The darkness outside the library felt like a living creature waiting in silence. Every corner of the castle's corridors was swallowed by a void that revealed no edges, no shapes, nothing. Only small flames from the remaining candles on the walls flickered faintly, like the last breaths of a dying world.
Auren stood at the threshold of the library, her body trembling slightly. She stared into the long corridor that had turned into a bottomless black world. A cold draft crawled up her shoulders, sending shivers through her neck.
She swallowed slowly. The realization that the entire castle was now drenched in this thick darkness pressed hard against her chest. No sound of wind, no footsteps, no sign of life. Only herself, and a small candle she had taken from the wall to guide her way.
Auren inhaled deeply. If she stayed still, she would never find a way out of this place. She lowered her gaze, lit the almost dying candle, and stepped into the dark corridor.
The candle illuminated only a tiny portion of the floor ahead. Each step felt like she was entering a space untouched by light. The air around her felt heavy, as if the castle had been swallowed by something far more sinister than night.
She walked through long, twisting corridors, sometimes descending narrow staircases, sometimes climbing spiral steps that seemed to have no end. Time slipped away. She had no idea how long she had walked, but the darkness never changed.
It was as if the castle itself grew larger, consuming her steps.
The farther she went, the tighter the pressure on her chest became. Being lost, confused, and afraid all melded together inside her.
The flame in her hand trembled, threatening to die at any moment.
Auren gripped it firmly. I can't stop now, she told herself.
But in the middle of the seemingly endless corridor, a sound emerged.
A soft voice. Almost like a whisper, yet clear enough to make every hair on her body stand.
"Auren…"
She stopped abruptly. The candle nearly slipped from her hand as her fingers trembled. The voice was familiar. Gentle but something about it chilled her to the bone.
She turned slowly toward its source.
From the heart of the darkness, a silhouette appeared. Slowly. Its steps made no sound at all, as though it moved without touching the ground.
The wavering candlelight touched the figure's face, and from the shadows that had devoured him, Lucen emerged. His hair shimmered like threads of liquid gold flowing softly over his shoulders, glowing faintly as though absorbing the surrounding darkness. His golden eyes reflected the candlelight in a strange, deep, warm way yet something hidden lingered behind that gentle gleam, as if a great secret pulsed beneath it. His skin was pale, almost like living porcelain, standing in striking contrast against the dark corridor enclosing them.
In that small glow, Lucen looked like someone who didn't belong in such a bleak world, too calm, too soft, and that only made Auren's feelings swirl even more.
She felt something familiar yet unexplainable. Every time she looked at Lucen, her heart was pulled in two directions. Not just doubt and curiosity, but the unsettling sense that a part of her had known this man long before they met. The feeling rose every time he emerged from the darkness like this, sending shivers of confusion through her thoughts.
Lucen stepped closer. His movements were quiet, the candlelight painting his face with a pale gleam, making him look half human, half shadow.
"Auren, are you alright?"
Auren tried to steady her breath. His gentle voice soothed her fear for a moment, yet left a heavier weight in her chest, one she didn't understand.
"I… I'm fine," she answered shortly.
She lowered her gaze, then forced herself to look up again. There was something she had held back for so long, and now her curiosity demanded to be heard.
"Lucen… what are your intentions, really?" she finally asked. "You always take me to strange places. Places that feel dangerous. And then you just disappear whenever something happens."
Lucen froze. His smile remained, but a faint fracture appeared behind his eyes.
He lowered his head, drawing a slow breath. "I'm sorry, Auren."
His voice carried the weight of someone burdened by something unseen.
"I just… want to help newcomers to this world. I always have. But sometimes there's… something that interferes with me. Something I don't fully understand myself."
Auren studied him closely. Lucen avoided her gaze. His movements were gentle, soft but a subtle fear flickered beneath his expression. He looked like someone who hid too many secrets.
For a moment, Auren felt pity. But that pity collided with the constant unease she felt whenever she was near him.
There was something about Lucen she couldn't explain. Something that made her want to step closer, yet step away at the same time.
Lucen lifted his face slightly and smiled faintly again. "I'm sorry, Auren. Truly."
He stepped back. Once. Twice. The candlelight no longer reached his face.
Lucen slowly dissolved back into the darkness, as if returning to where he came from.
Auren watched him disappear, torn between sympathy, curiosity, and an unnamed anxiety.
When Lucen vanished completely, she exhaled deeply and resumed walking. The candle in her hand grew shorter, its flame shrinking and trembling.
She walked again through the shadowed corridor, letting her feet move forward despite the fear creeping through her heart. The darkness felt more alive now, closer.
Then suddenly, far ahead, a silhouette emerged.
Auren stopped. Her breath caught.
The figure stood tall, approaching slowly. Its shape resembled a human, but produced no footsteps, no breaths.
Auren stepped back carefully. The candle flickered wildly in her grip.
The closer the figure drew, the more she felt a cold presence far different from Lucen's. A cold that pierced, not soothed.
When the nearly dying candlelight finally reached the dark silhouette, Noxen's form came into view, like a shadow solidifying into reality. His black hair fell in messy strands that still seemed to hold a faint gleam, as dark and deep as a starless night. His silver eyes glowed coldly, catching the candlelight with a sharp, cutting gleam that seemed to pierce straight through Auren, stripping away her fears. His skin was so pale even paler than moonlight shimmering on water making him appear as if he was crafted from both darkness and light.
In that corridor, with his presence swallowing the little light she carried, Noxen stood as a calm threat, an untouched enigma, and an uncertainty that made Auren's chest tighten with emotions she didn't understand.
He stood only a few steps away, posture firm, gaze sharp and icy. That stare struck straight into Auren's heart, as though peeling apart her thoughts.
"Why are you here?"
Noxen's voice was flat, neither angry nor gentle yet the weight in it sent her heartbeat racing.
"I… I don't know," Auren replied hesitantly. "There was a strange darkness… and I got lost."
Noxen didn't respond. He simply looked at her, as though determining whether she deserved to stand in this place. The atmosphere between them was tense, heavy, and thick with unspoken pressure.
Then without warning, Noxen walked past her. His shoulder nearly brushed hers. Cold air followed him, as though the darkness itself moved aside for him.
Auren turned, watching his back fade into the shadows.
She stood alone again, holding a candle that was almost gone.
And as silence reclaimed the castle completely, Auren was struck by a feeling she could not name.
A blend of confusion, fear, curiosity, and something deeper, something beyond words.
She didn't know what was happening inside her. She didn't know what was happening to this world. She only knew one thing.
Everything… was becoming stranger than before.