Chapter 100: In the Dark
"What the hell was that?" Aziel demanded, as he scanned the room for threats.
"I don’t see anything," he muttered, eyes narrowing as he swept his gaze across every corner and crevice of the chamber. The air felt wrong—heavy with something beyond the mere absence of light. It carried a weight, an intention that made the hair on Aziel’s neck stand on end.
After a long moment of tense silence, Aziel finally let his eyes fall onto Arthur, who stood motionless near the other end of the room. Arthur’s face was pale, lips parted as though about to speak. Aziel could tell he was preparing to say something when the world suddenly shifted.
One moment Aziel was standing firm, the next he found himself violently airborne.
’What the fuck!’
His body hurtled through the room at unbelievable speed, propelled by some invisible force that had seized him with crushing pressure. The lightning that had been crackling around him extinguished as he shot through the doorway and into a new room, his startled cry echoing against stone walls he couldn’t see.
Whatever unseen entity had grabbed him abruptly released its hold, sending Aziel crashing hard against the ground. He tumbled across the floor, limbs flailing helplessly before his back slammed into what he assumed was the far wall. Pain lanced through his spine, stealing his breath as he struggled to reorient himself in the pitch darkness.
Instinctively, Aziel scrambled to his feet, heart hammering against his ribs as he called upon his elemental power once more. Lightning surged to life, crackling around his body—but something was wrong. The electric blue energy that should have illuminated the room seemed contained, as though the darkness around him was actively consuming the light rather than being banished by it.
He couldn’t see walls. He couldn’t see a floor. It was like standing in a void where his lightning, bright as it was, simply had nothing to reflect off.