43 Ominous Foe
Ara muttered while staying close to him, “…It’s so dark.”
“I know…hold on,” he said, stopping.
He held his sword up, running his finger along the surface of its silver, clean steel, “Cast: Burning Edge.”
From his invocation, a flame spread itself across the steel, giving light to the shadowy corridor at last.
It wasn’t something he wanted to do, as it ate away at his spirit and would likely give away his position, but it was far too dark to even move in, and it was simply eerie enough to make his skin crawl. With the light from the flame, used like an unorthodox torch, they could finally see the hall they walked through.
“You’re kidding…” He muttered in disbelief at what his eyes met with.
The walls were completely painted in blood–some of which didn’t seem quite as dry as the other inscribings as it dripped down the surface.
There were dozens of blood-drawn crosses, scattered over the walls in great numbers.
“This isn’t right…!” Ara shook her head.
“Ara–?!”
As he looked back, he felt his sister tugging on his arm, coaxing him to retreat–but such a choice wasn’t available.
The walls closed in, shutting off the route they came in from and entrapping them in the corridor, prompting Ara to attempt to slam her hands against the newly-formed wall, but achieving nothing.
“…No! Not again…!” She let out.
“Ara!”
He grabbed her wrist, stopping her as her knuckles were already bloodied and cut from hitting the wall.
“…This isn’t right…Something isn’t right, Brother…” Ara said as tears began to stroll down her cheeks.
All he could do was look at her with worried eyes before letting go of her wrist, standing beside her as he raised his torch-like blade for light.
“I know. Something is messed up here,” he told her, “but that’s why we have to find Jeong-Hui.”
“–“
“I know you don’t want to hear it, but we don’t have much of a choice now, do we? And if we find him, our chances improve as well–it’s a win-win,” he assured her.
“–“
She was silent, clearly not wanting to go further down the blood-painted corridor, though he felt a similar way himself.
“Ara, come on.”
A smile was given to her for reassurance as he extended his free hand to her. She looked at his hand for a moment with her pale, gray eyes before accepting it, prompting them to begin moving forward again.
This time, the hall descended into a flight of dark stairs that echoed each step they took downwards.
He could feel Ara tightly holding onto his free arm while they slowly stepped down the dark stairs, lit only by the flame-engulfed blade he held out in front of him like a precious lifeline.
The eerie feeling crawling across his skin couldn’t be shaken; though he spoke bold words to his sister, if the wall blocking their escape wasn’t there, he wouldn’t hesitate to leave now.
Come on, Jeong-Hui…Meet us halfway, he wished. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“I don’t think I have to tell you this, but…be ready to cast,” he whispered to her.
Ara simply nodded, replying quietly, “I know.”
To their surprise, there was a faint light waiting at the bottom of the stairwell, greeting them with a soft, blue luminescence as they reached the bottom, entering into the awaiting room.
He allowed the light-producing flames persisting on his blade to dissipate as he lowered it, looking around at the mysterious chamber.
“It’s weird. There haven’t been any Defects, yet,” Ara said, standing beside him.
“Here’s hoping it stays that way,” he replied quietly.
Torches holding blue flames sat on chiseled, black-stone pillars that stood at half a dozen, connecting to the ceiling.
It was a stark difference from the rest of the domain; the sleek, metallic makeup of the dungeon had shifted into a more archaic, stone-made foundation that housed soot, dust, and more blood paintings.
“What’s that smell?…It’s terrible,” Ara covered her nose as they ventured deeper into the room.
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it…”
He suddenly stopped as his next step was met with the feedback of wetness, splashing beneath his boot as he looked down.
“—”
Words were caught in his throat as his eyes met with the puddle of crimson that sat on the floor, seeping into the cracks and grooves of the stone below.
Slowly, he moved his eyes to find the puddle’s source: a limp, inanimate body covered in lacerations, laid on the ground.
“—No…!” He shook his head.
As he took a step back, he bumped against his younger sister, turning back to look at her.
“Ara—?”
Looking at her, he found her eyes trembling, staring off at something.
“…Hyun…”
It was a rare occasion for her to call him by his name—a fact that made his blood run colder in his veins than it already did.
“…Who is that…?” She asked in a whisper almost unmistakable for a breath.
He slowly began to match the direction of her gaze, still stiff with fear from the body present in the room.
“—”
A lump formed in his throat, his blood turned to frost, and he froze with utter fear at the sight of the other entity existing in the room.
It was a man, most likely, though it was difficult to tell with the full-body robes, tightened with belts around their body and limbs, all-black and obscuring, but they were enormous. They stood at least a head taller than himself, standing at the other end of the room, blocking what looked like the next corridor.
Something about the figure struck dread into him; they stood there–silent and still like a statue, yet their subtle breathing could be heard behind the tattered, makeshift mask they wore in the form of a bag.
What prompted him to finally come back to his senses was seeing the red cross etched onto the front of the tall man’s garments, triggering his fight-or-flight response:
“…Ara, get back–run! Go!”
Just as he turned back to give his sister a push in the opposite direction, guiding her towards the stairs, the sounds of heavy, but rapid footsteps began, repeating behind him.
“Hyun!” Ara called out to him.
He turned around, barely managing to lift his sword as another object crashed against it, wielded by the towering, heavily-breathing man who had sprinted the length of the ominous chamber in the blink of an eye.