As we climbed the plant-covered stairs cleanly jutting from the hillside, I noticed something odd. It was getting darker. There were no clouds, so it couldn't be their shadows. And the sun was still in the middle of the sky, but it seemed like it was facing away from us. If that makes sense. I think I'm starting to see what Scorpio meant. Who, by the way, kept skipping over multiple steps with his long legs. Then stand and wait for me to catch up. Wearing a dumb, shit-eating grin the whole time. We continued to climb.
Stars were appearing in the dulling sky. Once we were halfway up it was basically nighttime. I turned around and stared at the steps for a moment. Scorpio stood beside me. "What?" he asked.
"I don't know something's off."
He smiled and nodded. "Mhm."
"Why are you smiling?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing. I'm just waiting for you to notice the obvious," he said. "Keep looking, you'll see it eventually."
So, I kept looking. My eyes traced the hillside and noticed a line made by a shadow followed immediately by light. I looked up and saw the full moon. But there seemed to be light coming from behind it, it was almost like looking at a solar eclipse. From up here, I could see that the line where the shadow and light met, ran all the way across the land. Or at least, from what I could see it did.
"What the hell's wrong with this place?" I asked Scorpio.
"It's fake." He said as he turned around and continued upwards.
"So this world is just half-day and half-night, is there any weather here? Do we ever get clouds?" He shook his head.
"I don't think so. Leo has been here the longest, and he hasn't seen a single cloud since arriving here."
"So there's 12 of us right?" He nodded. "Okay, so there's me, you, Leo. How many are here?"
He raised one shoulder, slightly leaning his head towards it. I could see his eyes moving about before they came to meet mine. "There's eight of us. Water, our element, is missing one. Uh, the fish. I can't remember its name. Air, is missing the twins, which I don't understand if there's only supposed to be 12 of us. Then Earth is missing two; a goat and bull. Something corn and Taurus, only Virgo is here. All the fire elements are here."
I placed a hand on my hip, and asked, "You've been here for how long." He once again stopped and thought to himself before putting up three fingers. "Years?" He shook his head. "Months?" He nodded, it was my turn to shake my head. "How do you not know their names."
His brows furrowed and he pouted. "I don't know."
We were near the top, from here I could see bright colors reflecting off the pillars. Scorpio quietly hummed to himself as we climbed. I wonder what he was humming. Near the top, the steps got relatively cleaner, and the cracks were smaller, if not non-existent.
The grounds of the temple were polished marble, the same for its pillars. Each pillar had a symbol in it. In the far corner was mine. Underneath the Cancer constellation was the shape of two sideway apostrophes set on top of each other, making an abstract depiction of a crab. A depiction I didn't really understand. Some of the broken pillars had what looked like part of a Zodiac sign. There must've been others. But why were their pillars broken, was it a lack of maintenance or did they do something... wrong? I didn't want to think about it. The confidence I have in my position is already dwindling, I don't need it to decline even more.
Lights were coming from the pillars and the glass at the center of the temple. My pillar had a white light, Scorpio's had a red one. All of them clashed together, making a beautiful but blurry atmosphere. There were, a lot of colors to say the least. The glass center was a massive painting of the constellations. Not just the Zodiacs but all 88 of them, though the Zodiacs were all lit up with their respective colors. The painting, which was plastered on a massive, round metal plate --a massive coin really--, was slowly rotating. A white light was leaking from under it. For some reason, I felt a bit of pride in sharing the same color as the centerpiece.
"This place is beautiful," I commented.
Scorpio snickered. "Really, I think it's kind of weird-looking." I scrunched up my nose as I gave him an annoyed look. "What?"
I just shook my head. "Nothing."
It felt like the hill was a lot higher than it originally seemed, maybe it really was just a small mountain. Up here, we were surrounded by the night sky, filled to the brim with stars. But these stars seemed to just be randomly placed, there were no constellations; none I could recognize. As I was caught up in my surroundings, I heard a woman's voice come from behind me.
"So, this is the newcomer," she said with an Australian accent.
When I turned to look, there was a short woman who looked like she was in her 30s or early 20s. Bright, azure hair was braided and wrapped into a bun; some of the braid hanging off it. A long horse tail, matching the color of her hair, trailed her. She had peach skin speckled with light blue freckles. Her pointy, elf-looking, ears were strangely fitting for her short stature. Her dark blue eyes were alluded by the small, yellow ring around her pupils and her natural cat-eye. Her gloved hands clutched the golden bow strapped around her, it was like she expected someone to tear it away from her. Her small upturned nose and thin lips that tugged into a one-sided smile had a glint of mischief in them. She had a perfect, petite hourglass figure. Round hips, a small waist and a large chest covered by a yellow, high-collar, tube top; that matched the color of her beanie. Her light brown slacks, which looked too big for her, were rolled up to her ankles and held up by a large belt. She wore gray slip ons that looked to be pretty old. The orange shawl wrapped around her neck sat atop a gray-blue coat that reached mid-calf.
"What's your alignment?" she asked extending a hand. Taking a quick second look at her, I realized her socks matched the color of her shawl.
I looked back up. "Cancer," I answered as I shook her hand.
"Sagittarius." Ah, now the tail and bow make sense. She was the archer or centaur constellation.
Sagittarius then pointed to the man standing beside her. "Excuse him, this is Aries." Aries looked to be in his late 30s, and muscular enough to fight Hercules. Broad shoulders, beefy arms, and a broad chest, broad everything really. He had rough, tan skin and an aged scar going across his left eye. White, wavy, hair went just below his ears. I'm not sure if they were naturally that color. He had curtained bangs hiding parts of his cold, blue eyes. A lock of hair framing his face was dyed blood red, it seemed to be dyed recently. He was of average height, but the juxtaposition between his height and Sagittarius' just made him seem taller. Or Sagittarius shorter. Large, brown horns curled from the sides of his head; framing his face, oddly enough. He sported a thin, black, long-sleeve sweater with a high collar, gray camo pants that were stuffed into black, vintage combat boots. Overall he just gave off a grumpy vibe.
He grumbled --heh--, before looking down at me. At first, I was nervous but then he gave me a soft smile. "I apologize, welcome to Ouranos." Politely raising a large hand, I shook it, returning his smile. "Air and Earth are off somewhere, I'm sure you'll meet them eventually."
"Yes, eventually." Another voice spoke up. Look, meeting them was thrilling, but god did I hate it. There were so many of them. But it'd be awkward if I didn't know them like 100 years in the future versus now. A black woman, who was around my age, stood at the top of the stairs. The stairs on the other side of the hill.
She walked up to us, allowing me a better look at her. Dark smooth skin glowed, I wonder how she has such a good skincare regime here. Curly, navy blue hair that didn't even reach her shoulders, bounced with every step. Small, blue round ears peeked out from it. She had round hips, ones that could rival mine but she won when it came to her thigh game. Her eyes were narrow and piercing red. Small, square glasses sat on the bridge of her wide, flat nose. She had a very clean outfit. A light blue, woolen sweater was tucked into her knee-length, white skirt. The skirt having small ruffles lining the hem. A shiny, dark gray ribbon looped through her skirt, being tied back in a bow. She seemed to be as tall as me, but then again; she was wearing these cute, white, strap-on heels. A long, thick navy blue tail hung to the floor behind her. I'm not sure how it was sticking out from behind her.
"Hello, Cancer. I'm Zodiac Aquarius." She walked around me, making a quick observation. "You just got here, yes?" She stopped to meet me eye to eye.
"Yeah, spent most of my time here climbing a hill." In the background, I could hear Scorpio snort.
"I can tell, you haven't received Blue's Grant yet." I furrowed my brows together and she did the same. "The... powers promised to you by Blue."
I did a one-shouldered shrug, shaking my head. "I know nothing 'bout it." Right that second, her eyes lit up and she grabbed my hands.
"Let me take you to get it!" A wide smile was on her face as she looked at me hopefully. In my peripheral vision, I could see Scorpio crossing his arms, signaling for me to say no. But Aquarius' happy smile and bright eyes proved too persuasive.
With a small smile and dipped brows, I said, "Sure," in a short gasp of breath.
Aquarius made a strange small squeal of excitement and quickly began dragging me away. Reluctantly, Scorpio followed us.
"We'll be seeing you Cancer!" Sagittarius called out her goodbye as she snickered, turning to say something to Aries. Who laughed in response.
As we made our way to... wherever, Aquarius blabbered on and on about her studies about the physical transformations we Zodiacs undergo, and the specific "niche" each of us receives. It's apparently been something she's studied since she got here.
"How long have you been here?" I asked her, and she took a second to think.
"About a decade, I arrived here when I was 16." The number shocked me. Why so young? Aries and Sagittarius, even Scorpio and I came here as adults. Unless Sagittarius and Aries have been here for decades.
"Oh." Was the only response I could make out while we continued forwards.
We walked in silence for minutes on end, until Scorpio started humming something. It sounded like the same song from before. He continued the whole way through and when we finally stopped in front of a rocky path leading to a waterfall; an obvious cave peeking from behind it, I asked him about it.
"What were you humming." He seemed startled by the question for a second, before going back to his usual chill self.
Scorpio shrugged. "Just a song back from home." I got the feeling that was the most I was going to get from him. So I nodded and Aquarius' "we're here" brought my attention back ahead of us.
"So where's here?" I asked. As I soaked in the pretty view. The mountain, where the waterfall poured from, was teeming with plant life, but there were no animals. None that I could see anyways. Aquarius pulled be towards the rocks jutting out of the river, creating a very wet path towards the cave.
"This is where water Zodiacs receive their grant, right in that there cave." She explained as she began to step onto the rocks. Naturally one would refuse to cross. But I was used to stunts like these. I lived a pretty active life back in Maunaloa. My homesickness was already seeping in.
The three of us hopped our way across the rocks and before the cave. Aquarius led me in front of her before letting go of my hand. Only to point into the cave.
"We can't follow you in, it'll mess up the process, so you'll have to continue alone." A spike of panic stuck through my chest, and I tried to control my breathing.
"I have to go in... alone?"
Aquarius made a confused look and nodded. "Yeah, that's what I just said." She said, clearly not noticing my slight panic. But Scorpio noticed. I could tell when I glanced up at him. His brows knitted and his mouth slightly agape. He leaned onto Aquarius' head and said very coolly.
"We'll be right out here, you shouldn't stress it. It only takes a few minutes at most." I took a second to think about what he said, before nodding.
"Alrighty." I took in a deep breath. "I'll see you on the flip-side then." In a few swift steps, I was in the maw of the cave, separated from the others. My breathing hitched as I continued in the dark. Despite not being cold, I shivered.
The cave smelt dank and was weirdly warm. I couldn't tell if it was the suffocating air around me or the anxiety I felt that was causing my respiratory issues. But I needed to continue forwards. I'm pretty sure without this Grant or whatever Aquarius called it, I cannot complete the task I was chosen for. Whatever that task was.
At first, I didn't know what it was I should be looking for. Then I saw a small glimmer in the distance. I made my way towards it. There was a circular, crystal slate, reflecting the light of the fake moon that peered through a hole shaped like a raindrop. Presumably, this is what would give me my powers or whatnot, so I stood on it. Nothing happened.
I stood there quietly, waiting for something to happen. Yet there was nothing but the sound of water dripping and the feeling that the air around me was condensing. "Hey, Aquarius. I don't think anything is happening!" I shouted, nobody responded. Standing there a few minutes more, still, nothing happened.
"There was probably a mistake." I thought aloud. "Maybe we're in the wrong place." I looked around, before looking down at the slate. Seeing my reflection. Physically, I hadn't noticed it, but I looked tired. Dark bags were forming under my amber eyes. "I'm not supposed to be Cancer, aren't I?" I asked nobody. Suddenly the slate began to light up.
It began to glow brightly, it irritated my eyes. So I looked away from the pad and into the continued depths of the cave. The light from the slate deepened the shadows around me. They seemed to swirl. I didn't feel safe. As bad of an idea it was, I tried to walk off the slate, so I could return to Scorpio and Aquarius' company. Yet as soon as I even came near the edge, an invisible wall stopped me. I whirled around, sticking my arms out trying to find a gap or an open space. Anything. But there was nothing, I was just trapped here.
"Aquarius! I don't know what's going on!" I shouted, again, there was no response. The slate grew brighter, and I could see things crawl out from the shadows. Thin black silhouettes of creatures peeping out. The light reflected in their eyes. They were all looking at me. I turned away, closing my eyes. Convincing myself they weren't real. And with a few deep breaths, I opened them, confident that nothing would be there. But the silhouette of a person stood in front of me, just right across the invisible wall. Too panicked to scream, too stupid to look away. I held its gaze. The silhouette seemed unaffected by the light beaming all the other shadows down. And in the corners of my eyes, I could see many silhouettes, of different heights and shapes, start to surround the slate. They all looked different, except for one thing. Strange appendages hung from their bags. I couldn't tell what it was, but it looked like huge claws.
The invisible wall took on a white color and began to fall. No, no, no! I looked at the dark figures surrounding me. They'll get in. They're gonna get in. It continued to fall, some of the taller ones grabbing at the top. Trying to pull themselves up. As the wall fell, I followed suit. To the point where I was curled up on the ground. I heard strange grumbled groans and I slammed my eyes shut. Nothing happened.
I'm not sure how long I laid there. But when I finally opened my eyes, no one was there. I sat up, looking around. Not only did the shadows disappear. But everything was gone. Everything except the slate. And the growing feeling of being watched. Low raspy breathing came from behind me. The uneasy warmth of something standing there grew. Like something was leaning over me. My vision blurred and I could feel myself begin to sweat. My chest felt heavy, and it was hard to breathe. Like there was no air. Like I was drowning. Yet I was fine. Well, somewhat.
The unknown presence was calling my attention. I could feel it. I just didn't want to look. So I just sat there staring off ahead into nothingness, a wave of nausea coming over me and a feeling of churning in my stomach. Its presence grew, there was a tugging sensation at the back of my mind. I should look. I needed to look. And so I slowly turned around. My breathing hitching again.
A massive creature taking somewhat the form of a crab was looming from behind me. Alike the silhouettes it was completely blacked out, but I could see its eyes peeking out of its shell. White. Glowing. It had many arms, each having the clawed pincher of a crab. In seeing this creature, a strange wave of relief crossed me. Then it reached one of its claws up. I watched as it did so, thinking nothing of it. And for a short second, I was mesmerized by this enormous beast. Until it dropped it down.
I held up my arms, screaming. My being felt like it was torn open. Like it was cut through. A swelling pain pulsated from my backbones, and my skin felt like it was being pinched and twisted. The slate opened up. And I fell into the incredibly dark hole. That creature leaning over the hole, before covering it. Leaving me in the dark, with only the fleeting gust of air around me. I couldn't do anything. There was nothing here, except the stone cold ground that I slammed into.
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