Poof!
Darius stared at the rune with intense focus, the room's warmth dissipating into a sharp chill.
A lingering question gnawed at the edges of his mind: Will I ever succeed?
"At least there was a crackle this time. Maybe a spark too… unless I was hallucinating," he muttered, his voice a thin thread of hope in the growing silence.
He paused, his eyes narrowing. There it was again—a faint echo of laughter.
"Leon stop, this isn't funny" His heart clenched as he scanned the room, expecting to see Leon grinning mischievously.
But no one was there.
"Huh…" A shiver crawled up his spine. "Who… laughed?" He swallowed hard, his pulse quickening.
"L-leon?" His voice trembled.
His hand darted to the small knife on the table, his grip tight and knuckles white. He scanned the shadows, each corner of the room now a potential hiding place.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" His voice wavered as he backed against the wall, the cold stone pressing into his skin.
"At least with the wall behind me, I would be safe from backstabs" He thought, his back and forehead already drenched in sweat despite the cold.
Silence. Not even the wind howled outside.
"Am I hallucinating?" He exhaled, the tension in his shoulders loosening slightly.
"Heh? Truly no one is here" His grip on the knife slackened, and he let out a nervous chuckle, sinking onto the edge of the bed. "At least I didn't scream for help," he murmured, brushing off the lingering unease.
"That would've been one hell of a scene, especially since there's no one haha" He laughed away the last bit of fear in his mind, fully convincing himself that he Is alone in here.
The room felt too quiet, but the fear ebbed away. He flipped through the book, his mind returning to the familiar comfort of spell-study.
"Finally a moment I could spend studying spell-craft without father randomly barging into my room." He smiled as he enjoyed the comfort brought upon by the silence.
The eerie stillness seemed almost a blessing—a chance to read without interruption.
A small smirk stretched upon his lips as he understood a new principle from this book, a slight smug expression appeared on his face, "Seems I'm still the apple of lady luck's eyes" He chuckled and it echoed through the room.
He shrugged and continued, "When I become a great mage… heh—"
Swoosh!
A sudden rush of air sliced through the room.
"Wha—?!" Before he could react, a bone-deep numbness spread through his body. The warmth drained from him, replaced by a biting cold that felt like being plunged into an ice cellar.
"No! This isn't real- It can't be real."
He tried to scream, but his voice lodged in his throat. Two hands—cold, impossibly cold—gripped his arms from behind.
But I'm leaning against the wall! How…?
How could I fall to a back stab-like move?! When my back is against the wall this whole time?!
A realization hit his mind like a thunderclap: "Did it pass through... The wall? No impossible-"
Swoosh!
The new wave of cold cuts his train of thoughts, his urge to scream even stronger now.
The temperature plummeted further, and Darius felt his consciousness slipping.
He bit down on his lip, the sharp pain barely anchoring him. The bedsheets crumpled beneath his clenched fists as he fought to stay awake.
No. I won't— This can't be real!
The hands tightened, coldness seeping deeper into his bones. Panic surged as his breaths turned shallow.
No— I don't wanna DIE!
"Arkyn… help…" The words scraped from his lips, barely a whisper.
The response he awaited doesn't arrive and all he felt is biting cold.
'I... Should've being more devoted...' A single tear trickled down his cheeks as everything turns blurry, his heart full of regrets.
A piercing light assaulted his vision, and despite the inconvenience, he forced his eyes opened.
"Eh... Is that light... The Heaven perhaps?"
The room was suddenly filled with a blinding blue light.
"Arkyn?" Relief flickered in his mind.
'Is this Divine intervention? It must be!' He screamed in his mind, his heart filled with warmth.
'After all the shit I talked, I'm still not forsaken!' He immediately felt it's worth it making that prayer, 'After this I'll even be more devout than the head priest!' He screamed in his mind, excitement coursing through his cold body as he made a silent promise.
He is saved!
But the light suddenly dimmed for no understandable reason.
"Eh? Did I jinx it...?"
Shadows stretched and coiled, consuming the blue light with an inky blackness that swallowed everything.
The cold intensified, an unbearable weight pressing on his chest.
"Arkyn— Noo!" He gasped, his mouth open in a silent scream, limbs helplessly thrashing around.
"You fool."
The voice pierced through the darkness—colder than the chill that froze his veins.
Is this… death?
His vision blurred, the blackness closing in.
Arkyn…
Everything faded to a suffocating silence.
"A sinner praying to an even greater sinner"