II - Time lost 【ShadowTenshii】
Channel: ShadowTenshii シャドー天使ぃ
Date: 2022-01-31

Chapter II - Kaitou

Tenshii’s hammering heartbeat echoed in her ears, slowly fading away, as she took in her new, much darker surroundings. It wasn’t too dark, however, as a lantern materialized in front of her, dimly giving off light.

Picking up the lantern cautiously, she waved it steadily around, eyes raking in the unremarkable stone walls of the underground passageway she seems to have arrived in, when the light reflected off a pair of bright eyes in the distance.

Startled, Tenshii almost dropped the lantern. Peering closer, it appeared to be some cat-like creature, somehow carrying a swirling globe with its mouth.

Tenshii frowned and inched closer. ‘The globe seems rather familiar…’

The creature continued to stare at her as she approached, tilting its head, before abruptly turning around and gracefully scampering away.

Tenshii scrambled to follow it further into the tunnel, footsteps echoing harshly with every step, shadows multiplied and reflected on the uneven stone walls.

The chase was on.

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“Whoa.”

The creature had led her to a spacious but unfurnished room, brightly filled with towers and pyramids of mesmerizingly glowing orbs.

‘But where did the creature go?’, thought Tenshii, as she surveyed the room more critically, finding and locking eyes with--

The Shadow.

“I’d ask how you got here, but if I had to guess, you don’t know yourself either,” the Shadow remarked distractedly from their seat on the ground, surrounded by globes.

Pulling a face, Tenshii changed the topic, “Where are we? What was the cat-like creature that brought me here? And why are there so many globes--”

“Ah-ah-ah-ah~!” the Shadow interrupted, waggling their finger. “Too many questions. You’re going to upset Mercury here.” It was then Tenshii noticed the feline sitting in their lap.

The creature purred contentedly as the Shadow gently petted its head. “I can answer a teeny bit though. These orbs that Mercury brought here? They represent your memories that are lost to Time. Here, take a closer look.”

The Shadow picked up a nearby sphere and casually tossed it towards Tenshii, who dropped the lantern with a deafening clang in haste to catch it. She glowered at the Shadow, who looked amused.

Tenshii turned her attention to the orb in her hands, turning it around as the swirling fog cleared--

Her breath hitched at the younger Tenshii shown in the globe.

 　　Forgotten childhood bliss. Unaware and uncaring of the future, living in the present.
 　　Stagnant time, no longer possessed.

 　　No longer remembered.

“...and that’s enough!” The Shadow plucked the globe delicately from Tenshii’s clammy hands, tucking it away. Tenshii immediately swiped at them, but they swiftly leapt out of reach. “Kind of makes you wonder how much more of these you’ve forgotten, eh?”

Tenshii’s eyes darted around, glancing at the thousands of spheres piled around them. She reached out towards one, ‘If I can take some with me--’

Deftly, the Shadow reappeared before her and batted her hand away. “Best not take too much baggage with you, you know? Let me take care of them for ya. I’m good at that, at least.” Just as abruptly as last time, they vanished, along with all the globes and the creature. On the floor, the forgotten lantern’s light slowly faded out, leaving Tenshii in the darkness.

“But I… I want to remember,” Tenshii whispered into the void.


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"Time Lost"
key: C minor
time: 4/4 and 3/4 or 6/8

music, story: 
■  ShadowTenshii (me): https://twitter.com/ShadowTenshii
art:
■ Szainx: https://twitter.com/szainx

subs: 3715

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Chapter 0 - Inchoation - https://youtu.be/6lbL9N1gLtA
Chapter I - Snegurka - https://youtu.be/Fb5hjf85voE
Chapter II - Kaitou - [here]
Chapter III - Anamnesis - https://youtu.be/SyUrQzYCsWU

#tiimeless #bgm #EDM