Chapter 737: Embrace the Dark
Things came to a head quickly. Not in the gate, but myself. The small bubble of vision the gate allowed seemed to shrink as time went on, looking more and more like a cage. The time Fable disappeared ahead or behind to fight demons made the seconds drag by. Holding R’lissea’s hand did little to alleviate the tightness in my chest or the agitated swish of my tail. Every time Fable or a demon abruptly appeared, I screamed. My heart never had a chance to relax.
After clearing the next hallway, I stopped in front of the hole, staring at it. R’lissea paused, watching me with concern.
"I can’t do this anymore," I muttered. "There has to be a way."
"It’s dark, but we’re making good progress," she said.
"I haven’t even gotten a glimpse of Evla’s soul. We don’t even know how big the gate is, or how many demons are here. Even if we kill them all, we’ll just be wandering around forever."
"Or until the gate breaks," she muttered.
"We won’t get an invitation to leave. We’re not demons."
"Then..." she trailed off, biting her lip.
The darkness pressed in, and the imaginary cage seemed to tighten, crushing my ribs. Every breath was difficult, burning in my throat. Fable whined, nudging my side urgently. The darkness retreated again, letting me breathe.
"We...we have to escape," I finally managed, the words tumbling out, "or at least find the real pattern here, not just stumble through blindly. I can’t just keep screaming every time a shadow moves."
R’lissea looked at me, her brow furrowed with concern. "What are you thinking, Xiviyah?"