Displacement: The tome that closes portals

Portal Pandemonium Prompt 5: Freestyle

It is nighttime. It appears everyone has gone to bed. You could only hear crickets chirping at night, and owls hooting ominously. Meanwhile, I, Alphabett, am at home inside my house, studying the power of time travel. Ever since I’ve left my kingdom where citizens called me a prince, I’ve began to explore Timesea in order to strengthen my magic, and then travelled through other worlds. I chose to reside in Avangard since I got here. I was studying smoothly at first, but suddenly, someone was knocking at the door.

I went downstairs and opened the door. In front of me was a person with a concerned look on their face.

“Hello?” I said, “Do you need anything?”

“Oh, Alphabett... this is bad...” The person replied, “There’s a weird portal in the middle of town...”

“A... portal?” Concerned, I proceeded to head outside, only to witness a crowd watching a glowing spot in horror. I began to hear the mumbling of the townsfolk expressing fear about the glow consuming them. “I’m scared, mommy.” cried a young boy, “What if it kills all of us?” “We need to destroy this thing!!” shouted a woman, “It’s the end...” cried another. The mumbling of the townsfolk continued on and on, until I entered the scene. “Halt.” I said, “I need to take a closer look at the glowing spot.” As I begin to approach the glow, the crowd grew silent, watching me.

“So, this must be the portal the other person was talking about.” The portal seems to be glitching a bit, almost as if it’s going to fall apart at any moment. The glitches kept flickering and flickering to the point where I begin to feel nauseous. Despite this, I managed to shake off the nausea.

“Alphabett, what are you gonna do?” Asked a girl, “You’re the only person around town who is capable of fighting.” I answered with “I need to enter the portal. I must figure out a way to close it.” “Will you be okay?” “Don’t worry. I’ll try to make it back here, safe and sound.”

As I walked up to the edge of the portal, I jumped in. The townsfolk watch in shock.

---

After entering through the portal, I have arrived to a place I have never been before. It also seems to be night out, but there are rocks floating above the sky strangely enough. The dark blue sky seems to be flooding this place with stars. After gazing at the sky for a little bit, I proceed to find someone who is willing to help. But suddenly, I bumped into an elderly woman, who began to speak to me.

“Hello, young one.” she said, “You don’t look like you reside here, do you?”

“No. I came from Avangard. A portal to here opened up all of a sudden.” I said.

“Who must you be?”

“My name is Alphabett, Can you tell me where I am right now?”

“Alphabett, you are in Kahari.” responded the elder, “A woman known as Portal Posi was rumoured to have opened a portal to Faedin and sucked in unwary adventurers.”

As I listened, I asked about something that she didn’t bring up, “But how come the portal from Avangard to Kahari show up suddenly? I need to find a way to close it.” The elder then replied, “This was the result of the portals being displaced. The one you’ve entered through was one of them, one that leads to a world not like ours. You must find a tome to close the displaced portal.”

A tome... I have never heard of such a tome that can force close portals. I thought, To my knowledge, portals close naturally on their own after a certain amount of time passes. How come such a weapon have the power to close them?

“Is something the matter, Alphabett?” said the elder. “It’s nothing. I got carried away.” I said, “I’ll try to find that tome, madame. Tell me where it’s located.”

“If memory serves me right...” replied the elder, “It is sealed away in a grotto. It is guarded by a spirit, and if you fight him, he may grant you the tome.”

“I see... thank you. I’ll hopefully fight that spirit and get the tome if possible.” As I waved goodbye to the elderly woman, I head towards the grotto where the tome is located.

---

I have arrived inside the grotto. It seems to be really dim on the inside, but there seems to be a tiny bit of light showering over the tome. As I looked around to find the spirit guarding the tome, A gust of wind blows in front of my face. At first, I was a little confused, but then, a humanoid figure appears right in front of my eyes. The figure seems to be silent. I began to ask him a question.

“Are you the spirit guarding the portal-closing tome?” I asked. The spirit nodded, but he still doesn’t answer. “I was told by the old lady that I needed to fight you so I could return home and close the portal to Kahari. If I don’t do anything now, my homeworld, Avangard, will be destroyed, and everyone will be sucked here.” The spirit once again stays silent, but accepts my request. He unleashes a sword from up above, and points it towards my face. He ominously responds with “Prove that you’re worthy of the tome.”

As I summoned my sword with my alphabetical magic, we began to clash our blades. As we continued to fight, I was beginning to feel like losing my grip. However, I was then knocked out by the spirit, and hit my back against the grotto’s walls, collapsing. The spirit walked towards me, and once again points his sword towards my face. “If you feel weak...” he said, “I will forbid you from using the tome.”

Before I lost my consciousness, I began to stand up on my feet, my sword still on my hand, “I... I can’t give up yet...” I uttered with a tired voice, “I... must... get this tome... to close the portal...” As I finally stood still, I changed my weapon from a sword to a bow, and point my arrow at the spirit. I suddenly shouted, “AND PREVENT ANY CHAOS THAT ENSUES!”

I shot the arrow directly into the spirit’s chest, and launched him onto the walls of the grotto. Afterwards, the spirit immediately admits defeat. “You... you have won.” he said, “The tome is now yours to use. If you wish to leave Kahari, you must return to your homeworld, and close the portal.”

“If I closed the portal in my world, what will happen to the tome?” I asked. The spirit answered, “The tome will cease to exist. It is only strong enough to close one portal.”

“I see...” I proceeded to grab the tome from the pedestal it rests on, and leave the grotto afterwards. As I left, the spirit said “Goodbye.” before he leaves Kahari for good.

---

As I returned to the same spot where the portal to Avangard is located, I meet the elderly woman again. “It appears you have won your battle against that spirit, Alphabett.” She said. “It was not an easy battle. I almost lost.” I said, “Actually, I have something to ask; what are the folks in Kahari doing with the displaced portals?”

“Multiple teams of adventurers set out to pinpoint the portals to where they belong.” answered the elder, “That portal to your world might be one of them” “But that’s the one that I was planning to use the tome on...” I responded. “I must close it.”

“I see. It appears you don’t want to help these adventurers with fixing the portals. If that’s the case, then I bid farewell.” said the elder.

“Farewell. Thank you for helping me.” I said.

With the portal-closing tome on my hand, I began to approach the portal, and jump inside. I have returned to my world, Avangard. It’s still night out like before, and everyone has gone to bed. I used the tome’s powers to close the portal. I looked at the elderly woman’s face one more time, before it shut off for good. Upon its closure, the tome disappears from my hand, thus prompting me to return home.

The End