On the ground next to the pyre were two long pieces of dry wood. Perfect for a makeshift torch
"We can make two more torches," Daris, always the forward thinker, refused to think about what happened to Meris and a part of me wished I had that ability.
My mind was riddled with questions, What was that? What the fuck does The Accord have us locked up with?
Kel and Sael moved to pick up the pieces of wood,sounds of fabric ripping echoed throughout the darkness. They had torn pieces from their shirts, wrapping the fabric around the would be torch, all of us careful not to look too far into the shadows. Daris moved from one to the other, lighting the makeshift torches from his own.
It felt like a ritual, some grim rite to keep the monsters at bay. Daris looked like a priest, handing out the only thing that could keep us alive, while we stood there like a bunch of condemned souls awaiting the final judgment. Thalen stared at the pyre like it might bite him, his hands trembling as the fire danced along the burning wood. I didn't blame him. We'd seen what happens when the light goes out. When Meris… No, don't think about it.
"We move to the next pyre," Daris ordered, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "Kel and Sael you stand on the flank, Thalen and Rylin walk in between us "
He turned his gaze toward the direction of the third pyre. In the distance, I could see that same faint glow, which illuminated the direction we needed to head in, but not enough to shoo the darkness away.
"Ready?" I asked, not really expecting an answer. My voice felt hollow in the thick silence, swallowed up by the darkness that pressed in from all sides.
No one replied. They didn't need to. The look on their faces said everything. Ready? Of course not. We weren't ready for any of this. But what choice did we have? We moved forward, one slow, heavy step at a time, the sound of our footsteps lost in the oppressive silence.
We walked for God knows how long, and yet the third pyre felt just as distant as it had when we first set out—like a mirage, always just beyond reach. Ah, sweet irony. We might as well be chasing ghosts.
The silence tightened around us like a noose, each step felt like it achieved nothing, but still the glow was a beacon enticing us to walk further into the abyss.
"The other two pyres weren't this far. How much further do we have to walk?" Rylin asked, his voice low like he was afraid to startle us by talking abruptly.
"Mhm" Daris agreed,"seems like the distance between the next two pyre going to - "
the ground shifted beneath us.
"AH!"
Thalen yelped, stumbling forward as his feet slipped on the uneven stone. We froze like rabbits caught in the glare of a wolf. My heart thundered in my chest, a feral beast clawing for escape.
He's still in the light. He's still in the light. I repeated the mantra in my head, desperate to quell the panic rising like bile. But that didn't stop the darkness from creeping in, clawing at the edges of my vision, or the cold sweat that broke out across my skin like a cowardly traitor.
And then we heard it.
From the void came a sound, a presence so sinister it felt like it was devouring the light itself, our torches dimming as if bowing to the encroaching shadow. The noise slithered through the tunnel, threading its way through the stone walls, coiling around our spines like a skeletal hand of dread. A crackling, broken attempt at laughter echoed—a thing that had never known joy, mocking us with its existence. It was the very essence of mockery, a twisted imitation of life trying to grasp the concept of humor, yet failing spectacularly.
Gods, what in the name of all that's unholy is that? My mind raced as the cackling persisted, a discordant rasp like nails dragged across rusted iron. No rhythm, no warmth, just a hollow, mindless repetition burrowing into my skull. Calm yourself Llyris.
Whooo
I sucked in a slow breath, eyes locked on Thalen. Poor kid. His eyes were wide, pupils blown so large they nearly swallowed the whites, fixed on the darkness as if trying to stare it down. He was panting, sharp, ragged bursts that sounded more like a wounded animal than anything resembling a boy. Each gulp of air, a frantic attempt to cling to whatever thin thread of sanity he had left.
He stumbled back, practically crashing into Daris, clutching at him like a drowning man clutching driftwood. His hands were trembling so hard, fingers dug into Daris's arms until his knuckles went bone white. Contact with another human—flesh and blood—somehow made it all more real, didn't it? Like maybe if he held on tight enough, whatever nightmare was creeping out of the shadows might decide to pass him by..
Haaaah
I exhaled, a slow, deliberate release of tension. My heart, that traitorous beast, finally settled back into a rhythm that didn't feel like it was trying to escape my ribcage.
"What… what was that?" Thalen's voice barely scratched the air, a thin whisper, like he was too afraid to let it rise above the cackling, too afraid it might hear him.
Daris, ever the stoic, reached out and ruffled Thalen's hair like a big brother trying to pretend everything was fine. His face was pale, his eyes like stone, but he kept it together. "We need to keep moving," he said, pushing Thalen forward, his jaw clenched tight enough that I thought he might crack a tooth. He took Thalen's hand, gripping it like an anchor. "Don't worry, you're not alone."
We started moving again, our pace slower, each step measured. The cackling still echoed through the tunnel, bouncing off the walls, sometimes sounding right behind us, sometimes miles away. But always there.
"The first thing I'm doing when we get out of this place is having a shower," Kel muttered. "I can't believe I pissed myself."
A laugh bubbled out of Thalen, a small, fragile sound that, for a moment, felt like it pushed back the darkness. Hell, even I smiled. A bit of gallows humor—sometimes it was the only thing that kept you going.
"I'm punching Isgar in the face," Daris added, and for a second, there was a light in his eyes. The sort of fire that made you believe maybe we could survive this after all.
"Don't do that; you'll just get into trouble," Sael cut in, ever the voice of caution. His twin, Rylin, nodded beside him. "The first thing I'm going to do when I get out of here is—"
He stopped, and we all froze, like puppets with our strings cut. The air shifted, and suddenly, it was like someone had dropped us into the icy depths of the Jade Sea. A bone-deep cold that seeped into the marrow and didn't let go.
Thalen's small frame went rigid, then he started trembling, and before I knew it, he was shaking like a leaf caught in a storm. His skin was turning a sickening shade of purple, his lips quivering as he gasped.
"He's gone into shock!" Kel shouted