LIMINALITY
Table of Contents
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 56 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 ENDChapter 56
In a flash, the three instantaneously teleported to their designated location as their bodies quickly manifested into existence within the Dreamlands. Feeling themselves being transported into the vast, unexplored realm of wonder and mystery, there they stood together, now in the place they had wished to arrive at.
Out in the open, Celephais is a stunning, energetic city. It included lofty buildings sculpted from various materials, as well as winding streets. A verdant garden encircled the castle, offering a serene setting for both its occupants and any idly ambulating guests.
What's more fascinating is the fact that they are on a floating island, comprised of not just buildings but also a landscape with grass, trees, and greenery that defies gravity, allowing them to take in the stunning sight of the cityscape in their surrounding areas.
"This is your home?" Janus whistled in amazement, his eyes glancing all over the place with wide eyes. It is an incredible sight. The buildings are so tall and well-made that the people here must live in such luxury that even royalty would envy them.
Even one of his voices agreed with this display. "An impressive sight," Portunus remarked with his calm, monotonous tone, "although I would still prefer Ancient Rome for its architecture and civilization, which is far superior to this place. My apologies, but I do not mean to offend," he proclaims with his honest opinion.
This made Quirinus laugh uncontrollably: "As much as I love my homeland, I still must admit that this place is a good candidate for second best; then again, the Romans will always be the best in what they do," the tough, valiant man with a proud demeanor remarked, "and by the knowledge of our people, I bet that they are better than whatever is found here."
But Vesta disagreed, finding their smug attitude to be too much for her. "Be polite," she lectured at the three male gods in her mind. "We must respect the culture of this world, while you may believe this place to be inferior compared to what we had. We still must treat it as equal," he exclaimed with a soft yet strict tone that made them silent.
As his inner voices continued to talk about the subject, Saomi frowned at the lack of people in the open. "Where is everybody?" She questioned, worriedly, "I don't see anyone; the streets are empty, and the sun is already rising from the horizon."
Schrodinger scoffed at the girl's worry, "It's early in the morning," reassuring the young woman with an obvious answer, "If there are any reasonable beings within this city, it's expected that they would be resting at this hour of day," but this didn't convince her in the slightest.
"It's not normal." Her disgruntled face was anything but cheerful. "Something's not right here; can't you feel it?" Pointing at the empty streets around them, "not even a sign of a bird or insect could be heard." The human's heart begin to beat rapidly in fear. "Everything is silent." With a heavy gulp, she continued to nervously glance around before she felt the cold touch of Janus left hand.
"Calm yourself," he said in a hushed voice. "Panicking will get us nowhere," Janus assured her, giving her a small and comforting look to ease her anxiety. "You said this place is your home, correct? Then they are currently in a deep sleep and won't wake until later; this is just a usual thing for humans, correct?" He was attempting to provide some reassurance for her, as his gentle words made her slowly calm down and nod in agreement.
Seeing the girl begin to relax, Janus lets go of her hand and then turns away. "Will you lead us to the ruler of this place? Me and Schrodinger didn't just come here to bring you home," he said in a commanding yet courteous voice, calling her out to direct them to where they must go.
Sensing the stern command given to her, the young woman nodded her head and said, "Y-yeah! I'll lead you to him." Without another word, Saomi took the first step and started to walk forward, with the others following behind her, their steps echoing throughout the streets and their shadows casting in the light.
The air was thick with tension, a stillness that hung like a veil over the city. The streets were barren, devoid of life or even sound. Not a single person or sound other than the air and their own movements could be seen or heard. It's as if time had somehow stood still, frozen in place like a painting, unable to move or change.
It was a feeling that was hard to describe for either of them—an unease that crept into their bones and settled there. There was a sense of foreboding in the pit of their stomach, a knot of dread that wouldn't let them go. The silence was deafening, the world seemingly holding its breath, and its beginnings frightened Saomi the most.
From this very moment, she had the feeling that they were walking towards something terrible, a darkness that lurked just beneath the surface, waiting to burst free. The silence was stifling and suffocating, and her anxious mind is beginning to wonder: what may be responsible for this emptiness, how did it happen, and what caused it? The possibilities were endless, and each one was worse than the last.
Walking up the set of stairs leading to the palace itself, she found everything odd and creepy. Throughout most of her life living here, she has always seen a person, animal, or even insect at any time or moment, regardless of the weather.
And now it's literally empty. An unexplainable fact that had made her stomach twist in knots as the sun began to rise higher into the sky, casting its warm rays onto the world below. Slowly, they then made their way up the staircase, their footsteps echoing loudly in the silence.
Before long, they reached the entrance of the castle, a massive doorway carved from diamonds that stood imposingly before them. The door itself was decorated with intricate designs and patterns, its surface shimmering in the sunlight. Taking a deep breath, the young woman pressed her hand against the cold, smooth surface of the door.
They slowly opened themselves, revealing a long hallway filled with ornately carved pillars and statues of various figures and events. The floor was polished, and the walls were lined with paintings and tapestries. At the end was another set of stairs, leading to the entrance of the throne room itself.
"Let's go."
She said this concernedly before they followed her from behind, moving through the long hallway as her own nervousness began to grow even stronger until it became too much for her to bear. Resulting in her suddenly lowering herself down, facing the ground, and then regurgitating the contents of her stomach as the others, who saw this happening, stared on with both worry and disgust in their expressions.
"Saomi?!" Janus went over to her side, holding the girl by the shoulders as he saw her continuing to puke, causing him to shake her gently while trying desperately to snap her out of this. "What's gotten into you?!" He shouted, confused by the sudden change of pace.
Schrodinger, however, expressed more disgust than worry: "Uh, gross." Seeing this unfold before him, he stood from afar with his back against the wall while avoiding getting splashed by any of it, not wanting to get any of the human's waste all over his clean body.
"I'm fine! Really, I am!" The girl finally responded in her trembling voice, lifting her head as her eyes met his and giving him a reassuring glance. "Let's just continue going, okay? The better we get to him, the faster this will end." She stated it in high hopes that he would listen to her.
But Janus was not so easily convinced: "If this is your attempt to distract me..." The god of time was definitively not fooled by it, but just the way she looked at him made him not want to press it any further. "Fine, just promise me that you will tell us if there's anything wrong with you, alright?" He sighed softly.
To this, she nodded back while watching him help her stand up, wiping her mouth, and then said in a shy tone of voice, "Yes, I will, thank you." And with that said, she was glad he had no choice but to comply: "You're a good man, Janus; I wish I had met someone as wonderful as you many years ago." She responded outwardly, and yet, despite these thoughts, it wasn't enough for her to make peace with everything.
"I wish it was under better circumstances," momentarily averting his eyes away with his tone now softer and deeper, "can you walk?" Janus asked out loud, returning his gaze back to hers just in case the human needed to be carried around.
Blushing heavily, she pushed him away. "No! It's fine! Don't worry about it!" Saomi shook her head vigorously, as if she could feel herself turn bright red all over. "I'm not a princess in distress, alright?! Stop treating me like one!" Looking around with embarrassment, she didn't know what to say anymore, as all she could muster were stutters and mumbled words that couldn't even come together to form a single coherent sentence.
Her humiliated display quickly ended after hearing a serious reply: "I was just worried about you because I love you, Saomi." His words carried heavy weight behind them, and unlike his other statements, which seemed so easy to come across, this one carried meaningfulness and tenderness within, causing her heart to flutter happily inside her chest.
Eyes widening, she looked up at him and said, "I...I love you to, Janus." A bright smile beamed from ear to ear as she gave him a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek, which also surprised him by saying, "But that doesn't mean you can treat me like I'm some sort of fragile flower, got it? Now let's keep moving." She added afterwards, with firm determination written across her features.
As he watched her go, Janus slowly brought his fingers and caressed the cheek where he was kissed, unable to process how to feel this. Aside from the growing warmth of affection from this simple action, it also caused his heart to beat rapidly and wildly inside of him.
Love, compassion, hope, and grace.
These are the feelings entering Janus' soul as he continues to feel the traces of humanity left in him. Love was what made him realize this existence he was experiencing was real. A spark within him had been lit and ignited an ember into a fiery inferno, as he could almost make himself believe he was truly human in flesh and bone.
"You and your romantic moments," Schrodinger casually approached at his side, slightly amused by what happened. "When this is all over, why don't you marry her and start a family?" His curious question snapped Janus out of his trance.
Dropping his raised hand to the side, Janus looked down with both of his open palms. "Family...?" What kind of family would it be, he wondered? "You mean a group?" Not understanding the real meaning behind the term as the white cat sighed at this lack of knowledge.
"Family can mean many things, but it's mostly related to two individuals loving one another regardless of their background, whether romantically or platonically," the feline began explaining before pausing for a moment to scratch one of his ears with a paw. "They always respect each other and hold select boundaries in order to maintain balance within the relationship; sometimes they even share a mutual understanding of what they desire from one another."
Humming contemplatively, Janus raised his head up to the ceiling. "I'm beginning to actually believe I am romantically interested in her." The thought alone brought a smile to his face. "I think you are right about something; perhaps I deserve to know more humans than myself." The curious side of Schrodinger then peeked out curiously from his response alone.
"Is that so? I suppose you are thinking of becoming a human yourself," half jokingly stated the concept of God wanting to become a lesser form, "seriously, why are you so interested in humanity? They are clearly not fascinating sapient creatures compared to the vast cosmos," pointing out the flaws of mankind in general to him but receiving a shrug in return.
Janus looked at him directly with a determined expression. "Perhaps I do," she replied bluntly, then glancing at the path to where she went. "However, I wish to learn more about humans so I can better understand them from both within and without."
The cat then sighed again at this statement: "Whatever you say, I'm not judging you for what you do. It's all in your own perspective anyway; just make sure to not become one because it would be super disappointing for a primordial god to just give up his divine power in the first place. You get what I am saying?"
Chucking softly, Janus responded with a nod while he felt himself smirking a little bit more. "I'll keep that in mind."
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