◀ The Beginning of The Eastern End ▶Status: Contest Entry
Species: N/A
Word Count: 1,570 words 8,741 characters
Other: the small grey text is something of an OST, you don't have to listen to it of course but if you would like to you can find all these melodies on spotify. This is jsut hwta I was listenign ot when writing this and it really helped me set the scene. I'll fix all typos I can find Murasaki ran through the empty halls, splashing footsteps loudly echoing in what little silence was left throughout this dark and dreadful maze, sealed away from the rest of the world as the void began to envelop him, chasing him with every desperate sprint, the miserable cries of the emergency fire alarms rang, screaming violently like a horde of banshees in a large dying country side, of the lush green islands, sang their chilling melodies. A ravenous snarl washed through his very being, shaking the nooks and crannies of his soul, and the cloud of black smoke killing everything in its path as it cornered him in what was supposed to be his exit. Back pressed against the void, his flame weakening as the cloud was creeping closer and closer, when a pair of large beastly purple eyes emerged, an amalgamation of animals, barely coherent enough to be seen. His palms desperately tried to muffle the paralyzing screech of the alarms, he could hear the skies breaking open like an apple pried in half with ones bare hands. Winds howling like morning would never come, yet there was no weather. His head began to ache, his heart trashing in its bony cages, he gasped for air desperately, eyes widen, muscles numbing, he crumpled to the floor as the monster opened its mighty jaws and out came that rhythmic unbearable ringing sound again. Water leading the fire down to the already soaked floors. Just one spark, was all it took. He couldn’t even break out of his paralysis in time to realize he’d broken out screaming for his life as the harbinger’s maw came down on him AND…
White negative spaced eyes shot open as Murasaki violently lunged forward, shell-shocked by how light the air suddenly felt in comparison to the gravity that crushed him just moments before. The small, gentle, yet annoying beeping of the alarm clock throbbing in his ears, he looked around with confusion as he began to process his whereabouts. Drawing his attention to the noise maker, he wearily clicked down on the snooze button with a heavy breath, slowly, processing the feeling of the bed sheets he’d been laying on. And the familiar warmth of his bedroom. He was home.
Once silence finally kissed the overwhelmed sensors in his brain, a tender little rustle shifted his attention to the tank, watching the littlest of hint of a scaly snoot poking out against the glass, tugging a smile across his tired lips. His fiery hair messily sat across his shoulders, his bangs tickling his forehead, he stretched out in a wide yawn.
“Good morning, Clem, oh my darling dearest..” He greeted, a voice raspy yet gentle. Climbing out of his bed, and moving over to the enclosure. Upon sight cobra sped to press against the glass, rearing up with a big hiss and presenting its hood, mouth coming open and eyes glistening in the strangely warm tones of his flowing locks, tail wiggling happily. Her master was awake.
“Hi, beautiful.” He cooed, rubbing his finger on the glass. “Did you sleep well, my venomous, scaly, little buttercup?” his lips puckered slightly, and he watched the excited reptile wiggling, tail tapping in an almost dog like manner, energized and ready for whatever is to come of this day. She most definitely was no ordinary snake, but even then, she would be just as special as she was now.
Opening the enclosure he reached down a hand watching as the hooded created began to twist and wrap itself around his wrist, making his way up from his fingers all the way to his elbow as he raised her from captivity, gazing into her ever-loving soul just as she stargazed in his, when he looked at her she swore he could hear the beautiful melody of the angels singing, endowing him with luck as they rained blessings over him, washing away his sin, and lightening any weight that dared lean itself on his broad shoulders. Ironic in itself, since Murasaki himself was in fact a demon, and add to that far from ever deserving of such blessings. He could already feel the stress melting away, a joyous, enamoured smile pinning his cheeks up. She was his most prized possession in life, not even his club, or the busiest bar inside meant as much to him as his scaly little companion.
Holding her firm with both hands he rested her across his shoulder, tucking his hair up and out of the way, tying it up, and pulled tight, with his silvered scrunchie. The tail wrapping itself around his neck for support, he gazed out the clear window, people going about their everyday lives, unaware of what’s to come.
He pondered the dream like vision and what it meant, a lack of balance, the drowning, and the premonition. Out of everyone in japan or across the globe it had to have been him. Not a single soul survived the superheated liquid that turned the liminal space into an oven. The unnatural weather behaviour in a place where nothing existed- nay, nothing COULD exist. His eyes, guided higher. The clouds looked pale, but otherwise the same. The sky… The sky looked like it had coiled and writhed in pain, but of course no one would truly know any different. Was he leaning too much into it? Perhaps the nightmare had left him more disturbed than he’d initially thought.
But what of the monster? That beast that chased him through that endless prison. Was that an omen? Could it be… someone was conspiring against him? Suppose only time will truly tell, and he couldn’t be bothered to put his mind to such trivial things, he has more paramount business to attend to than worry over dead air, dreams are only dreams and that’s that - they have no meanings.
He turned on the TV, listening to the daily forecast and other news as he began to pry his eyes away from the landscape before him. He had to get ready for work. But that shaken feeling returned soon on after, when the news anchor described a report of a recent weather phenomenon that was unusual.
As he browsed through his attire, picking out a glistening pair of purple pants, an indigo colored shirt, his favourite white blazer, and his signature flaming tie. Giving Clematis a kiss on the head which she happily leaned into, almost as if she has been fainting, Murasaki moved her on to the bed while he got himself dressed for the day. In spite of shrugging it off and telling himself to stop dwelling on that silly, little figment of his bored imagination, one thing that still boggled his mind; what could cause water to catch on fire in such a way? Could it be electrical? Did it have liquor in it? Was it foreshadowing his club going under in a horrific accident? But what would leave water so heated it would combust like that. Why water? And how did it manage to get itself stuck in a void where nothing but the feeling of isolation, and dread lived. A pace where nothing was something, and something was nothing. A place where light couldn’t exist, but here it was, it existed long enough to fool him into thinking he had a way out of his peril, only to then pry it out form his grasp. It just- None of it made sense to him! But then, on the other hand, dreams never do make sense do they? That is why they are called dreams, a creation of a fake reality.
Sighing heavily Murasaki let the weight of everything settle in, allowing himself to admit that he was exhausted, even if it was only a dream it felt so real, and he really did feel like he had ran for miles just to save his hide. But it was time to move on, he had some…
Deals. To make. Clients to see. And a business to run.
On the far costal side of Japan a peaceful quiet village lived amongst it’s little islands. Fisherman busying the docks with their haul, boats bobbing gently at the stirred ocean water, a fluid body that was unusually characteristic today. The recent storm was all you could hear the local folk talk about, a storm where the sky had opened up and given birth a creature of unique proportions, lightning smiting down the eastern region of the world, turns the tides askew. And like a rock in a lake, the echo of the impact washed over the lands. With the head of a monkey, the body of a tiger and a racoon dog, and tail with the head of a snake, the Japanese Nue landed in the ocean where upon wakening it was already drowning.
It was the sensation of a lifetime, the local inhabitants, seeing the increase in fish, bringing wind to their sails, and the good luck with protection from one of its creatures, began to praise the heavens, thanking them for their blessings. Some feared the legends that surrounded the beast, others made their offering to the one that roamed it’s coasts. Shrines and small places of worship where hoist up to pay their respects to the mix matched animal. But not everyone saw it as such good faith. And Murasaki was about to find out what exactly has he gotten entangled with…
