(I'm about to basically copy and paste half of the intro. Yes, it was planned to be this way.)
Maker's Rise Square | Central District | 8:30 AM
Dahlia panted heavily as her body carried itself up the stairs within the building that stood in the center of the square. Something was chasing her and tearing up the building as it followed. She had no clue what it was or what it wanted, but her body screamed to flee. Flee for her life, lest whatever is hunting her catches her. So she obliges. Her footsteps echo throughout the empty corridors of the rise, and her eyes endlessly scan the dark halls for her next exit. She rounds a corner and instinctively slams a door behind her. She turns around and heads up another flight of stairs, a routine she feels she's been repeating for an eternity now. She pauses at the next landing for a moment to try and catch her breath; her throat feels as dry as a desert, and her heart has been beating against her ribs for what seemed to her like hours.
*CRASH*
Dahlia hastens to the railing to look down. A blob, blacker than night, formless as melted wax, bursts through the wall on the floor below her. Fear revisits her face as she turns and retreats through the next door, not bothering to close it this time. For the eternity that she had been running, it felt as though she was slowing, because the creature was gaining on her. But she had to be nearing the top, she just had to be. She continues her endless marathon, perpetually ascending, hoping that salvation awaits atop the tower.
For a moment though, she pauses mentally. Her body continues pressing on, but her mind takes a moment to process what is happening. She's done this before. She's done this many times before. So many times that it didn't even occur to her until just now: the events she was experiencing were almost perfect replications of the dreams she had been having for the past few weeks. What did this mean? Was she simply dreaming again? Did her bullies beat her so badly that it triggered one of these visions? Somehow, though, she felt uneasy. Like this was all far more real than the dreams that haunted her. She wasn't about to stop and find out. She hoped she might be saved by the time she reached the top.
Seconds turn to minutes. Minutes turn to Hours. Her body becomes exhausted, but her legs yet carry her, ever upwards to the summit of the spire. Eventually, she sees it. A light, breaking through a doorway! She bursts through as quickly as she can...
Only to be met with nothing. She takes a few steps out and glances around. The salvation her body had strived so painstakingly toward did not await her. In fact, it became frighteningly clear that the only one now on the roof with her, was her pursuer. She turned to face the thing that chased her so vehemently as it rose high above her. She took several steps back, the towers atop the building being swallowed up by the ever-growing darkness before her. Her expression of fear changed to desperation and terror. She was going to die here and she knew it. She looked back as she stepped, catching a view of the dark and otherworldly city below her. One more thing catches her eye, however. A young man, slightly pale, with jet black hair and shining blue eyes stood behind her, his hand reached out for her to grab onto. He didn't say anything. In the instant that their eyes met, he was silent. She couldn't even read him. He wore no expression. He simply stared at her, waiting for her to accept his gesture.
'This is different. Normally it's a shadow... now it's a fully detailed man.... No time to decide..' Dahlia thought. She did not hesitate. She ran toward him and reached out for the man's hand, grasping it firmly. He immediately pulled her into a sort of embrace and threw both of them off of the tower. As they fell, Dahlia stared at the ground quickly approaching them. She did not know who this man was, but she was not distraught in his arms. She closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest in uncertainty, not wanting to know when the end was supposed to come...
Except... The end never came.



