Whispers of confusion echoed through the enormous hall as Ludwig's cryptic words settled in, leaving many children panicked and distressed.
A strange energy enveloped the hall like a large dome as I sat down, and in an instant-
AARGH!!
A deafening scream echoed throughout the energy dome; grabbing everyone's attention and making the already tense environment unbearable.
The sound of pounding heartbeats rang through my ears as I focused my senses, trying to locate the source of the sound, but that's when I felt it.
Strangely shaped creatures had appeared out of nowhere and begun attacking the children; they ran on short legs as their long arms swayed barely above the ground.
Ever since I woke up from that strange dream, my ethyr had changed.
I could now sense the ethyr of people around me and identify the shapes of my surroundings without having to focus my ethyr through my eyes.
It was a strange feeling; like having eyes all over your body, watching everything around you, yet despite this new ability, I had not sensed any of these creatures till now.
The creatures leaped off their short legs as they swung their long, needlelike arms; stabbing and ravaging some children.
Seeing this, the other children ran, but the monsters chased after them even faster.
Yet despite the monsters' apparent aggression towards children, they seemed to avoid my location.
Screams echoed throughout the energy dome as hordes of monsters continued their onslaught; completely avoiding me.
I remained seated as I focused my ethyr on the energy dome, searching for a way out of this nightmare.
That's when I found it: a weak point in the energy dome.
I wanted to get up and run out of this place immediately, but I couldn't be hasty. I wasn't sure why the monsters avoided me, but I had an idea.
After some thought, I opted to try out my theory; as I stood up from my seat, the monsters running around me came to a halt.
I took a step forward, and the monsters in front of me took a step back.
The more I walked, the further the monsters moved.
My theory was right: the monsters were running around the radius of my conscience, never entering its range of 5 meters.
The only problem was that the only way for me to sustain my conscience all around me was by walking.
Sounds of fighting and desperation echoed around me as I walked towards the weak point.
'Sorry, but I can't hep you.'
Screams of children dying rang in my ears as I ran the final few meters to the weak point. My heart pounded against my chest as I reached my hand for the weak point.
'Finally!'
"Hey! Watch out!!", the voice of a small girl called out from my side before-
WHOOSH
A fast object shot past my head as the small girl tackled me to the ground.
THUD!
A resounding crash echoed throughout the energy dome as I finally sensed the tall, bony monster towering above me as it tried to pull its long, clawed arm from the wall of the energy dome.
In an instant, the small girl dragged me off the floor in a hurry as we ran away from the monster.
My breath came in ragged gasps as we finally stopped and hid behind one of the large pillars in the massive dome.
"Tsk. First shadow leeches and now a night crawler.", said the girl.
'Shadow leeches? Nightcrawler?', I thought to myself.
"Hey. Are you alright?", asked the girl.
Those small creatures. Are shadow leeches? I had heard of them, but I never thought I would get to face one. And a nightcrawler? What was that?
"What's going on?", I asked.
"I don't know, but I think the way out of here has something to do with that nightcrawler."
The girl's heartbeat remained unchanged as she answered my question; she was telling the truth.
"Why do you think that?"
"It only attacked you when you tried to go through that part of the dome."
Truth
"So the only way out is by somehow passing that monster?", I asked.
"Most probably.", she answered.
Truth. I had hoped they would be another way, but it seemed we had to confront that monster in the end.
"Do you have a plan?"
"Yes, but first, what's your blessing?"
"Blessing?", I asked, genuinely confused by her question.
"Yes. Haven't you felt the faint energy inside of you?"
Faint energy?… That's when I remembered the strange sensation I felt when I assessed my body earlier. The feeling was faint, and it had vanished the moment I walked into this hall.
But as I assessed my body once again, I felt the energy burn inside of me; it seemed I had unconsciously dismissed it as I tried to escape this place.
"Yes, I can feel it.", I answered.
"Great. Now try spreading it through your body.", she said.
I took a deep breath as I focused on the energy inside me; trying to spread it through my body. The powerful heat faded into a freezing cold energy as it flowed through my body; sending shivers down my spine.
[Ah~. You have finally figured out how to access my power.]
A familiar sadistic voice rang through my head. In an instant, I activated my ethyr at a hundred percent capacity; trying to defend my mind from the mysterious figure.
[No need to panic. In fact, I'm trying to help you, Luciel.]
'Who are you?'
[Who I am isn't important at the moment. What matters is that you're running out of time, Luciel, and I'm trying to help you.]
Despite my distrust of the mysterious figure, they were correct that our time was running out.
It had only been a few minutes since the girl and I hid behind this pillar, but in that time, I had sensed the energy dome shrink; bringing that monster - the nightcrawler - closer to us.
I could also sense it in the girl's posture; she was struggling to maintain the barrier around us, and soon we would have to fight the night crawler.
'What do you want?'
[Nothing much. All you have to do is give me control of your body so that I can fight for you. I promise I will give it back to you after I get rid of that pest.]
I didn't like the mysterious figure's offer, but I also knew I had no other option.
Time was running out, and I had to make a choice now.