Prelude to a Dream (open)

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The vast desert that lay between the Mythril Mines and the Chocobo Ranch was the same deathly quiet as it always had been. Nothing dared venture onto the sands that hid the infamous Midgar Zolom.

Heh... Nothing except yours truly, Cynthia Cartwright.

It's been a while since I last passed through here, and that was on chocobo. At the time, I wasn't so confident in my abilities to tread on foot and get caught by that giant worm thing. Not this time. I'm here to see how I stack up to it after so many years.

Exiting the Mines entrance, I make my way down the small grassy plains, passing several dead trees along the way. It's the deadness around here that bugs me. All life is scared away by this thing that somehow persists after all this time.

"Well, maybe it's a family of giant worm things," I comment under my breath.

Making it to the edge of the grass, I peer at the vast marshes for a long time in preparation.

Rushing in to fight a foe as mighty as the Zolom is like jumping out of a submarine while it's submerged: not a very good idea.

Instead, you must make your resolve firm, your perception sharp, and your mind clear.

... Well, in this situation. Doing that on a submerged submarine before exiting won't stop the pressure from turning you into... Um, 'Dead'.

I take a deep breath.

"Spicy curry..." I decide on what I'll have for dinner and take the first step into the marsh.

[Hirosame]

This was probably the only place that Alex had never gone while in his time in Gaia. He'd heard of the so called Zolom, and figured he'd see it for himself, mainly to get a good laugh out of how big it supposedly was, which he had heard it being over 1 mile long. He chuckled to himself every time he heard that story, and he'd heard it quite often in Midgar and Edge. So, the only way to make sure of the stories' fake nature, he went into the small marsh to see for himself. On his way there, he had been told that he should've taken a chocobo with him to keep him safe, which he laughed at also, and reasured the people who told him that he'd be fine.

Alex was about to exit the Mythril Mines, having remembered walking through the Mines before with Dezzy, but always taking a wrong turn and going back to the opposite entrance. This time he was sure that he'd gone the right way. As he left the mines, he looked around and saw a giant snake impaled upon a large spear. This must be to so-called Zolom He thought, his jaw dropping. It's huge! He looked away from it, noticing the huge gathering of clouds and lightning far beyond it, seeming to be coming towards him. He'd also heard that they would only stay over one area, so he shouldn't expect anything to come towards him.

Alex turned away from it, noticing the marshes ahead of him. It was too late to try to traverse it, so he figured to make a campfire. There was plenty of dead wood around him, so he started hacking at some with his sword, getting decent pieces, and some easily lighted pieces. He began to gather some stones together, made a ring, and put the firewood into the center of the ring. He then started the fire, pulling out some food that he could heat up and enjoy. The fire was going well and the stars were out high above him. As his food cooked, he laid back and stared up, gazing upon the mastery of the night sky.

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Big. That's what it is. Thirty feet long and vicious to boot. A giant cobra that breathes fire or something like that.

I heard Sephiroth took one of these out on his own when he was still alive. The corpse is probably decomposed by now...

This isn't the time to think about that. It's lifting its head up for an attack. When it thrusts its head forward, I rush in at it quickly. The flames spray from its mouth and go over my head.

--- An animal is still an animal.

This is just a test of my power and not skill. It's been too long since I actually fought anything that required pure strength over anything else.

Coming up to its bare snake body, I thrust a punch into its skin. It's hard, but not something a blade can't cut. Good thing.

I jump away and into the air, dodging the swing of its tail. Upon landing, I bring out the twin swords and flick the blades open. "Good. Then this will do." Turning the blades backwards, I kneel down on the ground and close my eyes.

Every life, whether human or monster, is sacred. One should not kill needlessly... So I must say a small prayer before I perform this act.

"May the goddess forgive me for this act I shall perpetrate and take this life into her care, so that it may be reborn anew." Opening my eyes, the Zolom is just about to bite down on my body. "... Preferably as something less lethal." A burst of Lightning erupts from around me, causing the Zolom to jerk back and away.

"Time alter... Double accel!" My speed increases and I immediately rush the staggering cobra. Blades out, I twirl while rising into the air, slicing its body as I rise. Once arriving at its head, I hold both blades over and swing them down, splitting it into three all the way down to the ground. I jump away from the body that is crashing into the water around me.

--- Whew... That was rough...

Time finally catches up to me and I fall to one knee, coughing. "Okay... That hurt too..." I get up and head back in the direction of the Mines, closing up the twin swords and placing them on my hip. Upon making it to the grassy area, I notice a camp fire and approach it, finding a young man lying back and stargazing.

--- Someone is carefree...

Without saying a word, I sit on the other side of the fire. I then notice the Zolom still impaled on the dead tree nearby. "Ah. So they don't decompose in the normal way?" I finally speak up.

[Hirosame]

Alex took little notice to the person who had just sat down next to his fire. He didn't mind it, and he actually welcomed it. He didn't prefer to be alone, but if he had to, he would be. The woman spoke, and Alex still was unmoving. "The Zolom's physiology doesn't allow it's body to decompose as quickly, or even at all." He explained, mainly from his research of the beast. "Once a Zolom is killed in the desert, it only takes about 12 hours for it to reincarnate into another Zolom from the same corpse. If you notice, the Zolom is already being covered by the sand."

As he spoke, the giant snake body that had been cleaved was being covered by the sand in an extraordinary way: it seemed that the sand was crawlling all around the body and enveloping it. "You know why that is? There are actually hundreds of Zoloms underneathe the sand surface, and only the Alpha Zolom quite literally 'rises to the top.'" He sat up, looking to whom he was speaking. "I'm Alex."

[Deleted]

I shrug my shoulders lightly. "Just like I thought: a family of Zoloms." I look towards the young man who calls himself Alex. "Cynthia. Ex-SOLDIER 1st Class. I had to test myself. Being able to beat it alone was enough." I relax a little, keeping my arms folded beneath my cape.

"So, are you just a traveler? Adventurer? Or maybe... Doing some work?" I tend not to pry, but I did explain myself to him. Time to see if he's a fair player.

[Deleted]

Gogon was riding through the mythril mines on Boco looking for treasure.
I mean hey enough people have died for there to some treasure.while he was riding he fell into a hole from lack of attention. Boco was trying to pull him up as he had stopped and only Gogon had Fallen in. so he screamed.

"Help me!!"