A Wanderer's Lies

The lying body of Isaac turned limp, lifeless as Fetoh stood frozen, countless emotions running rampant through her.

"How could I let this happen?" She cursed at herself, whispering as her greatest failure lay before her.

The ominous aura in the dome had long since calmed, leaving nothing but Fetoh's single tear falling to the ground.

In the next second, Isaac's corpse started to seize violently.

The ground shook at the force as his muscles rapidly grew in size. Veins bulged from every corner of his body as his thumping heartbeat played like drums, audible to anyone in the vicinity.

His eyes rolled back into his skull as his amber pupils disappeared, and foam oozed from the corner of his mouth.

His shirt tore as his muscles had now grown to the size of a professional bodybuilder, bulging as he dug his now-healed left arm into the ground.

The floor crumbled under his immense strength as Fetoh wiped the tear off her face.

Soon, a smile appeared on her face as the plant life in the area drew closer to the both of them.

"You were just like them, however, no one deserves to endure pain like that." Fetoh prayed as Isaac let out a feral howl, the ground shaking with force as he did.

Digging his feet into the ground as the concrete below cracked at the pressure, Isaac leapt like a wild predator.

Just as quickly, countless vines shielded Fetoh, barely blocking Isaac's punch as a loud BOOM echoed in the dome.

Without wasting a second, Isaac rapidly tore through the vines, ripping through them like strings, grunting and howling as he tried his best to reach Fetoh.

Fetoh grimaced as she held out her arm, calling forth a mushroom that shot toward Isaac, expanding as it went until a loud boom was heard and the mushroom slammed into the beast.

Jumping back, the vines fell and Fetoh witnessed Isaac was completely unfazed.

Grabbing the mushroom, he hurled it toward her as she leapt through the air like a gazelle, the mushroom barely grazing her.

However, before she could even land, Isaac suddenly appeared before her, clasping both hands together and slamming them into Fetoh's gut.

A loud BOOM was heard as Fetoh was sent crashing into the ground.

Specs of blood escaped from Fetoh's lips as she struggled to retain the breath that was knocked out of her.

She removed a layer of compact, now destroyed plants from beneath her clothes, noticing Isaac charge toward her.

"Enough!" She yelled, sending out countless vines that penetrated through Isaac's arms and legs, holding him in the air.

Just as this happened, some colour returned to Isaac's eyes as his consciousness also somewhat returned, allowing him to think clearly for a few seconds.

'Pain!'

As his consciousness returned, there was one thought in his mind. Pain.

'It's like an anchor. It brings me out of the madness.'

With the small bit of sanity he had, Isaac used his strength to rip through the vines holding him in place, trying his best not to be distracted by the raw power he now had in his hands.

Landing on the ground, Fetoh protruded both her arms as countless plant life rocketed toward isaac.

However, in the next second, loud cracks and grunts of suppressed pain could be heard.

Fetoh watched with widened eyes as Isaac twisted his finger, breaking it.

"Isaac? How are you…" Fetoh mumbled, trailing off. Isaac looked to her with a goofy grin as he sweated profusely.

"Pain is the touchstone of all humanity. You really think I'd lose my sanity over what looks like raw testicles?" Isaac giggled.

Despite his words, as the seconds passed he could feel parts of his sanity and consciousness slipping.

His thoughts became more mundane and barbaric, therefore he broke another finger.

Fetoh slowly closed her gaping mouth as she tightened her eyebrows and spoke, "You're lucky the Sanguine wasn't potent."

"This changes nothing. I'll still put you down. Come at me, monster."

"I'd love to, but you see, I'm on the clock." Fetoh didn't know whether to be dumbfounded Isaac had such clarity of the mind, or scared the dome they were standing on started to move.

"What have you done?!" Fetoh screeched, stumbling and trying to catch her bearing.

"Just know, corrosion paired with pillars supporting a structure is a recipe for disaster."

Isaac had used every unbloomed flower he had left to destroy the support of this dome.

He wasn't sure it would work, seeing as the pillars were far greater in numbers than his flowers.

In the next second, the dome tipped over, sending both Isaac and Fetoh crashing to the window.

Isaac dug his fingers into the ground, halting his fall while Fetoh was carried by the small amount of plants that hadn't crashed through the window.

On its last leg, the dome threatened to plummet to the ground at any second.

Grabbing his jacket before he lost it, he noticed a thick yellow piece of paper falling slowly through the air, recognising it as the piece of parchment Fetoh kept staring at.

He quickly grabbed it, stuffing it into his jacket pocket and looking down to see Fetoh staring at him with fierce eyes.

"Farewell, Doctor Weirdo." Saying this, he used all his strength to pull himself up, destroying the ground with his fingertips and scaling the now vertical structure with immense speed.

The dome creaked like an old door, becoming louder by the second.

Isaac crashed through the window that now could be seen as the ceiling, pulling himself up and looking down onto the city, remembering which path he had memorised while lecturing Fetoh, however, his thoughts were foggy and unclear.

Twisting another finger, a loud crack was heard as he winced in pain, his mind now clear.

The fog in his mind seemed to be lessening, seeing as how he was breaking his fingers far less.

However, he could also feel the benefits of the Sanguine also decrease.

His fingers were healing far slower and his strength seemed to be dwindling.

"There!" He looked to his compass, noticing the direction he was travelling in was the same direction as the unknown being.

Despite his previous reluctance, he had no choice.

He couldn't memorise a different path in the small time the dome had left before collapsing, and he didn't know how much time was left till the maze reset itself.

This was the only chance he had at escaping.

Swinging on his jacket, he kicked off the ground, leaping off the dome as he began to free fall off the tower.

It seemed this was the last straw for the dome as in the next second, it rolled off the tower, plummeting to the ground on the other side of the tower.

Ignoring this, Isaac soon entered the heavy pollen mist as his vision became obscured once again.

Because of the darkness paired with the mist, he was lucky he could see at all.

Without knowing the distance between him and the ground, Isaac twisted his body mid air, digging all his fingers into the side of the tower.

This failed to break his fall, however, he was dramatically slowed as his fingers tore through the building, leaving frightening marks on it.

'Crap this hurts!' Isaac yelled inwardly, the glass and stone piercing and ripping through his palms.

Small holes were created faster than he could heal, until his hands went numb and blood dripped to his face.

Just as this was happening, Isaac flinched at the ear piercing BOOM of what sounded like the dome crashing into the ground.

'This place will be swarming with Cranium soon.'

After a few seconds, he let go, crashing into the ground as his legs vibrated upon impact.

Ignoring this, he looked to his compass.

He kicked off the ground and entered the first path, running without worrying about stepping on any plant life.

Turning a corner, Isaac came face to face with a Cranium as it held its arm up.

Isaac could hear the vines moving toward him, but he was running too fast for it to catch up to him.

Without pausing, he smashed his fist into the Brion's sphere head, sending it crashing through a building.

'Agh, why did that hurt so much?'

Isaac blew his wrist, noticing it might be broken despite the power up the Sanguine was giving him.

As he continued to run, Isaac grinned slightly.

It was hard to ignore the air smacking across his face as he ran faster than he ever thought possible.

Additionally, he didn't feel as though his lungs were burning after a few seconds of sprinting.

He turned and soared through the paths with immense speed and sending a few Brion crashing through a building, this time hitting them in the chest and gut rather than the sphere, sometimes coming across compact plant life that would soon lead him to a bundle of Aroze he would collect, he focused on the path he had memorised so he wasn't met with any dead ends or paths that diverted him from his escape.

'I'm going to do it! I'm going to escape! After so long, I'll be able to gloat before that cocky Orion's face.'

With every step, it was like Isaac could taste his freedom.

The thought of returning to earth made him giggle and grin as if he were being tickled.

His grin grew wider as he drew closer, until he could see the pollen lessening and the air becoming clearer.

Despite it still being dark, the absence of the pollen made it seem vastly clearer.

'I see it, the end!'

Isaac ran faster after noticing the path suddenly cut off as the buildings also vanished after a certain point.

Leaping for the final time, Isaac stepped out of Aionthos for the first time, and then…nothing.

'What…'

Where he thought he would be teleported back to earth, he was instead now standing outside Aionthos, before a colossal forest with countless trees mysteriously moving unnaturally, as if it were being shook by powerful winds.

Additionally, its razor sharp leaves and thorn infested branches were sure to slice anything that came into contact with it.

Looking up, Isaac saw nothing, only the bright stars, but in the corner of his eye, between the gaps of the swinging trees, for a second, he caught a glimpse of something he could only describe as a carnivorous…volcano?

With its tendrils with countless sharp teeth acting as its mouth, it swung and grabbed what looked to be a pterodactyl, stuffing it down its mouth, between the tendrils.

The air felt vastly heavier than it did in Aionthos, now it felt as if he were being pricked and prodded by the very oxygen molecules.

He could hear distant low groans that echoed through the air, sounds that he could only describe as retching and constant BOOMS that drew closer and closer to him.

Even the dirt beneath his feet seem to be crawling up his feet, nibbling away at him, but he didn't notice.

Instead, his heart sank as he dropped to his knees, speaking out loud.

"Where the hell am I?"

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