Snippet #1910292

"Here is your new contract." Her voice slipped silkily through the air and flowed around Gwyn like the darkness through which he couldn't see. He cried out as he felt his back and soon his whole body burn, stabbed by some unnamed agony. Faintly, he heard her voice continue in a small corner of his mind as the pain consumed him. "Remember that this is your only, final chance."

In the Door chamber of the Keeper's mansion, the giant silent clock began to tick. A loud creaking sound groaned and then the minute hand slid forward to come at a rest parallel to its shorter counterpart. A bell began to ring ponderously, sending a resonating sound through the air.

Gwyn's consciousness blurred in an out. As he did, he heard the tolling of a bell softly growing louder and louder in his ears. 12 strikes. Then nothing. He was in the Abyss. He was moving. His demon was with him and then apart.

Gwyn opened his eyes. He realized that the pain had stopped and that he must have lost consciousness. He looked around, lost for a moment. "Where-?"

"The Keeper of the Door's mansion," an amused voice whispered in his head. "It might take a little while for your memories to clear up. Don't worry. I'll explain it to you again if need be." Gwyn shook his head wordlessly. The previous events were like a blur in his mind. Abyss, contract, Keeper. His demon slipped away from him both mentally and physically and then a magnificent animal was standing beside him. She was like a wolf, but her ears were pointed and longer than what would be considered usual and her long fur spread out. "Come choose your sleeping quarters and then show me around. I feel like seeing who else is around here."

Gwyn nodded and reached up to his hood. His hands froze halfway and then dropped down to his sides again. "Let's go."