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Chapter 0.B
[Then] Here Without You
Once upon a time there was a little Fox, he was one kit of an earth with three. The Fox was happy, as each day he was blessed with the warmth of the Sun. No matter how much the seasons changed or what monsters lurked in the dark, it provided for and protected him. His world contained within a single den, nested in an evergreen which orbited his very own star.
Until one day, his world felt much colder than before.
Water reached the tip of his snout, tunnels flooded, siblings out of sight.
Run off the cliff, closing his eyes right before a single strain of fur touched the rocks below.
But when he opened his eyes, he awoke not to stone but rather a place unknown. A landscape of perfect white sliced into cubes with slight gaps between each. Without a hint of color nor life, the stagnant air made him feel sick.
He closed his eyes once more in hopes it was just a dream—yet, when he awoke again, the world had not changed… save for a Red Door.
Ears angled back and tail curved towards the Red Door, the Fox cautiously approached.
Then, completely on its own, the door opened, light flooding out of its frame—and when the light faded, all that was left was a pitch-black void on the other side. The Fox sniffed the air, it smelled familiar, but he knew that there was nothing of the sort within there could’ve been.
The sound of cracking stone thundered behind him, his vision swiped away from the Red Door.
The white expanse had been broken, and underneath was a deep darkness which leaked out from its wounds. Coagulating into a beast the color of coal with a thousand legs and a million eyes—which all stared down upon him.
The Fox ran then quickly tumbled, a sudden jolt of pain pulsed from his head to the tip of his tail. He rose then collapsed, struggling to get up as the sounds of the beast’s legs skittering became closer and closer.
But then he felt a faint warmth—the Red Door had reappeared in front of him. Its glow a pale blue, and instead of void, there were mountains of snow and a towering pillar of ice.
The Fox did not look back as he crawled through the door and found himself on the other side, now among pillars of ice and snow. From each pillar dark shadows emerged, wielding spears of dead wood.
The Red Door appeared once again, and with nothing but the instinct to run pounding in his little heart, he leaped through.
Each new world welcomed him with nothing but hisses and thorns, and each time the Red Door would be there welcoming him as well, granting him escape.
A world of Gold and Neon, each sound rang through his ears, through the Red Door.
A world of Shell and Sand, waves sought to drown him, through the Red Door.
A world of Blood and Glass, monsters nipped at his neck, through the Red Door.
A world of Stars and Signs, light almost blinded him, through the Red Door.
A world of Grass and Steel, blades lashed at his fur, through the Red Door.
A world of Chain and Torchlight, eyes pierced into him, through the Red Door.
The Fox, battered and bruised, collapsed once his tail touched the dry ground. He curled up, he could not crawl nor run anymore. And unlike before, he couldn’t feel the light from the Red Door. All he could hear was wind blowing over dunes and the creaking of long dead trees.
But then, the Fox heard the slow plucking of strings far far far away.
He opened his eyes to see the sky, it glowed a faint purplish green.
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