LIMINALITY
Table of Contents
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 56 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 ENDChapter 4
Moving through the forest alone with nothing else than his weapon and pestering voices who couldn't stop talking, Janus grumbled as he struggled to make sense of the chaotic murmurs and whispers in his mind, growing annoyed by these constant distractions in his train of thought.
"I am telling you," the narrator defended his own claim, "everything will be fine if we all believe in it," speaking confidently in reassurance, "we are in the same situation, stuck in this place, and have little to no understanding of our surroundings. All we have now is our own knowledge, faith, and sanity to aid us in this dire situation that we are currently facing."
However, Quirinus has grown impatient enough. "How many times will people keep betraying us?" He bitterly scoffed in annoyance. "The moment we drop our guard is the time people will strike, take advantage, and stab us in the back, not caring about anything in the slightest!" Having not only been betrayed once but three times, it was clear that he learned to be more cautious than before.
Portunus commented on this, "I agree with you, brute," referring to Quirinus's response, "although it is best to give people the benefit of doubt. You shouldn't treat them with such distrust for your own selfish and cowardly reasons; keeping everyone as enemies instead of potential allies who can assist us in our endeavors is beneficial in the long run if handled properly, or, in this case, carefully."
Janus minded his own business while they spoke about their trivial matter of dealing with the situation. Everyone is currently on edge after feeling betrayed once again when their supposed guide left them at this place. Whatever the reason that made the white cat abandon them, it was definitely a mystery, and I have no answer to it.
The journey went on, and he was tired of listening to them banter with one another, and yet he couldn't help feeling less lonely without them. He knew he wasn't alone but was not entirely sure what to make out of this feeling, or, in this case, emotion. It was too vague and mysterious to him, and even then, it was more confusing.
Alone? Is he feeling something human that he forgot about a long time ago? Unlike the mortals who roam in their realm, being the God of beginning and end has driven him to question his own moral framework as well as the duality of good and evil.
Sometimes, he wondered if it was truly necessary to hold such weight on his shoulder. Being something beyond a god and man, it is truly difficult to say if he is worthy to carry the great burden of having a concept and power that none have?
Before long, however, he noticed something in the distance as the crunching sound of leaves and bushes nearby attracted him, causing his voices to suddenly stop in their conversation as Janus remained where he stood, squinting his eyes in order to see clearly.
Someone or something small is hiding behind his vicinity, and he didn't hesitate in grasping his spear with a firm grip, having the realization that whoever it is, he has to make sure to check things out with his own bare eyes if he has to.
Ready to prepare himself for any danger, he cautiously walks towards the source, prepared to defend himself if need be. But as he got closer, he finally saw what was making those noises earlier. Making him freeze in his spot once again.
It was a squirrel, or so it seems, from where he was looking.
When the creature noticed the stranger's presence, it quickly turned around, allowing one another to see each other's appearance. The squirrel-like creature has the appearance of a small, furry rodent with brown fur and red eyes. It also had a bushy, cotton ball tail.
Minor differences were spotted that greatly differentiated it from a normal earth squirrel. Being nearly the same height as a domesticated cat, while having swollen cheeks and moving sprouting red worms out of its nose, it seems to be used to feeding on others.
Aside from the mentioned features, what had made Janus a little more on edge was the sight of this small rodent holding a finger that had belonged to a human hand, making him more alarmed than ever before. "What are you holding?" Narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
Then the thing spoke, "You're no human." Its voice is somewhat masculine, albeit squeaky and high-pitched. "What are you going here?" He asked, raising a brow at the stranger that appeared out of nowhere in their feeding ground and home.
Seeing this as an opportunity, "have you seen white cat around here?" Janus inquired, praying secretly that his hopes were correct, "A small animal about yay high, one with white fur and a cat's face?" Hearing this, the squirrel gave a brief pause before slowly nodding its head.
"You want to follow me, yes?" The thing answered, "I'm going to take you to where your feline companion resides." It then motioned its head, signaling the man to follow. "I know where he is; we know where he is," the voice then revealed with confidence.
Saturn intervened, "I don't trust him." He whispered to their host, "he is probably trying to lure us into a trap; I highly suggest not going to wherever he is pointing out right now!" Fearing another betrayal coming their way after what they had to experience.
"Let's give people another chance," Vesta warmly advised. "It won't hurt to try; besides, aren't we all on the same boat together?" She further encouraged, with a kind-hearted and positive spirit, that "no one should judge based on first impressions alone; it is important to wait and see for ourselves who they truly are if we wish to understand their perspective and actions better."
Many of the voices agreed, "She's right," the narrator commented, "although we should remain cautious but willing to give them the benefit of the doubt," finding that to be a more acceptable compromise in their predicament, "then we can deal with it accordingly if things don't go well at the end of it all," he finished his statement.
Quirinus huffed angrily, "Fine!" His irritation was heard in the tone of his voice: "Just hurry and let's get this over with already; then we can continue where we left off earlier on!" Wanting nothing more than to get straight to the point after they took their sweet time discussing everything.
Janus nodded. "Lead the way," he told the squirrel creature, making it turn and move in all fours while carrying a piece of finger in its mouth, causing him to find it rather cute in an odd way, to the point of seeing the rodent as some sort of pet.
The duo strolled through the dense forest in silence, not making much of a conversation with one another as he only cared about one thing, which was finding where that traitorous cat went. "Hmm...you are lost?" The squirrel decisively spoke, having broken the silence between the two of them.
"Yes," Janus answered while shaking his head. "I'm merely confused about why I was sent here." He looked at the small creature who guided him to his destination, "wherever this place is." The rodent giggled at his remark.
"It is indeed unfortunate for many newcomers who got lost or ended up here of their own free will; regardless of which one it is, no one could blame the individual for it," he remarked as it leaped with swift movements across the moss-covered tree trunks, with Janus following behind him closely, not wanting to lose the small furry thing in the vast woods.
"Nyarlathotep always has the habit of bringing people from different realities to this place for unknown purposes, especially to this realm," the squirrel paused for a moment of clarity before speaking. "Of course, newcomers such as yourself aren't capable of reaching the dreamlands on their own," adding a matter of fact.
They then hopped over some fallen branch as Janus did the same, following after him without fail, "And what would that make me?" The God of beginning and end inquired curiously, tilting his head with a nonexistent eyebrow raised.
Chuckling humorously, "Who knows?" The rodent answered rhetorically, "For all we know, maybe he only wanted to see the expression on your face to see if it was interesting enough for him or something," it said without much concern for its own words.
Janus stayed silent, not sure whether to reply to that or not. But the rodent continued to talk, "But whatever the reason may be, it is more likely that you were chosen by him for whatever purpose he has in store for you and other outsiders to come; he clearly has something planned for everyone who came here; it would be hard not to notice."
As they traversed through the morning forest, their new guide quickly stopped in his tracks. "Wait here, I'll go get him," the squirrel creature said after finishing consuming the entire human finger. "I won't be long, I promise," it assured him, leaping across the grassy shrubbery as Janus remained patiently.
What has he gotten himself into?
"We need to make a run for it!" Saturn once again insisted with an anxious tone of voice, "This is bad, really bad!" His frail, elderly tone was evidential of his paranoia that he possessed for some time: "I know they are going to be the cause of our demise if we stay here; what if the rat has gone back to its tribe for backup to kill us and then eat us!?"
Folding his arms, Janus sighed at this: "Not everything is bad all the time." He then closed his eyes while thinking for a moment: "Even if what you say is true, then—"
Like a predator jumping behind an unexpected prayer, he was immediately off guard when he felt three of those squirrel things already on his back. "What?!" Surprised by this notion, he then felt their tentacles from their noses entering into his skin.
Sucking the conceptual nutrience of his essence, it made him groan painfully from this unexpected ambush: "KILL IT! KILL IT!" Saturn screamed apprehensively, feeling the fear coursing through his very soul while simultaneously begging for Janus to do something—anything—to save them from this predicament.
Feeling his essence quickly dissipating, he sent his consciousness into the past prior to the ambush, where he watched the frozen scene laying before him and the descending of those rodents dropping from the air like falling leaves. In this state of time, Janus shook his head in shame over his own mistake.
The old voice was right all along; he should've acted the moment the rodent jumped down to retrieve its meal instead of remaining oblivious to the danger that was happening at the present time. If it weren't for the fact that he hadn't acted quickly within no more than five seconds, his entire being would be in a life-or-death situation.
Within this moment of peace, time here is stuck at zero, allowing him all the time he needs to act without any consequences for doing so. Janus glanced around the stilled landscape before him, noticing that the colors were washed out and that the area around him appeared to be dull, as expected for sending his mind into the past.
"KILL THEM ALREADY!" Saturn again shouted, urging him to perform the deed.
Sighing exhaustively, he nonchalantly made two vanish from all time and space, only leaving one for interrogation. "I will need that one alive," he said, raising his spear and throwing it in this frozen moment instead of holding it in its place.
Watching his beloved weapon fly to its target with majestic beauty, the edge of the spearhead stabbed through its chest with a meaty splatter, causing the entire reality to create a popping sound of water droplets as if it were made of glass.
As the spear brought it to the tree, he felt satisfied enough to return to the present moment, letting it resume its original place, causing his whole perception to warp and bend before finally hearing the thing screeching in agony along with look of confusion and shock from his eyes.
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