Black.
Not dim.
Not shadowed.
Absolute, suffocating black.
My brain stalls.
My senses fracture.
The alarms are gone.
The lights are gone.
Even the machines—
Dead.
Silence crashes over everything.
Then—
HHHMMMMMM…
That vibration again.
Low.
Subsonic.
Crawling through the floor like something breathing beneath the building.
My voice shakes violently.
"…Serafin?"
No answer.
My heart pounds — THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
Something shifts behind me — SCRAPE.
I whirl blindly — air slicing uselessly.
"Who's there?!"
A calm voice drifts through the darkness.
"Still asking the wrong questions."
The intruder.
My stomach twists.
"Fuck you!" I snap.
Soft footsteps circle — STEP… STEP… STEP.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Predatory.
"You're scared," the intruder murmurs.
"No shit."
"You should be."
My pulse spikes.
"Where is he?"
A pause.
Then—
"Oh, Caoimhe…"
Cold fingers brush my shoulder — BRUSH.
I recoil violently.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
A soft chuckle.
"You're standing right beside him."
My blood freezes.
"…Serafin?"
A breath.
Close.
Too close.
"…Cao."
Relief detonates inside my chest.
"Serafin!"
I reach forward blindly — hands colliding with solid warmth — THUD.
His chest.
His shirt.
Him.
"Oh my God…"
My fingers tremble as they grip him.
"You scared the hell out of me."
His breathing is uneven — HHH… HHH…
"Caoimhe…" he whispers.
Something is wrong.
I feel it instantly.
Not the voice.
The tension.
His body is rigid.
Coiled.
Like a wire pulled too tight.
"Serafin?"
His hand grips my wrist — GRAB.
Hard.
Painfully hard.
I gasp. "Serafin—!"
"I told you to run."
"I wasn't leaving you!"
"You should have."
That tone—
Cold.
But not like before.
Not detached.
Controlled.
Barely restrained.
Fear creeps back into my chest.
"…Serafin."
Footsteps approach from somewhere deeper in the corridor — DISTANT RUNNING… RADIO STATIC…
Security.
Thank God.
The Tactical Officer's voice echoes faintly.
"Wing Seven! Respond!"
I shout instantly.
"WE'RE HERE!"
Serafin's grip tightens violently — CRACK.
"Don't."
Pain shoots through my wrist.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"They can't see me like this."
"Like what?!"
The vibration surges — HHHHMMMMMMM…
The intruder's voice slices through the dark.
"He's deteriorating."
Serafin snarls.
"SHUT. UP."
"You feel it, don't you?" the intruder continues calmly.
Serafin's breathing destabilizes — HHH-HHH-HHH.
"Serafin…" I whisper.
His free hand grips my shoulder.
Desperate.
Trembling.
"I'm trying…"
"Trying what?!"
"To stay."
My heart stops.
"…Stay?"
"With you."
The words slam into me harder than any explosion.
The Tactical Officer's voice grows closer.
"Caoimhe!"
Serafin's body convulses slightly — JOLT.
"Serafin?!"
"I can't hold it much longer…"
"Hold what?!"
The glow ignites again.
Not bright.
But enough.
A faint, unnatural illumination bleeding from his eyes.
I finally see him.
And my stomach drops.
Veins of light ripple beneath his skin.
Cracks of something luminous crawling along his neck.
"Oh my God…"
Serafin's voice trembles.
"Don't look at me like that."
"I'm not—"
"Yes, you are."
His expression twists — agony, fear, rage colliding.
"I'm becoming unstable again."
The intruder's voice drips with certainty.
"He's nearing threshold."
Serafin roars into the darkness.
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
The shockwave slams outward — BOOM! — walls groaning — KRRRRSH.
Security shouts in panic.
"TAKE COVER!"
I grab Serafin's face.
Forcing him to look at me.
"I don't care what you are."
His glowing eyes lock onto mine.
"You should."
"I don't."
"You will."
"I won't!"
His voice cracks violently.
"You don't understand what happens when I lose control!"
"Then don't lose it!"
"That's not how this works!"
The glow intensifies erratically — SHHHT-SHHHT.
Pain floods his features.
"I can feel it breaking…"
Fear rips through me.
"…Breaking?"
"The barrier."
My pulse explodes.
"What barrier?!"
His voice drops into a whisper of horror.
"Me."
The Tactical Officer bursts into partial visibility as backup lights flicker weakly — EMERGENCY GLOW.
Weapons raised.
Eyes wide.
"…Jesus Christ."
Serafin staggers backward.
"Stay back."
The Tactical Officer freezes.
"Serafin—"
"I SAID STAY BACK!"
The air detonates — BOOOOM!
The emergency lights explode.
Darkness swallows everything again.
Serafin's voice tears through the void.
"CAOIMHE RUN NOW!"
And something inside the darkness…
Answers.
Multiple voices.
Layered.
Echoing.
"…Threshold accepted."
To be continued...