Spoiler Alert: This story may contain major spoilers for the game Dust: An Elysian Tail
Disclaimer: I do not own Dust: An Elysian Tail. Dust: An Elysian Tail is property of Humble Hearts and Microsoft Studios.
Taste of a Twin Soul
The journey through the Sorrowing Meadows had been a treacherous one so far. They had fought their way through graveyards, caves, and catacombs, battling hordes of zombies, liches, and other abominations. But finally it seemed they were nearing their first objective.
"And of course the heirloom would be inside a creepy old mansion. Sure, why not?" Fidget complained warily as she took in the dilapidated structure before them.
The front door creaked with a age as Dust opened it, stepping inside. The interior was covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. The place had likely been abandoned for years, but oddly enough was still furnished, almost as if the residence had left in a hurry... or had simply vanished. Dust made his way further inside, closing the door behind him in hopes of deterring any undead from wandering inside.
Still, an unnatural chill hung in the air, and Fidget couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. Her head darted around nervously, reacting to every groan and creak of the building's old framework. Feeling that she was letting her nerves get the best of her, she closed her eyes and took a few deep calming breaths. But when she opened her eyes, she saw the very last thing she wanted.
"WAH! What the heck is that?!" she shouted in a panic, pointing behind Dust.
Dust turned around quickly to find that a large skeletal wraith was advancing towards them. He readied Ahrah, preparing to fight the unknown foe, but the blade warned against it.
"Dust, that creature exists in a plane that I cannot reach! Run!" Ahrah urged him.
With that thing blocking their only known exit, Dust and Fidget had no choice but to flee further into the mansion. Dust looked back over his shoulder to confirm that the phantom was indeed chasing them. Their best bet was to find a way to circle around the demon and get back to the entrance, but first they needed to get out of sight so that the spirit couldn't intercept them. They ran down corridors and ducked into hallways in an attempt to throw off their ghostly pursuer. But unfortunately the wraith was never far behind them, and they couldn't seem to shake it. As if that wasn't bad enough, the absolute worst stroke of luck hit them... a dead end. Dust cursed under his breath, but he did notice that the wall in front of them didn't seem to be part of the mansion's structure. Indeed, as he ran his paw over it, it seemed to be some sort of resin built up from years of neglect.
With turning back clearly not an option, Dust started to hack away at the residue with Ahrah, hoping to clear a path. After a few seconds of well placed slashes, the structural integrity of the resin failed and the wall collapse, allowing the two to continue forward into... another wall! You had to be kidding me! With no time to spare, Dust got to work on taking down the next wall. He could hear the specter closing in on their location, but he didn't dare look behind him, instead focusing on the task in front of him. Come on, just a little more! The sound of crumbling was like music to his ears, the wall collapsed and an unobstructed path lied before them. Finally they could proceed, finally they could leave that demon behind them!
But Dust suddenly froze up as a sharp pain shot through his back. He looked down in shock to see the creature's spectral claw sticking from his chest. There was no wound nor blood, the claw had simply passed through him as if it were intangible. But Dust could feel it, tugging, pulling, like it was trying to tear something free. The sensation only got worse as the specter didn't relent; Even if his body was untouched, it felt like he was being stretched to his very limits, and then something snapped... He cried out in agony as his spirit was completely ripped from his body, his lifeless form slumping to the ground, while his soul remained impaled on the monster's claw.
The wraith looked over its catch with interest. The spirit still held the same shape as Dust, but was formed of a combination of red and blue energies; mixing, swirling, coalescing. Mixing of energies was unusual to see in a soul; The wraith had known there was something special about this one the moment it had laid eyes on him. It let out a ghostly rasp in anticipation of its impending feast. Meals were scarce nowadays, with the only ones foolish enough to set foot within these walls being thieves and dumb teens hoping to prove their metal. It had been too long since it had a delicacy like this.
Dust's spirit was stunned, still reeling from the shock of being torn from his body. It took a few moments to regain his senses, and when he did, he found himself staring down at his lifeless body. A gasp of panic escaped him as he looked in terrified confusion at the swirling energies of his spirit. He started to thrash about, fiercely trying to return to his body, but remaining firmly skewered on the creature's claw. This seemed to grab the wraith's attention though, who gripped Dust with his other claw, dislodging the severed soul and turning him to face the gaping maw of the frightful specter. A ghastly green glow emanated from its depths, a sight that filled Dust with dread. Up until now, he had always managed to keep a cool head in the face of danger. But this... it triggered some kind of deep instinctual terror within him. Somehow he just knew that passing into that light would invite not only his death, but his complete and utter annihilation. With all the might his spirit could muster, he struggled desperately against the demon's grip. But it was no use, he could only watch in horror as the creature positioned its maw above his head.
"No! Don't!... Mff! Mff!" his begging was reduced to muffled pleas as the wraith engulfed his head in its jaws.
He tasted absolutely delicious, the mixed energies of his soul making for an indescribably complex flavor. The creature wasted no time in devouring more of the tasty confection; Driven by its ravenous hunger, it consumed Dust all the way down to his waist, before the wraith tilted its head back, allowing gravity to assist as it wolfed down the remainder of the doomed hero. The monster let out a contented sigh as it finish consuming its prey. That was the best meal of its existence, and it craved more. Its appetite not sated, but fortunately for the creature, its feast wasn't over just yet; There was still dessert to attend to...
******
Dust found himself floating the in the abyss. He could see nothing all around, save for the ghastly green haze, but he could still feel the demon's rage and malevolence bearing down on him. The sense of impending doom was almost suffocating. He had no idea what was coming, but he feared it all the same. At first it seemed nothing was happening, that he would spend eternity simply drift in the void; A frightening thought in its own rite. But then he began to see it, red and blue streaks, wisping away from his form. Then he started to feel it, a strange sensation, like something was missing; Something that was supposed to be there, but wasn't. Was it a person, a place, a thing? Why couldn't he remember?!
It was then that the soul sucking realization hit him; This monster was not satisfied with simply consuming his soul, it would not stop until it had absorbed him completely! Everything that he ever was, everything he would ever be, it would all go to feed that vile demon; And he... he would become nothing. It was a thought that chilled him to his very core. He had to get out of here! He tried to swim through the void, searching for any means of escape, but there was no end the ghostly miasma. He was trapped.
With no hope of escape, Dust turned to resisting the demon's will, clinging desperately to his remaining memories. But it was no use, he could feel his memories slipping away, one by one. Soon he was left with faces he couldn't put names to, and locations that he couldn't place. Even memories he didn't know he had were dragged to the surface, giving brief glimpses of who he truly was before they were cruelly ripped away, leaving him with a feeling of emptiness as he couldn't remember what he had lost. With each passing moment he lost more of his sense of self; Pretty soon he couldn't even remember his own name. The once courageous and righteous warrior had been reduced to nothing more than a lost and frightened child.
All that remained now was handful of scattered memories that he could no longer make sense of. Were the faces he saw friends or foes? Were the places he saw near or far? He could no longer say, and this frightened him immensely. He didn't understand why this was happening; He didn't want to be here; He didn't want to die; And he didn't want to disappear! The poor soul's last few moments were spent alone, confused, and terrified as the remaining few threads of his essence unwound, dissolving into the hellish haze around him. Dust was no more...
******
Fidget watched in wide eyed horror as the wraith gobbled down Dust's soul. With the creature's presence distorting the barrier between the physical and spiritual, she had managed to witness the whole ghastly scene. She should have fled, but her body was frozen in terror. It wasn't until the monster belched up a cloud of ghostly green smoke that the nimbat was shaken from her daze. The specter set its sights on her, filling her with a deep dread. With the pathway now cleared, she darted off down the hall. She flapped her wings with all her might, paying very little attention to where she was going, only trying desperately to put as much distance as possible between her and that vile wraith. She was in such a panic that she flew right through several cobwebs, causing her to spit and sputter as she struggled to dislodge the torn sticky strands.
She was a tad bit surprised, and thankful, that the wraith hadn't caught her yet. In fact as she looked around, it seemed the demon was no where to be found. She let out a small sigh of relief; It seemed she had escaped for now. But she didn't let her guard down just yet. She knew that monster was still after her, and she still needed to find a way out of this accursed mansion. Tentatively she began to make her way back towards the front door, keeping her eyes and ears on alert for the nightmarish phantom. Every second was nerve wracking; Fidget feared the wraith could jump out and consume her at any moment, just as it had to Dust. Dust... A lone tear streamed down her cheek as she thought about her lost friend. But there would be time to mourn the hero's untimely demise later though; Right now she needed all her wits about her if she was to have any hope of escaping the same terrible fate.
So down the halls she traveled, trying to find her way back to the mansion's entrance. Unfortunately in her earlier panic, she hadn't bothered to memorize the path she had taken, and soon found herself lost in the labyrinth of hallways and corridors. Panic began to well up inside her again; What if she never escaped this place?! What if she was trapped here with that phantom forever?! The thought made her tremble as she flew along. But fear was a powerful motivator, and she refused to give up her search for an exit. She made her way through several more corridors before turning around a bend that lead to a fork in the road. However as she pondered which route to take, a ghastly green glow began emanate from one of the hallways, and Fidget's ears could pick up the specter's ghostly rasps.
She gasped in horror, quickly darting back around the bend. She set down to silence the beating of her wings, and covered her mouth to quiet her panicked breathing. There she stood, back against the wall in total silence as she prayed the demon would pass her by. Her heart was pounding so hard, she could hear it, and she feared that somehow the wraith would hear it too. Its ghostly rasps growing louder and louder... and then quieter and quieter; The spirit had taken the other hall. It was then that Fidget realized that she had changed from hyperventilating to holding her breath. With the danger passed, she let out a deep sigh of relief, once again filling her lungs with precious air.
BLAR! The wraith suddenly burst from the opposite wall, scaring the poor nimbat half to death. With a scream of terror, she lept into the air, once again making a break for it. But with a quick backhand, the monster swatted the fleeing nimbat, sending her lifeless body to the ground, while here spirit was sent flying into a nearby wall. Fidget reeled as she tried to recover from the trauma of having her soul torn from her body. But by the time the dazed nimbat managed to regain her senses, she was already in the demon's clutches. Her ears flattened and her eyes grew wide as she stared into the haunting maw of the ravenous beast, gripped by the same primal terror that had petrified Dust. She was doomed...
The specter looked down at the appetizing orange soul within its grasp. With its hunger lessened by its earlier meal, it decided to take its time with this one; Yes, it wanted to savor its dessert. With its mouth open, it began to breathe in. Small wisps of orange energy were pulled from Fidget's soul as the creature inhaled, slurped down like noodles of spaghetti. Her spirit may have been small, but it was packed with flavor; She must have had quite the colorful personality.
Whatever the wraith was doing to her, left Fidget feeling drained and winded. But it was more than simply energy that was missing, she felt like something important had been taken from her, something she couldn't put her paw on. The monster took another breath of her spirit, pulling deep memories to the forefront of her mind, things that didn't make sense for her to be thinking about in this situation... And then they were gone; Simply vanished with no recollection or clue as to what they were. It was now that Fidget began to piece together what was happening, and she was faced with the same horrific realization as Dust. It wasn't simply taking her energy; It was taking her memories, her personality, it was taking... her! She should have struggled or resisted, but her spirit was petrified with terror. Not that it would have helped, she was too weak to escape the phantom's grasp. It had her exactly where it wanted her, and it had no intention of letting her go.
And so the demon continued to drain Fidget in this fashion, slowly absorbing her soul, one breath at a time. With each passing moment more and more of the poor nimbat's memories were taken, leaving fear and confusion in their wake. She tried to cling to important memories; Her name, her home, her friends, she repeated them constantly in her mind in hopes of saving them. But it was no use, those would be taken too, and she would only be left with a feeling of emptiness and sorrow at their loss. Soon her mind was like that of a frightened child who didn't understand what was going on, or why this was happening to them. All she knew was that she didn't want to die...
After several long hours of this torture, Fidget's spirit was fading, flickering like a dying flame. It was hard to say if the few scattered memories that remained could even truly be called Fidget anymore. Looking down at the pitiful soul in its clutches, the wraith decided to finish with one final burst of flavor. Rather than inhaling the spirit, it opted to toss it into its gullet, sending what remained into the ghostly abyss. Fidget found herself floating in a sea of ghastly green haze. There was nothing, she was alone save for the terrifying presence of the demon. The poor nimbat curled in on herself, trembling in mortal terror and whimpering pitifully. She didn't know who she was; She didn't know where she was; Only a lone name remained; The most precious of all her memories, even if she could no longer remember its significance.
"Dust, please save me." was the nimbat's final plea as her spirit dissolved and she faded into oblivion.
![[Commissioned] Coiled Under the Canopy](https://va.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/2706/2706329_NefariousMaximus_coiled_under_the_canopy_4_noncustom.jpg "[Commissioned] Coiled Under the Canopy")
![[Commissioned] Crystal the Carbuknuckle Cub](https://va.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/2710/2710388_NefariousMaximus_carbuknuckle_3_noncustom.jpg "[Commissioned] Crystal the Carbuknuckle Cub")
