"Darkness…"
"Darkness…"
"Darkness…"
The word repeated itself like an echo trapped inside his mind—soft but persistent, as if someone were whispering it from within his own skull.
Nero woke with a sharp gasp.
There was no immediate pain. No screams. Only… darkness.
Absolute darkness. Thick. Dense. So heavy it felt as though it had weight. It wasn't simply the absence of light; it was something that wrapped around him, pressed against him, made it difficult to tell whether his eyes were open or closed.
"Darkness…"
The voice came again.
Nero tensed instinctively, only to realize he couldn't move freely. The cold of the ground seeped through his clothes—rough, unwelcoming—confirming that he was awake.
Very awake.
He blinked several times. It didn't help.
Slowly, his senses began to adjust.
He heard it then: faint breathing nearby.
He wasn't alone.
He turned his head carefully, straining his sight until blurry shapes began to form. His group was there. All of them. Lying on the ground, motionless, breathing unevenly.
Asleep… or unconscious.
Relief washed over him—brief, incomplete.
"Darkness…"
Nero clenched his teeth.
Now he was sure: the voice didn't belong to any of them.
He turned his head toward where the sound seemed to come from—or where he thought it did. The voice had no clear direction. It wasn't above or below, in front or behind.
It simply… was.
It didn't sound human.
But it didn't sound like a monster either.
There was no rage. No hunger. No mockery. Just a flat, hollow tone, as if the word itself were an absolute truth that needed to be remembered.
"Darkness…"
A chill ran down his spine.
"What… is happening?"
His voice came out low, hoarse, nearly swallowed by the blackness around him.
The question lingered unanswered.
Confusion settled in slowly, like an infection. He tried to recall the last moment before waking up—fragments flickered through his mind: noise, tension, movement… then nothing.
A sudden void.
His heart began to pound.
This was a cell.
He didn't need to see it to know. He could feel it. The space was limited. Closed. Oppressive. There was no wind. No distant echoes. Just invisible walls and silence—broken only by that voice.
"Darkness…"
Nero closed his eyes, though he didn't know why.
Stay calm.
He took a deep breath. Then another.
He didn't know where he was. He didn't know who had brought them here. He didn't know what that thing whispering in the void wanted.
But he knew one thing.
This wasn't a simple imprisonment.
A bitter sensation settled in his chest.
I hope Rose is safe…
He tilted his head slightly toward where he believed she was. He couldn't see her clearly, but her presence felt familiar—comforting, even here.
Where am I…?
The question wasn't only about physical space.
It was about everything else.
The darkness didn't answer.
It only whispered again, patient, inevitable:
"Darkness…"
A low groan broke the silence.
Nero turned immediately.
Lux was the first to move. His body jerked as if he'd fallen from a great height. He sucked in air desperately, clutching his chest.
"Gh… damn it…" he muttered.
He tried to sit up but froze halfway, disoriented. His eyes darted around, searching for something that wasn't there.
"I can't see anything," he said, voice trembling. "Are we… blind?"
"No," Nero replied quietly. "It's the place."
Lux swallowed and went still.
A second later, Sunday jolted awake as if shocked. He rolled and dropped to his knees, hand reflexively reaching for a knife—only to realize it wasn't there.
"Where the hell…?" he muttered.
He stretched his hand out in front of his face, opening and closing it.
Total darkness.
Sunday clenched his jaw.
"I hate this."
Kōri woke next.
Not with a jolt, but with a slow, controlled breath. She opened her eyes calmly, as if she already knew what awaited her. She sat up carefully, one knee braced against the ground.
"Cold," she said simply.
Her hand brushed across the floor, reading its rough texture.
"We're locked in."
There was no fear in her voice.
That made it worse.
A heavy silence settled over the group.
Then someone laughed.
Low. Tired.
Merlin.
"So…" he said softly. "This is what it feels like."
Nero turned toward him.
"What is?"
Merlin hesitated.
When he spoke again, the usual edge of mockery was gone.
"Having control taken from you."
Fabric rustled as Merlin sat down. He dragged a hand over his face, breathing deeply.
"I can't feel the flow," he added. "Nothing responds."
Lux stiffened.
"Nothing at all?"
"Nothing," Merlin confirmed. "Like the world's been… switched off."
The air went cold.
Sunday muttered a curse under his breath.
"Great. Total darkness, no powers, and probably surrounded by things that want us dead."
"Not yet," Kōri corrected.
Sunday frowned.
"What do you mean, 'not yet'?"
Before she could answer, the voice returned.
"Darkness…"
Lux visibly shuddered.
"You guys hear that too, right?" he asked. "Tell me it's not just me."
"We hear it," Nero said.
This time, the voice felt closer.
Or at least, that's how it felt.
It wasn't loud. It wasn't aggressive.
It simply existed.
Merlin lifted his head slowly.
"That's not a common entity," he murmured. "It's not trying to communicate."
"Then what's it doing?" Lux asked.
Merlin closed his eyes.
"It's naming us."
A chill swept through the cell.
Sunday stood, feeling along the invisible walls until his fingers struck solid stone.
"There are limits," he said. "It's not infinite."
"It's a test," Kōri said.
They all turned to her.
"Not a prison," she continued. "Not an ambush. This is… designed."
Nero clenched his fists.
The word echoed in his mind.
Test.
He remembered the rules. The warnings.
The truth that no one chooses when to advance.
"Darkness…"
Nero stepped forward.
"Fine," he said firmly. "Then let's play."
The silence tightened, expectant.
"Whatever this is," he continued, "it wants us awake."
Lux swallowed.
"And if we don't get out?"
Nero didn't answer right away.
When he did, his calm was dangerous.
"Then we learn what happens when darkness wins."
The voice seemed to… smile.
"Darkness…"
Merlin's hand went instinctively to his side.
Nothing.
He frowned.
He searched again—more urgently—checking his belt, his back, the inside of his coat.
Empty.
His breath caught in his throat.
"No…" he whispered.
Nero noticed instantly.
"Merlin."
No response.
Merlin's hands moved faster now, clumsy, frantic, as if his staff might appear if he searched hard enough. His fingers trembled.
"It's not there," he whispered. "It's not there, it's not there…"
Lux took a step closer.
"Hey, calm down. Maybe it fell—"
"No," Merlin snapped, voice breaking. "It's always with me."
His breathing accelerated unnaturally.
Short inhales. Worse exhales.
Sunday saw it before it fully hit.
"He's panicking," he said flatly.
Merlin stepped back, colliding with the invisible wall. The impact was light—but to him, it sounded final.
"Without it I can't—" He swallowed hard. "I can't channel. I can't stabilize. I can't—"
His voice broke.
The silence pressed against his chest.
Lux raised his hands, nervous.
"Merlin, look at me. Breathe with me, okay?"
Merlin shook his head violently.
"You don't understand," he pleaded. "It's not a tool. It's an anchor."
He grabbed his hair with both hands, pulling hard.
"If I don't have it… I…"
He didn't finish.
His body began to shake.
Kōri stepped forward, placing herself directly in front of him.
"Merlin," she said firmly. "Listen to me."
He wasn't listening.
Panic devoured him from the inside. The air grew thick, unbreathable. Each heartbeat slammed against his ears.
"They took it," he whispered. "On purpose."
His knees buckled.
Nero reacted instantly, catching him before he collapsed.
"Merlin," he said quietly, directly. "Look at me."
Merlin barely lifted his face.
His eyes were too wide. Glassy. Lost.
"Without it…" he whispered. "I'm nothing."
The words cut deep.
Nero clenched his teeth.
"No," he said harshly. "That's not true."
Merlin let out a broken laugh—ugly, humorless.
"Of course it is. It's the only thing that keeps me… whole."
The darkness seemed to press in closer.
"Darkness…"
The voice resonated with gentle cruelty.
Merlin clutched his chest, gasping.
"This wasn't supposed to happen like this," he murmured. "Not now."
Sunday scanned the space, tense.
"This isn't just a cell," he said. "It's a dissection."
Kōri nodded slowly.
"They took what defines him."
Nero tightened his grip on Merlin.
"Then," he said, staring into the void, "we know where this test starts."
Merlin closed his eyes.
A single, silent tear slid down his cheek.
"With me."
"Darkness…"
"Darkness…"
The voice stopped whispering.
It began to scream.
"D A R K N E S S."
The word slammed against the invisible walls like a hammer. It came from everywhere—inside and out at once. Each repetition made the air vibrate, as if darkness itself had vocal cords.
Nero clenched his jaw.
"Cover your ears," he ordered, though he knew it wouldn't help.
Lux stepped back, breathing fast.
"This isn't normal," he muttered. "This isn't just sound."
The word exploded again.
"DARKNESS."
Lux grabbed his head.
"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, voice shaking. "I don't have a choice."
He lifted his head.
"I'm activating."
Lux's aura erupted outward like an invisible flare. The air around him distorted, vibrating with raw kinetic energy. The ground—if it existed—seemed to ripple beneath his feet.
"Night vision."
His eyes changed.
His pupils expanded until they swallowed almost all the white, a pale, unnatural glow igniting in his gaze. For him, the darkness ceased to be absolute.
And then…
Lux saw.
His body froze.
"No," he whispered.
He staggered back. One step. Then another.
"No, no, no, no—"
He dropped to his knees as if shoved by something unseen.
"GET IT OUT!" he screamed, clawing at his face. "Get it out of my head!"
Pure panic ripped through his voice.
"I don't want to see it! I don't want to see it!"
Nero turned instantly.
"Lux, what are you seeing?"
Lux shook his head violently, punching his temple.
"It's not a thing!" he screamed. "It's an image! It's— it's stuck to my mind!"
His breathing broke apart.
"It's looking at me from the inside," he sobbed. "It doesn't blink!"
Merlin lifted his head, fear replacing panic.
"Lux…" he whispered. "What shape does it have?"
Lux laughed hysterically.
"Shape…?" The word sounded absurd to him. "That's the worst part."
He lifted his face, eyes wide, tears streaming.
"It doesn't have a fixed shape!" he screamed. "Every time I try to look at it, my brain fills it in!"
Kōri stepped in front of him, unyielding.
"Shut it off," she ordered. "Now!"
"I can't!" Lux cried. "It's behind my eyelids!"
The voice roared again, louder.
"DARKNESS."
Lux screamed with it.
"GET OUT OF MY MIND!"
He tore the vision away by force. Energy burst outward unevenly as he collapsed, shaking, gasping, tears spilling freely.
The silence that followed was unnatural.
Heavy.
Like something was waiting.
Sunday clenched his fists.
"Confirmed," he said quietly. "This isn't a cell."
Merlin swallowed.
"It's a mirror."
Nero raised his gaze into the surrounding blackness.
His eyes hardened.
"And it wants us to look."
The darkness didn't answer.
It smiled.
(At least… that's how it felt.)
The laughter started low.
Broken.
Uneven.
A sound that shouldn't exist in a throat—because it didn't come from any throat.
Ha… ha… ha…
The echo twisted inside the cell, bouncing off invisible walls as if the space itself were mocking them. It wasn't joyful. It wasn't cruel in the usual sense.
It was amused.
Lux curled in on himself, hugging his knees.
"No… no… please stop…" he whispered.
Merlin clenched his teeth, fighting to control his breathing. Even without his staff, he could feel it: that laughter wasn't sound.
It was pressure.
Each chuckle pushed against his thoughts, searching for cracks.
Sunday moved instinctively in front of the group.
"This isn't a test anymore," he said tensely. "It's a display."
The laughter intensified.
HA—HA—HA—HA—
The air vibrated.
The darkness trembled.
For a moment, Nero felt the ground vanish beneath him—as if the cell were about to dissolve… or seal shut completely.
Then, suddenly—
Silence.
The laughter cut off instantly.
The shift was so abrupt it hurt.
A different sound emerged from the distance.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Real.
The group froze.
Nero narrowed his eyes.
"Did you hear that…?"
The sound came again.
Metal striking stone.
And then—
A spark.
A flame ignited beyond the darkness.
A torch.
The light advanced slowly, forcing the blackness back as if it resisted retreating. Shadows twisted around the fire, stretching unnaturally.
Then a silhouette appeared.
Human.
And behind it… another.
Two figures walked toward the cell, holding their torches high. Their faces remained hidden, swallowed by flickering light and deep shadow.
"Did you hear that?" a deep male voice said.
"Yeah," another replied, rougher. "Came from here."
The torchlight partially illuminated Nero's face.
The footsteps stopped.
A brief, uneasy silence followed.
Then the first voice spoke again.
"…They're not dead."
The flame flickered.
And for the first time since they woke up—
the darkness retreated.