Infernal Academia

Chapter 11 - Blazing Wrath: Part 2

The mind was a tangled, abstract thing.  It was a mess of thoughts, feelings and dreams linked by winding neural pathways and all strung together into a chaotic tapestry that most simply called the consciousness.  But when it came to the matter of performing a Dream Intrusion, one's goal was what lay beneath that; the yawning abyss that was the subconscious.

Cobalt struggled to regulate his breathing as roasting winds screamed all around him.  Magic was running hot from the tips of his fingers, while Karazelle's hands were still clamped tight around his shoulders.  All around him, flashes of colour and light danced amongst blackened sparks and blazes of images that both made sense and did not.  One wrong move, and they'd be swept along the tumultuous current of thoughts. 

"Wh- What's going on?!" the Succubus cried, hugging him tightly from behind.

She sounded so distant, yet deafeningly close at the same time.

"Just hold on!  We have to penetrate deeper!" Cobalt responded, amping up the flow of magic from his hands.

"Hah, th- that's what she-!"

"Karazelle, focus!"

"Sorry!"

The sights, sounds and sensations of Izzbelle's stream of consciousness gradually coalesced into a deafening crescendo all around them, filling the pair with feelings of fear, rage, anxiety and much, much more.  One thing was certain in this maelstrom of uncertainty; the Oni was definitely suffering. 

"Okay, hold on tight!  We're breaking through...!"

He didn't hear his student's reply, for all at once, the sound of a thousand panes of glass shattering rang in the Incubus' ears as a bright flash of light completely knocked him off kilter.  Karazelle was flung from his back as he abruptly smashed into something solid, crying out in pain as he danced upon the edge of consciousness.

And as quickly as the storm of sensory madness had arrived, it swiftly dissapated, leaving him coddled in soothing silence.

Cobalt lay motionless upon his back, eyes shut firmly.  A steady wind was blowing across him, and between his toes he could feel the gritty sensation of loose sand.  It was warm, but not unbearably so; almost calming, in a strange way.

"Agh... you okay, sugar?" called the familiar voice of Karazelle, rousing the Incubus from his reverie.

Opening his eyes, he found himself faced with a deep black sky, devoid of stars and yet somehow wonderfully illuminate.  Despite his hammering heartbeat and sweat-slicked brow, he couldn't help but smile a little.  It was just as described in the textbooks; he had breached the subconscious.

"I- I'm fine, just a bit winded" he gasped in reply, unsteadily pulling himself to his feet.

"Good to hear... I dunno what I was expecting to find in here, but it certainly wasn't this"

Rubbing the sand from his eyes, the Incubus steadied himself upon the uneven ground and took stock of his surroundings.

The plains of Izzbelle Suyas' subconscious had taken the form of a vast desert of bright orange sand, speckled with red rock formations and dotted in places with small oases.  Up ahead, Karazelle stood atop a stony outcrop, trying her best to get a good vantage point.  Her uniform was gone, and in its place was a flowing robe of ethereal grey fabric.  Glancing down, Cobalt found himself wearing the same thing.

"Still, I can't believe we actually did it.  We're inside her head!" the Succubus cried excitedly, turning sharply on her heel.

He returned her grin with a weak smile.