My eyes opened.

  Before me spread the Metropolitan City of Merigor, the Great Doors of the Other Side. The Terminus. It was a familiar sight—the chaotic, churning ocean, the coastal city that loomed to the west, and the eternally refracted sky. Fractals of light shone through every single atom. This was a world of vibrations and of brilliance. This was a world of ephemeral beauty, and yet somehow, it had remained the same, no matter how many times I visited.

  As an experienced visitor, I knew where I ought to go right away. These were, after all, familiar sights for psychonauts. Here, the past, the present, and the future converged as souls visited the Other Side. All of us landed here on the Pier for the first time and, with wide eyes, ventured forward.

  Most newcomers to the Other Side would end up at the Bureau of Guidance, which was filled with the gentle hosts of the otherworldly land. They would lend a listening ear, offer advice, give counsel, and provide guidance for lost souls. Few could travel much further than the Bureau to see the sights of the actual city. However, time and technology had gifted us the ability to explore further. The first psychonauts mapped the Metropolitan City of Merigor and beyond. For them, sanctuaries had been built. Merigor was one of them.

  Today, the world was shrouded with a tinge of shadow. A sign that darker creatures roamed about. The inhabitants of the city—ancient ghosts, lost peoples, and otherworldly beings—moved in groups, quickly winding their way over dulled grey cobblestones. Only a few paused to gaze up at the sky before scurrying onward.

  Following their example, I took a more sheltered route, hidden in shadowed alleys that glinted with purple-y black radiance. Between looming spires and skyscrapers, I slipped unnoticed until I reached the doors of a particularly geometrically symmetrical building. The dark brown, double doors, usually wide open, were shut; its open, front patio, normally jam packed with rowdy visitors sipping on mead, stood empty. When I slipped inside, however, I could see that the party continued inside.

  As usual, the Wandering Watcher was jam packed with sight-seers, both veteran and greenhorn. I found a seat on a trestle near the center of the room, beckoned one of the waiters over. The harassed-looking young woman in a stained medieval tunic took my order of a watered-down beer and disappeared into the crowd. Once my beer arrived, I contented myself with just sitting and listening.

  “And they came down over the hills-”

  “...who knows?”

  “God knows when the Mists will ease-”

  “-wouldn’t go out if I were you. Damn crows.”

  “-fucking shit myself-”

  “Just got in in time,” a deeper voice said closer to me. “It’s crazy out there.”

  “You mean, crazy-er,” chuckled another man. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Some of them are calling it ‘The Corruption’. Like we’re in a video game or something.”

  I perked up when I realized that the two men were more than likely hailing from the modern era. One of them sat by me, his long elbow on occasion bumping my beer mug. I shifted it over a little. He was a young man, in his twenties. Dark hair, deep brown eyes, a healthy sun tan, and an air of tension. I had a feeling he was rather new. I just knew.

  Opposite him, his companion looked a year or so older, but equally young. He had a hawkish face with golden eyes that glinted curiously. Definitely more confident and dangerous, I decided. Someone who can handle himself out there, no matter what he says.

  “Well, it’s not a video game, Max,” said the other. “Although I wonder what happens to us if we die here. Can we die?”

  “I haven’t figured it out yet,” the young man called Max replied. “Did you ask?”

  “No.”

  “You don’t die,” I interjected, drawing Max’s gaze down at me. I stared up at him and then took a nonchalant swig from my mug. “Trust me. You won’t die.”

  As my gaze met his, I felt a jolt. A frission. A signal. A whisper. This is the one. This is it. I gripped my mug and kept calm. The last thing I needed to do was freak either of these men out. Instead, I would appear as helpful as I could. And I could help them. Clearly. They were new at this.

  “Oh. Well, that’s... good to know. Cool.”

  “Does anyone die here?” asked the other man.

  “Not really,” I said.

  “Why not?”

  “It’s the Other Side.”

  “That’s what they all say,” sighed Max.

  “I suppose they don’t want to just hang around and explain things,” the other man noted. “Someone told us to go to the Bureau of... Guidance. I went. Nothing helpful. Just weird flying fairies trying to psychoanalyze me.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “I figured we should just go for a long walk into the countryside,” Max added.

  “You could do that,” I said mildly. “But I’d gear up for a fight.”

  “Gear up?” asked the other man.

  “Yeah. There are things out there.”

  “But you said nothing dies here,” he said, brow wrinkling a little.

  “There are theories as to what happens. No one knows for sure,” I said. “That’s why many stop trying to explain it. What we do know is that the body may be harmed and, for lack of a better term, banished. To where? No one knows. I have my theories.”

  “I’d like to hear them,” said the young man beside me. “Name’s Max, by the way. That’s Siraj.”

  “Max.” Siraj said coolly, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

  “Oops. Sorry. Siraj likes to be anonymous and cool.”

  “Fair enough,” I said. “My name is Kaci. I’m a bit of an old-timer here. I’m more than glad to help you two figure out what you want—or need—to do. People come here out of curiosity, out of desperation... but some are called here for a reason.”

  “Like... Fate?”

  “Or Providence,” I said.

  “Providence...” Siraj looked thoughtfully at me. “Is this Providence, you think?”

  “I think so. Come. Let’s talk.”

  In Max and Siraj’s shared room, we stood by the windows and gazed out at the balcony that they could normally access on a brighter day. Beyond the glass, I glimpsed a wide vista of the glorious fractal city, shifting in colors, taking on tinges of grey, of shadow, and of a sickly green hue. A sure sign that danger was looming on the horizon.

  “They told us not to go out,” Siraj said, moving over to lounge by the door and peer out of the glass. “Some people called them the Winged Shadows. Others called them Dark Elves.”

  “Yes. The shadowy variant of the beings in the Hall of Guidance... or Bureau, as you called it.” I ooked around and then took one of the chairs by the small table in the corner of the room. “Every now and then, a host of them flies around the world, looking for any stray soul to drag down into the depths with them. Where they go, no one can say. Some say they live within the Cracks of Hell, but as far as I know, no humans reside there. Yet.”

  “So...” Max grimaced, rubbed his face, and shook his head. “Where do the human souls go?”

  “We don’t know,” I explained patiently. “We do know that some who slip into the ocean can wake up. Some enter comas, where they can hear the material world but not interact with it. Others enter a deep sleep and never wake. But sometimes... sometimes...”

  Geoffrey...

  “Sometimes,” I sighed, “the soul finds its way back.”

  “A risky place,” Siraj noted. He folded his arms across his chest and scowled. “They didn’t mention that in the fine print.”

  “Well,” I pointed out. “It depends on how long they plan to keep you under... or rather, here. Most visits to the Other Side last for a day or two at most. Inhaling doesn’t give you a lot of time either measured by minutes.”

  “What about... IV stuff?” asked Max, uneasily glancing at Siraj.

  “Longer then,” I said. “Much longer. And with that, you can explore more, but as Siraj said, the risks are higher.”

  “We’ll be careful,” Max said with a forced smile.

  “You need help,” I said. “I can give you help. Especially if you decide to help in the effort against the Shadow, as I call it.”

  “And what’s the price for your help?” asked Siraj coolly, eyes glinting as he surveyed me from head to toe. “You’re a bit strange yourself. How do we know we can trust you?”

  “You don’t,” I admitted. “All I can say is that I’m a human, like you. I have been here many times... and I know my way around the Other Side. If you want to help with the Shadow—the Corruption, I can help you prepare. And I’m a pretty good healer, too.”

  “An adventure,” Max said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I can get into that. Siraj? How about you?”

  Siraj sighed and then stepped forward with a light shrug.

  “Fine. I suppose it’s only smart to stick together until we get out. Might as well spend our time here doing something useful.”

  “Who knows,” I said. “You may find an opportunity to emerge back to the material world.”

  “And you?” asked Siraj.

  “I will can come and go as I please,” I assured him with a smile. “More or less.”

  “More or less?” he queried skeptically.

  “It’s complicated,” I said. “I’ll explain it another time.”

  “Hm.”

  “For now, let’s figure out a way to prepare you two for the Plains of Merigor... and the Mists.”