With fear still crawling through your bones, you steel your resolve. As you unconsciously firmed your jaw, you uttered the name: "Rusrah". The portal shimmered, and opened as it glowed. It was as if it acknowledged your choice. As its glow swirls deepens, beckoning you to enter towards that distant city.
[ This was it. Your new beginning, but also a final, desperate flight from this entire nightmare. As you glanced around the cold damped cellar, knowing whatever you took would be all you had. Remember the portal would only activate once, then it vanishes forever, sealing off what is left of where you came from. After this point, there would be no turning back, no second chances to gather what you'd left behind. ]
[ You knew you could only choose one type of item. One category of belonging to carry with you through the shimmering veil into the unknown. What would it be? Would it be something practical for survival, a memento to cling, or a tool for what may lay ahead? ]
[ Now choose what single type of item do you intend to take on your journey? ]
A shiver traced over Velvet Bliss's spine, not from the chill of the peculiar chamber, but from the invisible weight of the heavy decision pressing down on her. Her eyes darted between the shimmering portrait of you and your mother before everything in your life started crumbling apart and the solid, yet gleaming stack of "Money". Each represented an undeniable allure and a potent promise.
[ A memento, a whisper of endless memories, beckoned with the promise of contentment, of the sun-drenched days of happiness and laughter. It was everything she craved in her deepest memories of solitude, a balm for the hidden unknown anxieties that unknowingly gnawed at her. Yet, a cynical voice, honed by years full of struggle began to argue that happiness. It was a fleeting feeling, an emotion that could vanish as quickly as it appeared. Could she truly gamble her future on something that would not help her future? ]
[ Then there was Money. A tangible yet powerful key to unlock a thousand doors. It offered security and freedom from the relentless anxieties of survival and the ability to protect those she cared for. It could buy most things, such as comfort, influence, and perhaps, happiness itself, even if its temporary. But at what cost? Would it truly satisfy the ache in her soul, or merely mask it with the will to have material possessions? ]
Her mind raced, frantic thoughts of the "what ifs" and the "should I's" she should take. The silence in the chamber amplified the frantic thumping of her own beloved heart. This isn't a game, it was decision, a decision that would determine the crossroads of where one's path promised emotional fulfillment and the other, is undeniable power.
As her internal battle raged, she sensed a strange sensation prickled at the edges of her heightened awareness. A faint yet almost imperceptible tremor in the air, a sense of urgency building from beyond the shimmering veil of the chamber. She felt it, a frantic and urgent energy, like someone above was desperately searching for her.
A gasp hitched her throat as she saw who it was, a fragile sound of a pure, unrestrained joy. "Mother?" The word was like a breathless prayer, a desperate hope given a voice. It was her, standing there, alive. For a fleeting, yet glorious second, the world felt as it stopped.
Then, within her view of sight, she saw, the lifeless form on the floor. Her mother's still lifeless body, never leaving the spot of where she died. The warmth that had bloomed in her chest dissipated, replaced with a cold dread that had snaked its way through her veins. The woman before her, so strikingly similar, couldn't be real.
Her mind raced, a frantic search for an explanation. How could she be here? Didn't she die? And why... why wouldn't she know where I am? A memory surfaced, a vivid yet chilling memory. Her mother once hushed warnings about a "monster", a creature of mimicry that could wear the skins of their loved ones. A very dangerous monster.
After the memory lapse, she said to herself, "No", a word filled with the icy grip of realization hit her. She did not shout it out loud, but within her heart, she said, "She is not my mother." The woman who stood their before her, the one who looked so perfectly like the woman she had lost before her very eyes, was nothing more than the very monster her mother had warned her about.
She set her gaze and line of thought back to the two choices she had to make, her breath catching in her throat. The mounting panic, and the undeniable pressure from beyond, tipped the scales. With another firm resolve, she clenched her palm, and said to herself in her heart. "Money is the most important thing now. I must leave before that thing finds me", is what she thought.
Her gaze though still hinged with fear, began sweeping the peculiar chamber. Her movements were swift and quiet, as if something was guiding her. Her eyes, sharp, and quick landed on various caches. A small yet ornate chest tucked beneath a velvet drape, a loose floorboard near the grand fireplace, a small yet hidden compartment within a gilded statue. Each discovery was silent yet efficient. Her hands, despite being small was nimble and precise at retrieving the contents from each area. No clatter, no rustle, just the soft click of metal against metal, the almost inaudible rustle of fabric. In what felt like a moment, was a blur of focused motion. After the through rough search, she had gathered it all. 6,500 Kindlers. The current currency of the Wabhaba Kingdom, now all hers.
Soon after, a deep yet quiet resolve settled within Velvet Bliss. "I'm now ready to go". The thought echoed in the silent chambers of her mind, resolving a firm declaration of her choice. The frantic energy that had earlier plagued her with fear now became a steel firm determination. She has made her choice, and now she would face its consequences head-on.
[ She stepped forward, in a single, decisive stride. The portal, a swirling vortex of shimmering sapphire and emerald light, pulsed with an ancient magic. As she passed through its iridescent surface, the air around her crackled with unseen energy. The vibrant colors of the portal enveloped her for a fleeting moment, with many unimaginable hues. ]
[ Behind her, the chamber, that was once grand and imposing began to fracture uncontrollably. Cracks snaked across the wooden floor, racing up the wooden pillars and across the enchanted ceiling. Dust and debris rained down as the very fabric of space groaned and tore apart. The light faded, replaced by the encroaching shadows of destruction. The last thing to escape the collapsing space, before the darkness consumed it entirely, was a loud mournful, disturbing cry. The raw, despairing sound of the 'monster' she had glimpsed, now left to face the crumbling reality of its prison alone. Soon after the collapse of the house, the traces of a portal ever being there was no longer there. As if it was never there to begin with. ]