times up we have to get out of here! please you have to wake up! you have to come on!" You yowled.

Her head moved around limply as the light of the red eyes drew closer, the forked tongue of the World-Serpent flickering closer as it overshadowed everything, blotting out all around you.

"WE NEED TO GO, YOU NEED TO WAKE UP! UGH, MORGAN WE CAN ESCAPE, WE CAN FIX THIS!"

Pale hands sunk into the sides of your head, making reality quiver as Morgan's hair began to rise up into the air, her lips shaking as she whispered to you "Only you can fix this, Dark-Sun. T-Tell... Isabella.... I love her..."

"Morgan, wait!"

All faded away as if carried off by a calm gale... including the matriarch, and her cold narrow fingers, quelling the dark inferno that closed in on you both.

*Gasp* you flew up drenched in icy water, huffing in panic as you gazed around the dark passage, seeing the familiar archway above... and the looming gate to the schism behind you.

And laying still as a corpse in your arms, was Morgan. Her eyes glazed over, hair tangled, body unmoving. You knew what she did, the minute you stood carrying her limp body in your arms.

"T-Tell Isabella, I... love her."

"You stayed behind, so I could wake up. The serpent has you now... I'm so sorry, Morgan."

Your walk back through the passage was done in a state of near-unconsciousness. You recalled stopping while passing under the petrified wings which had beckoned you in earlier. Pewter was like a statue now, with Morgan trapped in the schism it had no trace of life left.

The entire college was like this, no more did it shift and bend, heaving as if breathing on its own. Carrying the Matriarch up the bland staircase, you stepped through the halls, still processing the visions of your past sins.

When you emerged into the grand hall, still wounded from your scuffle with Penelope, all the Wicken stood to greet you.

The crowd of witches seemed frozen in horror, at the head of them were Izzy and Regina Watts. Both of them fixed their gaze on Morgan's cold body in your arms. Stepping through a portal swiftly opened, Izzy immediately pressed into you, examining Morgan with a rampant panic on her beautiful face.

She seemed to ease only a little, as her finger found a pulse "She's alive. Mistress, Hedwig can you hear me?"

"There's nobody home." You spoke, "She stayed, so I could escape."

Regina Watts seemed to pale, her anger and resentment made plain on her snarky features "What have you done!?"

"Sister Iris-" Penelope's older sister began to protest, only to be silenced with a cruel glare.

"Shut up, Jackie. I told you, I fucking told you this Leech would bring nothing but suffering!" Regina cried "Our mistress welcomed him in, and now she's dead!"

"Her soul has departed, from this world but her flesh still lives, Sister Iris!" Izzy quickly corrected, though she still seemed deeply troubled by this.

"He did this!" One of the students accused.

"Penelope was right to attack him!" Darcy Booker agreed.

You saw Penelope Helia then, she said nothing but seemed to be wrestling with uncertainty, to much so to speak out with her sister.

"You cannot make such accusations without proof! It was Queen Morgan herself who brought him down into the depths to show him the truth, that much is clear. We have no idea how the schism will react when the third eye is opened!" Vana protested loudly, strangely enough, a handful of her sisterhood seemed to agree.

And yet the vast majority seemed to rally at Regina's side. "Without the Matriarch, our powers are weakened, Blumengarten is exposed. We will all die if we deal with this filth any longer. It's all his fault."

Regina's followers gathered behind her, as she began to slowly march towards you, hatred in her eyes and wand in hand.

Izzy put herself between you "Don't even think about it, Regina."

"Oh and of course the Stupid little leech lover speaks out. Stand aside, Isabella, I am the strongest of the Wicken here now, you will head my words and abandon this pathetic connection of yours." Regina grew closer.

Izzy turned to look at you with her pitch-black eyes filled with sadness and apology "Did she... say anything before she left?"

You nodded "She loves you."

A small smile teased out from that, but quickly faded "You need to get away, I can't stop them now. Go back to your people..."

"You are my people, I... I need you with me" You muttered insistently

Many mixed emotions stirred on her sleek face, panic, contemplation, fear. But she settled on a look of resolution. The humm of a portal opened behind you, and your eyes opened wide as Izzy tightly grasped Morgan's arm "Izzy wait!"

She pushed you back backwards and you were swallowed hole, flung down the cold stream of space, where you fell hard into a cubical wall.

Looking up, you saw several students scuttle back in shock as you lay in a pile of broken tile panels. "What the fuck!? Dicky-Drake-"

The girl who had spoken had her mouth covered hastily by the young man at her side. He smiled nervously "Charlie, h-hey bud. I-I'm guessing this is a private little accident?" he asked nervously.

You got up to your feet, looking at the guy who you just about recognized from music class. "You guessed right." You mumbled quickly striding out of the cubical door, leaving the two students in awe.

"What the hell!?" She complained after ripping her fellow student's hand away.

"Hey if, The King of the Keg randomly falls into a quibical you fucking go with it!"

"Okay, okayyy jeez!"

What a day, what a goddamn motherfucking day...