Annus

Annus ~ He/Him




You wander aimlessly through the Wispwillow Grove, afraid of every flicker in the shadows and noise that erupts from each creature of the night. Eventually, you come across a small clearing and find two tiny insect-like.. dragons? Their wings beat in sync, buzzing back and forth to hold them aloft. They zig and zag past each other, their bodies and wings eventually creating what appears to be a swirling pattern of some kind. As they fly, they begin to look less and less draconic. Merely a rotating black-and-white spiral and you hear two voices whisper inside your mind, filling your head and blocking out every other sound in the forest.

...
"But what would you do if you knew how much time you had left?"
...
"One year."
...
"And every day, we march ever closer to this channel's inevitable doom."
...
"And then, it's game over."
...
"Finito."
...
"Curtains."
...
"Night night."
...
"Forever."
...
"When time runs out, we will be deleting this channel and every single video on it."
...
"Because, much like death, you can't take it with you."
...
"And the merch."

(clock begins ticking)

...
"But the choice is yours."
...
"Or will you miss out on your one chance to be a part of Unus Annus?"
...
"The train is already moving."
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"Ask not for whom the bell tolls, ring the bell for thyself to know."
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"And if you miss out, all you'll be left with is regret."
...
"We'll see you tomorrow."
"Unus Annus."

The two tiny dragons' voices fade out and they zip away into the darkness, the spiral broken. You fall to the ground and writhe in agony as your head reels with pain. Far in the distance, you just barely make out the muffled sound of someone calling you, drowned out by the throbbing of your skull and the tinny wailing in your ears.

"Oh my gods, they're awake! Hey, hey! No, look at me -- Are you alright? What happened?" They run up to you, their eyes darting over your weak body.

You ask what they mean, feeling as though you've only been standing here for a couple of minutes at most.

"Are you serious? Do you not remember?" The face of the dragon across from you, vaguely familiar now, contorts into a look of utmost concern.

You shake your head. Remember what? You came out into this forest to... You came out here for...

"You've been sitting in this forest for, what, almost a year now? We thought the Veilspun had gotten to you, or worse! We're all just really glad you're back. C'mon, follow me, we have to go tell the others."

You look at them, confused. No... No, clearly they're messing with you. You only remember walking into the forest for a break, seeing the spiral, hearing the voices and... it'd only been a few minutes, right? There's no way you could've been standing here for a year...?






Art By: @Russin1