It began as a morning like any other.
The sky was a soft canvas of pale blue, and the air carried the dry warmth of the desert sun. You walked a familiar path, your mind already at the university, where your daughter was in the final year of her Advanced Engineering studies. The pride in your chest was almost as sweet as your pallet - honey, pomegranates, and wine, the morning's indulgence, a ritual before seeing her.
But then the world split open.
The first sign was the screams, sharp and desperate, rising in waves from the streets below. Then the sirens - alarms that shattered the air like glass. You turned toward the sound, heart pounding, but it was too late. From the horizon, a wall of sand appeared, not like a natural storm, but a living thing, malevolent and hungry. It roared as it came, a deafening howl that swallowed the sky and blotted out the sun.
You tried to run.
But to where? Your feet betrayed you as the sandstorm crashed into the city and the ground trembled. It was unlike anything you'd ever known: more than wind, more than sand. The storm bit into your skin, the razor-like grains tearing through flesh and flaying skin as though it were nothing. Flames erupted around you as the floating city began to crumble. Elegant towers you'd known your whole life, consumed in smoke and fire as their metal skeletons twisted and fell.
In the chaos, you tried to think of your daughter, to call out her name, but the pain was all-consuming. You felt your very being peel away, each breath filling your lungs with fire as the storm pulled you apart. You could barely see through the haze of blood and sand... and then you were falling, as the city finally collapsed beneath you.
The ground rushed up, cruel and inevitable.
You jolt awake, still strapped into the machine. The hum of Clockwork and Necrotech surrounds you, broken only by Simoya's soft chuckle.
"That one was a particular favourite of mine. But don't worry- I have more. Many, many more."
She prepares the next Memkey...
The sky was a soft canvas of pale blue, and the air carried the dry warmth of the desert sun. You walked a familiar path, your mind already at the university, where your daughter was in the final year of her Advanced Engineering studies. The pride in your chest was almost as sweet as your pallet - honey, pomegranates, and wine, the morning's indulgence, a ritual before seeing her.
But then the world split open.
The first sign was the screams, sharp and desperate, rising in waves from the streets below. Then the sirens - alarms that shattered the air like glass. You turned toward the sound, heart pounding, but it was too late. From the horizon, a wall of sand appeared, not like a natural storm, but a living thing, malevolent and hungry. It roared as it came, a deafening howl that swallowed the sky and blotted out the sun.
You tried to run.
But to where? Your feet betrayed you as the sandstorm crashed into the city and the ground trembled. It was unlike anything you'd ever known: more than wind, more than sand. The storm bit into your skin, the razor-like grains tearing through flesh and flaying skin as though it were nothing. Flames erupted around you as the floating city began to crumble. Elegant towers you'd known your whole life, consumed in smoke and fire as their metal skeletons twisted and fell.
In the chaos, you tried to think of your daughter, to call out her name, but the pain was all-consuming. You felt your very being peel away, each breath filling your lungs with fire as the storm pulled you apart. You could barely see through the haze of blood and sand... and then you were falling, as the city finally collapsed beneath you.
The ground rushed up, cruel and inevitable.
| ...memkey_feed = load_memkey(memkey_id="Great_Storm_004"): Complete... |
You jolt awake, still strapped into the machine. The hum of Clockwork and Necrotech surrounds you, broken only by Simoya's soft chuckle.
"That one was a particular favourite of mine. But don't worry- I have more. Many, many more."
She prepares the next Memkey...
[19:4
