Chapter 134: Lily’s Choice
Lily POV
The Void Walker crashed through the cave roof like a falling meteor, sending rocks and dust everywhere. I rolled away just as a massive chunk of stone smashed where I’d been stood. The monster landed hard, its gray form crackling with hungry energy.
"Lily, get back!" Caleb shouted, but I was already moving toward the hurt being instead of away from it.
Something was different about this Void Walker. Where others I’d seen moved with predatory ease, this one stumbled. Its gray skin shifted between solid and transparent, like a bad television signal. Most shocking of all, its eyes weren’t totally empty - I could see pain there. Real, terrible pain.
The creature tried to lunge at me, but fell halfway. Dark energy leaked from cracks in its form like blood from cuts. It was dying, and somehow I could feel its pain as if it were my own.
"Help... me..." The words came out as a whisper, barely audible.
My heart nearly stopped. Void Walkers didn’t talk. They didn’t ask for help. They just consumed everything in their way with mindless hunger. But this one was different.
"Did it just speak?" Brock asked, his sword raised but unsure.
I knelt beside the thing, ignoring everyone’s protests. Up close, I could see more cracks running through its gray form. They glowed with a sickly light that hurt to look at. But underneath that corruption, I felt something familiar. Something that reminded me of the protective feeling I got from pack leaders.
"You’re not really a monster, are you?" I whispered.
The Void Walker’s shifting eyes focused on me with desperate hope. "Guardian... was... Guardian..."