The door behind us slammed violently.
The screams of the Bearer were cut off when the corridor fell and locked the stone against the stone. The cloud of dust covered everything and people were choking and crying out for air. Without a pause, Rei pulled me along, and our feet were slipping on the broken stones.
"Keep moving," she commanded. "Don't look back."
I really couldn't do that even if my desire was to see what was going on behind.
The edges of the vision I had were flashing red. Each heartbeat seemed to be a wrong one—too loud, too slow, like my body was in a dispute with itself about whether it still wanted to live or not. The shadow who had me under its influence was clinging to me as if drinking heavily from me.
It was wagering its anger on me.
No—'overfed'.
The text in my sight was flickering and very dim, unstable.
BURDEN INSTABILITY: SEVERE
MEMORY LEAK DETECTED
I lost my balance.
Just in time, Rei held me up before I dropped down. "Kuro!"
"I am here," I panted. "But... please, don't let me stop."
That was the real thing.
The corridor was getting narrower quickly, thus, it was forcing us to walk in a single line.
The walls were closing in, smooth and dark, and were showing us distorted reflections—my shadow was forking into more and more parts, going forward, backward, sideways, and each part was moving a little bit too late.
The Descent was watching us.
A sound was heard coming from the front.
Not claws.
Footsteps.
Rei as a result slowed down immediately, and her spear was formed again in her hands. The light was flickering weakly, unstable. "There is someone."
"Me too." I was feeling it.
Another entity—human, not chaotic, 'passing'.
We turned the corner.
In the next room, three silhouettes were present.
All were named.
The names floated above them like a tattoo.
MIZUHARA KAI — ACTIVE
ARAKI SORA — ACTIVE
FUSHIMI NOA — ACTIVE
They were perfectly located—high ground, narrow entrance, weapons at the ready. Kai was wielding two swords that were chilling the floor with their icy metal. Sora's hands were glowing with the light of pressurized air. Noa was playfully leaning against the wall, a slight grin on her face, and the darkness was subtly writhing around her soles.
An ambush.
Kai's gaze darted to the shadow I cast—and he was taken aback.
"Well," he remarked casually. "Can you imagine?"
Rei lifted her spear. "Get out of the way."
Sora chuckled. "But still, you're in no position to bargain."
Noa moved her head slightly, scrutinizing me with a disconcerting inquisitiveness. "It is you who has delayed the Bearer."
The shadow trembled.
I did not contest it.
Noa went on. "That was not just noise; that was a huge heap of noise."
Kai moved closer. "So here is how the scenario will unfold. You're hurt; she is drained. We are going to take your teleportation marks and proceed with our quest."
Rei's hold on her spear became more assertive. "Do you believe we would be that silly to give them away without fight?"
Kai answered in a cool tone, "No, we do not think so. We think you will die during the fight."
The room shook.
Somewhere far off, a loud roar reverberated through the rocks.
The Bearer.
Closer than it ought to be.
Sora's face showed she was not pleased.
Noa's grin grew wider. "Then we must be fast."
She was the first to go."That is... quicker than we thought."
Her shadow slipped from her soles like liquid, cutting towards me in a rough arc. Rei automatically intercepted it, spear meeting darkness in a shower of sparks.
"Get away!" Rei yelled.
I did not.
The shadow in me was 'screaming'.
It violently pushed out, reacting to the presence of Noa like a beast recognizing its competitor. Darkness erupted in the room, smashing through reflections and extinguishing light.
Text blinked angrily.
SHADOW-ON-SHADOW INTERFERENCE
UNAUTHORIZED RESONANCE DETECTED
Noa was thrown backward, her eyes went wide. "What—?"
I forces my way forward through the agony, feeling all at once every memory.
"Your power is over shadows," I croaked. "I am them."
My shadow attacked hers—not by cutting or pressing—but by *over-writing*.
Noa shrieked as her shadow melted away, being sucked back into her body with a violent tug. Blood gushed from her nose as she fell down onto one knee.
Kai cursed. "Sora—do it now!"
A blast of compressed air shot toward me.
Rei's movement exceeded human perception. She managed to push me out of the way just before the shock wave caused the wall behind us to collapse. Debris from the wall fell over us. The light from her spear was barely visible and very erratic.
She went down on one knee.
"Rei!" I cried out.
The Bearer emitted another loud roar, which was now very close to us.
The place where the altar was located shivered violently. The roof was being torn apart in many places.
Kai couldn't make up his mind.
Sora turned his head where the sound came from, and the fear he had been suppressing finally broke through.
Noa pressed her temples, and then she said, out of breath, "He's—he's not normal!"
Withdrawing was all they could do.
Not as heroes.
Not at the same time.
They were running.
The Descent gave them no time to breathe.
The chains exploded from the other side, and while Sora was taking the last step, they caught him, and he was screaming as they pulled him into the darkness. Kai barely made it, disappearing down a side corridor without looking back at all.
Noa was backing up, and she was looking at me with a frightened face.
"You're cursed," she said in a low voice. "You are already dead."
The shadow of the Bearer darkened the whole chamber.
I instantly took hold of Rei and pulled her up with my strength that was almost gone.
"Go," I said in a growl.
As the place where the altar was located burst into flames, we ran through the only remaining route.
The narrow passageway led us to a bridge that was hanging in the air above nothingness.
Just below us, there was a bottomless pit of darkness.
A little further faint symbols were glowing very weakly.
The Bearer was behind us, still forcing its exit through falling stone, ripping chains, and roaring in victory.
Rei lost her balance.
I was there for her.
The shadow surrounded us both as if it was the most natural thing to do, grounding, and supporting us.
The writing blazed with such intensity that it was easy to read, and it also seemed to be the last word on the matter.
PAIR RESONANCE: 24%
STATUS: IRREVERSIBLE
The bridge was giving way under us.
Rei was looking at me, panting, but her eyes were still bright and sharp. "In case we fall—"
"We're not going to fall," I assured her.
The darkness grew longer and took hold of the symbols in front, like fate hooks that had just been cast.
The bridge fell apart.
And we leaped.
Into the void.
Together.