Chapter 760 - 762
A presence.
He spun around, sword drawn, just as the darkness itself seemed to take form. Tendrils of shadow coiled and twisted, merging into something humanoid yet utterly inhuman. Glowing void-like eyes locked onto his, and a voice, layered and echoing, filled the space around him.
"You hold the key," it said. "But do you hold the will?"
Jude gritted his teeth. "Who are you?"
The figure did not move, yet its presence pressed against him, heavy as a storm before the lightning strike. "A question unworthy of the moment. You seek to pass beyond, yet you do not understand the cost."
Jude’s grip on his sword tightened. "If there’s a price, name it."
The shadow twisted, shifting around him like a living mist. "A price is not named. A price is taken."
Before he could react, the darkness surged forward. Cold seeped into his bones, deeper than any winter chill, deeper than mere touch, it reached into something more. His thoughts wavered, his very sense of self dimming.
Memories flashed before him.
His first battle, the weight of a sword too large for his hands. The laughter of his sister before she was taken. The silent rage in his father’s eyes. The countless faces of those he had failed, of those he had saved.
And then, nothing.