81 Chapter 81 (2/2)

As they reached the battle, the world around Aerwyn appeared to pulse as if a massive cymbal was pounded near his consciousness. He could see Gromok's arm frozen mid-swing as his sword was about to come down upon a defending Lok'ra, and with it, the whole world appeared to stand still.

”Really?!?” Aerwyn complained as he realized what was happening. It was just like when he had his vision, except no vision came this time. Instead, he felt as though his consciousness was being ripped from his body. The world went black for a moment, and he found himself in the familiar darkness filled with floating purple souls.

”Master!” A pleading voice called out.

”What's going on!” An angry voiced roared.

”..What is this place?” An enchanting voice pondered.

”H-hello?” A brusque voice mumbled hesitantly.

Aerwyn recognized the voices, but before he had a moment to respond, he noticed a change in the darkness which grabbed his attention. The purple souls floating about in the darkness appeared to bend and distort as if looking through warped glass. As he focused in on the phenomenon, he could make out small translucent bubbles that varied in size appearing all around him.

What started out as a few, quickly multiplied until thousands upon thousands surrounded Aerwyn's soul. They serenely orbited around him for a moment until the tenebrious tendrils of the darkness began sprouting out and grabbing ahold of them one by one. The tendrils appeared to penetrate each one leaving behind a piece of itself before dragging it forcefully towards Aerwyn's soul.

He could still hear the voices calling out with various emotions, but Aerwyn found himself mesmerized by this change in his power. The first darkness-filled bubble collided with his soul flame and felt like it carried the weight of the entire world as it struck. Instantly, Aerwyn was overtaken by mind-shattering pain as if all the bones in his body were repeatedly broken and healed hundreds of times a second.

He barely had enough time to react before the second darkness-filled bubble collided, and then the third. Bubble after bubble hit his soul like a hammer to an anvil at an ever-increasing speed as Aerwyn howled in agony. If it were possible to fall unconscious in this place, Aerwyn would gladly let his consciousness fade to black, but he knew it wasn't going to happen. Luckily, the process didn't take nearly as long as the occasions when he overdrafted his soul, and as he steadied his thoughts, a familiar voice rang out.

”What was that?” The enchanting voice asked.

”Erit?” Aerwyn asked as he looked around the darkness. The voice sounded as if it were nearby. It wasn't like how he usually communicated to his undead by projecting his thoughts directly into their minds. It was as if she were next to him in the darkness. He looked towards her soul, but it seemed no different than how it usually did.

”Master?” Erit replied.

”I'm here too!” Rin announced excitedly.

”Me too.” Ren chimed in monotonously.

”Hello...” Teek mumbled.

”Are you ok, master? Where are we?” Erit probed.

”This... I don't know how to explain it. I call it the darkness. It has something to do with my power. I always assumed that it was just in my mind, but it appears that I was mistaken.”

”I don't like it here. It feels like I'm underwater... Like I'm gasping for breath.” Ren remarked.

”Tell me about it...” Aerwyn mumbled as he gazed down at his own soul. To his surprise, it appeared as though the countless bubbles that collided with his soul had all been absorbed or better yet, the bubble absorbed his soul instead.

His soul was no longer a faint purple flame, but instead, it now appeared to be encapsulated by the bubble. Inside of it, the darkness swirled around like a violent storm, exuding a purple glow as if his soul flame was hidden within the chaotic shadows. As the shadows began to turn even faster within the bubble, a warmth came over him, not unlike that which he felt when he absorbed the souls of the dead.

The darkness surrounding Aerwyn appeared agitated as dozens of tenebrous tendrils reached out and pierced the bubble once again. He felt immense pressure build-up as though his soul was being filled to the brim with even more darkness. The bubble grew in size as four tendrils formed on its surface. The darkness-filled bubble-like tendrils appeared to travel along four particular souls strings, enveloping them as they made their way towards their destination.

”So, that's why they're here...” Aerwyn muttered his thoughts aloud.

”Huh? Did you say something, master?” Erit asked.

”I'm not sure what's going on, but brace yourselves for pain.”

”Wha-OH!~” Erit released an odd moan as the tendrils enveloped her soul flame entirely. Aerwyn expected to hear screams of agony, but besides Erit's outburst, there wasn't a peep. The tenebrous tendrils continued to pour more and more darkness into Aerwyn's soul as the girl's souls appeared to inflate like a darkness-filled balloon emitting a faint purple shine.

”...So much power...” Erit proclaimed in a voice of sheer awe.

”Huh? What do you mean?” Aerwyn hurriedly snapped back.

”You don't feel it? It's like an endless ocean of mana is coursing through me.”