kingdoms_of_auradon | Let's See What's In The Cards (Mmhm)

The weather was still bitterly cold, and the snow was still thick on the ground, but it was finally possible to at least go outside by the front doors. The King and Queen have still forbidden anyone from staying overnight at the museum district in case it started snowing again. But the King could be seen outside trying to shovel snow enough to make a path to the castle at the least.

The snow was still too thick to get easily anywhere not shoveled, and the snow was so heavy that even beasted out, Ben needed to take constant breaks inside to sit down and dry off. This wasn't going to be a fast task.

It was only made harder when it started. For those who slept, it would start after they have fully awoken for the day. For those who don't sleep, they'd find that they had fallen into a pleasant daydream, even if it wasn't normal for them to do so. When they came out of it, that was when it would start for them.

But what is it, exactly?

Small snippets of memories, playing for anyone who was with the person remembering to see. But the thing was, these memories... were memories the person had not yet made. Memories of the future.

Not enough to give answers, probably not enough to give reassurances for much other than "oh hey, I do have a future after all," but generally pleasant, and short. Hey, it will give people a thing to talk about, at least. Especially since this will go on for the next two weeks or so.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Whoa man, then you better hope you don't end up kicking around the multiverse for awhile like I've been," he said. "Because stuff like this is barely move the needle on my weird-ometer at this point. The multiverse can give Wonderland a run for its munny at times."

"Wonderland... Wonderland is real too, you're saying?"

"Yep," he said. "Went there a couple times for missions back when I was with the Organization. Heartless aside, it's not too bad, and can actually be pretty entertaining, as long as you steer clear of the Queen. It seems like total chaos at first, but it does have it's own weird logic if you pay attention."

"Yes, I would imagine staying away from the queen would be important if you want to keep your head but... how did you manage to escape?"

Lea turned a bit to one side and held out a hand, palm outward. A dark portal formed in the air, swirling black and dark purple. "Dark corridors, like this one," he said. "They're not attached to anything here, but normally they let you travel between worlds by passing through a sort of sub-dimension called Betwixt and Between."

Not attached to...

The wheels were turning as they went to poke their head into the portal, curious and fascinated.

Maybe this was a bad idea.... >.>

It was indeed a bad idea. As Lea had said, the portal wasn't connected to anything in this world; aside from the dark of the portal itself, Ian would git only the briefest glimpse of swirling, psychedelic colors before their head poked through the opposite side of the portal and back into the hall. But strange as it was, what it looked like wasn't a problem. What it felt like, however...

Passing through the portal felt like passing through thick, clingy, oily smoke, though somehow with both more and less substance at once. And it was cold, seeming to suck all of the warmth out of their skin wherever it touched, even through hair or clothing. There was even a faint smell to it, hard to identify, but acrid, metallic, and particularly unpleasant to them personally. But more than the unpleasant texture, the cold, or the smell, they would feel Darkness, heavy and oppressive in a way that had nothing to do with physical weight, bearing down on them, twisting, squirming, and reaching, pulling at the darkness in their own heart. Distant, but powerful. Ancient. Primal. Hungry. And the darkness within them responded, trying to find cracks to force its way to the surface, like reaching for like...

Until Lea yanked them back. It had only been a moment, but it would likely have felt significantly longer to them. Lea hastily dismissed the portal, but not before they would see what looked like wispy tendrils of shadow reaching for them. Then the portal was gone. But hints of the cold, the feel of clingy smoke, and traces of the unpleasant smell would linger for a few minutes yet. And less tangible things might linger even longer. "Whoa, hey... you OK there?", Lea asked, clearly concerned and suspecting that the answer was no.

"That... was fascinating. I should make notes before the sensations fade," they said, hands shaking more than their voice. They were trying to keep it together, to cling to science. It was helping, but they were still clearly shaking. "Also note to self, if From Software ever dips into VR, maybe stay out of it..."

They rubbed their wrist absently, shaking and shaken.

The concern didn't vanish from Lea's expression, but as Ian seemed to be handling a brush with Darkness about as well as could be expected, he calmed down a bit. He kept a steadying hand on their shoulder though. "Yeah probably a good idea," he said. He didn't know exactly what kinds of things From Software made, but under the circumstances, her could guess.

"Didn't realize you were going to do that or I'd have warned you not to touch. Darkness is not something you want to mess with unless you know what you're doing and have protective gear on. It's not super great even with those caveats, but the Organization didn't have a ton of options."

"What kind of PPE would help with something like this, and how exactly is this utilized?"

Let's See What's In The Cards (Mmhm)

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