Warmth - BOOK 1 (END)

Chapter 13 - Descent

ARTHUR LEYWIN

"Arthur!"

I opened my eyes in an instant, surprised by the deep loud voice. A purple dagger formed in my right hand and I aimed it towards the speaker, "Woah!" Chul's hand went up, his eyes radiating fear. "Oh, it was just you," I sighed.

"What are you doing, why are you shouting at me?" I questioned, letting go of the dagger on my right hand—I let out a sharp exhale and looked at Chul. "You were zoned out and suddenly, you fell forward—I didn't know what to do because you weren't waking up so I laced my voice with mana." Chul answered, his eyes not meeting mine.

"How long?"

"You were zoned out for an hour and two, but you just passed out like 5 minutes ago, that's pretty much it."

"I see, let's go now," I clutched my left hand and felt something hard, 'huh?' I turned my eyes to my left and saw a black sphere. "Where did that come from? You weren't holding that thing earlier," Chul shouted.

I closed my left hand harder, but the object didn't show any signs of breaking nor budging within the force. 'Did they give it to me?'

"Arthur, I think we should go," Chul alarmed, his voice hinting fear. I looked up, then I saw him gazing behind me—following his eyes, there I saw the space distorting, cracks appearing, my eyes widened and I activated the static void as the bending of space got close.

I got up from my position, "What is this?" Within the cracks, purple hue shimmered. As if the space was bleeding, amethyst colored liquid crawled out of the gaps, and more cracks appeared around us.

Reaching towards the crack, my fingers burned, 'Shit!' I cursed as the gap widened and, in an instant, purple smoke poured out, channeling aether from my core to my back I activated God Step.

Inside God Step I grabbed Chul. In the blink of an eye we were in front of the beacon, I looked back, staring at the distortion of space, the bending slowly got close to us, the gap became bigger. I threw Chul in the pillar of light.

I stood, looking at the huge hole ahead of me, it was empty, no light could be seen, staring at it made me uncomfortable. It's as if something is looking back, as if someone was gazing at me beyond the nothingness.

Then it was disturbed, the nothingness in which I thought that can never be moved, waved. And ahead of me, inside it, a figure formed, its eyes shining like a star.

Purple irises glowed within the nothingness.

Aether inside me churned, my body shook with fear, my soul begging me to get away from the figure. As it got close, so did the bending around me, the air that entered my body slowed down.

I stepped back, one at a time, closely looking at the figure walking closer, and closer to me. I felt cold within a room with no wind, a room with only aether being present. I blinked then the figure was gone.

'Fuck!' I turned my body, and jumped towards the portal before a hand stopped me from the back, unconsciously fire of destruction covered my body, because of the fire a shadow was casted beneath—metallic spikes protruded from the ground, piercing my grabber.

I was able to escape the grasp, but before leaving the space I slightly turned back, meeting the figure. There I saw it smiling, its teeth reaching 'till his ears, its eyes turned into a slit.

As my body entered the portal, I saw it reaching its hand towards me, the tip of its claw slit the fabric of my shirt before a blur cut its arm. My heart pounded so hard that I thought it was going to burst out of my chest.

The blur had a black trail behind it, then it appeared once again—time slowed down as I met my savior's eyes, I smiled, "Thank you." Kloither smiled back and nodded before I was completely engulfed by the portal.