Chapter 71: The Cat Beneath the Pond

Gene hated falling.

There were many reasons.

The lack of control.

The uncertainty.

The possibility of suddenly impacting the ground at terminal velocity.

And perhaps most importantly-

The fact that falling usually meant something had already gone horribly wrong.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

Selene screamed beside him.

Gene screamed too.

Mostly because screaming seemed appropriate.

The darkness rushed around them.

Wind whipped past their faces.

The opening above had long since vanished.

Only darkness remained.

Endless.

Bottomless.

Terrifying.

WHUMP.

Something soft caught them.

Very soft.

Suspiciously soft.

Gene bounced.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then finally came to a stop.

Selene landed nearby.

She bounced twice as much.

Silence followed.

⸻

Gene blinked.

They weren’t dead.

That was encouraging.

The ground beneath him felt strangely squishy.

Not dirt.

Not stone.

Not grass.

Certainly not the rocky floor he had expected.

He slowly pushed himself upright.

His hand sank into the surface.

Several inches.

Like a foam mattress.

Or perhaps...

Gene frowned.

This couldn’t be right.

⸻

Selene groaned.

“Are we alive?”

“Apparently.”

“Good.”

A pause.

“This ground feels weird.”

Gene nodded.

“It absolutely does.”

The two stood.

Neither could see much.

The cavern remained almost completely dark.

The yellow gem floated nearby, providing only a faint glow.

Gene crouched.

Touched the floor again.

Then stared.

Then touched it again.

Then stared harder.

Finally he scooped off a small piece.

The material crumbled in his fingers.

⸻

Gene blinked.

“No way!”

Selene looked over.

“What?”

Gene cautiously sniffed it.

“No. This can’t be.”

“What?”

The horror summoner slowly licked the sample.

Silence.

Then:

“It’s…  cake?”

⸻

Selene stared.

“What?”

“The floor.”

“Gene.”

“The floor is cake.”

Selene looked down.

Then crouched.

Then broke off her own piece.

Then tasted it.

Several seconds passed.

“…It’s cake.”

The two summoners sat in complete silence.

Trying to process this information.

Gene eventually pointed at the darkness.

“I don’t like where this is going.”

“I mean if it were chocolate cake instead of gingerbread…”

“You do know that underground mystery cave floors shouldn’t be made of cake.”

“Generally that’s how caves work, but this is a world made from ancient times! Who knows what took place here.”

“Exactly.”

Neither found the situation reassuring.

⸻

The darkness stretched endlessly around them.

At least from what little they could see.

Selene finally sighed.

“We need light.”

Gene nodded.

“Preferably before we sink into the floor.”

⸻

Selene summoned one of her smaller dragons.

A creature resembling a silver-scaled wyvern emerged in a burst of magic.

The dragon immediately sneezed.

A glowing orb of light appeared above its head.

The cavern illuminated.

And everything somehow became stranger.

⸻

The ground truly was cake.

Not just beneath them.

Everywhere.

Rolling hills of cake of different kinds stretched into the distance.

Massive candy canes grew from the earth like trees.

Chocolate rivers sliced between colorful icing hills.

Giant gumdrops sat scattered across the landscape.

Marshmallow clouds drifted overhead.

A rainbow stretched across a distant sky that shouldn’t exist underground.

Gene slowly removed his glasses.

Cleaned them.

Put them back on.

Nothing had changed.

“…”

“Woooow.”

Selene shook her head,”That seems like an appropriate response.”

“Woooow.”

“Gene.”

“What? “

“Stop saying wow before I set you on fire.”

“Sorry.”

⸻

The yellow gem floated ahead.

Clearly wanting them to follow.

Gene was beginning to suspect the gem possessed a strange sense of humor.

Several minutes later they spotted something in the distance.

A house.

Or at least something resembling a house.

The structure appeared constructed entirely from candy.

Chocolate walls.

Cookie shingles.

Lollipop decorations.

Gumdrop and sugar floss windows.

A peppermint chimney.

The building looked like someone had challenged reality to a duel and won.

⸻

Gene pointed.

“No way! Is that a…”

Selene laughed.

“Gene. We’re in a candy cave beneath a pond. Of course there would be a house made of candy.”

Gene stopped walking and turned to face Selene.

“Let me get this straight…. We have a cave made of  candy…”

“Correct.”

“Now a candy house has appeared.”

“Also correct.”

“This is exactly how people get trapped and eaten by witches.”

Selene shrugged as she began walking towards the house.

“I mean we are already here you big baby! I’m sure you can protect us from whatever is inside.”

Gene cautiously followed.

Complaining the entire time.

As they approached, something felt strange.

The air shimmered.

Reality itself seemed slightly unstable.

Pieces of the house appeared solid one moment.

Transparent the next.

As though it existed in multiple places simultaneously.

The effect intensified as they reached the front door.

Gene raised a hand.

Knocked.

The door immediately opened.

⸻

Nobody stood behind it.

The interior appeared empty.

Warm.

Comfortable.

Inviting.

The smell of jasmine tea and burnt cookies drifted through the air.

Gene looked around carefully.

“Hello?”

Silence.

Then came laughter.

⸻

The laughter came from above.

The ceiling.

The walls.

The floor.

Everywhere.

It echoed throughout the house.

Playful.

Amused.

Ancient.

Gene slowly looked upward.

And froze.

⸻

A giant purple cat hung upside down from the ceiling.

Its grin stretched impossibly wide.

Silver eyes gleamed mischievously.

Its body constantly faded in and out of existence.

One moment solid.

The next transparent.

The cat smiled.

Then its head detached from its neck.

⸻

The floating head drifted lazily across the room.

The body remained hanging from the ceiling.

The tail appeared from an entirely different wall.

Gene immediately accepted that reality had given up.

⸻

The cat grinned wider.

“Ooo visitors.”

Its voice sounded smooth.

Cheerful.

Dangerous.

Like a joke nobody else understood.

⸻

Selene stared.

Gene stared.

The floating cat head stared back.

⸻

“Hello,” the cat said.

Its body vanished.

Only the head remained.

Then the head vanished.

Only the tail remained.

Then everything reappeared at once.

Gene rubbed his eyes.

The cat seemed delighted.

⸻

“You know that you both aren’t nearly surprised enough.”

The cat sounded disappointed.

Gene pointed.

“We are surprised your head fell off.”

“It does that.”

“That’s not really normal you know.”

The cat laughed.

“Normal is terribly overrated.”

⸻

The giant feline floated downward.

Eventually landing atop a table that definitely hadn’t been there a moment ago.

Tea suddenly appeared.

Gene wasn’t sure who made it.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

⸻

The cat tilted its head.

“Welcome.”

“To where exactly?” Selene asked.

The cat considered this.

Then smiled candidly. 

“This place.”

“Helpful.”

“I know right!”

⸻

Gene studied the creature.

Something about it felt familiar.

Not personally familiar.

Story book familiar.

Like a memory.

A dream.

A half-forgotten tale from another life.

The cat watched him closely.

Almost knowingly.

⸻

“You seem to know something.”

The cat’s grin widened.

“I know many things.”

Gene nodded.

“I figured.”

The cat looked pleased.

⸻

Eventually Gene asked the question that had been bothering him.

“What is this place?”

The cat’s smile softened.

“A test of sorts.”

The room grew quieter.

“A very old test.”

⸻

Selene leaned forward.

“A test for what?”

The cat vanished.

Its voice echoed from behind them.

“Curiosity.”

Then from above.

“Courage.”

Then from the fireplace.

“Imagination.”

The cat finally reappeared atop the table.

“Many fail.”

⸻

The statement sent a chill through the room.

Despite the whimsical surroundings.

Despite the candy.

Despite the floating cat.

The words carried weight.

Ancient weight.

The sort of weight attached to old magic.

Old stories.

Old rules.

⸻

Gene frowned.

“People have fallen here before?”

The cat nodded.

“Oh yes.”

“What happened to them?”

The smile remained.

“Most never left.”

⸻

The cat casually drank a sip of tea.

Gene suddenly decided he liked the floating cat significantly less.

Then a thought struck him.

A strange thought.

An impossible thought.

One inspired by memories from Earth.

The purple cat.

The impossible world.

The shifting reality.

The grin.

The dreamlike atmosphere.

The madness.

Gene slowly looked up.

⸻

“Can I ask you something?”

The cat smiled.

“You already have.”

Gene pointed.

“Do you know a girl named Alice?”

For the first time since meeting the creature—

The cat stopped smiling.

Not entirely.

It’s fur slightly rippled.

⸻

The room became strangely quiet.

Even the floating lights seemed to pause.

The cat’s silver eyes studied him carefully, narrowing into slits.

As though seeing something new.

Something unexpected.

Then the cat began laughing.

Not mockingly.

Not cruelly.

Genuinely amused.

The laughter echoed throughout the house.

The walls.

The floor.

The candy landscape outside.

Everything seemed to laugh with it.

Finally the cat settled down.

Its grin returned.

Wider than ever.

Old as ever.

And somehow far more mysterious.

“Did I know Alice?”

The cat chuckled.

Its head floated free once more.

Drifting lazily through the air.

Then it answered.

Softly.

Almost fondly.

“Why yes.”

The grin widened.

Silver eyes sparkled.

“I knew her.”

A pause.

The cat’s smile became almost nostalgic.

“Once upon a time.”

Gene and Selene exchanged stunned looks.

And for the first time since arriving beneath the pond…

They realized they may have stumbled into something far older than they thought.

Something Far older than the summoner worlds themselves.

Something connected to stories.

Dreams.

And impossible places.

And somewhere beyond the candy hills…

A distant clock began to chime.

As though announcing that the true test was finally about to begin.