The Primordials: Death's Fury (Book One)

Chapter IV: PRP (Pt.1)

      After about ten minutes of flying, we came across a cluster of dark storm clouds looming over a forest. Something about them was odd, though. They didn't seem to be moving; they just floated there.

      As we got closer, I noticed a dead field below and decided to land there since I'd rather we not be blown out of the sky or struck by a lightning bolt.

      I expected heavy rain once we landed, but there wasn't any. Not only was there no rain, but there was no thunder or lightning either. Just a chilling breeze and an abnormal level of darkness shrouding the entire area ahead.

      Every instinct was screaming to me not to enter that forest, and I had every intention of listening.

      Making sure to keep my eyes on the forest, I reached down to my left in an attempt to grab Trik.

       "Hey, let's get out of here; nothing good will come from going in there. Maybe we can go around or something," I said, trying not to sound afraid.

      Trik didn't respond.

      "Trik."

      I turned to face him and saw him staring at the darkness, his face struck with fear. I tried to break his hold by snapping my fingers and shaking him by his shoulders, then resorted to yelling.

      "Trik!" I screamed.

      "U-Use your eyes," he responded, nodding towards the darkness.

      "What are y-"

      "Just use your eyes, Alissia!" Whatever Trik was seeing, it must've been serious. He hardly ever calls me by my first name.

      Looking back towards the darkness, I realized what he meant, so I focused on using omni-vision.

      What I saw was the most terrifying spirit energy I've ever seen: it appeared as a mostly semi-transparent black mist with flashes of dark filaments cast outward from somewhere deeper in the forest. Its densest portions made up the pitch-black void that was its center. I tried to see who, or what, was at its center, but even with omni-vision, I couldn't see past the darkness.

      What was even more horrifying was how it seemed to have a conscience: the dark energy had already begun to wrap itself around Trik and me, taking hold of us.

      As more coiled around us, I felt a chill spread across me as my body began to tremble and sweat trickle down my face as the level of terror and panic in me escalated, then something else manifested: pain.

      It began as a dull aching in my core but quickly became a strange affliction. Somehow, I was paralyzed, which restricted me from any movement whatsoever, preventing me from escaping.

      I tried to scream out to Trik, but at that exact moment, the spirit energy smothered my nose and mouth, simultaneously cutting off my airways. It felt like smoke or vapor being held onto my face, but instead of causing a coughing reaction, it was like it halted my breathing, not allowing me to inhale or exhale. I tried connecting to Trik through my c-chip but forgot I had it turned off, leaving me no way to communicate with him.

      After about a minute of enduring this, I'd grown accustomed to the initial shock of the pain. I noticed that, yes, the pain was unusual, but at this intensity, it was manageable.

      It'll probably take a few minutes before any irreversible damage is done. I thought to myself. That gives me two minutes at best to find us a way out of this. Just gotta stay calm and don't panic.

      I thought the pain would've been my biggest problem since, usually, holding my breath isn't much of an issue, considering I can hold my breath for up to 10 minutes, but this was different. The spirit energy had become overwhelming.