Chapter 150: A Place in the Void

"There's a door that just opened for us." Adaloun said to the Orkamuus who seemed to be disoriented after the short earthquake. "Are you alright?" He asked.

The Orkamuus didn't answer. They looked shaken and confused. They seemed to be looking or listening to something. They extended their hands as if to reach out to something while their heads jerked everytime they turned. Adaloun asked again but he wasn't getting any replies. It was as if they were like in a trance.

Adaloun had to grab them by the shoulders and shook them as hard as he could to snap them out from whatever trance they were in. They finally snapped out of it, but they were still dazed and confused.

"What happened to the both of you?" Adaloun asked.

"I lost my ability to see." Corvinus answered. "I cannot see anymore!" He exclaimed.

Adaloun knew for a fact that they unfortunately lost their eyes to an attack they claimed coming from an Yldar. But even with that handicap they were able to traverse the cave without any problems. They easily evaded debris without seeing it, with their physical eyes. However, this time it was different. Their confidence was replaced with despair. Their faces painted terrified men, unsure and confused of where they are.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Adaloun tried to look for some logic in what they were saying. "You were able to walk through the—"

"By Apholak's name!" Gravil shouted. "Something is hindering us from using all our gifts!" He exclaimed as he reached for Adaloun's hand.

Adaloun took his hand, "I'm here." He said.

Corvinus turned to him and ran his hands over his face and shoulder, "It is indeed you!" He sighed in relief. "I am sorry, my friend, but we can no longer see the way we did earlier. Someone or something is blocking our gifts." He explained once more.

"T-that door that just opened…" Gravil pointed directly at him. "Something came along with it and numbed all our senses." He explained.

"I am afraid you have to leave us here, my friend." Corvinus stated. "At this point we are nothing more than just deadweight to you. If you need to—"

"Enough!" Adaloun spat. "Don't say that!" He tore long pieces of their sleeves, stretched it out and tied it on the blind Orkamuus' wrist.

"W-what are you doing?" Gravil confusingly asked. "Didn't you heard—"

"Shut up!" Adaloun was not having any of it. "No one is going to be left behind."

After tying it to their wrists, Adaloun then tied the other end of the cloth to his belt then snuggly fastened the belt.

"There, that should be alright!" Adaloun said. "I am not leaving you here. We shall get out of here together. So put your hands on my shoulders and just follow me!" He commanded the two blinded Orkamuus.

Without their gifts the Orkamuus became vulnerable and afraid, but they still trusted him. They have no choice. With the kind of monsters appearing inside that hellhole it would be best to risk it with someone competent than to be left alone with what little abilities they had.

Adaloun took a deep breath and readied himself, "I will enter the tunnel n—"

"Wait!" Gravil interrupted. He patted his waists until he felt his scimitar. "My friend, I have no use of my weapon for now. Here take it." He took the blade from its sheath and gave it to Adaloun. "May it serve you well."

Adaloun took the weapon from his blind ally's hands. As he held it in his hands, he noticed how it became heavier than before. It felt like he was holding a two-handed sword, compared to before which he recalled was as light as a feather.

He held the sword with both his arms as he did so, the blade began engulfed itself in flames. Adaloun was startled with what he saw.

"Do not be afraid," Corvinus said. "That is the Arawan's special property. Whoever it considers to be its owner will be protected by its flames."

Adaloun verbally nodded and held the sword upright. They slowly crossed the dark tunnel once again. Even with the Arawan's flames, the tunnel was still too dark for them to see. The flames could only lit the area where they tread. The rest was a complete veil of never-ending darkness.

"Would there be an end to this tunnel?" Adaloun asked himself. The darkness was eluding the real length and width of the tunnel.

"Arellin." A voice came whispering in his ear. The voice sounded familiar yet at the same time, foreign for him to know who it truly was.

"Did you hear that?" Adaloun asked.

"Hear what, my friend?" Corvinus asked back.

"I'm sorry, we heard nothing but our breathing." Gravil answered.

"Oh," Adaloun paused and waved the flaming sword around. "It must be the wind." But there was no wind in that tunnel. Even he found that reasoning stupid, but it was the only way for him calm his mind down.

Suddenly the flames started to flicker as if it got blown by the wind.

"Arellin…over here!" The voice called out again.

Adaloun held out Arawan in his fighting stance and slowly walked forward. His other two companions remained silent and just followed him, treading carefully as they went deeper and deeper into the tunnel.

"Deadweights…" The voice echoed in the tunnel once again. "They're nothing but deadweights!"

"Who are you talking as deadweights?!" Adaloun answered angrily. "WHO?!"

"Who are you talking to, my friend?" Corvinus asked with a hint of distraught in his voice.

"I-I…ugh…" he tried his best to explain what was going on. It seemed like he was the only one hearing the voice, even though it clearly echoed around the tunnel.

"Who—" Gravil was about to say something when suddenly he was gone.

The cloth that Adaloun bounded in the wrist suddenly dropped to the ground and the tension on his belt lightened.

"See?" The voice said once again.  "They're nothing but deadweights!"

Adaloun looked back and to his surprise, he was already alone. No one else was there with him, not anymore.

"W-who…w-what did you do to them?" He shouted back.

"HAHAHA!" The voice laughed in delight. "I just took out the deadweights you have…so we could speak freely."

"Who are y—"

"Relax, Arellin…I am here to help you…come closer…and drop the weapon…you don't need that here." The voice shifted into a gentle tone. A welcoming tone, enchanting him to drop his guard but he wasn't buying it.

"Come now…are you afraid of the dark?" The voice mockingly asked.

All of the sudden the flames died out and there Adaloun stood alone in the dark tunnel, with the scimitar weighing in his hands.

"Ohhh…I was just kidding…" The tunnel lit up like a sea of stars across the galaxy. "Here, a light for you! Isn't it beautiful?"

Adaloun still wasn't convinced. He readied his blade for an incoming attack.