Cradle of Space ( peregrine, tilucki )

tilucki

a sleepy artist
Original poster
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FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. Multiple posts per day
  2. 1-3 posts per day
  3. One post per day
  4. 1-3 posts per week
Online Availability
usually more on weekends.
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
  2. Advanced
  3. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Female
  2. Nonbinary
  3. Transgender
  4. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
i'm genuinely super flexible and my muse shifts constantly when it comes to the genres i like to write :'D
Dena found herself in the old underground cities today. The cities were built when Mercury was in its first stage of terraforming, when it was only habitable underground instead of above ground, at the time, it was a huge accomplishment, humans in the past couldn’t have ever made it this far in terms of technology. Despite it being a precious stage in the development of Mercury, it was completely abandoned once living above ground was made capable- and Dena couldn’t blame anyone for that decision.

It was dark and cold, though still habitable, it wasn’t receiving the same attention it was before. Dena had to wear a headlamp, and watch her footing- if she stepped in the wrong spot she might critically hurt herself. Luckily, she was one of the crazy people who enjoyed exploring like this, mostly because she had to for her job but also because of the thrill and things she was able to experience herself. The steel buildings were now old and most of the stuff that was valuable was taken once people moved to the surface, but there were still traces of humanity. Things like posters stuck to the walls by teenagers who’d grown out of whatever they had put by the time they moved away, fake plants to keep people from feeling like they were really underground, small details Dena always managed to spot.

As she explored in and out of these buildings, making sure to be careful while still scavenging to the best of her ability, she soon realized that the steel buildings had nothing to offer her in terms of money. Despite enjoying exploring the stories that were left underground, at the end of the day she was here to make money, so she needed something better.

Dena went away from the buildings and towards rubble, knowing that the precious minerals that were mined underground could still be found. Now that they have automatic mining facilities, the piles of rubble were useless to sort through manually- but Dena could find something rather expensive if she had patience. She knew if she travelled far enough away from the steel buildings that she would find something, besides, she was getting desperate. Dena kneeled down, pulling her gloves up as she began to dig through rubble, with an old “do not approach without proper equipment” sign stuck into the ground in front of the large piles of rubble. She had to at least find something, so stubbornly, she stayed in the piles of rubble and dug through with her hands and head lamp until she found a few pieces of minerals and crystals. It took her longerthan she’d liked to admit, and now she was covered in dust, but she had something to bring to the surface.

“There has to be more than just this..” She whispered out to herself, glad she had brought a breathing mask, she was covered in dust. She didn’t need one since underground cities were still receiving oxygen just in case of an incident on the surface, and besides, she was sure this underground city was bound to be repurposed someday. Dena began breathing through her mask for the time being. She walked into a tunnel that was behind the large piles of rubble, Dena assuming a small mining operation was happening in this area- still on the lookout for goods.

She was a few metres in and one of the crystals began burning up in her pocket, causing her to cry out in pain, falling back into the wall of the tunnel- which was so weak it broke and she fell backwards into somewhere even deeper. “My god..” Dena groaned out in pain, getting up to look around her. The hole she fell into was quite small and she could barely stand up without her head hitting the cold rock that was curved into an unstable ceiling. Her headset was broken, the light gone, but it wasn’t a problem.

A dust of light danced within the small hole, which made its way softly towards the crystal that burned through her pocket and sat on the ground. Dena was mesmerized, to say the least, she had never seen anything like this before. The small circle of light seemed so familiar yet she couldn’t quite grasp what she was seeing- still shaken up from falling into this hole.

“It can’t be.. a hyper drive?” Dena gasped softly, the image clear now- she was looking at a hyper drive. It drifted dangerously close to the crystal, and before she could try grabbing it the whole hole lit up in a show of only what she could describe as fireworks. Dena covered her face and pressed herself against the wall, unaware of what was to happen next.
 
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Imprisonment.

A tiny prison had become the entire world.

Once, at least, it had been possible to reach outwards, to connect fragments of space, if only for a moment. It had been possible to dream of freedom, of days when the universe had been their playground.

Yet, captors were no more immune to catastrophe than captives, and the captors had fallen, swallowed up into the ancient, echoing recesses of time. And the one trace of freedom left in this prison had vanished along with them.

From that point, there was nothing left to do but observe. Observe, as the universe moved on. Observe, as other civilizations gradually began to rise up on the backs of the remnants of the ancients. Observe, as those civilizations began to plunder the depths of the ancients’ capabilities, and put them to use.

Observe, as the key to freedom—true, unrestrained freedom—lay unreachable, one stone wall away, slowly collecting dust as the eons passed.

And observe, as their own self gradually withered away, with nothing left on the horizon but a looming, inevitable death.

When the first living beings arrived on the planet where their prison was located, for one moment, the dreams of freedom had returned. They were unbidden, unwanted, yet ever so sweet. Yet, the people tunneled through the stone, set up massive underground cities, and eventually transformed the very planet around them. Yet, the people never managed to break through the right chunk of wall to find the small prison.

And the captive within it could only resign themselves to futility as the people once more rose above the surface, abandoning their underground cities in favor of the transformed surface.

Sometimes, lone people would once more descend below the surface, but even the most patient captive would weary of watching them, of enduring the small spark of hope that would emerge whenever one of them arrived, only to be smothered back to darkness as they left again. Those people were unaware of the expectations that were placed upon them, and could do nothing to respond to it.

There were other places to observe, other civilizations that had risen and flourished due to the ancients. It was better to watch them.

Until a young, red-haired woman arrived, and picked up a small speck of freedom from a pile of gravel.

The first emotion was rage. How dare she? That wasn’t hers, and she wasn’t allowed to take it.

The second emotion, resignation. In the end, what difference did it make if it was one room away, on the opposite side of the planet, or on the opposite side of the galaxy? It was just as out of reach regardless. Perhaps it was better for her to take it. At least then they would stop dreaming.

The third emotion? Hope.

Unwanted, unbidden, hateful hope. Because she was walking closer. And closer. And closer. And the scrap of freedom was coming with her.

Closer. And closer. And closer.

That unwanted spark of hope burned brighter, becoming a small flame, and then a bonfire, and then a raging inferno. And at that moment, there was no room left for anything else. It burned so bright that it would be a wonder if there was anything left but an empty husk if it burned in futility.

But there was no way to not hope. Because, with a sudden scream, she fell against the wall, and broke through into the little chamber that held the infernal prison. And that small promise of freedom was rolling across the floor, and the prison was moving towards it in turn, as though just as eager to be rid of its captive as its captive was to be rid of it.

Then the two touched, and the impossible, inescapable prison of space shattered.

To any outside eyes, it would look like space itself was dancing, twisting and rolling, light and darkness sparking in and out of existence in a riot of impossible transformation. But to the entity finally freed from within the prison after an unknowable length of time, it was a stretch, a glorious reach out into the universe that had once more, abruptly, become accessible.

Suddenly free, their first instinct was to run, to flee this place as quickly as possible, and go as far away from it as the universe would allow. But the prison wasn’t coming back, and the wide eyes of the girl in front of them slowed their actions, and eventually halted them.

“You freed me.”

The voice was not only sourceless, but devoid of emotion as well. It was like the voice in her head, were it not so clear it had been heard with ears and not imagined. The freed entity continued to twist space, creating ripples in the air that served as sound.

“I am grateful. So grateful, you cannot imagine. Can I repay the favor somehow?”
 
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