In that mont that I plumted down the skies at breathtaking pace, I reached out to the void, heart thundering as I rapidly inched closer to the writhing, twisting dark mist below.
"....!!"
My eyes widened in sheer terror, heart pounding in my ears as the shadows beneath, reached out to .
Above, although clearly taken aback, the crimson-haired lady reacted fast— insanely fast even. Her body twisted midair as she gripped the blind girl's golden rope, and with a fierce whirl, she swung it down, aiming it right at .
Whoossh!!!
My eyes locked wide in terror as I caught a glimpse of a golden light creeping through the darkness —just as a streak of lightning split the cracked sky above— illuminating the jagged structures and the seething dark mist beneath .
Although it glowed only for a brief second, it was more than enough.
'I hoped it was...'
As my stomach churned, I swung my arm into the air, reaching... inching, grasping for the last straw of hope I'd left. And, for one agonizing second, I thought I'd miss it.
My stomach sank in fear, despair and dread pooling around my chest like an iron vice.
It was then that I realized:
'I didn't want to die. I didn't want to...'
I didn't want to give fate or death the idea of victory, even if it were but for a fleeting second. However, right about then, sothing much more terrifying clawed at the edges of my mind.
My ti loop ability.
'I didn't think it still worked. I-I wasn't sure it still did...'
And just as my mind raced, the endless shadows beneath reaching out to , the rope seed to stretch- expanding, as though in response to my silent plea.
My eyes widened in unheld ecstasy, and with a final desperate lunge, my fingers closed around it. Relief and searing pain flooded my senses simultaneously as my body slamd into the dune's jagged structure.
In that mont, however, my body grazed the dark mist, its corrosive trait coming into effect in an instant.
"...!!"
Ba thump! Ba thump!
Just as my eyes widened in fear, heart pounding in my chest, the chaotic blue fla ignited within , revolving around my body as it neutralized the dark mist's corrosive trait.
However, that was after I'd felt the agonizing pain of my body structure being forcefully... reshaped.
"Uuh... Hah..."
With deep, heavy breaths, I glanced at the dark mist. And, as my gaze lingered, I couldn't help but have a weird thought.
'It's... angry.'
How I knew this, I had no idea.
Shadows writhed across its surface, and in that mont, I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand on end. A-as though multiple unseen eyes were staring right back at... .
"..."
In the abyss below, the dark particles of the dark mist lapped beneath , close enough to graze , but stopping short of dragging to their malevolent depths.
"Huff..."
I let out a tense breath I didn't realize I'd been holding in.
"That was really too close for comfort."
I clenched my hands and shifted my gaze away from the dark mist. Mostly because, staring at it was making uncomfortable in ways I couldn't quite place my hands on.
I shivered for a second, but with the rope now tightened around my waist, I could at least ensure that I wouldn't be dying. At least not anyti soon... I hope.
And...
Although I wasn't sure of being out of the cursed land, nor of the chances of my ti-rewind ability being tied to the nightmarish land. I had a feeling it was. Very much so.
But to be honest, I'd no thought of confirming if that were really the case. I was too scared to.
Shuddering, I gritted my teeth and began the arduous ascent.
Minutes later, my hands were hurting like hell. They burned as I climbed higher. Each push and pull a battle against the screaming protests of my body. Yet, I kept going.
Pain shot through , and my lungs were hurting, yet the alternative -falling- was far worse. So, I continued with the ascent. Minutes stretched into what felt like an eternity, before I finally hauled myself into the dune structure.
Thud!
I collapsed onto the floor. Chest heaving as my breathes co out in short, ragged gasps.
"Ukh... Akh..."
Everyone all rested against the wall or like , laid sprawled across the floor, making it clear that we were all damn tired and exhausted. It was then, however, that Aezel glanced at with a smirk.
"Close call, kid. Thought we'd have to say goodbye."
He paused and then smiled.
"That would have been pretty... unfortunate."
A dark grimace contorted my features. And suddenly, I was filled with an intense urge to smash his handso... euk... ugly face into a pile of blood. But, unfortunately, I couldn't. I couldn't even raise my arm.
But, even then, I couldn't bear the thought of giving him the satisfaction he'd hope for.
So, I glared at him and said:
"Disappointed I didn't give you the chance to smile?"
His gaze lingered on for a few seconds before he shook his head and let out a light chuckle. His attention then shifted to the blind girl beside him. She rested her head on his shoulder, his hand brushing her hair with an odd tenderness.
"..."
"Tsk."
I clicked my tongue. As for why I did that? I also have no idea.
With my back now against the cold, dark floor, I shifted my gaze to the azure cracked sky. The azure constellation bled into existence, and lightning arced through the sky, briefly illuminating the void and the abyss yawning below.
And, finally, I could hold it in no longer.
The natural order known as: sleep. It was finally catching up to . Right about then, I wanted nothing more than to have a few monts of respite.
"I am so damn tired."
I couldn't even raise my hand. But, even then, I forced myself to do so.
A small, dark smile playing at my lips. "Uh... how was that fate?"
I smiled. And, as the smile lingered, I closed my eyes to fall asleep, when—
"...!!"
Aezel flipped to his feet, his hands twitching around his bow as he spoke in a dark, grim tone:
"He's been touched by the Dark Mist."
In that instant, my blood ran cold. Panic ignited within as I locked eyes with Aezel.
"..."
"...!!"
Mia's face however, was still as unreadable as ever. Her eyes though, still lingered on , as though to pierce with them.
***
"Hasn't he been corrupted?" Aezel mused under his breath.
As his gaze lingered, he could see faint traces of the dark mist clinging to the scrawny boy's clothes, yet the boy seed relatively... fine.
There was no change in his expression. No weird tamorphosis. There was... nothing.
It was almost as though the young boy was... unaffected by the Dark Mist.
'B-but how?'
***
Just then, the blind girl's voice cut through the tense silence.
"He hasn't been corrupted."
"B-but the mist—"
"He hasn't."
The blind girl cut him off.
"..."
At that point, it seed even the usually cold and detached Mia was slightly taken aback.
'Crap!'
That was the only word I could use to describe my current situation. Now, I needn't to be told to know I had a lot of explaining to do.
However, the thought of revealing the fla just didn't sit well with . It was after all, the only card I had up my sleeve.
Thinking about the fla.
I willed myself to find the sprawling mass of blue incandescent fla and soon found it. And not only that, but I realized that.
"..."
Sothing seed to have changed about it. It no longer felt weak. If anything, it seed even stronger than it previously was.
Like they say: Good things co to those who work hard. No... to those who overco certain-death scenarios.
'Yeah. That sounds better.'
In that mont however, rembering the grim nature of my current situation, I retracted my gaze, shifting it towards them.
And in that instant, I realized a shocking fact:
They all seed to have recovered from the shock. For minutes, no one said anything about my immunity to the dark mist. And we instead, just sat in a stifling, suffocating quiet.
At that mont though, a single thought raced through my mind:
Just what monsters am I walking with?
Judging by their expression, it seed though curious, they weren't too shocked by the fact that I was unaffected by the Dark Mist. And, that led to a reasonable conclusion. One that felt both comforting and oddly... unsettling.
They could also do the sa thing. Though, at what cost?
It was at that mont that I let out a light sigh, removing the various thoughts racing through my mind.
For now, their lack of intense curiosity worked in my favor. No one seed interested in probing deeper, allowing to keep my secrets intact.
However...
If experience had taught anything. It was that humans were wary of the unknown. Hence, I still had to be very careful around them.
'...Well, the longer I stay with them, the higher my chances of finding out more about them.'
At that mont, however, my eyes slowly shifted towards Mia.
"...."
As I stared at her flawless white skin, to her blazing golden-azure pupils, for a second there, I felt sothing stir deep within .
"Weird."
I tilted my head.
It was at that mont that her gaze shifted towards .
"..."
"..."
Our eyes locked.
Silence. It lingered. Until—
"What are you staring at?"
She finally broke the silence. Her hands then stopped in their motion of caressing her sword.
"Uh- nothing."
I imdiately shifted my gaze away. Though for a second, I thought I heard her... chuckling.
"Hah..."
I exhaled lightly and stared at the sky. I had completed one of my goals. et with other humans.
Now what?
I questioned no one but myself, and perhaps the endless void within .
Unable to get an answer to my question, I shook my head and decided to wave it off.
"Let's see how things go."
That would determine if I would continue to go solo like I always had, or if I would cling on to this group.
"...Ti to go to bed."
However, as I closed my eyes to fall asleep, I realized that I couldn't.
There was this strange feeling I couldn't quite place my hands on. Just that, it made every hair at the back of my neck stand on end.
And to make matters worse, I couldn't discern where this strange sense of discomfort was coming from.
To be honest though, I was really too damn tired to listen to this strange voice or whatever it even was. However, the strange sense of dread and unease persisted. Growing stronger with each passing second. Until—
Euk, just what is it! Can't I even sleep in peace!
I groaned in annoyance. I felt aggrieved and annoyed, a dark irritation clouding my mind.
...Yet, the strange voice persisted.
So,
"Ugh!"
Begrudgingly, I rose to my feet and scanned the nightmarish landcape. Yet I found... nothing. The cursed land, for once, was eeriely quiet.
So, I stood in the stifling silence for what felt like an eternity. Waiting. Watching. Until,
Finally—
"Is it just or does sothing feel... wrong?"
I couldn't take it anymore.
Perhaps I was already losing it. I already knew it would happen anyway.
...Not just this soon.
Mia's gaze flickered towards .
"You're probably just overthinking it."
"It's probably just then," I replied with a nod. Though I wasn't convinced.
The feeling. It grew. Clawing at the edges of my mind with each breath that I took.
'Paranoia Dean. Paranoia.'
I told myself. Yet, with the passage of ti, the feeling only continued to intensify. And now... I needn't be told to know sothing was wrong. Deeply wrong.
A frown tugged at the corner of my lips.
Thinking hard, I realized the only thing that separated from most people would probably be my strange familiarity and attunent with the... endless shadows.
And, as soon as I tried to focus on the shadows. In that mont, lighting arcs tore through the cracked sky above, and then.
Flick—!
...They appeared before !
"...!!"
Rotten, dessicated hands writhed in the dark.
Thump! Thump!
In that mont, I stood frozen in sheer terror as shock unlike anything I'd ever felt before, rippled through every fiber of my being.
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