Chapter 53: The Heartbeat in the Darkness.
I opened my eyes.
Darkness.
Not the darkness of a closed room. Not the darkness of a moonless night. This was something else.
Something absolute.
I couldn't see the ground beneath my feet. I couldn't see the walls, the ceiling, or even the horizon. When I raised my hands toward my face, I couldn't see them either.
For a moment, I wondered whether I had gone blind.
I stood perfectly still, trying to understand where I was.
Was this still the underground chamber?
Had the darkness transported me somewhere else?
I couldn't tell.
The sensation reminded me of waking up in the middle of the night. That familiar feeling when you open your eyes and realize the room is completely dark. The curtains are drawn, the moon is hidden, and the world has been reduced to nothing but the sound of your own breathing.
You know you're in your room.
You know where the walls should be, where the furniture is, and where the door stands.
Yet something about the darkness makes everything feel unfamiliar.
Sometimes, you even get the uncomfortable feeling that someone is watching you.
Someone is nearby.
But when you look, there's nobody there.
This was similar.
Except much worse.
I couldn't recognize my surroundings. I couldn't tell whether I was standing in a chamber or somewhere entirely different.
And I couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching me.
"Kaede!"
My voice broke the silence.
No response.
"Adelgund! Averhilda! Albruna!"
Nothing.
I tried shouting louder.
My voice echoed into the darkness, bouncing off unseen walls before returning to me, distorted and hollow.
Still, nobody answered.
I waited.
Perhaps they were somewhere nearby. Perhaps the darkness had simply separated us, and they were calling for me too.
"Kaede! Can you hear me?"
Silence.
I began to worry.
Had something happened to them?
Were they still alive?
I tried reaching out with my senses, but I couldn't feel anything.
I took a cautious step forward.
Then another.
My hands stretched out in front of me, feeling for obstacles that never came. My feet searched for uneven ground, yet the surface beneath them remained strangely consistent.
I didn't know which direction I was walking.
There was no direction.
But I walked anyway.
Eventually, I began running.
I don't know how far I travelled. There was no way to measure the distance, no landmarks to guide me, and nothing to tell me whether I was moving forward or going in circles.
No matter how far I went, nothing changed.
The darkness remained absolute.
The silence remained complete.
And that feeling of being watched never disappeared.
It lingered at the back of my neck, like an invisible presence standing just beyond my reach.
I stopped.
My breathing had become ragged. My heart pounded in my chest, and I could feel the sweat gathering in my palms.
I was lost.
And I was not alone.
I closed my eyes.
If I couldn't see my surroundings, perhaps my abilities could help me understand where I was.
"Echoes Sight."
Nothing.
I concentrated harder, pushing my awareness outward, searching for the emotional impressions that had always been present before.
The memories of people who had walked through a place.
The fear, happiness, anger, and sorrow they had left behind.
But there was nothing.
It was as though the darkness had swallowed everything.
I tried again.
Nothing.
I switched to Echoes Vibration.
Normally, I could sense the smallest movements through the earth. Footsteps, the shifting of stones, even the distant movement of creatures beneath the ground.
I reached downward, searching for the familiar vibrations.
But I couldn't feel the ground.
I couldn't feel anything.
I stood there, unable to understand what was happening.
For the first time, both of my inherited abilities seemed completely useless.
I tightened my grip on the G-Pen.
If my senses couldn't help me, perhaps magic could.
I raised the pen and began drawing.
The familiar lines formed in the air before me, glowing faintly as the spell took shape.
A light spell.
The magic activated.
For a brief moment, a soft golden glow appeared.
But before it could illuminate my surroundings, the darkness swallowed it.
Not extinguished.
Not blocked.
Just gone.
The light disappeared as though it had never existed.
I stared at the empty space where it had been.
"What?"
I tried again.
The same thing happened.
This time, I changed the spell.
Fire.
A small flame appeared at the tip of my G-Pen, burning brightly for a heartbeat before vanishing into the darkness.
Then wind.
Then ice.
Each spell activated successfully.
Each one disappeared almost immediately.
I stood motionless, staring into the blackness.
My magic was working.
The G-Pen was responding.
Yet nothing I created could survive here.
I tried drawing another light spell, but I stopped halfway through.
I needed to think.
My usual methods might not work here.
Even my magic couldn't illuminate this place.
***
I heard something.
A faint sound.
I froze.
It was difficult to tell where it had come from, but it sounded like footsteps.
Soft.
Careful.
Almost hesitant.
I turned toward the sound.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
The footsteps stopped.
I waited, listening.
Then came another sound.
Closer this time.
Something moving through the darkness.
I tightened my grip on the G-Pen and slowly began walking toward it.
My steps were cautious.
I didn't know what I would find, but I couldn't remain standing in the same place forever.
Then…
Something brushed against my shoulder.
I spun around.
Nothing.
My breathing quickened.
I raised the G-Pen, ready to draw another spell.
But there was nothing to see.
Nothing to attack.
Nothing to defend myself against.
Only darkness.
I swallowed.
I was not alone.
Whatever was here, it was close enough to touch me.
And I couldn't see it.
I took a step backward.
Then another.
The silence seemed heavier now.
I could almost feel something standing behind me, watching my every movement.
I wanted to run.
But where could I go?
***
I stopped moving.
Perhaps I was approaching this the wrong way.
If I couldn't see anything, and my abilities couldn't sense anything, perhaps I needed to rely on something simpler.
I closed my eyes.
I listened.
I concentrated on every sound I could possibly detect.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No wind.
No breathing.
Not even the faintest movement.
I waited.
Seconds passed.
Then more.
The silence stretched on until I began to wonder whether I had imagined the footsteps.
And then…
Thump.
I froze.
A faint sound.
So faint that I almost missed it.
Thump.
I held my breath.
A heartbeat.
I couldn't tell where it was coming from.
Was it my own?
Or someone else's?
I concentrated harder.
Thump.
The sound came again.
Slow.
Steady.
Deliberate.
It didn't sound like the frantic beating of my own heart.
It seemed to come from somewhere beyond me.
Somewhere in the darkness.
I didn't move.
I didn't breathe.
I simply listened.
Thump.
Then…
Silence.
What will happen next...
Find out in the next chapter, same place, same time.
