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1
“We’re… back at the mansion.”
Evi continues to sniff the air, even though she’s practically hugging the metal gates.
“I knew something was off with this place. With this and the missing body from the market, the lab has to be somewhere close,” Cynthia grumbles, tapping her foot.
“Huh? When did you check the market?”
“When a certain someone was sleeping,” she shoots out a quick glare.
“I told you I was sorry! I won’t do it again, so can we drop it?”
She nods once.
“Thank you….” I scan the towering gate several times. Evi hasn’t moved one bit and hasn’t even touched the metallic barrier. Her hands are hovering just a hair’s breadth away, but she seems pretty determined to keep some distance.
“Evi, is this the right place then?”
Turning back to me, she reluctantly shakes her head, before nodding. Which is it?
“Noblique. Here. But. Not. Here.”
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Clicking her tongue, Cynthia attacks the gate with an open palm, forcing it to swing open. Evi covers her ears as the scraping noise echoes through the air.
Is she still mad about the sleeping thing? I’ve seen her upset a couple of times, but not to the point where she’d start cursing.
As Cynthia starts walking towards the house, Evi surprisingly calls out to her, “Cyn! No. There!”
“Haah?! Make up your damn mind. Is it here or not?! If you’re going to try to be useful, can you at least try to be correct?”
I jump in between them. “Woah. Stop, let’s hit the brakes for now. We won’t get anywhere if we keep fighting like this.”
“Evi. No. Cyn. Yes!”
Crap. Evi, that is NOT helping.
“Speak to me like that again and I’ll gut you, vampire.”
I raise my arms to shield Evi, but I hear an unfamiliar growl coming from behind me. When I peek over my shoulder, I notice Evi’s showing her animalistic fangs. The hair on her head seems more red than gold.
Why are these two being so volatile? It’s nothing new with Cynthia, but Evi’s behavior is completely foreign to me.
Stepping to the side, I raise my arm to halt both Cynthia and Evi. Both of them look like they’re ready to tear each other apart any second now. I need to do something, but I don’t know what.
If I try to calm Evi down, Cynthia will one hundred percent re-escalate with some passive-aggressive comment. If I try to calm Cynthia down, she’ll get even madder than she already is.
The two start inching closer. My eyes dart between them. Not good. Not good!
My back bumps into something flat. Instinctively, I look back to see a smoothed-out wall. It’s painted and textured rather nicely compared to the walls surrounding the estate. If anything, it closely resembles the walls that we saw inside the mansion.
“Hold on, guys!”
I call out to them. Even before confirming that they’re looking at me, I turn around completely, running my fingers along the wall.
“Hm? What’s this about?” Cynthia asks with her arms crossed. Both Evi and Cynthia walk over to my side on opposite ends, doing the same thing and inspecting the wall.
“You guys don’t even know why I’m doing this, do you?”
Cynthia scoffs. Evi looks away shyly.
“Tell me if I’m going crazy, but these walls are the same ones that we saw in the mansion, right?”
“Yeah, what about it, Rom?”
“Cynthia. We’re still, like, a fifteen-second walk away from the actual main estate. There are no other doors or anything leading to a storage room from within these gates. So what’s the point of having this wall painted this way when the rest of the walls surrounding the estate are paintless?”
“...”
“⸻!”
Her face lights up.
Without wasting any time, both of us sprint out of the gate. Turning a hard right, we see a singular metal garage door.
“I hadn’t thought of this at all. I just assumed it wasn’t part of the estate.” Cynthia’s sneer has all but faded, with her trademark smile returning to brighten the mood.
“To think we passed by the answer twice now. Thank God you managed to find a clue so fast.”
Her compliment warms my heart. Yeah, that’s what I missed about her.
“That’s my Rommy! This is why we work well together~!”
I sigh. “Please, I beg you, stop calling me Rommy.”
She blows me a kiss. She’s definitely acting weird, but I’ll have to put that aside for now.
Evi catches up to us, staying closely by my side.
Pointing at the garage door is all I need to do for Cynthia to get the message. With one swift movement, she takes out her war scythe and cuts the seemingly unbreakable piece of metal like a sheet of paper.
Once it slams onto the ground, the loud clang flies inward, the sound echoing for a prolonged period of time.
A stairway with no lights.
“Looks like your intuition was right all along, Cynthia.”
“Of course it was~! Now, let’s get going.” Folding her weapon back down, she slowly starts to make her way down the abyss. Not even ten seconds pass before I hear her call out to me, asking for a light source.
Raising my arm, I cast the same incantation for the ball of light. Once it manifests, it floats down and leads the way.
“Hm? You’re not coming, Rom?”
“Ah, I’m just waiting until the light’s a bit farther away. Evi told me she gets hurt by it, remember?”
Without saying another word, she turns and continues to walk down.
“Also, thank you for being our vampire sniffer, Evi.”
She smiles back at me and holds my right hand. With a gulp, I start making my way down the ominous stairs.
2
It’s been five minutes. There’s no end in sight. At some point, the stairs went from clearly being constructed to someone just carving a pathway. With each step we take, we risk slipping and falling for I don’t know how far.
The surrounding walls look like they belong to a natural cave. Nothing about this place seems normal in any sense. Cool air rushes from the darkness below, but it’s been like that since we started.
My arms are ready to lift Evi in case she slips. If I slip… well, I pray that Cynthia is brave enough to catch all of us.
I gulp.
“Is it just me, or does it feel like it’s getting narrower and narrower?”
“I’ve been getting that feeling too,” Cynthia says in an uneasy tone. “It’s also getting a bit hard to breathe down here. Though the vampire seems to be doing fine.”
She’s right. Evi seems to be doing completely okay.
“I guess it wouldn’t be a long shot to assume Noblique is here then. Though, I have to say, Cynthia, we’ll have to find a way to pack him up rather quickly. At the rate that we’re going, I don’t know if we’ll last long.”
“Do you want to devise a strategy right now then?” she replies, letting out a pant.
“We might have to. If air is something lacking down here, then we really, really can’t freeball our attacks.”
“Okay,” she leans against the wall, “what do you want to do?”
I wipe sweat away from my forehead. “I think, and I know you’re against it, but we should really let Evi take the lead.”
She doesn’t say anything, only fiercely scratching her arm. Evi, on the other hand, starts looking at me like I’ve said something strange.
“Cynthia. You’re a melee fighter. You’ll be out of breath faster than I am. You don’t want to fight alongside her, and I don’t want to put her in danger. But if we don’t fight Noblique with our heads, we’ll get them lobbed off. Hell, she doesn’t even have to fight. Just let her talk to him.”
“Language.”
What the… that’s what she’s worried about? You cursed earlier too!
“I don’t think,” she catches a breath, “I have a choice.”
Crap. It’s getting really, really bad.
The thought of just turning around crosses my mind more than once. If stairs are beating us this badly, what’s it going to take to beat Noblique?
“Or maybe, we can leave and let Noblique find us again.” I shoot out a suggestion. Before she can respond, I see her back walking straight forward, no longer descending. It takes a second for me to catch up, but when I do, I realize we’ve finally made it to solid, flat ground.
Wiping away her own sweat, Cynthia directs the ball of light forward.
After a moment of wandering, it halts in front of a metal door. Like every other door we’ve seen in the town, this one is also swinging open as if someone forgot to close it. It almost feels like it’s slowly luring us into a trap.
There’s a foul miasma emitting from within. I want to pinch my nose so badly, but I know I shouldn’t. In our current state, I don’t think we can afford to complain or take the ‘easy way out.’
Sliding her hand away, Evi starts crossing the boundary between reality and the world of miasma.
Her golden hair vanishes into the darkness. I can’t even see her silhouette. Still catching our breaths, Cynthia and I wait patiently for Evi to return, but she doesn’t. There isn’t a bit of sound, not even a cough.
“What makes us so different?” I mumble, weakly slamming the stone wall in frustration.
It’s so blurry.
No matter how many times I rub my eyes, it doesn’t get any clearer.
The cold touch on my palm goes away quickly, fading into numbness.
Cynthia…
Cynthia is slumped over.
Fuck. Fuck!
Is air really that important? Where’s Evi? Where did Evi go?
That’s right. She can help us get the hell out of here.
This is a bust.
From the distance, I hear a rattle.
Screech. Screech. Screech.
I recognize this sound.
It gets closer and closer.
I keep swallowing my own spit in hopes of sating this feeling.
Then, I feel my arm wrap around something cool. Slowly, my vision starts to fade back into clarity. Cynthia’s supporting me with her own body. She seems to be sweating much less than I am, but still enough to notice.
“Aren’t you…” I want to say I’m tired, but she just smiles at my cut-off remark.
“I’m much better than you are. For some reason, I started feeling a bit better.”
A minute passes. We’re standing still in front of the door.
My body trembles, but it doesn’t belong to me.
“C-Cicadas…” Cynthia’s lips quiver. She takes a step back, smacking her heel against one of the stairs.
Gathering all the strength I have, I manage to slip out a few words, “If you’re… scared… run…”
She touches my face. Her hand is cold. Curling around her face, she smiles so innocently and earnestly. “Don’t be silly. I’m not leaving my partner behind.”
Screech. Screech. Screech.
It might as well be in front of us. Why am I so scared of cicadas? I’ve never been scared of bugs. Yeah. I’ve always been a friend to bugs. Yeah. I was always a friend to bugs.
Yeah.
Shut up. You’re so annoying.
Screech. Screech. Screech.
When is it going to stop?
Something wet drips onto my chest. Even though I don’t know if it’s water, my body naturally tries to bend forward for a lick. Anything would be fine right now. Give me sewer water and I’ll drink it. All I want is for something wet to go down my throat.
If I follow where it came from, I’ll be able to find the source of the liquid.
Another drip. This time, I start following the trajectory of where it came from. But…
It doesn’t take me long to find out the source.
Cynthia’s mouth is wide open. Her tongue flails around desperately inside her mouth, as if she’s trying to lick something that’s not there. The sharp canine teeth scattered all across her mouth are wet with saliva.
But her eyes. It’s her eyes.
She’s looking at me lustfully. Like she wants to eat me.
“Cynthia… this is… no time…” I draw a breath, “to… play…”
She’s thirsty. Just like me. There’s no other explanation. Why else would she look like that?
More spit drips onto my skin like rain.
As her face gets closer, I feel every bit of her hot breath prickling my neck. My body tenses up. I start offering it up to her without even realizing.
Just as her teeth are about to puncture my skin, something snaps me back to reality.
“⸻⸻EEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK! SOMEONE SAVE ME!!!”
…
A female voice.
The scream seems to bring us both back. We stare at each other, then look onward into the distance, as if we’re trying to make sense of whether that shriek was real or not. The sheer thought of someone being in danger starts pumping blood back at a rapid rate.
Before I know it, I’m standing upright.
“Cynthia,” I point beyond the door, “you heard that as well, right?”
“Me? O-Oh, yeah… I did. W-What the hell was I about to⸺”
Before Cynthia can finish, loud stomps echo in the distance.
“PLEASE! SOMEONE SAVE ME!”
I burst into a sprint, leaving Cynthia behind.
A squealing protest from behind stings my ears as I cross the threshold between the known and the unknown.
That voice didn’t belong to Evi. It belongs to an actual, living person. If she really is in danger, then I can’t waste any more time just standing around.
It’s dark. I can only see what’s barely in front of me. There are dim lights scattered across the walls of the hallway. It’s enough to let me know I’m not running into a wall, but not enough to tell me the right way.
On each side, there are openings to what seem like rooms.
I’ll check on them later. For now, I need to run!
My feet clang against what seems like metallic floors. Each step I take feels like I’m manually pumping adrenaline into my legs. Despite being so out of breath earlier, I’m running like I’m in tip-top shape.
Chilly air smacks me in the face, pushing me to turn back.
I can’t do that. I have to save that lady. I need to find Evi!
And then…
“You there! Are you okay?!” I call out to the silhouette sprinting towards me in the distance. She’s a slender lady with long hair. Her running is out of rhythm, like she’s wearing heels. Her arms flail around in the air desperately.
“Human?! You’re a human, right?!” she screams out in terror, but doesn’t stop.
I skid to a halt, catching the lady in my arms. Her unwavering momentum nearly causes me to fall back, but I pull her back in front of me just in time.
“T-Thank God! Y-You’re human! Please save me! I can’t take it here anymore!”
“You’re safe now! What’s going on? Where did you come from?”
She points out into the distance. “I was being held captive. There are other people there. There’s this red girl fighting our kidnapper. She’s the one that set us free.”
The lady pulls on my jacket. “Let’s run. We can’t do anything for the rest of them. That little girl can’t win against the other guy. I can’t run, so can you pick me up? We can run together!”
“Sorry.” I pull away from her. She’s clinging onto my jacket for dear life.
Kneeling, I grab her head to look straight into my eyes. “Listen, lady. What’s your name?”
“A-Abigail. I’m a scientist. B-But that thing bit me, and now…”
“Okay, Abigail,” I interrupt, “I came here with a partner. She’s someone capable. I’ll go save the rest of your friends while you run to safety, alright?”
With tears in her eyes, she nods reluctantly. I help her get on her feet. The moment I let go, she starts sprinting the other direction towards Cynthia.
Folding my legs, I burst into a sprint as well.
Red girl. That can only mean one person.
As I sprint through this miasma-ridden laboratory, my eyes are fixated on only one destination in front of me. From the corner of my ear, I hear the lady’s muffled, distant voice call out to someone in relief.
But what comes next is something I choose to ignore.
A metallic hiss.
And the sound of splattering blood echoing from behind.
3
I cross another door. This one leads to an open area where the air seems much less tainted. There are artificial lights scattered all across the cave walls, lamps that were half-heartedly hung with rope.
It’s as large as a football stadium. Scattered across the ground are countless pieces of plastic equipment and bundles of paper. Along its walls, are cylindrical, metal cages that have been pried open. At the end of the room, is a large capsule.
Machines whir on and off as computers and other technology I’m not familiar with work diligently. But what catches my eye the most…
Are the flying sparks.
“⸻⸻!”
A red whip. Blue and red projectiles.
Metallic clashes.
In the middle of the room, Evi and Noblique are throwing blows at each other like their lives depended on it. On one hand, the mage desperately tries to get the crimson vampire away from his vicinity, constantly casting shards of ice and balls of fire.
“NGAHH!!”
Evi shrieks out in frustration as she leaps backwards and away from her target.
“Evi!” I draw my gun, pointing it at Noblique.
He still hasn’t fully recovered from his wounds. With each step, he stumbles ever so slightly. Gasps of exhaustion are the only things he can muster with his mouth. His eyes are filled with rage, like a child throwing a tantrum.
However, the crimson vampire seems nearly unscathed, with only a few bruise marks on her arms and legs showing.
<Surrender. You cannot possibly hope to defeat all three of us in battle, Noblique.>
Noblique grimaces.
“I believed I could restore thy senses, Your Majesty, yet it seemeth thou art in need of further correction.”
<Enough of this nonsense. Because of your words, my friends have been suspecting me of being a royal. Where you get such an idea is beyond my understanding or care.>
“How can we name any but our creator as royalty? Ask that pitiful mass of flesh thou callest human. Doth he not name his own creator king? Yet… aye… even the creator faced rebellion within his own kingdom. Then it is only fitting that I become that devil within thine. Evi Rosenthaal.”
…
What the hell is he talking about? Evi? Creator?
As much as I want to stop and ask what’s going on, Evi’s voice overpowers mine.
<Your insanity does not surprise me. Believe what you will, I will take your head regardless. But not before feasting on your blood! Stay still, as a mudbiter should!>
The air cracks as Evi launches herself towards Noblique. Bearing her claws, she swipes away at her opponent with blinding speed. All I see are the trails the wind leaves behind each time she attacks.
Her nimble frame lets her use aerobatics as her primary advantage. Although Noblique tries to block her attacks with his arm encased in ice, he only manages to block one out of ten attacks each time.
It’s only a matter of time until the vampire is on his knees, gritting his teeth. Meanwhile, a twisted, hungry smile colors Evi’s face, no longer carrying the expressions of the sweet girl I cooked for this morning.
“Damn it! What am I standing around for?!”
Shifting my legs, I start circling around the arena. From the corner of my eye, I see bundles of silhouettes cowering in the corner.
Pointing my gun at Noblique, I fire two shots in rapid succession. The vampire raises his arm to shield himself, but a quick swipe from Evi causes him to lose strength, making it flail pathetically onto the ground.
The bullets land on his back, making him let out a guttural scream. As I close my eyes to cast an incantation, Noblique’s wet, irritated voice makes me freeze momentarily.
“GHHHHH… GAAAHH!!!”
He folds forward, exposing his back. It begins to bloat at a rapid pace.
“Evi! Get back!”
My call seems to halt her in place. Before she can react, blood shoots out from Noblique’s back like a punctured water balloon. The sound of his bones crumbling into pieces sends a shiver down my spine.
“Thou shalt die! If I slay thee, then I shall become the next royal! Such is my purpose. Such is my CONTRACT!”
The blood flying into the air starts to twist and curl in ways that shouldn’t be possible. Noblique’s entrails and other organs are mixed into the demented weapon that he’s trying to conjure up.
“Be chained. Be chained. BE CHAINED!”
“LAMIMORI!”
Like a snap, the blood rushes towards me. I barely manage to dodge it, but Evi wasn’t so lucky. The crimson girl flails around desperately as the tentacle-like entrails wrap around her effortlessly.
Its length rapidly grows, mummifying Evi from head to toe.
I shoot three more shots, but they’re blocked by the tentacles.
(Bound on earth, bound in heaven )
“Ligata in terra, ligata in caelo”
Golden light begins to spray from the bullet wounds, but unlike before, the chains don’t manifest.
“Huh?! Why?!” Taken aback by the sudden failure of my incantation, I leave myself open to a momentary attack. A tentacle wraps itself around my leg, yanking me from where I stand. My back slides against the metallic floor. No matter how hard I kick the binding, it doesn’t let go.
Caught tightly, the tentacles waste no time slamming me against the ground over and over again, making me scream in agony. My hand loosens as I try to cope with the sharp pain, causing me to drop my gun.
Evi’s mummification is nearly complete, with only her nose upward exposed to open air.
“Rest for eternity, Your Majesty. I shall forever be grateful that thou gavest us life. Yet that alone granteth thee no right to command us for all eternity. The Holy Church hath offered me something far greater than any vampire ever could.”
“MMMGHHH!!!” No matter how hard Evi tries to speak, all that comes out are angry muffled grunts.
The exhaustion quickly starts catching up to me, making my consciousness fade. No matter how hard I try to keep my eyes open, their weight makes it impossible for me to do so.
That is, until I see a familiar silhouette dancing gracefully in front of me.
A metallic blade cuts through the air, and then the tentacle. My leg is finally set free. Before I can see who it is, Evi’s bindings become undone as well. The tentacles that were nearly impossible for me to break free from are sliced apart like clouds.
“Heyyy~ No more slacking ‘kay?”
Cynthia’s high-pitched voice, alongside her classic teasing smirk, quickly flashes in front of me before vanishing again.
While Evi and I are catching our breaths, Cynthia leaps into the air using her weapon as a pole.
Noblique fires even more tentacles at her, but they are undone in a blink of an eye. She dances gracefully against the brutal onslaught of blood, fire, and ice. Every projectile that comes after her is dismantled instantaneously.
It almost seems like she’s playing with the vampire.
“GHH! LAMIMO⸺!”
Before he can finish his routine shout, his jaw slides right off his face.
“I’m getting so tired of that! What does it even mean anyways?!”
She says playfully before continuing to slice at the inhuman.
What’s… going on?
Cynthia’s movements, her cadence… There isn’t a single hint of exhaustion. If anything, she seems to be in far better shape than she ever was.
Just as I’m starting to lose myself in questions, Cynthia calls out to me.
“Rommy! Support!”
The request is all I need to get back on my feet.
(Be strengthened and rise. )
“Confortamini et surgite.”
Cynthia’s weapon begins to glow. Only then do I see a glimpse of her strange new appearance. Her skin looks far more pale than it used to, and her teeth seem much sharper than before.
But what sticks out the most… is the mark on her arm. The one she’s been scratching since we got here.
Getting on all fours, Noblique starts to grip the metal floor like it’s dirt. His back begins to bloat once more, building up with more blood each passing second. Cynthia leaps into action immediately, trying to cut open the clot, but is quickly knocked away by its explosion.
The second wave of tentacles that shoots out is laced with both elements. Some have ice-covered tips, while others are encased in flames. Still, their new seasoning is nowhere near enough for Cynthia to falter.
One by one, the tentacles fall like bushes being cut. Blood flies everywhere, tainting all the machinery and papers scattered across the open cave.
My attention turns to the cowering silhouettes I saw earlier. Cynthia and Evi can easily take care of Noblique. Right now, I need to make sure the survivors make it to the surface. Making my way to the corner of the arena, I see about a dozen men and women in dirty white coats.
Casting my orb of light, I point towards the exit.
“Go! If you go straight, you’ll find an exit!”
“T-Thank you!” Just as the first scientist begins to take charge, his head suddenly slides cleanly off his neck. The shock of something so sudden makes everyone freeze before scuttling back into their corners like roaches.
“What the hell?! What’s going on?”
“GAHHH!!!” Evi slashes at Noblique’s arms, while Cynthia covers for her by cutting the incoming tentacles.
Evi then says a phrase that I’ve gotten all too sick of by now, “LAMIMORI!”
Shit. I don’t know what happened to the scientist, but I can’t let any of them move unless I know why their heads are getting cut off. For now, I’ll have to turn my focus back to trying to beat Noblique.
Suddenly, Evi gets caught by one of the tentacles and flung across the room. Cynthia follows up, cutting the binding clean off. Just as she does, Noblique raises both his arms, and the mark on his neck flares brighter than ever before, conjuring massive flames.
“Shit!”
My usual incantation won’t work. Everything else I have is meant for demons. If there’s one thing I have left, it’s…
“Our Father in Heaven!”
Lighting surges from the ground like a primeval force being awakened. Strands of light leap like angels performing a festive dance.
“Wha-?! Are you crazy?! Right now?!” Cynthia yells out, staggering her movement. Her distraction causes Noblique to land a strike on her, sending her back.
I close my eyes.
“Hallowed be your name.”
A simple incantation.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
But the most powerful one.
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
It can heal nearly any wound.
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
And cleanse every impurity.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
So what happens when…
“For yours is the Kingdom.”
…I try to heal a vampire.
“And the power. And the glory forever.”
I hear the air crack as something rapidly approaches me.
But it’s too late.
Cracking open my eyes, a golden rose manifests on my palm.
“AMEN!”
The rose shoots forward, melting the incoming magic with nothing but light. Too stunned to speak, too injured to react, the projectile lands squarely in Noblique’s chest, seeping through his skin and clothes like acid water.
Instantly, his body begins to bloat and his skin begins to bubble. Fat and blood begin to crawl out of his body like they’re trying to save themselves. Noblique himself falls to the ground, crawling pathetically like he’s forgotten how to walk.
From his pores, roses begin to bloom. His injured body rapidly begins to heal, but his uninjured parts start to crumble into dust.
“S-STOP…” He begs for his life, but mercy doesn’t come his way.
“If you wanted mercy, you should have let Cynthia kill you,” I mumble under my breath.
The smell of sizzling meat makes me pinch my nose. I peek over my shoulder to see Evi still recovering from the attack Noblique gave her. Meanwhile, from the blinding flashes of light, I lose sight of where Cynthia is.
“Where did…”
Before I can say another word, Evi zooms past me and towards Noblique.
“No!” I extend my hand, “Don’t get close, Evi!”
Landing on his back, Evi opens her mouth wide. Her pearly white teeth shine over the golden light binding down Noblique. With what little face he has left, the vampire pleads with Evi using his eyes.
“Your… Highness… Mercy…!”
Evi sinks her teeth down on Noblique’s neck, gulping so loudly that even I can hear it. Blood sprays out, but the wound is nearly instantly healed thanks to the Lord’s Prayer. I run over to take Evi away, but she seems less than phased by the incantation.
In fact, even though it’s piercing her body, it doesn’t seem to hurt her at all.
But his body, his body begins to flare a bright orange.
“Evi!” I grab onto her torso and pull her back. Blood spills from her mouth as I try to get away as quickly as possible. I try to sprint, but the orange hue coming from Noblique grows larger and larger.
“Crap!” I hold Evi close, using my body to shield her. That’s right, I should have expected something like this from a fire mage!
A loud explosion shakes the very foundation of the cave, and the floor begins to crack. My mind’s telling me to get back up, but my body doesn’t respond. As I lose my balance, the two of us begin to freefall into the unknown void.
Debris from the lab and stone start raining on top of and around us.
But the last thing I see is Cynthia’s silhouette.
Just watching us.