Submission (#6513) Approved

Mary didn't hear Nicos' desperate calls. The elder felt peculiar; the heat, the headache from his fall... all of it felt more like a dream. He left the border behind and saw the oasis stretching out before him.

Nestled within the vast desert expanse and the vast rocky outcrops, the wild oasis burst forth with untamed beauty. Towering palm trees, their fronds wildly tousled, cast dappled shadows over the vibrant wildflowers that carpeted the ground. Crystal-clear streams meandered through the oasis, reflecting the colorful hues of blossoms in shades of pink, orange, and blue. Exotic birds, adorned in vivid plumage, flew among the trees, their melodic calls blending with the soothing rush of water. The elnin was fascinated; it was one of the most beautiful oases he had seen in Ahza.
Little did he know that he was beyond the overwild border; a place where he wasn’t supposed to be.

Where beauty was dangerous.
Hidden beneath the lush foliage were venomous snakes, insects and other dangers that preyed on unwary travelers.

Something else caught Marys’ attention though, so he was lucky enough to not encounter any of it. He got distracted by something else in the distance and never went any further into the oasis.
Soon he left the oasis behind to explore the area beyond. Something still felt odd. He couldn't quite put his paw on it; but there was something about the place that drew him in magically.

As he ventured deeper into the desolate landscape, the boundaries between regions became less distinct, and abnormalities began to materialize. Unbeknownst to Mary, he stepped into a convergence point, a distorted realm where the features of the desert overlapped with those of a snowy landscape and the shroud of nighttime.
Strynhalde and Silveil bled over into Ahza - something that should never happen. This pocket dimension, a fragmented blend of different environments, looked out of place and carried an air of disconcerting instability.
The deserts’ scorching heat clashed with the icy chill of the snowy landscape, creating an eerie contrast. The grains of sand, now dusted with frost, crunched beneath Marys’ paws as he moved through this surreal space. The horizon displayed an amalgamation of sandy dunes and snow-covered peaks, all beneath a wildly different sky - it alternated in wide stripes between the bright blue sky of Ahza and the starry night sky of Silveil. The spiral of night and day stretched across the sky, and looking at it made the elnin nauseous.

None of this seemed to concern Mary at first - if anything, he now believed he was dreaming more than ever. Clearly, during his earlier fall, he hit his head too hard on the rocks and passed out. Nico probably found him by now and was worried beside him, waiting for Mary to wake up.

As the black elnin explored further, the dissonance of the pocket dimension became apparent. Shadows played tricks on the landscape, shifting between the stark brightness of the desert sun and the quiet stillness of a snowy night. The very fabric of the pocket dimension seemed to pulse with an unsettling energy, creating an environment that was both fragmented and unstable. The air felt charged with an uncanny tension as he ventured deeper into this surreal cluster of landscapes. For Mary, the experience in this disorienting overlap was energetically destabilizing, but he didn’t notice until he became more and more exhausted. He was too puzzled by everything. It was just so odd, seeing snow in Ahza. And this weird sky... It felt like it was pushing down on him and worlds were colliding.

It was a terrifying dream and Mary wanted to wake up. The very essence of the pocket dimension seemed to challenge his body, making each step strenuous. It became clear that lingering in this precarious space was not only disconcerting but potentially harmful. The once confident Elnin now moved with a growing sense of instability, his typically nimble movements marred by an uncharacteristic wobble. His eyes, once sharp and observant, darted anxiously between the shifting terrains, trying to make sense of the chaos that surrounded him.

Eventually, he slumped against a cool rock under a stripe of Silveil night sky, panting excessively and highly confused. He hated the cold, almost as much as he hated the heat.

What the hell was going on?

The stars seemed to shift above his head, he felt like he could see them moving. But that was insane. Paranoia set in as the boundaries continued to morph unpredictably. The overlapping elements of the desert, snowy landscape, and nighttime twisted together in a disorienting dance.

Mary felt sick and it wasn’t until his Pomu popped out from his shadow, that he finally started to realize something was severely wrong. The little one had been asleep until now and hadn’t realized that Mary was in this much danger. Now it was extremely eager to convince the Elnin to turn back. It chirped out several warnings and made a ruckus - and it dawned on Mary that this wasn’t a dream after all.

Cold fear swept through this body and a sinking feeling spread in his stomach. His eyes and horns turned black as panic started to overwhelm him and it activated his infernal gaze unintentionally.

This wasn’t a dream; this was his reality? How? Nothing made sense-

“No-” He whimpered, ears flat and frantically looking around, but his mind couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing.
The once reliable landmarks of the desert became elusive mirages, appearing and disappearing like apparitions and they coexisted with the unexpected cold of the snowy terrain. Marys’ sleek black fur, designed for the warmth of his home region, stood on end in response to the biting chill. The stars above were casting an eerie glow, illuminating the landscape in a haunting mixture of moonlit snow and desert shadows. Shadows that seemed to elongate and contort, mimicking the erratic dance of his anxious heart.
It was as if time itself had become entangled, with the scorching sun stubbornly refusing to yield to the endless night of Silveil. Unnerving sounds echoed through the fractured space - whispers of the desert wind mingled with the hushed silence of a snowy night and his senses were overwhelmed by the conflicting stimuli.

He needed to get out.

Now.

Or he would be trapped in here forever and eventually succumb to madness. The boundaries of the overlapping regions seemed to shift unpredictably, playing tricks on his perception. Reality felt like it was unraveling around him and he felt ill. His head was pounding non stop and he was utterly exhausted. It took almost twenty minutes for his panic to subside again. His Pomu constantly stayed by his side and tried to calm him down with chirps and cuddles, but Mary kept losing focus.

Eventually, he started to see his tracks in the sand and snow.
That was his only hope - following his own footsteps to get out of this hell.
With each cautious step, Mary fought against the destabilizing effects of the pocket dimension. His movements were all wrong; once deliberate and purposeful, now erratic and impulsive. The energy of the place tugged at him, challenging his sense of direction and balance. Every moment spent within this disorienting space heightened the risk of losing himself to its fragmented and unpredictable nature. The Elnin desperately longed for an escape, hoping to navigate the chaotic overlap and return to the arid familiarity of the desert where Nico was waiting for him.

Nico.

The thought of the other one hurt. The stupid argument. While fighting his way back, Mary realized that all of this was his own fault. If he hadn’t run away… -

As minutes stretched into an eternity, Marys’ paranoia deepened. Whispers of the desert wind became distorted, taking on an ominous tone that seemed to echo through the fragmented space. Every rustle of dried leaves, every crunch of snow under his paw became an unsettling symphony, heightening his anxiety. He kept losing focus; it was constantly replaced by a disoriented desperation to find an exit. He pawed at the shifting ground and looked around, tears forming in his eyes - was he gonna die in this place? The distorted reality seemed to close in on him, and Mary felt more vulnerable than ever.
His Pomu chirped up again, and tried to lead the way. The effects of the conflicting environments didn’t seem too severe for his little companion, and Marys’ only hope was to trust his Pomu; to find a way out of this labyrinth. Whenever he lost sight of the tracks, his Pomu would loudly chirp up again and run back and nudge him in the right direction. The boundaries continued to taunt him, casting doubts on every decision. As he navigated the surreal blend of desert, snow, and night, Mary danced on the edge of sanity.

However, in a stroke of fortune, or perhaps guided by some instinctual resilience, Marys’ instincts honed in on a subtle shift in the fabric of the dimension. A moment of clarity pierced through the dissonance and the black Elnin seized the opportunity to break free. He could see the oasis come into view. With a weak leap, Mary crossed an indistinct boundary, and suddenly, the disorienting overlap of landscapes began to fade. The chaotic blend of desert sands and icy nightmare shadows receded and the air, now absent of the disconcerting energy that had plagued the pocket dimension, carried the soothing scent of desert flora. But Mary was still highly on edge from the ordeal and his senses were still messed up.

So much so, that he didn’t even hear Nico calling out for him.

He stumbled forward and blinked against the sunlight, now confused by the consistency of the landscape that surrounded him. Was it really over? He kept moving, fearing that the false dimension was still somehow clinging onto him; he didn’t realize that he was still delusional and heavily affected by what he just went through. His mind kept playing tricks on him and Mary didn’t notice his partner until Nico was standing right in front of him and softly stopped him.

“Mary-!? Hey- Can you hear me?”
Nico was worried sick when Mary didn’t react to him at all.

Nico had been pacing near the overwild border; and suddenly Mary was just gone. He had no idea what happened to the older one, but he was getting increasingly concerned now that he saw the state the other one was in. There was no chance this was all just because of the fall; something else had happened and it was severe enough to mess with Mary in a way Nico couldn’t imagine.

“Nico?” Mary sounded confused. His gaze was hazy and he stepped back a little.
“Are… are you real?” His voice was almost a whisper. How was the younger one here?
“It’s too dangerous-! You need to leave, now! Please! It’s not safe here, you’re gonna lose yourself-!” Mary was still convinced he was trapped in the pocket dimension, even though he had successfully escaped and they were both standing in the oasis that was just beyond the overwild border.

“It’s okay, love, we will leave.” Nico had no idea what Mary was so afraid of, but he didn’t want to startle his partner and just went along with it.

“No, no-”, muttered Mary, tears forming in his pink eyes and he suddenly began to shiver. Alarmed, Nicos ears perked up and he stepped closer. “There is no way out-” Mary shook his head, seemingly completely forgetting that Nico was with him. “We can’t go back -”

“Mary?” Nicos voice sounded cautious and he tried to make sense of it all, but he had no idea what was happening to Mary and that scared him immensely. “You need to rest. It’s gonna be okay.”

“No-... no… nothing is okay. You don't- ... I-...Something is wrong-...It’s here- here with me-”, Mary whispered weakly, before he fainted and everything went black.