The Aspiring Archivist

They looked confused. "Mike? I'm... Erin."

"I wasn't strong enough. To hold on." The air seemed to crackle with hot energy.

They looked up at the sun. It seemed... like it was growing. "Mike... I'm sorry." Tears began streaming down their face.

He emerged with them on the other side. They were floating upon another surface, but the sky was blue and there was a bright sun overhead. The air was warm, the waves calm and gentle. The glowing person came to, eyes opening. "What... oh, no."

They seemed to be alive, but still unconscious. When underwater, Mike had seen something strange further down. A brilliant point of light. A sun. Like this ocean had two surfaces, somehow, one above and one beneath. Or were they beneath?

The water was cold, painfully so. The person's eyes went wide, and they reached and grabbed his hand, pulling themself above the water. Their hand, in spite of the water, was warm. They met his eyes, face distinct in the illumination. They were... quite stunning, in a way that was difficult to describe. "Mike! How-" Their speech was cut off as a massive wave hit the two, ripping their hands apart and plunging them both into the depths. This time, the person was not struggling to reemerge. They seemed to have been knocked unconscious.

The glow, upon closer look, was a person, radiant in white light, struggling to swim to the surface. They had emerald green eyes.

Mike dreamed of an ocean. He was above it hovering, looking down at churning waves. Flashes of lightning in an empty sky illuminated the dark water. It was a storm, certainly, unlike any he had ever seen. A pure maelstrom of chaos raged below him, though he was unaware of any wind. He found he could move, both his body and himself through the air. A glowing speck of white was visible under the water.

They remained... soulless.

They seemed alive, and conscious, yet somehow still dead. No action, no emotion.

Erin's eyes opened, and they stared forward. They did not respond. Their eyes were neither cold, nor warm and alive. They were empty.

Erin's body, apparently, was healed by his magic. They began to breathe again, but did not move.

"Fine." The light finished rushing out. "Until we meet again." They leaned back fell back into the canyon, plummeting to the ground.

"Leave? In what way? Erin is gone."

White light began to steam off their body like smoke. "What? I didn't think you could..." The coldness in their eyes shifted to rage.

Not-Erin frowned, and look up. "What?"

They stepped out of the canyon easily, pulling away. "Ah, how nice to feel the air."

Not-Erin raised their eyebrows at the outburst. "I don't know what that was supposed to be, but it didn't work." The canyon seemed to get shallower, though somehow it also didn't change at all. @Experience

They looked down at him, smiling coldly. "What are you going to do now? Nothing will bring them back."

A smile broke Not-Erin's face. "Ah, finally. Well, Michael, I guess I'll be going!" They extended their arms gleefully, and the walls of the canyon began to warp.