Feather's point of view

Let's go down the open road

Will you travel with me? With me,

We'll go where the winds blow

And sail on the sea

Be not discouraged

Come travel with me?

.... Why do we keep doing this?

I'm not sure exactly.... But you have to admit.... The tune is pretty catchy...

Yeah.... Say... Where did you even hear this song from.

I...... Have no clue? .... Wait....I vaguely remember.

There was this guy.... A while back.... I remember excruciating pain.... But then... I saw him... He... Saved me? We became friends.... But.... I don't remember anything about him. He always had somewhere to be.... He popped in from time to time.

Though....

.... Wow..... There sure is a story there.

Wait! I-- I do remember something!! I... Can't believe I forgot this?!

Really??!? What is it!??

..... He was partially color-blind.

... You troll!

Hey! I'm sorry that I can't remember someone from nine years ago! And he was colorblind. Red-green color blind to be more specific. Huh... I can't believe I still remember that...

N-nine years ago!?? H-how old are you???

23.

Oh....

I'm half a year older than you. (Give or take)

Wait.... You know my birthday?

Ehhh... Not quite... I counted your birthday the day you arrived in your dimension, April 3rd.

How did you---

Don't worry about that.

But I---

I instantly stopped dead in my tracks. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't realize that I was on the edge of the corruption.

.... Here we are again.

But... It's all for Brandon. If the jungle wasn't west... Then it must be somewhere in this direction.

Yep...... It's.... Kinda crazy how much you've grown since... Since you first arrived.... I.... Just.....

Oh my gosh. Are you seriously getting emotional??

... N-no....

Yes you are!

.... It's just crazy to see how far you've come. I could of only sworn it was just yesterday that... That you were waking up here....

... Dwahh....

Now, You've luckily gotten more experienced so... You should not almost die this time as you make you're way through...

I took a deep breath.

Are you scared?

I nodded, as if he could somehow see me.

Don't be scared. The corruption feeds off of negative energy and tries to exploit your weaknesses. That's why last time I didn't want you going in there. Brandon was too much of a weakness back then.

Brandon's not a weakness!

... Whether you accept it or not, he is your weakness, and you care about him too much to deny it.

I...... Don't understand?

I could almost hear him chuckling.

You will in due time.

My eyes scanned over the horizon, looking on at the lavender grass and dark purple sky.

...

Ki was quiet.

You can do this.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

I really don't want to travel through here.... But...

It's for Brandon. It's for Brandon. It's for Brandon....

Wait.

Suddenly, almost like magic, I had an idea click.

I face-palmed.

"Of course! Why didn't I think I think of it before?!?" I exclaimed to myself. I must of been too loud because animals scurried as my voice bounced off of the trees. I set my bag on the ground and started pulling out items.

Near the bottom of the bag was the item I was looking for.

Here we go!

I set the rocket boots on the grass and shoveled everything back into my bag.

This'll be easy.

I kicked off my normal shoes and slipped the boots on.

Are you sure this is a good idea?

Well.... Yeah!

Last time you used these boots, you were impaled with huge chunks of wood.

... I.... Should be fine. I'm in open air this time. Not in a cramped building.

Hey! W-well... That's true.

But... It's giving you a higher chance of being attacked.

.... I'll gladly take that chance.

Ki sighed.

Not my fault if you get hurt... Again.

Nah. You'll come and save me. Like you did last time.

There was a long pause.

.......if you do get hurt or somehow manage to get killed by a harpy or Eater of Souls, Say hi to Icarus for me. He had a great time flying too.

Oh hush!

I slung my bag over my shoulder again and took a deep breath.

Here we go....

I kicked the notch on the boots as it propelled me into the air.

My legs were wobbling as they moved away from eachother.

Light embers shot out of the bottom of the boots, making me go higher. It took some meaningless flailing and another attempt to learn how to balance myself.

Now these boots can't stay in the air for a while. You'll have to land and kick off every 20 meters or so, so... Make your landings short and try not to cause too much attention.

Now if only you had a jetpa---

Yeah yeah yeah yeah. I get it. Technical stuff or whatever.

You never listen to----

I looked towards the corruption, it seeming to taunt me with every eerie gust of wind it sends my way.

With my bag strapped to my back, I stepped backwards and took a running start.

As soon as I got to the edge of the corruption, I kicked off and was airborn.

Entering the corruption always sent chills down my spine.

My right shoulder seemed to tingle as I descended into the light purple haze that rested above the unnatural grass.

When I touched down, I didn't waste any time. I took off running and bounded toward the sky again.

I rose above the mist and above the twisted trees. My lungs seems to thank me when I took a deep gulp of fresh air.

Sooner than I realized, I had touched back down.

I smiled triumphantly as I repeated my pattern several times without a single Eater of Souls in sight.

My joyful mess was cut short when suddenly, a sharp pain erupts from my right shoulder.

Instinctively, I grab it in, thus loosing my balance.

"AAAAAAHHH" I scream as I hurdle towards the ground.

At once, I hear a crack and my body goes limp. My head is spinning as the dark sky above me mocks me.

"Arrhg.... That hurt..." I mumble to myself.

But hey.... It could be worse.

A nightmarish cry erupts from the direction in front of me.

The cry repeats before being followed by several individual snarls of the same caliber.

Uh oh....

.... This is not good.

Not at all....