Nar Yakushi

The end of Nar's fall is met with hard, cold concrete. He wastes no time in pushing himself back to his feet. It takes him a moment to orient himself in his new surroundings. He's in a hallway, similar to the one he'd just come from, only this one had a concrete floor. The only lights for the hallway were a dim red, which bathed the hallway, and the debris inside in a maroon light. It gave the hallway the appearance of being coated in dried blood. Not only that, but there was no end in sight on either side. There weren't even any doors that Nar could see. Just endless, maroon concrete, as far as he could see. The lights flash momentarily, and Nar's ears are assaulted by the sudden blaring of an alarm from above. He instinctively covers his ears to protect them from the harsh noise, and begins reaching into his satchel to find some sort of ear protection. As he lifts the flap of the satchel up, another sound catches his attention. It's hard to make out underneath the alarm, but Nar thinks he hears... quick footfalls, and a lot of them. When he looks up to find the source, he's met by a wall of misshapen, mutated bodies, scrambling down the hallway towards him. They're closing in fast. No time to look for ear protection. Gotta run. Nar wheels around, and breaks out into a mad sprint down the hallway. The creatures behind him bellow. This will not be an easy hunt. As Nar barrels down the hallway, more, and more objects begin appearing in front of him. Now, instead of a straightforward sprint, it's become an obstacle course. With Nar swerving around desks, vaulting hospital beds, and sliding under concrete slabs between the walls. It's not long before all reason escapes Nar's thoughts. All he can think about is staying ahead of the horde, and escaping. He doesn't think to check his surroundings for any sort of exits, or shortcuts. His mind is solely focused on going forward. Getting out of here alive. Saving his own life. He forgets about Ruby, and Maddy, who might be waiting for him. He forgets about the man who looks like him, who clearly wants him dead. He forgets about the resort, his family, everything. He forgets about the reason he came here in the first place. Before, rescuing Asuka was the only thing that Nar focused on. Now, it's pure survival. Nar has no idea how long he's been running by the time he manages to regain some form of thought. Once he's realized that he can keep a pretty hefty distance between himself and the horde, his brain partially reverts, allowing him to think about things other than survival. This hallway has to be artificially made. He's never seen a highway like this before, and it has a clear design. It's meant to kill you, one way, or the other. The horde will get you if you're too slow, but if you can outrun it, you don't get time to rest, eat, or sleep. Eventually, your mental state will deteriorate to a point where you can't run anymore, and the horde will catch up to you. There's no way this isn't intentional. Did that 'Evil Nar' make this highway, just to trap, and kill people? Now that he's thinking about it, the door to this highway was in the hallway that Ruby, and Maddy went down, and it didn't open until Nar went down it. Yeah. This isn't like the other highways he's chased them through. This wasn't a highway that he manipulated to make it harder to traverse. He this highway, specifically to deal with the people he couldn't catch. Which means, there likely is no exit. Nar's just going to tire himself out, and go insane trying to run away from a horde that he can never escape. No.

How long has it been since they went back into the AHS? Nar can't tell anymore. What little rest he, and the group have been able to get is always short lived. Their pursuer never seems to need any sort of rest, and he's relentless in his chase. While Maddy could travel through the AHS without any need for rest, or sustenance, the same could not be said for the other two. It put them at a severe disadvantage. The only good news so far was that the traps their pursuer had put out were getting fewer, and fewer. Though Nar doubted they'd ever truly be free of them. The group comes to a fork in a path in their current highway. The highway itself resembles an old hospital, but it has an air of unease in the halls. It wasn't exactly a place any of the three wanted to be at the moment, but the only way out was through. "As much as I hate to say it, we'll need to split up to cover more ground. We can't waste time searching both paths." Maddy sighs, turning to the other two. "You remember the signals, right Nar?" The response is a nod. "Good. Then Ruby, you come with me. Nar. Good luck." With that, the three part ways. With Ruby, and Maddy headed down the left path, and Nar down the right. The moment Nar is separated from the group, the unease in the begins to get to Nar like it hadn't before. His usual visual sweeps of the area around him become more frequent, and he thinks he hears rasping sounds coming from some of the doors. Dammit. Must be the first stages of Astral Deficiency Syndrome. If only he could get a decent sleep, and a good meal, this wouldn't be a problem. The farther down the hallway Nar goes, the more paranoia creeps into his mind. Surely that rattling sound from above is just his mind playing tricks on him. He hadn't heard it before now. He just needed to get some rest at some point, and everything would be fine. After around 4 minutes of traversing the hallway, Nar begins to hear a faint sound from further into it. It's hard to make out at this distance, but it isn't artificial. As he closes in on the source of the sound, it becomes clearer to him. It takes a few seconds for him to process whether it's real or not, but once he's certain, Nar finally understands what the sound is. It's a child, crying for her mother, and father. Just a little further, and Nar can just make out some sort of reception desk... In the middle of the hallway? As he rounds the desk, Nar stoops to a knee, and finds himself in front of a young girl, no older than 6, sitting underneath the desk. Her eyes are puffy, and red as tears continue to stroll down her cheeks. She cries for her mother, and begs her father to "Make the bad man go away." It doesn't even cross Nar's mind that there are a MILLION red flags about this situation. After what happened to Amy, Nar vowed he'd never let anyone be lost to the AHS again if he could help it. What kind of person would he be if he left a poor, innocent little girl to suffer just because he felt off?  Nar puts on the softest, sweetest voice he can, and attempts to comfort the girl. "Hey there sweetie. You're really far from home huh? Don't worry. I can help you get back to your mommy and daddy." He offers a smile, but it's unlikely the girl can see it behind her swollen eyes. Instead, she simply reaches out towards the sound of his voice with both arms. In kind, Nar reaches out, and gently scoops her up to cradle her in his arms. He then stands, and slowly turns to head back down the hallway. The child's crying slowly begins to dissipate as Nar whispers comforts to her. He's so wrapped up in trying to comfort the girl, that the noises from before are pushed out of his mind. The little girl sniffles, and Nar wipes tears away from her eyes. He opens his mouth to comfort her again, but something stops him. A wave of bright, blue energy pulses through the hallway, and is gone as quickly as it came. The rattling in the roof stops, the rasping on the doors goes silent. Then the girl begins to scream. She convulses in Nar's arms, and his mind goes blank. He has no idea what to- Ow! Shit! Nar involuntarily drops the girl after something sharp stabs into the inside of his left arm. When he looks down, about to pick the girl back up, he sees that one of her ribs has distended, and shot out of her abdomen. It looks razor sharp. That's what stabbed him. She continues to convulse, as her body distends, and begins to take on a new, horrific shape. What was once rasping becomes frantic banging. The rattling in the roof becomes violent. No time to question. Gotta run. Nar manages to summon a small, but bright red ball of arcane energy into his horn as he takes off back down the hallway. A roof panel slams onto the floor just behind Nar as he sprints through the hallway on his skates. He manages to glance back, and finds a mass of disfigured beings laying atop the roof panel, all staggering up to chase after him. Then one of the doors ahead of him is burst open, and 3 more distended figures pile out of the room. He manages to weave past them, but one of them manages to tear his jacket with razor sharp bones. Roof panels dislodge disfigured assailants with alarming speed, and doors burst open to reveal an ever-growing horde of living weapons. Nar is only barely able to outpace the rate that the figures are dislodged. Only thanks to his skates. Were he on foot, he would certainly have been killed by now. Eventually, he manages to completely outpace the creatures, and puts a good bit of distance between himself, and them. When he reaches the fork in the hallway, Nar turns down the hallway Ruby and Maddy had gone down. If they haven't found a door yet, they're likely all going to die. Nar sprints down the hallway. His horn continues to glow a bright red. He sees a bright green glow far down the hallway in response. Good. They managed to find a door. Using a spell he'd learned back in high school, Nar takes a deep breath, and projects his voice to be 3 times as loud. "It was a trap! I'm coming to you! Just-!" Nar is cut off as the floor below him opens up, revealing the threshold of an Astral Highway door. He plummets into the threshold, and a door closes behind him.

It's been over a week since Nar and Ruby had first arrived at the Mount Lunae Wilderness Resort. The shock of seeing Asuka, but 20 years older still hadn't quite dissipated yet, but the two were starting to get used to it. Turns out, Asuka here is some sort of 'Keeper' who helps people with the help of some sort of fae. Because of this, the resort is no stranger to weirdness. The first time Nar saw Asuka's 'other self', Maddy, he nearly had a heart attack. So far, most of the interactions Nar has had with Maddy has been her asking questions in an attempt to figure out how he even got here. Despite being here for nearly a week though, neither Nar, or Ruby had really asked any questions regarding their new hosts. They'd been far more focused on exploring, and mapping out the Astral Highways closest to where they came to the resort from. Not much time for delving into histories when your sister was in potential danger. This night, while the others sleep, Nar manages to sneak out, and enter the AHS door he'd come here from. If he wants any chance at finding Asuka, he's going to have to go to deeper layers in his search, and he doesn't want to risk bringing Ruby along, and getting her killed. She's never been beyond Layer 3, outside of the strange study/lab they found a while back. She might not be ready for what lays beyond the purple doors. After slipping away into the AHS, Nar resumes the search for his sister. He should be asleep right now, but how can he when his little sister is missing? He'd rather lose sleep than lose his sister. No matter how much sleep that entails. Nar traverses through various Astral Highways, though he always stays within the first 3 layers, and always marks his path with blue torches so he can return to the resort. Unfortunately, after what was likely a dozen hours of searching, Nar is no closer than when he started his search, and is forced to rest for the time being. After setting up a small camp, and having a meal, he closes his eyes, and attempts to banish the dark thoughts looming in his mind. When he awakes, Nar packs up his tent, and prepares to head out once more. By now, Ruby, and the others have likely noticed that he's gone. Hopefully, she won't come in after him. Though, knowing her, she'll be too pissed to just sit back at the resort, and wait for him. Even if he tries to explain his reasoning to her, Nar doubts she'd accept it. Maybe it would be different if he came back with his sister. The day's search begins, but quickly stalls as Nar is unable to find a way forward. The only door he knows of leads back to the way he came from, but backtracking wouldn't help at the moment. He needs to find another way forward. During his search for another door, Nar spots something purple out of the corner of his eye. He stops his search in order to investigate, and slowly approaches the distant purple object seemingly buried in a dirt wall. With a little bit of digging, Nar manages to clear away the dirt. The sight he uncovers causes his body to tense, and his limbs begin to feel cold. A pit begins to form in his stomach, but Nar can't take his eyes off of what he sees. In front of him, stands the door that took his old friends from him. A door that leads deeper into the AHS, and likely, certain death. Nar tries his best to calm himself, but every bone in his body feels like jelly, and his instincts scream for him to run. Yet, his mind is blank. It's been consumed by a primal fear, the likes of which Nar has only felt twice before. It's the only way forward. He has to go through the door if he wants to continue his search, but how can he? If he goes through that door, he'll die, or face a fate worse than death. All he has to do is turn around, and leave. Put the door behind him, and never touch it. Yet, Asuka could be on the other side. She could be experiencing something worse than he could if he went through, and he might be able to save her. C'mon shithead! Move! Just open the door, and jump through! Asuka needs you! But if I do that, I'll die. Then, there won't be anyone to save Asuka, and I'll have thrown my life away. Or worse. I'll end up like my friends. They were screaming in agony. They begged for me to save them, but I couldn't do anything. I don't want to end up like them. I want to live. All mental resistance ceases, and Nar begins to come back to his senses. Feeling begins to return to his limbs, and he manages to calm his heart rate down enough to where he doesn't feel like he's about to go into cardiac arrest. A heavy sigh relieves Nar's lungs of the pressure built up from forgetting to breathe. He's allowed a moment of respite before something else catches his attention. "I should have known you'd turn up sooner or later." A voice, eerily similar to his own comes from a figure, not 10 feet from Nar. The figure is slightly taller than he is, but it's hard to make out any features behind it's hood, mask, and ... hey! Those are my goggles! Instinctively, Nar reaches up to his face to find that he is, in fact, still wearing his goggles. Before Nar can fully process what's going on, the figure speaks again. His voice is low, and cold. "I'll give you this one chance. Go back where you came from, and never enter Subspace again. Do that, and I'll spare you." It takes Nar a few moments to gather his thoughts, but once he's done so, his answer is clear. "And leave my sister in here to die, or worse? Hell no! I don't know who you are, or why you want me out of here, but I'm not leaving until I find my sister!" The figure sighs. "I expected you'd give that kind of answer." Then, without warning, the figure discharges arcane energy from his horn. A bolt of energy slams into Nar's chest. It feels as though someone just slammed something blunt, and sharp into his chest at the same time. The shock almost knocks him unconscious right then and there, but he manages to stay on his feet. The figure prepares another blast, but Nar kicks on his motorized skates, and begins approaching in a zig-zag pattern. The figure fires off another blast, which barely misses Nar's head. Nar attempts to shoulder tackle the figure as he speeds forward, but he responds with some sort of shockwave from his horn that sends Nar spiraling to the ground. Pale, blue energy begins to coalesce around the figure's horn. Nar reaches into his satchel as he manages to get to one knee. A twisted, crackling stream of pale blue energy is shot from the figure's horn. Nar manages to dive to the side, but it connects with one of his legs. Unimaginable pain shoots up Nar's leg, and to his chest. It's as if his entire left side has been flash frozen. He's given no time to process the pain, as another blast is sent forth. This time, Nar conjures what arcane energy he can, and manages to create a weak barrier, which barely manages to dissipate the blast before it reaches him. The figure takes a step forward. Nar turns as quickly as he can. and hurls an object at the figure. The figure easily avoids the object, and fires off a blast. Nar manages to get back to his feet, and barely avoids the blast. He turns, and charges towards the figure again. It charges energy into it's horn. Nar reaches into his satchel. The figure begins to cast another shockwave, only for the blade of a battleaxe to barely miss his neck. The figure's mask falls off of his face. The two stare each other down. Nar can't believe what he sees staring back at him. It's his own face, only older. This can't be real. The figure takes the opportunity to blast Nar once more at close range. He is sent tumbling across the floor before coming to a rest in a heap. Nar tries to get back up, but his body screams in agony every time he so much as turns his head. He's forced to watch as the figure charges another blast, and approaches wordlessly. Something streaks over Nar, and the figure projects a barrier. He fights to stay conscious, but his injuries won't allow it. He manages to turn his head just enough to see 2 more figures approaching from the side. The first appears to be Maddy, with a bracelet on her right arm glowing as she appears to cast some sort of spell. The second is almost like an angel. With her wings outstretched, Ruby kneels down in front of Nar. Her expression is hard to read, but her tone when she speaks is VERY upset. "You I told you we were doing this together! Are you trying to get yourself killed before we save Asuka?!" Nar can't manage a response. All he can do is fight to keep his eyes for a few more seconds before they force themselves shut.