Chapter 85
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in an unknown, dark space. The beginning and end were indiscernible, and I couldn't even tell where I was standing. It was a place so engulfed in darkness, as if I had drifted into the void beyond the void, where nothing existed and no sound could be heard. I was lost in this pitch-black confusion.
"Where is this...?" I mutter to myself, my voice dissipating into the void, only to be met with an eerie silence that even felt cold. Trying to find an answer was futile in this engulfing blackness. The surroundings were filled with such darkness that it felt like I was moving with my eyes closed. No matter how far I walked or reached out, there was nothing to touch.
"Certainly, I was..." Reluctantly, I revisit my last memory, naturally recalling fragmented scenes. 'My beloved... please become my strength.' Yes, I remember being embraced by Luceria, then losing my sight...
And when I opened my eyes - or at least I thought I did - all I saw was this void. Was this an unknown space brought about by Luceria? "Ah... Ahh..." As I pondered, suddenly I heard the pained moans of a girl... "Marika?!"
Turning around, I was confronted with a nightmare-like scene: Marika was lying powerless on the ground, wailing. "I hate this... please help... Harold..." Strangely, she murmured my name, her eyes tightly shut as if struggling against something.
"Marika!! Snap out of it!" I tried to shake her to consciousness, but she was unresponsive. Whoosh! "Marika?!" Then, suddenly, she began to be absorbed into the darkness and started to disappear.
"Ugh...!" I desperately tried to hold onto her, resisting the darkness... "Marika!!" But I ultimately lost her to the shadows. "No..."
I lamented, feeling the pain of having lost her to an unknown place. Just then... "Welcome, to the world within..." A light-hearted voice addressed me. "?!" A fleeting suspicion of who the voice belonged to crossed my mind. Could it be... the one behind me is...
"Yes, it's me." As if reading my thoughts, the entity responds to my silent contemplation.