Volume 2 – Chapter 4: Echoes in the Dark
The week had bled away in a slow, suffocating crawl. The town—if it could even be called that anymore—felt less like a settlement and more like a graveyard where the dead hadn't yet realized they should stop breathing. The air was thick with the stench of damp wood and something fouler, something that clung to the back of the throat like the aftertaste of a nightmare.
Every morning, like clockwork, we made our way to Serenia's. The children were the only flicker of warmth in this place, their laughter a fragile shield against the oppressive weight of Virelia's history. For a few hours, we could pretend things were normal. That the shadows in the corners of the room were just shadows. That the way the townspeople flinched when we passed was just some cultural quirk, not the mark of a people drowning in terror.
But the moment we stepped back into the streets, the illusion shattered.
We hunted. Every day. Every damn day.
Alleys that twisted like gutted snakes. Houses with boarded-up windows that seemed to watch us as we passed. Faces that shuttered the moment we got too close. The people here weren't just afraid—they were broken. Whatever had happened in this kingdom hadn't just left scars. It had hollowed them out.
And then, the night it all changed.
The Chase
The scream cut through the dark like a knife.
I was on my feet before the echo had faded, the chair clattering to the floor behind me. Lina was already at the door, her body coiled like a spring.
"Kid," she snarled.
I didn't need to ask where. The sound had come from the eastern quarter—close. Too close.
Cilia moved to follow, but I caught her wrist. "Stay with Serenia."
She opened her mouth to argue, but the second scream tore through the night, high and raw with terror. That settled it.
We ran.
The streets were a blur. I Pulled against the ground with every step, my body hurtling forward in bursts of unnatural speed. Lina didn't need magic—she moved like something wild, her strides eating up the distance with terrifying ease.
Ahead, a shadow darted across the rooftops.
Got you.
The kidnapper was fast. Not just fast—trained. The way he moved was too fluid, too calculated. He didn't panic. Didn't hesitate. Just kept moving, his cloak whipping behind him as he leapt from one roof to the next.
We followed.
I Pushed off the ground, the force of it cracking the cobblestones beneath me as I launched upward. Lina scaled the wall beside me, her fingers finding purchase in the smallest cracks, her body twisting midair to land in a crouch beside me.
The chase was brutal. The rooftops here were uneven, slick with moss and rot. Tiles shattered underfoot as we pursued, the sound like gunshots in the silent night. The kidnapper never looked back. Never slowed.
Then—he dropped.
One second he was there, the next he'd vanished into a narrow alley. By the time we reached the edge, all that was left was an open sewer grate, the darkness beneath yawning like a mouth.
Lina's jaw tightened. "Tunnels."
I didn't waste time nodding. We dropped down.
The Tunnels
The stench hit first—damp earth, mildew, and something metallic beneath it all. Blood. Old blood.
The tunnels were a nightmare. Low ceilings, walls slick with moisture, the ground uneven and littered with debris. The only light came from the faint glow of bioluminescent fungi clinging to the stone, casting everything in a sickly green hue.
"We split up," Lina said, her voice a low growl. "Cover more ground."
I didn't like it, but she was right. Time was slipping away.
I took the left passage.
The further I went, the heavier the silence became. The air was thick, pressing against my skin like a physical weight. My footsteps echoed, too loud in the stillness.
Then—
A whisper of movement.
Not ahead.
Behind me.
I spun just as the masked figure stepped from the shadows.
The Fight
He was taller than me. Broader. The bone-white mask hid his face, but the way he moved—like a predator who'd already decided how this would end—sent a cold spike of dread through my gut.
I didn't wait.
I Pushed off the ground, closing the distance in an instant, my fist aimed straight for his throat.
He tilted his head. Just slightly. My strike grazed past him, and before I could react, his palm cracked against my ribs.
Pain.
White-hot and sudden. I staggered, but didn't fall.
Again.
I feinted left, then Pulled myself forward in a burst, driving my knee toward his stomach. He twisted, his forearm slamming into my thigh to deflect the blow, then countered with an elbow to my temple.
Stars exploded across my vision.
I stumbled back, spitting blood.
He didn't press the attack. Just stood there, waiting. Taunting.
Fine.
I Pulled a chunk of stone from the wall and hurled it. He caught it. Crushed it in his grip like it was nothing.
Then he moved.
Fast.
A fist to my jaw. A knee to my gut. A sweep of his leg that sent me crashing to the ground. I rolled, barely avoiding the heel that would've caved in my skull, and Pushed outward in a desperate burst.
The force sent us both flying apart.
I hit the wall hard, the impact driving the breath from my lungs. He landed in a crouch, utterly unfazed.
I was outmatched.
I knew it.
He knew it.
But I wasn't dead yet.
I Pulled the ground itself, ripping up a shockwave of shattered stone. He leapt over it—
And I Pushed the debris upward, straight into his path.
For the first time, he had to react. He twisted midair, but not fast enough. A jagged piece of rock grazed his side, tearing through his robes.
A flicker of red. Blood.
Got you.
He landed, and for a fraction of a second, he paused. Then his head tilted, the mask's empty eyes locking onto me.
"Not bad," he said, his voice a rough scrape of sound.
Then he moved.
I barely got my arms up in time. His fist crashed into my guard, the force of it driving me back. Another blow. Another. My vision blurred.
A kick to my chest sent me into the wall.
Crack.
Something in my back gave.
I slid to the ground, gasping.
He stepped closer. A blade glinted in his hand.
No.
No.
I Pulled the ceiling.
The tunnel erupted in dust and debris as stone collapsed between us. I didn't wait to see if it hit him—I turned and ran, my body screaming in protest with every step.
I barely made it to the surface before my legs gave out.
Aftermath
I woke to the feeling of hands on my face.
"Hey—hey! Look at me!"
Cilia's voice. Panicked. Her fingers pressed against the blood on my lips, her eyes wide.
I tried to speak. Couldn't.
"Don't talk," she whispered, her hands trembling as she helped me sit up. "Just—just hold on, okay? I've got you."
I didn't catch the kidnapper that night.
But i learned something far worse lurked beneath this kingdom.
And now—it knew us.