Where Light Meets Dark

Chapter 16 - Promise

Most of the trip through the underground for Night was spent trying to figure out what was going on.

Somehow it was hard for him to process his surroundings. He remembered catching blurred glimpses of things he'd normally recognize but simply couldn't at the moment. Although he'd partially regained consciousness, he found he couldn't move at all. For the moment, he had absolutely no chances of escaping.

As he lay limply on what felt like the back of a creature, he became aware of two voices talking somewhere ahead of him. He recognized one of them as Preciser, but the other was unfamiliar. The stranger's voice was asking, "What are we going to do with him?"

A slight chuckle from Preciser. "Absolutely nothing. I want you to chain him in the dungeon, and be sure he won't be able to escape."

". . . Um . . ." The stranger sounded hesitant. "You know who else is there . . . Would that be such a good idea?"

"Of course it will. Being that close and yet so far will be part of it all. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. I'll have both gems in a matter of weeks."

It was around then that he blacked out completely, but from there woke up fully at last. He found himself slumped uncomfortably against a hard and cold wall that seemed to be made of stone.

Blinking in confusion, he struggled weakly to straighten his posture, but immediately yelped with pain— sharp agony flashed through his entire body as soon as he moved. His head and neck were throbbing especially; he moaned and started reaching up to rub it, but something heavy was weighing his hands down and making it harder to move them. It was only then that he realized his wrists were bound in heavy metal cuffs which were connected by a thick chain to each other and the wall, only a foot off the ground.

For the first time, he looked up and studied the room as much as he could with his blurry eyesight. It seemed to be a large place, with a high ceiling and a far off opposite wall. It was completely unlit, which didn't really make a difference on his part, but he still couldn't see clearly. He vaguely recalled hitting his head, which probably had something to do with it.

Ouch, he thought with a grimace, staring at the floor. He also remembered landing on his neck, which explained why it was aching so much. Despite that, he was glad it'd turned out like this; the same landing could've easily killed him or paralyzed him for life.

He looked back down at his bonds, then started pulling them in opposite directions in an attempt to break the chains. But as soon as the cuffs were strained, they flashed brightly with red light, which burned at his wrists. He immediately stopped pulling, biting his lip to keep from yelping. The light faded, and he slumped back against the wall, at the moment only relieved the burning was gone.

Next, he summoned his blade and started hacking at them instead, which was sort of working until he missed and hit his wrist by accident. Instantly stabbing pain shot through his arm, adding to the soreness already gripping it. He doubled over at the agony and clutched his arm to his chest, panting aloud and barely resisting the urge to pass out again. That's gonna leave a scar. Several minutes passed before he finally uncurled slightly, muttering in frustration, and tossed the weapon aside. It skittered loudly along the ground for a couple seconds, and he was just about to make it vanish when suddenly the blade started glowing.

He stiffened. Sunray was calling him.

In his briefly panicked state, he forgot about the specialized handcuffs and almost tried to reach for it, but remembered just in time. Desperately he slid down the wall and managed to clumsily pull it back with his foot. As soon as it was in his hands again, he quickly swept his palm over the blade, and was staring at it wide-eyed when his partner's face appeared.