At the bottom of the stairs, Alynia opened the door. What they found beyond was nothing but a void of darkness. The room was plunged into total blackness—so thick it was impossible to make out any boundaries: no walls, no floor, no ceiling.
Alynia turned to Veil, her eyes filled with a mix of doubt and apprehension.
"Maybe... like at the entrance, the room will light up as we move forward," Alynia said hesitantly.
Veil nodded in response, though deep down, he wasn't convinced.
"Nothing's been simple so far... Why would it start now?" Veil muttered warily.
They stepped cautiously through the doorway and took a few steps into the darkness. But instead of lights flickering on, a loud BANG rang out behind them.
The door had slammed shut, cutting off the hallway's light behind them. They were now plunged into complete darkness, the air growing heavier with every passing second.
"Alynia? What happened?" he asked, tense and worried.
"I'm here. The door closed behind us... And now we're stuck in complete darkness," Alynia replied immediately, focused.
Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating, broken only by the sound of their steady breathing. Alynia hesitated, then reached out around her, searching for a wall—any sort of reference point.
"There's nothing. No walls, no obstacles. Just empty space," she added tensely.
She took a step, then another—but it only deepened the oppressive sensation of not knowing where she was going.
"Take my hand. We can't see anything, but at least this way we won't get separated," Veil offered, hesitant but more resolute.
Alynia paused for a moment. In this darkness, holding hands seemed like the logical choice—but it still made her slightly uncomfortable.
"If you try anything, Little Wolf, my claws won't miss their mark," Alynia warned, mocking but cautious.
Veil smiled—though she couldn't see it in the dark.
"Even in a situation like this, you still manage to joke," Veil commented, amused.
They began slowly reaching out through the void, groping blindly to find each other in the total darkness. Veil felt the cold air slipping between his fingers, trying to guess where Alynia might be.
Suddenly, his fingers brushed against something warm and soft. He immediately realized he had found Alynia's hand.
"Got you," he added, calm but relieved.
On her end, Alynia felt the contact and closed her fingers around his with confidence, despite the situation.
"At least we're connected now. It'll keep us from getting lost," Alynia said, reassured but still alert.
The touch of their hands seemed to momentarily break the weight of the absolute darkness, as if that simple link was enough to anchor them in this vast, threatening void.
Veil smiled again, knowing she couldn't see him in the dark. Moving forward slowly, their free hands continued to explore the space around them, searching for any sign of a wall or obstacle.
"How are we supposed to find anything in here? We can't see a thing," Veil asked, curious but anxious.
Alynia opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a faint shimmer.
Above them, a small light appeared on the ceiling, pulsing gently like a flickering star. The ceiling seemed low, as the light cast a faint glow that only illuminated a small circle around it—nowhere near reaching the floor or dispelling the darkness of the room.
"Is this a hint? Like the tile in the previous room?" Alynia murmured, thinking aloud.
She tightened her grip on Veil's hand before gently letting go.
"Little Wolf, draw your dagger. If this light activates something and we end up facing monsters... we need to be ready," she ordered firmly.
Veil obeyed without protest, slowly unsheathing his blade to avoid making noise—even though the room no longer amplified sound. Alynia looked up toward the light, torn between apprehension and resolve.
"If we trigger something and get attacked in this darkness... I doubt we'll get out as easily as before," Alynia said, focused.
She took a deep breath, trying to channel her determination despite the total darkness pressing in on them.
She reached out toward the glow, hesitating slightly. The light seemed fragile, almost unreal, but it radiated a faint warmth against her fingers. When she touched it, nothing happened—no button, no apparent mechanism. Just that soft, intangible warmth.
"It's not a trigger... So what's it for?" she murmured, perplexed.
She slowly withdrew her hand. To her surprise, the light seemed to react on its own. Thin luminous strands began to stretch outward, drifting from the main source and linking to other faint points of light that began to appear around them, scattered across the ceiling.
These new sparks were just as dim as the first one—not enough to light the room or reveal its boundaries. And yet, each filament followed a precise path, weaving a complex structure above their heads.
"It looks like... a symbol? Or maybe a shape," Veil observed, intrigued.
Alynia nodded silently, her eyes locked on the almost hypnotic display. The filaments continued to branch out and expand, reaching new points of light that faintly glowed in turn.
"It's beautiful… but too precise. It's got to be a trap or a test," Alynia said, wary.
Suddenly, the filaments stopped moving. The final point of light on the ceiling lit up, completing the structure.
CLICK.
A sharp sound echoed, followed immediately by a scream.
The sound—humanlike—ripped through the oppressive silence. Alynia frowned, her ears perking up, catching other barely audible noises.
"Little Wolf… something's coming," she whispered, tense and worried.
Veil, still staring at the ceiling, answered without looking at her.
"Look up," Veil urged, alert and pressing.
Alynia followed his gaze. Some of the glowing points were slowly detaching from the filaments, floating briefly before stopping, then being replaced by others. The phenomenon seemed to follow a rhythm, but neither Alynia nor Veil could make sense of what they were seeing.
"What is this light show? There must be a purpose, but what...?" he murmured, perplexed.
Their thoughts were interrupted.
A massive shadow suddenly swept across the filaments, causing several points of light to flicker.
"What was that?!" Alynia cried out, alarmed.
Another scream echoed, closer this time, louder. The two adventurers exchanged a worried glance, the outlines of their faces barely visible in the filaments' faint glow.
"Get ready," Veil ordered, tense.
Alynia, senses on high alert, scanned the darkness around them, her lupine instincts warning her that they were no longer alone.
She perked her ears, focusing intently on even the faintest sound. Though the creature seemed to be moving along the ceiling, each of its movements created the slightest shift in the air—barely perceptible. This fluctuation, coupled with the behavior of the lights—briefly dimming whenever the shadow passed overhead—allowed her to roughly track its movements.
"She's here… Each fading filament shows me her path," Alynia said, focused.
Beside her, Veil watched tensely, dagger in hand, his expression revealing doubt.
"What do we do? She's too fast," Veil asked, hesitant.
Alynia opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything, a sudden sensation alerted her. She reacted instinctively, shoving Veil with all her strength to push him out of the attack's path.
A loud BAM echoed through the room, reverberating in their bodies. A massive, shadowy hand had dropped from the ceiling, slamming into the floor where they had stood just moments before.
"What was that?!" he gasped from the ground.
Alynia didn't answer immediately. Her claws flashed out, her movements swift and precise as she tried to slash the thing while it withdrew back toward the ceiling.
But her hand passed through the shadow without resistance—like striking air.
"Why? I touched her… So why?!" Alynia shouted, confused.
She leapt back, eyes locked on the shadow as it melded into the surrounding darkness. Veil, meanwhile, struggled back to his feet, his gaze fixed deeper into the room.
"Alynia! There's another one over there!" Veil called, alert.
Alynia closed her eyes for a moment, ears straining again. She picked up two distinct sounds: the one from the creature that had just attacked—but also another, moving farther away.
"There are several… And they move so fast we won't have time to react if they all strike at once," Alynia thought, tense.
She looked at Veil, her expression colder, more focused.
"Little Wolf, don't attack them," she ordered sharply.
Veil frowned, surprised by the sudden order.
"What? Why?!" Veil asked, confused.
Alynia turned her head toward him, her tone sharpening.
"They're not physical creatures. They're shadows. You can't hit what isn't real," Alynia explained, firm and serious.
Veil stood still for a moment, trying to process what she was saying.
"Not real…? Then how did they just slam into the ground?" Veil retorted, skeptical.
Sensing his hesitation, Alynia added with urgency:
"They move through the darkness. If you waste energy trying to strike them, you'll only leave yourself more exposed," Alynia warned urgently.
The realization slowly sank into Veil's mind. He nodded, though his fingers remained tightly clenched around his dagger.
"Alright… Then what do we do?" Veil asked, tense but resigned.
Alynia didn't have the answer yet. Her thoughts were racing, searching for a weakness—some kind of strategy.
"If they rely on darkness to move, then we need a light… but how do we use it in a place like this?" Alynia murmured, thinking quickly.
She looked up at the glowing filaments on the ceiling, trying to figure out a way to turn the shadows' advantage against them.