Guilt & the High Island //
Laughter resounded in the box, echoes redoubling on themselves until they were a cacophonous racket indiscernable from thunder or falling rocks.
{Tell me, Maya Day, when was the last time you worried about ants killing termites? You have the courage to stand there and demand a god to prove anything to you? My goodwill should be evident enough in your continued existence.}
Guilt gritted her teeth beneath her mask. He'd said it again. "My name is Guilt. And people are not ants." It appeared she had been correct after all. Just another mere human, intoxicated by power, convinced they were a god. No wonder they rarely acted, they believed the concerns of the world were not theirs. "There is no mercy in sparing a weapon. Release me and I will continue my task. Kill me and I will die." She was uncertain of where to direct her glare, so she simply glared at one of the walls at random. Not that her facial expression was at all visible behind her mask. This situation was certainly not one she had planned on.
{So you would like to die?}
The edges of the box cracked, and the magma began to creep in.
Guilt reached out, and purple lightning flared up. Even as the magma entered it was removed, held within Void. In an instant she calculated her chances of escape, her options. Given time she would probably be able to make her way to the surface, and she would be able to defend herself from attacks with her abilities. However, she could only remove the Magma, not the heat that came with it. And already the room was beginning to feel toasty. Cold air could only do so much. No, her powers would offer no way out of this. There was no way to avoid being cooked alive in the time it took to reach the surface. And that was under the assumption that the High Island possessed no other means of attack. An assumption that Guilt was unwilling to bet much of anything on, let alone her life.
With a sigh of resignation she once more faced the wall she had now decided to label as the Island's face. "Unlike yourself, I do not fear death. I live only for the sake of those I serve. But my life has not yet fulfilled it's purpose. If you seek to kill me, then I will resist for as long as I can." It was not a threat, it was a factual statement. Guilt knew she could not defeat the Island, not even escape him. But if she had to die she would die fighting. Anything else would be an insult to those she had lost.
The walls shut, and the room returned to surface temperatures, even slightly cooler. The laughter echoed again, and the walls darkened until the light was completely blocked off.
{There. That's a fire. There's human in you still. Take that fire and cure the world. Cauterize the bleeding wound. And when your powers overtake you, I will offer you a quick and painless end.}
Unexpectedly, the situation changed. Blinking, Guilt glanced around to make sure she wasn't being attacked in some unexpected fashion. That this wasn't some strange setup. But no, this was simply how the High acted. Playing around with people, threatening them with death for no reason other than to see their reaction... they really did think they were Gods. Guilt had been a fool to demand anything of the Island, for in truth she had been attempting to reason with him. But how can one reason with a being so thoroughly insane?
Lowering her arms, Guilt remained wary. "If I may cure this world before then, I will welcome the death you provide. But not a moment sooner. I have a mission to complete, after all." Looking around, Guilt waited to see what would happen. Would she truly be returned to the surface? Or was she about to be crushed?
{You don't have any choice. Your power will grow out of your control soon. And you do not have the self to hold your mind as the power takes you.}
Once again, Guilt gritted her teeth. How dare this creature judge her. But... this was certainly useful information. She had heard of Epics becoming more powerful, but never by much. And usually it wasn't actually more power as much as an increase in skill. If the Island was predicting something like this then something was going to happen to increase her power significantly. "You speak as though you know of something to happen." Guilt said, suspiciously.
{Maya Day. That's who could survive. You. As you are. No. Your power will take you, and I will destroy what you become before your work is undone.}
Instinctively Maya let loose a sound not unlike a growl. "My name is not Maya Day!" she snapped. "Maya Day was a useless girl who lived life selfishly. And she died alongside her parents. I will live or die as a hero. Unlike you, I value my cause above my life." Guilt raised a hand, and purple lightning flared around it. There wasn't much she could do to threaten the High, she didn't even know where his real body was. Or if he even had one, for that matter. But nonetheless, she felt like showing some form of defiance. "If you wish to kill me then you will have to get in line. Now, release me or kill me." Guilt hoped for the former, of course, but she was done with this mindless prattle. This fool could espouse his pointless claims until the end of days, it had nothing to do with her.
{Goodbye, Miss Maya Day. Would you like to know how many days you have left?}
The box opened into a dry, endless plain of flat sand. A wind whipped through the air, but for that, nothing moved.
Guilt glanced around what appeared to be a flattened desert. Before she was within Epic City... but if the Island had been able to move her 10 miles down in a matter of seconds, then there was no limit to where she could have move during their conversation. She could be anywhere in the world right now. But there were more important matters at hand.
"How many days? Tell me." Even if she was confident in her abilities, this was valuable information. Whatever event was coming, she would need to be prepared for it. For the High to have gone so far as to warn her, it could only be something major.
{21.}
And just like that, the Island was gone. Guilt looked around this desert wasteland. It seemed she had 21 days to figure out exactly what the Island had meant with his cryptic warning. Something was coming, and Guilt needed to be prepared. Briefly looking at a compass she summoned forth from Void Guilt popped off, vanishing into nothing. It might take a while before she was able to get her bearings, but with her abilities it should be no trouble to get back to Epic City.
