The Darksiders: Eight's Prologue

Chapter 3

Softly, Eight trotted through the Library halls, lost in his head as he stared down at the void Crystal.

"Channel magic." Lifting his gaze, he looking through the nearly pitch-black hallway. "What other kinds of magic?" As he looked around, a thought had popped into his head. Perhaps he could do light magic. Closing his eyes, he found himself trying to focus on the Crystal, trying to tell it to light. There was a noticeable feeling inside his body as he did so, something akin to a slow river running through him, but it seemed there was a snag in the stream, as the crystal continued to do absolutely nothing around his neck aside from sway.

Suddenly, however, the sound of a distant shuffling echoed through the halls, breaking Eight's focus.

Eight had learned his lesson to not make too much noise and swiftly pressed himself against the wall, sliding along it towards the sound. Slowly, he peered through an open doorway, into another large study, like the room before, only this one with its tables broken and shattered.

In the middle of the room sat a group of sleeping Shadow dogs, the area directly around them bathed in pitch black. "So, that's a defense mechanism, I guess?" Eight whispered, before leaning out and sneaking past the doorway. He knew better at this point that approaching was a death sentence, especially without a weapon. As he moved further down the hall, he couldn't help but think back to Teia and what she said.

'A castle, and a friend?' Eight recalled, staying close to the wall before looking between two hallways that breached off from this one. This place was bigger than expected. "First, I need a weapon, if I'm to follow any more info from her." He whispered to himself, deciding to take the right path.

Room after room, hallway after branching hallway, Eight found himself lost deep in the dark Library, only occasionally stepping into a few empty rooms. Each room on this floor looked strikingly similar, aside from a few details, and unfortunately, he had very little luck finding a map, if there was one.

With an annoyed sigh, Eight stepping into another copy of the same study room before beginning to search, pulling out the violet journal he'd almost forgotten he had before pulling it open. "This is a library, so there is sure to be a pencil around here somewhere."

A soft and sudden gasp quickly caught Eight's attention as he turned to the doorway. For a moment he paused, taking a deep breath through his soft breath, before finally gaining some confidence. "H-Hello?" Inching towards the door, he slowly leaned to the side, trying to look out. To his surprise, he found his eyes meeting someone else's for a brief moment. And apparently, they noticed, as they suddenly jumped back, running down the hallway.

"Wait!" Quiet was out as he ran after the other pony, turning into the hallway just as they rounded the corner. "Wait, I'm not gonna hurt you!" He couldn't see much in the dark hallway as he gave chase, trying his best not to trip on the many scattered pages on the floor. The noise they were making wasn't going unnoticed as he saw a few shadow dogs look out from the study rooms. This floor was quickly becoming a death trap when he felt a sudden jolt against his body.

The other pony had apparently stopped and bucked him backward, down a set of stairs he hadn't noticed.

With a groan, Eight looked up the stairs, spotting a fearful young mare with a messy main, shaking in place. Without light, it was hard to make out the color, but he could tell the mare was bruised and had scratched on her. "I wasn't... gonna hurt you..." were the only words Eight could say through his exhausted breaths.

The mare didn't say anything, a look of fear still on her face.

For a moment, the two stared at each other, before the mare turned in horror, before bolting down the hallway, only for the shadow dogs to rush past after her.