"SCCCRRRRCCCCCHHHHHHHH!!!" She shrieked in agony, her body thrashing as she clawed at the chain. The tallic grip burned against her skin, sending jolts of pain through her.... She flailed, trying to free herself, but the more she struggled, the tighter it beca.
Her wings faltered, their luminous glow flickering as if the life was being drained from them.
Step!
Aether's silhouette appeared above her, his form blurred by speed. His face was drenched in sweat, his jaw clenched as He raised his hand just as a glinting streak of silver shot toward him—the thin sword Aria had fired.
With precise timing, he caught it midair.
Tang!
The impact rang through his bones, but he didn't falter. His grip tightened, his muscles coiling like springs as he swung the weapon down with unrelenting force.
Crack!
A resounding shatter split the sky as the blade t the chains, severing them with a burst of radiant energy... Maelona's body was thrown downward, free from their grasp.
For a fleeting mont, relief washed over her... until the sickening sound of steel slicing through flesh echoed in her ears.
Sluccckkk!
Aether's blade had cut through one of her wings.
Maelona's eyes widened in horror as a sharp, searing pain blood across her back. Her balance shattered, and she plumted like a wounded bird, spiraling downward with desperate, outstretched hands.
Step!
Step!!
Step!!!
Aether wasn't done yet. With rapid footwork, he surged forward, closing the distance between them. But, of course, those relentless chains weren't far behind, slithering through the air like serpents, hissing and snapping as they chased him.
"Tsk!" Aether clicked his tongue in frustration as he twisted his body midair, dodging the deadly tendrils that sought to ensnare him. His movents were swift, fluid—like a storm cutting through the skies. He propelled himself downward, purple flas igniting beneath his feet, leaving a shimring trail of energy as he dived toward Maelona.
She was falling—fast... The ground was drawing dangerously close.
The ground was drawing closer—too close. His grip on the hilt tightened, and he raised his sword, his eyes locked on the last remaining wing. One clean strike, and she'd be free from whatever force was trying to drag her away.
Just then—
Cling... Clang...
A crack split through space at his side, and in a matter of seconds, chains shot toward him. Aether gritted his teeth the mont the chain caught him... He knew he was fucked!
Desperation surged through him as he tried to block it,
However, the mont the chains struck his sword—
Crack...
The sword shattered into pieces… before the chain slamd into his gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him plumting even faster. His body was hurled downward, faster than Maelona!
BOOM!
The impact sent dust and debris flying as he hit the ground with a force that rattled through his bones.
"Aether! MOM!!" Aria's scream cut through the chaos as she rushed forward. The dust settled, revealing Aether pushing himself up with a groan, his stomach aching from the fall. But his gaze wasn't on himself—it was locked onto Maelona.
She was caught again.
Her limbs were bound—her wrists, her ankles, and her neck—each wrapped in those chains.
"SScrrrcchhhhh!" Maelona's scream ripped through the air, raw and furious, her voice trembling with agony and rage.
Crckkkkkkk!
The reality behind her fractured even further, cracks forming like shattered glass as sothing darker erged from beyond—sothing ancient, sothing forbidden, sothing that should never have been seen.
A void.
An empty, endless abyss where the chains seed to sink deeper, vanishing into the nothingness, as if dragging her toward an unknown fate.
Aria's breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening with sheer horror. "That... that thing is trying to take her sowhere?" Her voice quivered as she stepped forward, her trembling fingers gripping her bow. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs as she watched the chains jerk, pulling her mother closer to that devouring darkness....
Until—
"ARIA, CUT THE WING!!"
Aether's voice roared as he clung to the chains with all his might.
His fingers wrapped tightly around the cold tal, trying to pull Maelona back. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! SHOOT, NOW!" His voice was raw, every muscle in his body straining against the force that tried to rip her away.
Aria snapped back to reality, her hesitation lting into instinct. She gritted her teeth, imdiately notching another arrow. Her pulse raced as she steadied her aim, locking onto the remaining wing. She was just about to release when—
Cling, Clang...
Another chain shot out of the ground, slithering toward her like a serpent before she could react. It struck, wrapping around her limbs, tightening in an instant, binding her just like the rest of them.
Aether's eyes went wide, "Aria!!" His voice cracked with fear as he yanked against the chains, but they only grew stronger, pulling back with monstrous force.
His foot skidded against the ground as he lost traction, his body slowly sliding toward the void.
"DAMN IT!" His voice roared in frustration, but he refused to let go. His muscles burned, his veins bulging as he fought against the pull. His fingers dug into the chain links, gripping them so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"CO ON!!" He bellowed, his entire body trembling as he pulled with everything he had. The chains groaned, resisting his strength, but he saw it—the faintest shift, the slightest retreat.
He was winning. He could feel it.... He was pulling them back.
!~Ding~!
[Level: 95↑]
Aether's lips curled into a determined grin. There was still a chance. If he just—
Then it happened.
CLINNGG!!
The chains jerked violently, harder than before, as if sothing—or soone—from the depths of the abyss had seized them from the other side. Aether barely had ti to react before—
His eyes went blank...
(POV) The vision shifted, drawn deeper into the unknown, following the chains as they slithered into the abyss.
The sound of tal clanking against the unseen echoed endlessly, a ghostly symphony in the suffocating darkness. The vision trailed the chains, moving deeper and deeper, consud by the void, swallowed by an emptiness that stretched beyond comprehension. There was nothing—only an infinite expanse of darkness, vast and silent, devouring all sense of ti and space.
Then—suddenly—sothing changed.
The vision slowed, hesitating as if sensing sothing ahead, sothing different.
Deep inside the void, amidst the overwhelming blackness, a small flicker of white light appeared. It was faint—so faint it was almost imperceptible, a trembling speck against the endless dark. And yet, it was there.
It flickered. It pulsed. It existed.
And at its very edge—where the chains finally ended—sothing lingered, waiting.
The vision drifted closer, drawn toward the light, srized by its fragile presence. Step by step, it neared, the glow growing ever so slightly brighter.
Until—
"The ti has co... co to ."
A voice.
Ancient. Ethereal.
It did not rely speak—it resonated, reverberating through the void itself, a whisper that felt both distant and impossibly close. It was neither loud nor soft... the vision slowly moved as it was srized by that voice...
Then—
Slcccckkkkk!
A sharp flesh slicing sound echoed!
The vision snapped back as if it had returned back!
Aether gasped, his mind reeling as his eyes blinked rapidly, trying to adjust. The suffocating darkness retreated, the endless void pulling back like mist at dawn. The chains—once he held, solid and unyielding—vanished into thin air, dissolving like smoke.
His mind felt foggy, disoriented, struggling to grasp what had just transpired.
He turned—
And there, standing before him, was Dora, her arms wrapped securely around Maelona. Her expression was unreadable, a mix of confusion, caution, and disbelief as she scanned the area.
She exhaled sharply, then muttered—
"What the fuck just happened here?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers