The Gatekeeper's Adventure

I was running through an old part of town and met up with a person I recognized. He had achieved a higher state of evolution. He could become one of the 4 basic elements as long as he had been in contact with one, an element chameleon. But when he came in contact with me he had a sudden surge of change in his state, he shuffled through all 4 of the elements. And a shock-wave of energy burst out from him and sent myself and him into a phased dimension between reality and this new unfamiliar reality. There were only subtle changes but they were very defining.
Buildings abandoned not a soul was in sight. The sky was darkened over, but the sun still broke through the clouds and gave them a rusty brown tinge. The person I was with accused me of our situation. He stood up and brushed himself off and walked off dispersing into an ether cloud and vanished. I was left alone on the streets of this barren world. I walked for some amount of time that I could not define, since time was relative in this reality. I passed ally after ally; there were a few people that had lost all hope and will. I paid little attention to them, but I had the feeling that a few looked at me with a more sinister intent. I knew I was being watched and followed. I turned down a street I knew but it was just as barren as the rest of this place.
I reached a friend's residence, or at least it was his place in the reality I was from. The wind picked up and stirred dust clouds, and a whirlwind of fallen leaves. I hurried into the building. It was several stories high, at least 5 stories. There was an unsettling feeling that filled me as I began to climb the stairs. I heard a scurrying sound of what should have been my friend's pet dog, but it seemed a bit fast and there was a light thud that was never present with his dog. I took note of it and stayed on guard and continued up the stairs.
I reached the second floor. I proceeded to the lounge where his grandmother had spent her last days rocking in a chair. It was eerie in that room I could have sworn I could still feel her presence there. Suddenly there was a shriek that came from above my head and off to the left. The best description would be a banshee howl. It would not have surprised me if it was one I told myself, and I spoke too soon because it ended up being a banshee form of his grandmother. I backed out of the room keeping my guard up, and dashed up the next set of stairs.
I walked across the room; again I heard the swift scurrying and light thudding of what I thought to be my friend's dog. This time something dashed passed me about 6 feet in front of me. It was quick, all I seen was a black shade with a crimson tinge. I looked around rapidly for the first weapon I could find, there was nothing of use, yet I continued to proceed into the side room the shade dashed into. As I was just beyond the doorway I seen a beam of sad looking light, there was a rather large hole in the roof that broke through the next several floors. I was a bit relieved but not for long. The shade had dashed across the hole and then down to the floor I was on, it sat in a darkened corner for a moment I could see the glint of light off its eyes, they were indescribable, I knew they were an amber color. It looked to stand up and change form. As it walked on two feet in my direction I knew who it was, my friend Ghan.
I began to ease up and let some of the tension go. But I was unsure if he would recognize me in this reality. He had a surprise look on my face he could not believe what he seen, me. You're alive! He said with energy to support the expression. He came right up to me and gave me the biggest bear hug I have ever received. He took me to the uppermost floor of the building. I began to make the connections it was an apartment building he owned and lived in. now with the state of the world in this reality, it was barren and he was the only living soul that he knew in the building. He explained what had happened and I told him my story with the elemental chameleon. He made the connection and realized I wasn't the Janus he once knew yet I was the exact same person he remembered from the days and several years after high school.
He said the elemental chameleon was an old friend of ours but has lost most of his memories of us. He said the reason I was brought from my reality into theirs was because of the verge of evolution that I was about to go through was exactly like that of the Janus he grew up with. Being so close to one of the many partial rifts happening in both my reality and his, gave me the initial nudge needed to cross it. The rifts are by-products of what had happened in his world, and it was trying to merge both his and my reality. Ghan explained to me what would happen and what kind of abilities that would awaken in me due to my evolution.
Time passed, I was not sure how much though. I was at Ghan's place we were discussing plans for the day. We ended up at a place that was livelier than the area where I appeared in this reality. It was a massive castle like mansion. But it was rattled some areas had no shelter from the elements but it was still filled with many people. Other areas were rotting and looked like they were about to give in under the weight on the supports, yet people still mingled in the area. There was a court yard that had some activities going on. People of all ages gathered here. It was the only haven that was within the city. There was also a rift close by but was inactive. No person can see it with their naked eye, except for a select few, most of which kept to themselves and were rarely seen. I was one of them…

Type

Arcane