Nightblade (Darkest night)

Chapter 253: Fugue

A thick, unnatural veil of darkness spilled from the ancient doorway, crawling across the ground in slow waves.

The darkness moved against the wind, ignoring the storm’s direction entirely.

It seeped through cracks in the stone, rolled over the frozen earth, and swallowed the faint light of the cloudy sky above.

Morgan shifted back instinctively, every instinct screaming at him to flee.

"I guess this is more than what you lot bargained for," Sarenus whispered incredulously with a grim tone.

Morgan pursed his lips, staring at the rolling mist warily.

Within moments, the dark mist slowly condensed in on itself, emitting several small pulses.

A moment later, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over him.

"Move!"

Morgan was already retreating by the time Valerius spoke.

Valerius was outwardly calm, but his voice carried a sense of urgency.

Morgan swiftly sprinted, focusing on putting as much distance between himself and the invading mist as possible.

"What the hell is that?!" Morgan hissed.

Raven shook her head, following eight behind him.

A split second later, a thunderous tremor rocked the mountainside. The ancient rocks embedded in the mountain were dislodged, hurtling down the mountain in a grotesque avalanche of hideous mist and boulders.

Morgan cursed, pumping his legs as fast as he could.

"Angel!"

A dark shadow blurred past Morgan, the air crackling in its wake.

Valerius rose into the air, his eyes gleaming with ethereal golden highlights.

"Stop! You shall not pass!"

An ethereal wall of brilliant light shimmered into existence, creating an immovable boundary between the fleeing group and the encroaching wave of shifting darkness.

The wall of rocks’ darkness slammed into the golden projection with a vengeful fury, instantly creating a horrendous web of myriad cracks that quickly spread throughout the entire section.

Valerius grunted, gritting his teeth.

His eyes gleamed with murderous fury, his hair whipping back wildly in the wind.

"Move! Sye, get them to safety!"

Morgan’s eyes widened slightly, realization flashing in his eyes.

"He can’t go all out because of us."

"Well, if you understand that much, then move!" Sye shouted.

Morgan felt his lungs burn. His muscles ached. His entire body screamed as he pushed beyond his limits.

"Shit!"

Behind them, a pillar of golden light erupted, shooting into the sky.

"Move, move, move!"

Then a low, heart-wrenching sound reached his ears, quieter at first and then louder.

"What the—!"

A web of thin fractures spread through the ground, slowly at first and then more rapidly.

Until

CRAAAAACK!

The ground beneath them slowly began to shift.

"Morgan!"

An ear-piercing scream rang through the air.

Then the ancient earth gave way.

The entire mountain path collapsed entirely, giving way to boundless darkness.

His next footsteps met nothing but air.

Morgan gasped, clapping at the air.

"Wait!"

Raven rumbled first, screaming helplessly while frantically clawing at the air.

Then Angel.

Despite the direction situation they were in, the unnatural beauty dove straight into the abyss, lunging after Raven’s rapidly disappearing form.

"Sarenus!" He inwardly screamed.

For a split second, the Void shifted violently within him, then—nothing.

"Huh?"

The Voidwalker went silent once more, leaving Morgan’s mind agonizingly silent.

Morgan suddenly found himself blind, deaf, and suffocating.

Even his uncanny vision failed to pierce through the veil of suffocating darkness in the fissure they’d tumbled through.

For a few frantic moments, Morgan flailed wildly through the air, pure unbridled terror gripping his heart in an iron grip.

He gasped, trying to get his bearings straight.

"Damn it! Damn it! DAAAMMNNNN ITTTT!"

Stone and debris rained down around them as they plunged through the mountain.

Morgan twisted his body, trying to find something, anything to grab onto.

Several moments later, the darkness swallowed him.

The first Morgan felt was pain.

Raw, excruciating, agonizing, and blinding pain.

The pain exploded throughout his body, coursing through his entire being.

For several seconds, he couldn’t breathe, his mouth opening in a soundless scream that seemed to go on and on.

Eventually, the pain and the noise slowly subsided, giving way to deafening silence.

Morgan let out a low cry, sulking in slow, deep breaths.

"I’m ok. I’m alive. I’m alive..."

Grasping at the ground in front of him with a pained grunt, he slowly forced himself upright.

Morgan looked around.

"Raven?"

"Sye?"

His voice echoed across the vast expanse of darkness, the sound mingling and echoing again and again into an eerie, soulful sound.

His expression darkened. They had been separated.

"Ah, bloody hell..."

"Morgan?"

Morgan spun around at the sound of the familiar voice.

A petite young woman stood before him, her emerald eyes boring into his own with a strange intensity.

Morgan froze, staring at her wordlessly for several moments.

Eventually, he let out a weary sigh.

"Mum?"

The woman smiled, nodding.

Morgan went silent, staring at her somberly for a few moments.

"I died then. Is this the afterlife? It’s so dark and creepy..."

He took a step forward, then stopped glancing at the woman in front of him.

"Am I dead?"

She smiled then slowly shook her head.

Morgan’s eyes widened slightly.

"If I’m not dead, then what the hell is happening ?"

A split second later, the darkness receded, giving way to a familiar apartment building.

Morgan stared at the new surroundings, feeling a familiar sense of dread and apprehension.

A moment later, Lisa lay dead on the floor with the monster, Zagrul, standing over her.

Morgan’s eyes gleamed with murderous fury.

"Monster! Murderer!"

Zagrul laughed mockingly, shaking his head in amusement.

"Yesssss!" He hissed.

"Fight! FIGHT MEEEEE!!!!" He roared.

Morgan charged forward, then slowed, almost as though he were running through a bog.

Every step felt sluggish and unsteady.

"No!"

His eyes burned with murderous fury staring at the monster standing before him.

"I’ll kill you!" He screamed.

"KILL YOU!"

Zagrul’s mocking laughter rang out even as the monster turned, dissolving into the shadows.

In his frenzied state, Morgan suddenly tensed, then slowly turned.

A moment later, he grew still, feeling a cold shiver run down his spine.

In his blind rage, he’d failed to notice them earlier, but now he did.

Faint tendrils of darkness slowly surged around him, the ceiling around his legs, and arms slowly crawling up his entire body.

The ominous darkness filled him with an impending sense of dread.

In the next moment, he felt his blood run cold.

"No!"

Then, the darkness coiled around his head.

The moment it did, Morgan felt his mind shatter.