The boy simply turned and began to walk toward a deep darkness.
"Wait! I'll go with you — after all, it's dangerous." I shouted, running to catch up with him.
"All right."
"Why do you want to save him?"
"When I saw him, he looked like he needed help." He paused for a moment, trying to remember what had happened. "It's true! At one moment something appeared and put something on the back of his neck, and it made him very different… He looked afraid."
— It's impressive for a child to know all that and get this far.
His light-brown hair swiveled in my direction; his pale eyes stared at me like someone who stands above me.
A predator at the top of the food chain.
"Still think I'm a normal child?" His cold voice deepened and created a pressure in the air.
I felt fear for my life.
I kept quiet.
We kept walking, following the green flame candles that gave off a faint heat and guided us toward Ashi. But nothing guaranteed we would find anything — it could be a deadly trap.
"Hey." Al stopped and extended his right arm forward. "Don't take a step forward; if you do, both of us will die." He warned in a serious tone.
"What are—"
Everything around us, which had been dark moments before, revealed itself: there were several monsters with pale green eyes and wicked smiles, calling to us with a thirst for blood; saliva dripped from mouths full of huge claws and teeth. Just one wing of each monster looked to be about my size, like the bat that attacked Ashi.
The rest of the path lit up and we had already reached the end, where there was a small altar.
Ashi's body lay outstretched on that stone altar, bathed in blood — an offering.
Al nodded, signaling for us to stay still.
One wall of the cave opened; from it emerged a Trin who seemed to have complete control of his own body.
He was purple, half his body identical to a bat's. He had no hair and his eyes were deep-set.
The ritual was about to begin.
The monsters began to speak in an unknown language and grew agitated, moving back and forth near the Trin, always at the edge of the carpet that led to the altar.
"Ahem…" the Trin coughed, covering his mouth. "It's not every day we have visitors."
"We didn't come as visitors; we came to save this man." Al replied sharply.
"How brave." The Trin admired the boy. "I'm sorry, but he is already dead."
Hearing those words, even if obvious, shocked me.
"I don't care!" I said, stepping forward. "He's very important to us." I spoke in the coldest voice I could, thinking of Jin with devotion.
"Wouldn't it be easier to target the disciple?" the Trin asked.
"All that effort just to revive someone?" he replied with a look of contempt. "Even that woman would do."
"There's still time to run; taking care of you would give me more trouble." The boy cracked his neck and turned again. "If you want, hide until the end."
I don't usually run from fights, but the fear I felt made me want to get out of there as fast as possible. Still, the hope of bringing my friend back rooted my feet to the ground.
"I will kill him with my own hands." I vowed.
Everyone fell silent.
When the monsters dared to leave their places, the Trin raised his right palm. They all obeyed his command.
"Begin the ritual and let me deal with them," he countered.
They descended from the wall and took out several flutes made of bone and a large drum, also bringing three drumsticks.
The atmosphere grew even heavier.
"Begin." He slapped his palm on his thigh.
At the moment of his command, a timer appeared on the top of the cavern. It read two minutes and thirty seconds, decreasing as the seconds passed.
"Al, do you see this?" I asked, pointing to the clock, frightened.
"If you can see it, it means Omega is at your side," he answered, a restrained animation in his words. "How much time do we have to end this?"
"Two minutes and ten seconds…"
"We're screwed." His expression hardened.
The Trin took a sword of his size that had been behind the altar, imposing a black aura even while its sheath remained closed.
"Night, right arm of the nightmare. Pleasure to meet you, Alpha and Shizuka." the Trin announced.
Al launched himself without hesitation at Night; his fist shone like Jin's and the power of his light increased. He dodged a sword attack and landed a punch in the Trin's stomach.
He tried to start a combo, but was stopped when Night kicked his left leg.
"Get past them and save Ashi!" Al shouted, getting to his feet.
While Al tried to contain Night, he ran, making his glow rise to shoulder height and delivered more punches.
However, Night simply dodged and teleported in front of me. Before I had time to think, I took a kick in the ribs that threw me against the wall.
From the floor, Night looked as big as a building, resting the sword on his trapezius. He approached calmly, deflecting Al's attacks with ease, even from behind.
"Why are you in that form?" Night made the ground tremble with his voice.
"Using my original body would indeed be easier, but Omega transferred my soul to the disciple," Al answered, wiping the blood that ran from his forehead.
Looking down, I saw that I was bleeding too, staining the stones softly. I put my hand on the revolver that had fallen with the force of the kick; it had slowed me for a few moments.
My hand trembled, unable to hold the gun steady.
The Trin then raised the sword with both hands, exuding a dark energy, preparing to finish me off.
But he stopped.
"I won't kill you now. I'd rather you watch your friends being killed one by one." He lowered the sword again.
Sensing his guard drop, I fired at him with the revolver.
Bang!
The bullet hit Night's chest, but not in the heart area; you could see another part through a gap in his body. The impact threw him backward and made him drop the sword.
Taking advantage of the situation, Al began a combo of punches to the Trin's head. With each hit, the glow spread to other parts of his body. His strength increased, gaining more energy, as if he were evolving with every blow.
"You're amazing!" Al shouted, excited, a grin lighting his face.
Suffering the sequence of blows, Night drew his sword and quickly turned to drive it through Al's middle.
Thus, Al's body was split in two while he was held by the hair.
However, no blood flowed from his body, but a kind of liquid light that melted the stone. That light also fell at the Trin's feet; he withdrew the sword and stepped back.
"Not so fast, Night. I haven't used even one percent of my energy yet." Alpha taunted, creating a new body without injuries.
"You may have a healing ability, but your glow fades when the wound closes." Night retorted.
"Do you need to charge your ability one more time? Unlike me…" Night raised the weapon and proclaimed, "Just as night swallows the moon and extinguishes all light, my blade bathes the world in darkness, and to the Savior it is fitting."
"Hollowblade!" someone shouted.
A maddening black aura prevented us from moving.
The Trin made a movement so fast it seemed to cut the very air, dividing realities and creating a rupture between us.
"Alpha, watch out!" I shouted, trying to reach him.
"I'll be fine, don't worry!" he replied.
With that, we were split into two distinct worlds.
In the darkness there was only a moon with a crown; a place without ground, where there was nothing in front of me but an unreachable abyss.
The disturbing silence was broken by Night's arrival, now wearing heavy armor that left only his wings and face visible.
I had been alone for about two minutes.
"I already killed your friend and the boy; pity I didn't get to see such a beautiful scene." Night dropped his weapon.
With a cold action, he placed his right hand on my head.
"Your suffering will soon be over."
This guy was getting on my nerves!
I drew the revolver and pressed it to Night's chin.
"Go to hell, you bastard!"
The sound of the shot, passing over his head, echoed through the space; the light from the gunpowder's blast lit the darkness.
His blood fell downward, beneath our feet.
I aimed again and fired two more shots at his armor, which, however, did not damage the monster.
"My weapon is sacred; these human guns serve no purpose in…" Night began.
I fired a shot into his left eye.
"I don't care what you think. Even if I die, I'll bury you six feet under!"