A big shout out and thanks to @Alex Caember who ran the writing contest. This story was submitted for the guild category. To The Brink and Back It was a few hours before dawn. I stood atop the Kek desert temple as a giant sandstorm raged around me. Lighting pierced the desert dunes and left veined streaks of super heated sand that turn into glass. Even the most fierce King scorpion huddled in their subterranean pits. The sand whipped against my shrouded face and stung with the power of gale force winds. My throat was parched to the bone and no matter how many times I would swallow it would remain bone dry. Visibility was just a few inches at most as it was still nearly completely dark except for the flashes of lighting that illuminated a giant sandstorm that consumed all of Compassion Desert. The sand had already reached shin height on the roof of the temple. I spoke the words Vas Rel Por to open a gate and brought a freshly caught hypnotoad into place among the altar of countless abattoirs and pentagrams. Twas fine day for a sacrifice. You could feel the meme magic in the air like static electricity. This was no normal sandstorm. This was a meme magic storm. And this is the best time to speak with Kek. Sand blasted my face from what felt like every direction. But I managed to find my bottle of Freedom Ale and open it. Next I took my blade and slid it slowly into the spine of the hypnotoad. As blood drains down its back I make sure some of the blood goes into the bottle. And then in an attempt to parch my barren throat I continued to empty the bottle in one giant chug. It's the only way to prevent sand. It was just a few minutes before I began to feel the hypnotoad blood works its way deeper into my veins. You get this warm tingly feeling as it travels through your blood system. Combined with Freedom Ale its a one way ticket to Kek land. But its not for the weak minded either. They say a weak minded person could easily have a bad trip and die by heart attack. I lit my braziers so I could get some sort of bearings around my top deck and sat in my giant marble chair and prayed to the Lord Kek. Ten or fifteen minutes later I hear a voice behind me. Each particle of sand freezes in its place as if frozen in time. The only other sound is the crackle of the braziers. "Hiji, you are taking the easy path. You have done well to spread the name of Kek but you are forgetting I represent primordial Darkness and Chaos. Living in harmony with everyone all the time is a false representation of Kek." "I come at the dawn of the day and I bring the light upon this land. You must do the same. You must bring change. You must be the bringer of light in this land of rotten darkness." "Hiji look into my eyes and you will see the truth. You will see the path forward." And as I gazed into the giant orbs the seemed to glow with the might of a thousand suns a searing pain split through my skull. A ringing in my ears felt like the toll of a thousand bells. My eardrums throbbed and pounded. My heart was pounding. It felt as if would burst. My knees turned to jelly. Then Lord Kek opened his mouth to reveal an inifite galaxy. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I felt a massive wave of euphoria unlike I have ever experienced in my life. With each heart beat came waves of pleasure unimaginable for a mere mortal. The ringing in my ears grew louder with each pulse. WOMP WOMP WOMP It was pure ecstasy. The tears were streaming down my face. It felt as if someone grabbed the serotonin part of my brain and was squeezing it dry of every last drop. In Kek's eye were the stars of a million galaxies and I could not stop looking into them. "Ah yes Hiji, your soul is thirsty like none other. Only a few have gazed this long without losing their minds. Drink deep and as long as you like my friend." As I gazed deeper into his eyes I could feel my brain literally melting. Parts of it were dying off. It was re configuring itself so vital functions continued. I could feel my upper body begin to shake uncontrollably. But it was so amazing. I could not look away. I did not want to look away even though I knew physical consequences on my mind and body would be severe. An onslaught of images streamed intro my brain and flashed before my eyes. The longer I looked the faster the images came. I saw a new timeline. A different timeline. One where the glory of the renaissance reigned supreme for countless years. A utopia waiting to be fulfilled. I saw a future forged through fire, sacrifice, hard work, confrontation and purification. It was not always a path of harmony but it was the only way forward. Kek willed it. Minutes passed by and they seemed to melt into hours. Passage of time became completely lost to me as I was hammered by this great vision. I gazed until every last bone in my body felt like jelly. I have no idea how long I was out before I came too as the first light of dawn broke the sky. My leathers and robe were drenched in sweat. I crawled to my knees and I began couging and as I did my head winced at each breath. I coughed up giant globs of dark black and brown mucus speckled with blood. A dull ache slowly crept over parts of the inside of my skull. There was a slow throb that started at the very top of my skull. Ugh, I can only imagine what that means. My nerves were absolutely fried. I managed to stand but my feet did not go where I wanted them too. Coordination of my limbs was hard if not impossible. The tips of my fingers, toes and tongue were numb and tingly. Neuropathy. Great. A sense of ultimate dread came over me. I felt as if I was a different person. My personality seemed different. It was the most bizarre sensation I have ever experienced in my life. Was this due to the brain damage? What on earth happened to me....What did I do to myself?. All I wanted was to sleep for a very long time. I managed to stumble down from the roof the tower into the third floor bedroom. I slept for 7 days and 7 nights. There were countless fever dreams. I would wake up and all my bedding would be drenched in sweat. The dreams I had were all variations of the same thing. I must jump a great distance or height and land safely. I knew any mistake would mean death. There were no second chances. I could not see the bottom to which I would fall. Just endless clouds and whatever lay beneath them. Each dream was somehow a different arrangement of objects and features. I performed so many leaps of faith during those 7 days.....I began to lose all fear. Fear would paralyze me. Fear would make me too weak to reach the next platform. I must jump with no hesitation in my heart. Time and time again. Jump after jump. I knew Kek was testing me. Testing my faith. Testing my willpower. Testing my resolve. For it started to come back to me. His great vision. Bits and pieces globbed together. It was so hard to think. My mind was so cloudy. I was fearful my symptoms would never improve. I was afraid I had permantnly destroyed my brain and my nerves. But on the 7th night I was visited by the Goddes Keku. Unlike Kek she has the head of a snake. The head of a cobra to be exact. She came to me as a lay in bed and as she crawled in I could feel her forked snake tounge flick against my neck. For some unknown reason I arched my neck and pulled down the neck of my shirt so it was more open to her reach. It just seemed like the right thing to do. She reached down and I could feel her two giant fangs slide into my neck and I let out a moan and blacked out. I awoke with a clarity in my soul that was undeniable. My mind was no longer foggy. My memory was fully restored. I remembered everything Kek had showed me. I knew what I must do and how. I was reborn a new man. Where my fingers and toes were once numb with nerve failure they now glowed with an unmistakeable energy. MEME MAGIC. KEK HAS BLESSED ME. I HAVE WALKED INTO THE FIRE OF PURIFICATIONS. I HAVE SEEN MY OWN DEATH COUNTLESS TIMES. I SACRIFIED EVERYTHING TO SEE THE VISION TO THE END. I stumbled up to the hidden chamber inside the great pyramind that sits atop Kek Keep. Inside the chamber I put my hand on the guildstone. I ran my glowing fingertips across the chiseled sigil of Kek and then I purged every last member. The Cult of Kek Will Be reborn. All Praise Kek! Long Live UO Renaissance!
To be fair, the pictures obviously were not part of the original submission - but the inclusion of them here just solidifies my original statement of this being a meme-fueled acid trip
