The wind both roared and whispered as a figure traversed across the barren wasteland, which had once played host to both vegetation and animal life. It bore a scarf, which trailed off behind it like two tails, whipping and swirling with the dust in the air. Its stride was a determined one, as the figure braced itself against the oncoming winds and pressed on defiantly. Five hundred miles southeast of its position lay Eden, where the last flame of humanity struggled to keep aflame. This figure has originated there, after all, and knew the worst of it all firsthand. It had been shepherded away from the rest of the sheep by the Angels, as it often was, and sent out to find the Infinite Light.
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It was, in the end, a she and she was known only by the name of Crash. At her side rest her Emanation, Wake, a sword with holy properties and intimidation factor that was only doubled by its wielder. Despite her prowess with the weapon, it mainly stayed unused, as her telekinetic powers proved to be enough in their own right when it came to dealing with the Fallen. This desert she roamed was one of many, and it so happened to have a sister desert nine hundred miles to the east. It was in this sister desert that a separate team was on the hunt for a figure leaving sandstorms in its wake. Crash felt, for once, almost fortunate that it wasn't her that had to be dealing with it. No, she had a much more important task at hand.
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Her journey felt timeless, and the only indication against this was the gradual darkening of what little sky she saw through the sands. Night was growing near, and soon her surroundings indicated so, as features were becoming harder and harder to make out through both the sand and the darkness. Soon all light was gone and Crash halted, standing there in the dark and feeling the rapid cooling of the air. Her hand went to her hip and with a clink of metal, she was enveloped in light. It illuminated her immediate surroundings and the blowing sand stopped dead upon touching it, falling straight to the ground. Soon, it had warmed her and she raised the same hand to adjust the ballcap that sat on her head before pressing on.
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This went on for some time, and to an outside observer, her movements may have seemed aimless, but something was guiding her, although what exactly was beyond her explanation. She continued to follow what she felt and eventually found herself entering a quarry, stone walls steeply rising up on either side of her and curving towards the back. As she ventured inward, she came across a large, gnarled tree. It seemed to emulate the Tree of Life in stature, and Crash was certain she saw the roots twist off indefinitely before determining it was just a trick of the light. Whatever life this tree had contained, however, seemed to have been long dead. Crash mused if it died when the planet did, but the light she had been emanating suddenly cutting off interrupted her thoughts. The sudden darkness had surprised her, though she showed no outward indication of this. Before she could gather her thoughts, a large concentrated pillar of light erupted from the tree, lighting the sky as if it were day. Crash reasoned that this could be seen by those back home and her companions in the east.
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Soon, the light overtook everything and when it finally cleared Crash immediately picked up on her displacement. The temperature was different, and there was still sun in the sky. As she regained her sight, she took note that there was a tree of similar stature in front of her, but her surroundings had entirely changed. Desert no longer, Crash gathered that she was in what resembled a swamp. The air was hot and sticky, and Crash could hear bogs of liquid bubbling through the thick mist that hung in the air. If the heat physically bothered her in her thick clothing, she showed no sign of it. Her hand went to rest on Wake, and she instinctively set out again, guided by some innate compass. She felt close.
She continued.
She continued.