In just a matter of seconds, Byrne's vision was completely saturated as if soaked in thick, dark ink. He could see nothing.
"Old man Jones?"
Byrne tried calling out, but the only response was a deathly silence. Manager Jones, who had been talking incessantly just moments ago, seemed to have vanished into thin air without a sound.
Heh, so the darkness has arrived?
Luckily, I came prepared.
Byrne reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the small flashlight. When he pressed the switch, the flashlight did emit a white light, but the moment that glow touched the surrounding darkness, it was instantly annihilated, as if swallowed by an invisible black hole. Not only did it fail to illuminate the surroundings, but even the outline of the flashlight itself was completely hidden in the gloom.
"How can this be?"
Byrne refused to give up and repeatedly pressed the switch. No matter how he tried, the flashlight only emitted a faint, imperceptible flicker of white light at the moment of pressing before being devoured by the darkness. This wasn't a flashlight malfunction; it was the power of the "Vision Darkness" rule. Any conventional means of lighting would not work.
Fine then, looks like there's no way to "cheese" this one.
Helpless, Byrne stuffed the flashlight back into his pocket. Now that his only trump card had failed, his only path to passing this stage was to maintain clear consciousness. He wondered how long this state would last.
Byrne reached out his hand, groping toward where he remembered Manager Jones' desk to be. He wanted to confirm if he was still in the office. He was very familiar with the layout: the desk was to the left of the door, the sofa and coffee table for guests were to the right, and a water dispenser stood in the corner. From where he was sitting, he should have been able to touch the desk just by reaching out.
But now, his hand searched the darkness for a long time without touching anything.
Strange, why can't I feel anything?
Could it be that this rule has pulled me into another space?
As this thought arose, Byrne took his feet off the chair's footrest and tried to step on the ground. The sensation under his shoes wasn't a wooden floor, but a soft soil-like texture, similar to a ground covered in withered leaves.
Something is wrong. This is definitely not Manager Jones' office.
Byrne took a deep breath to calm himself. The rules explicitly stated that violating them would result in being devoured by the Night Demon, and maintaining consciousness was the only way to survive. With that in mind, he stood up and tried to explore this unknown space. However, after groping around for a dozen steps, he found nothing.
Just then, a sound reached his ears. To him, it sounded like a heavy object being dragged across the ground. Moreover, the sound seemed to be only a few meters away.
Byrne's heart tightened instantly. His footsteps froze, and his muscles tensed. He held his breath and strained his ears to pinpoint the source of the noise, his fingertips clenching instinctively.
Screeech! Screeech!
After listening for a moment, Byrne discovered with horror that the dragging sound was gradually approaching. He could feel the air around him growing colder as the noise drew nearer. Byrne immediately turned and walked in the opposite direction, trying to put distance between himself and the sound.
However, after walking for a short while, his outstretched hands touched something cold and hard.
A wall!
Byrne felt a surge of joy; he finally had something to rely on. The wall felt rough and cold, as if made of stone, and was covered in uneven patterns. He immediately turned and began moving along one side of the wall. With the stone wall as a reference, he at least wouldn't be stumbling blindly through the dark like a headless fly.
Screeech! Screeech!
The dragging sound behind him was still closing in, and it sounded even faster than before. Byrne didn't dare look back; he could only do his best to move quickly along the stone wall. Suddenly, his hands touching the wall met empty air.
Byrne was startled and stopped immediately, reaching out to feel carefully. He soon discovered a crack in the stone wall. The size and orientation of the crack were just enough to accommodate a person lying inside. Seeing the threat getting closer, Byrne didn't have time to think and crawled right in.
As soon as Byrne was hidden, the dragging sound stopped. He tried to see what was happening outside through the crack. Unfortunately, his vision remained completely dark; he could only rely on his hearing and sense of smell to judge the entity's position.
Before long, the paused dragging sound resumed. This time, however, the sound wasn't moving away; it was approaching the crack in the stone wall. Byrne's pupils constricted, and the hair on his body stood on end. He could feel the creature's presence getting closer. A heavy, labored breathing sounded almost in his ear, accompanied by a nauseating, foul stench.
He instinctively shrank deeper into the crack, his fingers fumbling around inside, hoping to find something for self-defense. Soon, his right hand touched an object. Its texture felt like jade, shaped like a water drop.
At that moment, the dragging sound reached the outside of the crack. Then, several gurgling noises echoed in the darkness. The sound was muffled and viscous, making Byrne's scalp tingle. Suddenly, he felt a cold tentacle grab his arm.
Not good!
Startled, Byrne immediately tried to break free. But the tentacle, though seemingly soft, possessed incredible strength, locking his arm like a steel band. No matter how much force he applied, it wouldn't budge.
Furthermore, the moment the tentacle wrapped around his arm, faint, fragmented whispers erupted in his ear. Byrne felt his head grow heavy and his eyelids became uncontrollably drowsy. His tight consciousness began to blur. He tried to resist, but the whispers were like maggots in his bones, constantly eroding his mind.
"No... can't sleep..."
Just as Byrne was about to give in and his consciousness was on the verge of falling into a deep sleep, the jade in his right hand suddenly vibrated. Immediately after, a green light rose from the jade, instantly illuminating the entire crack.
The tentacle wrapped around his arm seemed to meet its nemesis, instantly retracting into the darkness. Before Byrne could react, his vision began to clear.
As soon as his sight was restored, the first thing he saw was Manager Jones' familiar old face. Manager Jones was sitting behind the desk opposite him, looking at Byrne with a confused expression.
"Byrne, why did you suddenly daze out? I called you just now but you didn't answer."
Byrne looked around. Everything in the office was exactly as it had been when he entered. He picked up his phone from the desk and checked the time: 8:48 AM. Only one minute had passed from the start of the darkness to its end. But for Byrne, the experience of being pulled into the dark space felt like a long nightmare.
Byrne explained, "Old Jones, I'm fine. I've just been a bit tired lately, so my concentration isn't great."
After saying this, Byrne looked down at the palm of his right hand.
[The first Darkness has ended. The next one will begin in nine hours.]