Chapter 84: The Call of Tayun (7)
[ AN: Music Recommendation: Black Jaguar Primal Ambient by Infinity Realm ]
Yoa entered the darkness, letting it settle over his features, as a gust of air brushed against his face. His glowing eyes piercing through the gloom as his jaguar vision peeled back the shadows and brought his surroundings into sharp focus.
It wasn’t cold, nor hot. The air was still, so quiet that the sound of his own breath seemed louder than usual. His fingers relaxed slightly from their fists, instinctively brushing against the walls beside him, but they met no surface.
The large space was empty. Nothing stood before him. But that didn’t mean he was alone. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and the presence of another being thrummed behind him. But when his head whipped back to look, there was nothing but darkness there.
Even the path he’d taken from where the guides stood had vanished.
His steps were slow and measured, unsure of what to expect. The guide’s words were cryptic, as usual, and offered little real direction. So, like always, he followed his gut. Since the second trial, Yoa had learned to trust it more than the belief that everything could be won by strength alone.
Yoa’s head whipped to the side at the sudden sound of movement, like a pebble rolling across the cavernous floor. He followed the sound, muscles tensing, preparing for anything to appear from the shadows. But when nothing but the roots of the tree and rock halted his steps, he scowled.
There was more to this. Yoa could feel it. Noko and Vulcan’s trials ended swiftly, so it must be a split second of choice or action that determined his fate.
The sound of claws scratching down the rock to his right, locked his jaw, and clenched his teeth at the sound.
A harsh scratching of claws against stone rang out to his right, stiffening his spine. The sound set his teeth on edge, and his jaw tightened instinctively, every muscle coiled with alert tension. It was meant to unnerve him, but it only irritated his ears.
A shadow whispered past him. Yoa turned sharply, but it was too late. It came again, from another angle... then another. He moved with instinct, ducking, pivoting, heart pounding as the air thickened with the unseen threat. He tried to keep track of it, but it was made impossible.