Shrouded in darkness, slipping in and out of the visible world, ZaiWin's first stop was the riverbank, under the old bridge. The place where Snow had lived, with the young woman who had been willing to sacrifice everything just to make sure he survived.
Closing his eyes, he allowed the darkness living in that place to speak to him, filling his head with sounds and images.
He hated opening himself to it like this, and allow it to freely manipulate his mind. He was never completely sure that he would be able to chase it away again. But, as things stood, he really had no other choice. And then he could clearly see what the darkness had seen, almost like misty remnants of some forgotten memory.
Snow looking at the river. Snow kneeling on the ground, digging under a rock. Snow stepping back in fear and talking to someone.
Attempting to look deeper, ZaiWin tried to see the unknown person talking to him as well. But it was as if no one else had been there, as if Snow had been talking to himself, his expression changing from defensive to surprised, from curious to assertive, as if he'd just reached a decision.
Leaving that place, ZaiWin jumped in a blast of dark wind to the middle of bridge.
He'd also been there, running, his panting breath now filling his ears.
In the next instant ZaiWin was standing in the middle of the forest. Looking around, all he could see were tall, shadowy trees that, as usually, refused to cooperate with him. He knew that no living creature, big or small, would welcome him in his present state. They all closed up to him, welcoming him with deafening silence and hostility.
Jumping from place to place, he aimlessly wandered around for a while, looking for clues, for something that would tell him where he had gone next, until he found himself standing next to a river.
Looking left and right, he couldn't help feeling surprised. He knew that place! He'd been there before, a few years ago.
Of course! How could he have forgotten! He had had a huge fight with FeiWan right there!, and had ended up saving his life and breaking his leg in the process! After all that had happened, the kids, back then, had called it the Forest of the Lost, the horrible place where the bloodiest of the Seventh Year Gatherings had taken place. He had never known it was actually in Sur, much less so close to Woodbridge. They had all been transported in and out of the forest by the combined arrays of the Jundai of the Temple. He had never had the time to think about it too much either, with all the bad things happening in Nox at the time. But now that he knew where he was, he also had a better idea of where to look for him next.
There were a few hunters' caves, not far from there, that made for a perfect hiding place. He had seen them before, from the canopy of the trees where he'd spent most of the time, during the Gathering. Back then he had taken note of their location, in case he might need a place to hide on the ground.
He was standing at the entrance of the first one in the next instant. The darkness in there had nothing to say to him, and so he quickly jumped to the next one. He only found him again on his fifth attempt, and he couldn't help breathe out in relief.
There he was again, standing by the entrance, the hood of his cloak pulled over his head. He didn't look as certain of himself as before, watching the entrance of the cave with suspicion in his eyes. And then he was talking again, saying something ZaiWin could not hear, waiting for a reply and talking some more. And yet, just like before, no matter how much ZaiWin searched, there was nothing else in there, no other energetic footprint that the rocks or the dirt beneath his feet might have registered. As far as the darkness living in that place knew, Snow had actually been completely alone. And then he noticed the heavy mass of even darker darkness still lingering there, reaching out to him, recognizing him as one of its kind.
Stepping back, ZaiWin studied it attentively. He had never seen anything like it, but it would seem that it had ... somehow swallowed Snow? After that, all traces of him were completely gone, as if he had suddenly simply disappeared.
Seeing that the darkness kept reaching out for him, ZaiWin closed his eyes and allowed his mind to dive into it. He had no other choice, he told himself, and immediately had to focus all his willpower on maintaining his daitai under control. His back was burning, and his markings kept reverberating, almost like an another will beside his had the ability to command them.
The mass of darkness, however, had no mind or will of its own. It only knew that cave and … another cave, ZaiWin realized. It had come to be here and there at the same time, and then it had been ordered to cease to exist.
Zaiwin immediately focused his attention on that other cave, trying to collect as much information about it as possible. It was made of dark stone. It had high, large, massive walls. It was big. It looked empty.
Reaching out to the darkness on the other side, he tried to replicate what the mass of darkness in front of him had been able to achieve, a bridge of sorts that would allow him to go from here to there, but it was simply too far away. And yet he knew without the shadow of a doubt that if he were to let go of it now, he'd never be able to find it again. And so he tried once more, commanding the darkness of that other side to reach out for him as well, so that he could meet it halfway. The moment he grasped it with the tips of his fingers, he willed the wind to lift him and push him through that gateway.
He hadn't cared about how he would be pushed, or how he would arrive on the other side, and so he was heavily thrown into a harsh, hard floor, his body tumbling aimlessly across it like a tossed pebble, until he finally crashed into an equally hard wall.
Groaning in pain, for an instant he couldn't even breathe, his entire body aching, but right then he simply didn't have the time to worry about any of that. His vision was failing, dark spots robbing him of his sight. He'd used too much energy and he knew he was about to pass out, which simply could not happen! If he lost consciousness right now, weak as he was, his daitai would undoubtedly go berserk. And the last time that happened, three entire mountains had been simply erased from the map.
Focusing on keeping his eyes opened and his mind alert, he forced himself to breathe and, only then, realized how cold it was in that place. At least as cold as the mountains of Nox in the middle of winter. Well, that could actually work in his favor, he decided, pressing his face to the ice-cold rough rock beneath him, hoping its intense low temperature might help him stay awake.
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Don't give up, and don't lose hope, dear ZaiWin! We're all rooting for you!! 😊🥰