The Higher Plain Ch 10: The Shrunken Colossus!

(Faylina)

I tilted my head, utterly baffled by the faint squeaking voice coming from my ear. It was so small and distant, like the buzz of a mosquito. I'd never heard anything so tiny and persistent before. With a deep breath, I carefully raised my right hand, pinching my fingers together as gently as I could manage, and slowly brought them up to my ear.

"Alright, tiny person," I muttered, squinting as I tried to pinpoint the exact spot. "If you're really in there, hold still. I'm... getting you out."

I paused for a moment, realizing just how ridiculous I must look—prodding at my own ear like I'd misplaced something valuable inside. But I couldn't focus on that now. With a delicacy that surprised even me, I placed the tip of my finger just inside my ear and waited for that faint tickling sensation to confirm where the little squeaky voice was coming from.

"Okay, gotcha," I whispered to myself, the tiny movement brushing against my skin giving me all the direction I needed. Slowly, carefully, I pulled my finger back out and held it up to my face.

For a moment, I saw nothing. Just the faint outline of my own skin and... wait.

I blinked. There, on the tip of my finger, was the smallest speck of... something. I squinted, bringing my finger closer to my face, almost crossing my eyes in the process. It barely looked like more than a bit of dirt. Then, just as I was about to lose my patience, the speck moved.

"Hi!" it said in that same squeaky little voice.

My breath caught in my throat, and I froze. "What in the..." My eyes widened as realization hit me like a thunderbolt. "A human?" I gasped, my voice rising sharply with shock.

The speck flailed—or at least, I think it flailed—and the tiny voice squeaked back, "Lower your voice! You'll deafen me!"

"Oh, oh, sorry!" I whispered quickly, my voice dropping to a murmur. "I... I didn't mean to... I just—oh no. You're so small!" My eyes darted around the landscape, my heart sinking as the pieces fell into place. No wonder I hadn't seen any humans. They weren't hiding; they were just... impossibly tiny.

I felt a wave of guilt wash over me, my stomach twisting in knots. "Wait," I said, my voice trembling. "The cities... the lands... everything here is... small. Oh no." I looked down at the ground beneath my feet, my chest tightening. "What did I—did I step on anything? Did I—oh no, oh no, I didn't mean to—"

"Hey! Calm down, giant lady!" the speck yelled, snapping me out of my spiral.

I froze, my breathing still shallow, and focused on the tiny voice coming from my fingertip. "Calm down? I just realized I could've crushed—I mean, I don't even know what I've done!" My eyes filled with tears, and my free hand clutched at my chest. "I didn't want to hurt anyone! I just wanted to—"

"Okay, breathe," the human interrupted, his voice surprisingly firm for something so small. "Look, humans aren't as weak as you think, alright? We're not made of glass. Sure, you're big—like, absurdly big—but most of us know how to stay out of the way when something... uh... colossal comes stomping through."

I sniffled, blinking back the tears threatening to fall. "You mean I didn't destroy your world?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Well..." There was a pause, and I could almost feel him trying to phrase his next words carefully. "Let's just say, yeah, you've caused a bit of a mess. But the world's still here, okay? And so am I."

I exhaled, relief washing over me, though the guilt still lingered. "I'm so sorry," I said softly.

The human cleared his throat. "Tell you what—how about you make it up to me by giving me a lift back to my farm? It's not far from here."

I frowned slightly, tilting my head. "Lift? You mean, carry you?"

"Yes, carry me. What, you think I'm going to climb down and walk the rest of the way? You're holding me already, might as well finish the job."

I couldn't help but let out a small, sheepish laugh. "Alright, fair point. Just... tell me where to go."

The walk took only a few steps—literally. Following the tiny human's directions, I moved slowly and carefully, trying not to let my nerves get the better of me. I kept glancing down at my finger, where the little speck clung tightly, giving the occasional shout to guide me.

"Left! No, your other left! Yes, there. Keep going. Straight ahead!"

When we finally arrived, I stopped, bending down to take a closer look at the ground below. "This is it?" I asked, squinting.

"Yup," the human replied, his voice calm now. "Alright, just lower me down nice and slow."

I crouched carefully, holding my finger out at an angle so he could slide off. It was an oddly delicate process, and I felt a strange sense of pride when he finally hopped off and stood on the ground.

"There," I said softly, watching him as he waved up at me. "You're safe."

For a moment, I just stayed there, crouched and watching him. This tiny, fragile thing had somehow climbed onto me, yelled at me, and lived to tell the tale. Humans were even stranger than I'd imagined.

***

(Krelzor)

I stood there, staring up at the massive mountain of flesh and fabric before me. My legs were jelly, and my arms still felt like they were attached by wet string after that insane climb. But hey, I was alive and back on solid ground, so I'd call that a win.

But then—of course, because apparently life wasn't done with me—the Titan started to glow.

"Oh, come on!" I shouted, throwing my hands in the air. The golden light radiated from her skin, blinding and intense. The ground shook beneath me again, as if the land itself wasn't thrilled with whatever was about to happen.

Then the wind picked up, howling like it had a personal grudge against me. Dust flew everywhere, making me cough and stumble back. I barely managed to shield my eyes with my arm, squinting through the chaos to see the impossible happen.

She was shrinking.

I kid you not, the colossal, miles-tall Titan of doom and destruction was getting smaller and smaller by the second. Her legs, which had once stretched into the clouds, shortened like someone was winding down a bizarre cosmic crank.

"What... what the hell?" I muttered, my voice cracking halfway through.

The rumbling finally stopped as the wind died down. When I lowered my arm and blinked away the dust, there she was, standing right in front of me.

And she was... well, human-sized. Taller than me by a good foot or so, but still. I wasn't craning my neck at a 90-degree angle just to look her in the face anymore.

"You... you... you!" I stammered, pointing at her like an idiot.

She brushed a lock of jet-black hair out of her face, completely unfazed by the fact that she had just defied every law of nature I thought I understood. "So," she said, striking a pose like she was on the cover of some glamorous magazine. "How do I look?"

I blinked. My brain was a scrambled mess, trying to process what had just happened. Shrinking Titan? Human-sized now? Asking me about her appearance?

"You look..." I started, swallowing hard. "Normal. Completely, uh... normal."