It felt akin to a dreamscape, where his body didn't respond to his commands properly and everything felt just slightly off, though what felt more real than anything was the thunder that suddenly made itself known.
The harsh winds encircled the mountain's peak, howling with a turbulence that gripped onto the edges of the colossal valley. It was a breathtaking scene, but one equally horrifying as he knew it laid in his future; a massive spiral of somber clouds surrounded the basin valley, flashing with magenta glows within their form.
Thunder unlike any other continuously roared, emitting shock waves through the mountainous peak as if giving way to a grandiose presence. Even in his suppressed state within this enigmatic glance into a time yet to come, he could feel this power firsthand.
The air vibrated around him, and subtle "pops" in the air became small shocks that jolted him as he witnessed what arrived from the storm surrounding the basin valley–lightning of a bright, magenta shade repeatedly struck the territory.
'Purple…lightning?' He watched.
It was difficult just to stand straight as the wind swirled violently, roaring with such intensity as the peculiar, magenta lightning struck down faster and harder, becoming more frequent until the basin valley was constantly electrified
Though the origins of this mystical storm was unknown, that was only briefly suspended in mystery before a figure slammed down from the brewing mass of purple bolts above, touching down on the valley with a thunderous landing.
"--"
It was hard to make out through the natural blur that came with the quandary of the future, though he could make out the figure of a man, whose body was coiling with magenta electricity.
"So, who the hell do you think you are? I don't remember telling anybody about this place–!"
A yell boomed from the mysterious figure who invoked the dormant thunder around the mountainous valley to once more shout with a massive boom, rumbling the ground that he stood on.
'Who is this–? Is this the next Reincarnator from the prophecy?' He thought.
The figure that wielded magenta lightning had an imposing presence of unequivocal might in the form of the thunder he controlled, erupting with lightning bolts that razed the luscious grass around them.
"Cat got your tongue?...Fine, I'll have to beat the answer out of you!" The mysterious figure yelled.
Just as the unknown stranger dashed towards him with another boom of thunder–he was suddenly pulled out from the jarring preview into the future. Back into the kaleidoscope of boundless memories, unanchored by linear time, he floated there, suspended as he found himself with a new goal in mind.
'That purple lightning…That's my lead, then,' he thought.
With that view found, he was withdrawn from the overwhelming unison of past, present, and future, finding himself drawn instantly back into the same position he was in beforehand: on one knee, looking at the barnacle-inlaid, marble flooring as the smell of the sea met his nose again.
'I'm back,' he thought.
The heavy hand of the Atlan King lifted from his head as he looked up, meeting eye-to-eye with the enigmatic ruler of the lonely kingdom for just a moment. A few moments were needed for him to catch his breath as he sat there, in disbelief of the otherworldly experience he had gone through.
He found that he was sweating, and his lungs had been deprived of air, but with a glance back towards the other side of the throne room, seeing the bearded man he came with still there, he realized that what he experienced likely happened much faster than he perceived.
"That was…" He quietly muttered, holding his own face momentarily.
As he looked up towards the enigmatic figure that sat on the throne, there were no words given to him, leaving him shrouded in unknown of what to do next. The fact that the Atlan King was a wordless being was something that left him uncomfortable, having to guess what was okay to do as he slowly rose back to his feet, turning around as he headed back towards Bastian.
"You alright?" Bastian asked.
He slowly nodded, still sweating somewhat, "Yeah…It was just, a lot."
"Come on, let's get you somewhere to rest," Bastian said, patting his shoulder.
One last glance back towards the throne found no words again from the silent Atlan King, who only watched as the two from another world left the hollow, royal chamber. It left him questioning what was truly going on in the undersea temple, though he put it aside for the moment as he left the throne room.
Back into the corridor, just as the door was shut behind them, he looked over at the man beside him as it was clear that questions were written on his perplexed expression.
"Be straight with me, what did I just experience?" He asked.
As he stood there, he found that the peculiar out-of-body experience he had undergone had its own side-effects as he felt his balance to be somewhat wobbly, resulting in him having to catch himself against the wall before Bastian helped him.
Bastian responded, helping him stand straight, "The Atlan Oracle showed you the future stored ahead for you. It's jarring, I know. It feels as though your essence was ripped from your body and flooded with a lot of foreign, mysterious memories–all jumbled up and scattered."
"Sounds about right…My head is a mess," he said.
"Come on. You need to sit down, at least," Bastian guided him.
Even as he walked, he could feel the fog around his mind swirling with a confusing bog as he followed Bastian. It seemed the man was quite familiar with the Atlan temple, seeing as he knew where to take him to rest.
Through a few corners taking in the marble corridors, which held a light-blue, moving light of the deep ocean, a set of rooms were found.
"This is where we're able to stay. Your room is right there," Bastian showed him to the leftmost room.
There was no door, only an odd, oval-shaped entrance into the room that was quite simplistic in what it contained–a large bed, outfitted with seaweed-intertwined sheets, dressers made out of barnacles and coral, along with washed-out paintings on the walls.
"A bed…?" He mumbled.
Sitting down on the bed as the peculiar sheets crunched beneath his weight, though not breaking, he rubbed his own head before looking at the nomadic man, who leaned against the wall, looking towards him.
"You didn't tell me the Oracle was also the King," Emilio said.
"It's complicated," Bastian told him.
"Try me. I've fought the embodiment of nightmares and went through the literal afterlife–I think we're long past things being 'complicated' here," Emilio told him.
Bastian looked at him for a moment before rubbing the back of his own head with a slight exhale, nodding, "Yeah, you're right. You've been through the ringer, haven't you? I've got some things I need to take care of, but I'll show you where you can find your answers."
"Really? You can't just tell me yourself?" He asked.
It wasn't that singular instance of being tediously roped around to get answers that annoyed him, but the continuous string he felt he was being tugged along with, following the elusive promise of "answers" only to find himself with more questions by the end of it.
"If I'm being honest, it's a bit too complicated for me to explain off the dome. Besides…there are some rather nosy individuals lurking around here," Bastian quietly remarked, glancing around.
That comment caught Emilio off-guard as he was silent for a moment, "I haven't seen anybody besides that eel and the king."
"Let's hope it stays that way. Anyway, I'll show you where you can find where your questions are answered," Bastian said, gesturing for him to follow.
He followed the man into the unknown sections of the undersea temple, seeking out whatever it was that had the answers he was curious to find. The layout of the Atlan temple was something difficult to adjust to; the marble flooring was almost too smooth at times, making it somewhat slippery.
"--"
Beyond the walls he was surrounded by, he could hear the noises of the ocean; the deep, bellowing calls of creatures from the deep, and the rumbles of the vast sea itself moving about. Even in the large temple, it felt too small in the grand scope of the aquatic region. Wherever they were, Bastian seemed not to want their arrival at this sector of the temple to be known; they stopped at a dark corridor leading one way, seemingly secluded from the rest of the domain.
There was a staircase leading into a lower section, with the glistening, marble walls now becoming encrusted in barnacles the deeper they went.
'Where is this leading?' He thought.
All he could do was follow behind Bastian through the foreign temple, descending deeper and deeper as the steps continued. It was a narrow descent; the walls were close, and not exactly what he felt like touching, as the amber barnacles were clammy and exuded a distinct, fishy smell like–rank of a foul odor.
"Down here–this is it," Bastian quietly said.
A single door sat at the bottom of the lengthy steps, shrouded in shadows as Emilio stepped forward, conjuring a small flame above his fingertip for light.
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