The beginning of the breach

The sun was rising, but Ruki knew it would not get much higher than this. So far north, the sun did not like to shine. It was too cold. Every single part of her was frozen. She couldn’t even feel her hooves. But she had to go on. Even at a hundred meters from the breach, she could feel it now; the pull she was barely able to resist. Her mother did not feel it here, yet, but to her it was a voiceless and irresistible cry for help.

The breach, or as Yuuro had jokingly called it “the crack”, was right beside them. It was so small now… Ruki was certain she could jump across. The only thing keeping her back was her fear of slipping on the ice as she landed. Sometimes she was worried that if they went even more north, they could no longer get in; it would be too small for them to go down.

And down they had to go; they were so very close now. Maybe an hour walk, maybe less. The sun was shining, so it had to be midday; it’d be dark otherwise. But how? How were they supposed to go into the breach? They had looked down a few times, but while the breach became slimmer all the time, it definitely did not get less deep.

The terrain around them had changed. Before, it had been cold, barren, with nothing around them but snow and ice. Gradually though, large rocks had appeared, as if some bored god had thrown them there. Of course, their tops were covered with ice and snow as well, but they had offered some shelter from the wind. However, they had also made their journey more troublesome; they had to go around the rocks and stones which kept getting bigger and bigger.

“What’s that over there?” Yuuro said as he pointed towards the aurora, which always hung ahead of them now, even at daylight.
“Where?” Ruki asked, not seeing anything due to the low sun.
“Is it a mountain?” Yuuro wondered out loud. Ruki still didn’t see anything. “
It’s probably just another large rock.” Taira suggested.
“I don’t think so…” Yuuro whispered, but he kept silent.

About half an hour later, however, Ruki noticed it too. It was not just a rock, but a large pillar taller than the highest tower of their castle back home. In contrary to the other rocks, this one looked almost artificial, as if it was untouched by the winds and storms that so often pestered this cold barren place.
“There’s no snow on it.” Hikary stated bluntly, hardly believing her own words.

“Huh?” Ruki couldn’t believe it either. How could anything not have snow on it here? But as she looked closer she had to agree that Hikary was probably right. There was no snow on the pillar. It was a dark grey pillar reaching out to the aurora. It stood in stark contrast to the rest of the world; the only dark in an endless sea of white.
“We should check it out.” Ruki said, trotting forwards.

The pillar ended up being further away than she thought; it took them over an hour to reach it. It was huge; Ruki had never seen anything this tall before. It was also broader than she had guessed at first; it was certainly as wide as their entire castle and at least four times as high. Ruki was amazed to see the walls of the pillar were completely smooth and round; she couldn’t see any unevenness.

“This isn’t natural.” Ruki whispered.
“No. It’s not. Something… Someone is protecting this with a magic I can not feel.” Hikary said.
“This is it.” Ruki said, stopping in front of the pillar that towered over them.
“It’s the end of the breach.” Taira commented.
“The stone… it’s so close.”
“Yes… it is. Down here… no, down there.” Ruki agreed, pointing at the pillar.

They looked down at the breach, which indeed ended at the base of the pillar. Or at least, the crack in the earth ended there, because Ruki could see the breach continued on under it. The last parts of the breach were maybe a meter or two wide, barely enough for Ruki to go in. But as she looked down, it seemed as deep as ever.

“We have to go in. There’s no other way anymore.” Taira sighed.
“This is where it ends.”
“Yes… but how? How are we going to get down?” Hikary asked, glancing down into the depth. Climbing was not an option; the walls were simply too steep to climb.
“Over there.” Yuuro pointed at the other side of the pillar. Ruki saw a small doorway, a portal that would lead them inside the pillar.
“Let’s go there.” Ruki agreed.

They walked around the pillar, which took them the rest of the lingering daylight. Once they reached the other side, everything had gone completely dark except for the aurora which now hung right above them, lighting up the earth. It was bright enough so they could see ahead of them, albeit that everything was covered in a cyan-purple aura. They found the door easily enough; there was an arched entrance to it, made of the same grey stone as the pillar.

“Here it is.” Hikary said. The entrance was open; there was no door, just a dark void awaiting them. Stepping a bit closer, Ruki saw perfect stairs, untouched by time.
“We shouldn’t all go down. In case something happens, someone needs to be here to help.” Taira said.
“I agree. It would be safer if two of us went down and two remained here.” Hikary said.

“I’ll go.” Ruki said instantly. “I’m the only one who can feel the stone this strong. I should go.”
Hikary smiled.
“I hate to admit it, but Ruki is probably right. She is able to find the stone the soonest, and the sooner the better. I will…”
“I’ll go with her. I can feel it too, though fainter, so we can work together.” Taira interrupted Yuuro. Ruki sensed Yuuro wanted to come instead of Taira, but he didn’t dare to oppose her.

“Okay. We’ll wait here then and set up a camp. Take one of the torches Katine has given us- it will help you in the dark. I don’t think the aurora reaches down there.” Hikary said.
Taira nodded gratefully and took one of the torches out of her bag. While her aunts were busy lighting the torch, Ruki saw Yuuro approach her while she was waiting at the entrance of the tower.

“You be careful down there, okay?” He whispered to her.
 “Of course.” Ruki sighed, wondering why he suddenly was so concerned.
“I… I don’t know, it’s somehow eerie down there. So dark, so cold… a place no one has ever returned from alive. I just… want you to come back, that’s all.” Yuuro said while staring into the dark opening in the pillar. “I’ll come back.” Ruki said.
“Promise?” Yuuro asked.
“Promise.”

“Are you ready Ruki?” Taira asked and Ruki noticed the torch was lit. It gave warmth she had not thought to feel ever again.
“Yes, I’m ready.” Ruki answered.
“Good. Let’s go.” Ruki saw her mother was carrying a smaller backpack, probably filled with food and other necessities. How long would they be down there, Ruki wondered as she followed her mother to the entrance.

“Good luck you two.” Hikary said.
“Yes, thanks. You too, Hikary, Yuuro.”
Taira smiled before she turned and entered the hallway. Ruki followed her mother closely. The steps were broad and they looked like they were well maintained. There were no cracks in the stone and there was no dust or dirt or lost snow anywhere. Was someone living here? Ruki could barely believe it.

The stairs spiralled down, ever down. They had been walking for about thirty minutes when Ruki started to wonder if there even was a bottom to this. What if they went down forever, leading them to the centre of the earth? Surely the stone wasn’t there… or was the breach truly that deep? What if there truly was no bottom?

Yet after another thirty minutes or so, they reached the end of the stairs. The torch did not light up any walls, so Ruki assumed they were in some sort of large hall.
“Hello?” Taira yelled. Her voice got carried far away, but they never even heard it return to them.
“This is huge.” Ruki whispered. “How are we ever going to find the way out? If there is one?”

“I don’t know if there is one. We could either go straight ahead or follow the wall.” Taira suggested.
“I think we should follow the wall. It might be the long way around for all we know, but at least we would be able to find our way back. I don’t really want to get lost in a place like this.” Ruki shuddered at the thought of lingering there forever.

“I agree.” Taira whispered, and they went right, following the wall.
Ruki lost track of time. There was nothing, only the wall and the emptiness ahead of them and behind them. Why was there such a dark chamber here below the earth? It served no purpose, and as far as she could see there was no furniture or anything else. It felt so useless… but there surely had to be a reason for a room like this.

“Can you feel the stone?” Taira asked.
Ruki closed her eyes to focus more. Yes, of course she felt the stone. She almost had forgotten how it would be not feeling the stone. But contrary to outside, she could no longer locate it. The pull was strong, stronger than it had ever been, but it did not come from a specific direction.

“It could be anywhere. I can’t locate it.” Ruki said, almost panicking. What if they couldn’t find it?
“I was afraid of that… I can’t sense its whereabouts anymore either. But we’ll find it. Let’s keep going.” Taira continued to follow the grey wall, which was flickering in the light of the torch. For a while, nothing changed. They simply followed the wall deeper into the emptiness deep beneath the earth.

“The room is round.” Taira announced suddenly.
“Really?” Ruki was surprised; she had barely felt it and was sure the wall so far had been straight.
“Yea, I’m sure. It’s a round room… but it is incredibly large.”
“Do you think there’s something in the middle?” Ruki asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I think we should follow the walls first though… who knows where they might lead us. If we don’t find anything, we’ll go to the centre of this room.”

They walked on and on, but they found nothing until Ruki noticed the wall disappearing a little while ahead of them. “It’s some kind of hallway!” She exclaimed and trotted forwards. First she was afraid it was the stairs again, and they had been walking along the entire wall. When they got closer though, they noticed there were no stairs; it was a long passage. Ruki couldn’t see where it went.

“Shall we go in?” she asked her mother.
“Yes. Let’s do that.” Taira agreed. Once they stepped in, Ruki felt a cold chill coming towards them from the other side.
“Do you think it leads outside?” She asked. Her answer, however, was a gust of wind that blew so fierce it actually extinguished the flame of the torch, leaving them in the dark.

Ruki, who had been walking a few meters behind her mother, had nothing to light it again; her mother had been carrying the backpack.
“Mother?” She yelled, but she got no reply.
“Mom? Where are you? We need to light the torch again or we won’t find our way back.” She yelled louder, but still there was no reply. Uncertain, Ruki took a few steps forward, certain that her mother had to be there. She had seen the torch there, and she hadn’t heard her mother move or walk away.

“Mom! Where are you? This isn’t funny!” Ruki yelled, trotting forwards. B
ut her mother wasn’t there. There was no one. There was nothing but darkness. She walked back and forth so often, screaming for her mother, that she lost track of which way she had come from. Why was her mother not here? Even in the darkness Ruki could tell there was no other way out of this hallway.

“Mom!” Ruki yelled, galloping forward. Where was she? Had she disappeared into the darkness?
“Where are you, mom!”
Ruki dashed on, until the darkness suddenly got interrupted by a strange light far ahead of her. Ruki slowed down, not sure if she trusted it; what was light doing in this deserted place?

“Mom? Are you there?” Ruki all but whispered as she walked toward the light.
It almost blinded her, although the light wasn’t that strong; it was more of a soft glow than an actual source of light. Getting closer, Ruki saw that was where the hallway ended; as she stepped out of it, she noticed the large walls behind her going up, up, up.

Above her, no, around her, below her from the ground, she saw the light flowing, through the earth, through the air. The aurora. The light shone so bright and was yet so dim; it was taking her breath away and yet filling her lungs. But it was not what made her stagger; it was not the reason she took two steps backwards. In front of her, in the middle of the light, stood a face she had not thought she would ever see again.

“T…Takato…”