Chapter 53: Darkness
The fall was abrupt. Eun-woo felt his breath catch in his throat as his body hit the ground. The impact left him stunned for a few seconds. All around him was silence.
He blinked several times, but couldn’t see anything. It was completely dark. He couldn’t make out the ceiling, the floor, or his own hands. Just absolute blackness that left no shape or form visible.
He crept cautiously until his fingers brushed Rhys’s arm.
"Rhys..." he whispered, trying to locate his face. He touched it gently. He was unconscious, but still breathing.
Eun-woo stood still for a few seconds, trying to understand where they were. He knew they were no longer in the cave. The air was different. It was damp, cold, and didn’t smell of earth or minerals. It smelled more stagnant. As if the place had been closed up for a long time.
Even though he couldn’t see anything, he felt like something wasn’t right. He struggled to get his bearings. Even when he moved his arm, he wasn’t sure how much space there was around him. As if the distance were infinite.
He felt like something was watching him. Not from a fixed point, but from all around. From above, from the sides, from behind his neck. His heart began to beat faster. He couldn’t tell if there was anything alive there, because he couldn’t hear its breathing or heartbeat, but something was definitely stalking them.
Eun-woo crouched beside Rhys, shielding him with his body. He didn’t want to move any more than necessary. Any misstep could separate them.
Several seconds passed.
Then Eun-woo reached out to the side, feeling the ground. His palm hit something other than stone. It was as if the air had grown thicker. He tried again, this time upward. The same thing. It wasn’t a wall. It wasn’t a solid barrier. But something was there. Something pushing back against his skin.
Darkness began to close in around them. Eun-woo at first thought it was an illusion brought on by fear, but then he noticed he was having trouble breathing. The air grew thicker, and the space became narrower.
His lungs contracted with effort and a slight dizziness clouded his head.