Chapitre 249: Keep Breathing
The air was running low. Nathaniel only realized it when his own thoughts slowed down and more and more of his soldiers had trouble walking upright. They gasped and shuddered at the slightest activity. Like now, only from walking with the usual weight of their weapons and leather armor. They had lost another one to the darkness recently, yet the black tide seemed unwilling to abate anytime soon. Was the compass leading them astray or did the darkness follow their steps?
As the pessimist he was, Nathaniel reckoned it was the second option. The darkness would not care about his people, but it probably tried to wear him down by all means possible. If it intentionally blocked the airway or not - Nathaniel had a hunch that the darkness would not let him leave its clutches, now, that he descended into them willingly. It would follow him around everywhere he went. And that meant, he would be responsible for all his soldier's death in the end. They would die instantly if they wandered off in the darkness, or slowly go down by suffocation until they stumbled and fell like the other two.
Ripping his thoughts from these dreadful scenarios, Nathaniel halted. "Come closer, sit down, and extinguish the torch."
The soldiers frowned but obediently did as told. They gathered closely around him, almost cuddling together when they sat on the bare earth. To take as little space as possible because they remembered the flesh-eating tendency of the dome around them, they pulled their long legs close to their study chests until they looked akin to bloody and dirty packages - if packages were made out of muscles. Strangely, they suddenly felt as if their breath grew lighter, and exhausted sighs rang in the air. Then, with a glance at their commander, the torch-holder extinguished the fire while simultaneously wondering when the flames had become so small that it took only a strong puff of air to flicker and die.
While the sun outside of the dark magic still barely shone, pitch-black darkness descended inside the dome. It was void of stars, void of moonlight, and even void of sounds other than the whispering breaths of the twelve men imprisoned inside. Maybe, if they concentrated, they could faintly discern the different heartbeats, most accelerated by the unknown danger they faced.
Despite their fast compliance, they still did not know their leader's reason for these strange commands. The fear for their lives crept into their bones when they wondered if he really had a plan to get them out of this dangerous darkness, or if he just tried to slow the inevitable.
Nathaniel could feel his soldiers' quiet agitation in their breath and some faint shivers transferred from their clothes to his. His soldiers were so close now that normally he would have worried about them touching his skin. However, right now, the thought seemed ridiculous in comparison with the dangers lurking around them, so he resisted the urge to distance himself.
Opposite to his soldiers' fears, Nathaniel bore no thoughts of surrender. Realizing their predicament, of course, his first decision was to conserve their strength and air and buy himself time to think. After all, running around like headless chickens would only tire them out needlessly as long as the darkness moved together with them. And if Nathaniel's calculations were correct, the darkness did, in fact, move with them as they should already be outside otherwise.
Second to the conservation of strength was finding a solution. Nathaniel already had one in mind, yet since he didn't like it and the percentage of success was low, he rapidly mulled over everything he knew again, before conceding with a sigh. If he were alone, he'd have several options, one riskier than the next. However, if he wanted to save his soldiers, only one remained: negotiation.
Nathaniel's face, already hard and gloomy, turned for the worse. It was good that the soldiers could not see in the dark or else they might assume that there was no chance of survival at all. Since Nathaniel's negotiation partner was the most hated entity in his life, it wasn't going to be a happy cooperation, even if he succeeded.
Focusing on the magic outside, Nathaniel closed his eyes and sent out an intentional thought as he would usually send out his will to subdue his magic. He wasn't sure if it would succeed, but since the darkness communicated that way before, there was a high probability. Should it not be enough, he'd have no choice but speak aloud with an entity that would only answer in his thoughts. In front of his soldiers, that would be... embarrassing. He'd rather not sway the last bit of trust they had by acting like a lunatic.
"Blacky," he thought, focussing on the name he gave as a child, "Can you hear me?"
In the dark and quiet, the seconds spanned an eternity. Finally, later than Nathaniel expected, but also faster and clearer than it could be, the magic answered. "What do you want?"
Instinctively, Nathaniel's hands clenched to fists and opened again. He wasn't a man to ask for help easily, and especially, he was never one to plead. Thus, it was exceptionally hard for him to find the right words. "I want to have a talk with you."
.
Up in the cave that gazed down at the river of darkness, the scientist and his helpers quietly observed the stream. With now only the moon and the stars for guides, their eyesight was getting worse and worse. Despite Ethan elevating their expectations, most assumed Katherine to be dead by now. Ve, however, continued to wait.
"If there is no change until morning, will you accept that she failed," he finally asked his business partner.
Ethan shook his head, the remnants of a smile slightly curling the corners of his mouth. "I already see a change."
"Where?" With renewed energy, Ve's gaze flew over the expanse below, yet it was hard to see anything in the poor lighting. The torches ignited and maintained by the guards behind them, also didn't help. Finally, after minutes of silence, he thought he'd found something out of the ordinary. "Is that... smoke?"
Indeed it was. From the place Katherine had fallen into, some intangible vapor rose. Black against black, it was especially hard to see, yet Ve's eyes lit up with the discovery like a pleased child's. He took a step even closer to the cliff, bending over curiously. Ethan's smile widened by a fraction.
In the depths of darkness, Katherine tightly held on to her power. It was the only protection she had. In the last few minutes, she tried to reduce her output even more, pulling the membrane of her power closer to her until it was akin to a bodysuit. Of course, this action was at the cost of her sight, since the darkness was impenetrable. Because of that, she assumed the sparks in her vision to be nothing more than imagination, or maybe the early signs of a blackout. It could also be caused by the pain that still wrecked her lower body. Breathing was difficult as if a cushion was pressed to her face.
With another exaggerated breath, she finally forced herself to move. As she already assumed, there was no use in waiting.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone