Chapter 12：Stage ELEVEN: In The Dark

Van was normally the most enthusiastic, reckless even. But most unusually, she was quiet. "Van, you sure you're feeling okay?" Freyja felt her forehead. She doesn't have a fever.

"Of course I am!" She exclaimed, a grin on her face. "Come on, let's go beat the hell outta them!" She went into the pitch black pathway first, surprising her companions. "Don't you think there's something strange with Van?" Aya whispered. "Yeah, she isn't forcing that energy, is she?��

"Hey Van! Wait for us!" Freyja rushed after her. She too, disappeared in the darkness. Scarlet and Aya looked at each other, nodded, and ran after them.

Van didn't have a light, except for her phone's LCD screen. Holding her phone up, she managed to navigate her way into the dark tunnel, though very slowly and carefully. But all of a sudden, Van stopped.

"Yeah. I must be sick." Van has been feeling sluggish since this morning. And the reason, is because of a dream she had last night. She pulled out the crystal pendant from under her blouse, as she recalled what happened in that dream.

In her dream, she saw Kirin. It has always been like that. Whenever she's sad or scared or feeling uncertain, Kirin would always appear in her dreams as if to comfort her. His smile, his sarcastic expression, even his blank face, everything about him never fails to make her heart pound.

But last night was different. Kirin in that dream, was holding a tiny, crystallized feather so lovingly. He��s been looking at it intensely with lonely eyes. Kirin gently rubbed the crystal feather against his pale cheek. And then, tears fell from his eyes. Kirin was crying.

It was the first time Van saw him in such pain. She felt her heart constrict, looking at him in that state. Van trembled in frustration. She shouted, called him over and over. She wrapped her arms around him. But, she won't reach him. Kirin couldn't see her. He couldn't sense her.

Van never felt so frustrated before. She didn't mind that Kirin couldn't see her before. But this time, her inability to do something, to reach him, hurts her more than anything. Van fell onto her knees, shouting, crying, calling him over and over.

No matter how much she tried to reach for him, she couldn't. What is that crystal feather? The moment she asked, all of a sudden, the darkness wiped away all image of Kirin. Once again, Van is left all alone.

Van found herself in the middle of darkness. She was in a dark room, she can't see anything, but she can hear bickering outside the room. Bangs, crashes, glass shattered. "Yes, it's better not to go out," She thought.

Van couldn't remember how the dream ended.

Taking a deep breath, Van continued walking along the dark path. The darkness has always been very comforting. A part of her is deeply wishing that this long, dark tunnel will go on forever.

~ o 0 o ~

"Van! Where are you!?" Freyja could hear her voice echo loudly. It's impossible for Van not hear her, so why isn't she answering? Freyja started to get nervous. "Hey Scar, can you summon a stronger light or fire or something?" Scarlet shook her head. "Sorry Frey, this is all that I can manage right now. Maybe she ran off somewhere again?"

"This is bad." Aya interrupted, "I can't feel her presence at all!"

"WHAT!?" Freyja is about to run ahead, but Scarlet grabbed her hand. "Listen, we can't get separated! Relax, we'll find her together!" Though hesitant, Freyja agreed.

Thirty minutes passed and they are still walking through the dark tunnel. It's supposed to be a 15-minute walk. But right now, it seems endless. As they went further, the faint sinister aura they were feeling started getting stronger and stronger. Now they are positive that they are in the middle of something ugly again. "Van… where the hell are you!?" Freyja's strides got faster.

All of a sudden, a strong wind blew, putting out Scarlet's torch. It was pitch black for a minute. Then, they heard a familiar giggle. "Van!" Freyja felt someone run in front of her. She tried to grab that person, but only touched the shoulder. When Aya lit a small flash light, they saw the silhouette of someone run further and then turned left.

"It might be Van, let's go!" Freyja, though already reckless, was even more reckless than usual. Without second thoughts, she ran after the silhouette. Worried Scarlet and Aya couldn't stop her for a second.

"Van, wait! Why are you running!?" Van has always been the fastest runner. She couldn't even close in the distance, not even for a bit. The silhouette took turns after turns, which they followed. The tunnel looked way bigger than they imagined it to be. It was a labyrinth!

Freyja was about to disappear front of Aya and Scar, when Aya's whip fabric wrapped around her waist and pulled her back to them. Scarlet and Aya finally managed to catch up, though out of breath. "Why did you do that!? She's getting away!" Freyja violently reacted, but Scarlet shook her hard. "Listen! Can't you see we're lost and all!? And do you really think that person is Van!?"

"But…"

"That thing isn't her! I'm sure you know that!"

Freyja looked down. "I know. But, what should I do? She's missing!?"

Freyja felt tears form on her eyes. She isn't sure why she's feeling this way either. For some reason, she's afraid. She's afraid that Van won't return. Her heart was pounding so hard, remembering the first time she saw Van at her home. She looked happy and alright, but she was suffering by herself unknown to anyone. Van was the first person who approached her in her ugliest. She was the first person whom she showed her true self to. She was the first person who didn't judge her for being what she is. For some reason, the thought of leaving Van alone in the dark was most unbearable. Freyja trembled. "Fine! If you don't care about her, then I will go by myself!" Freyja shouted at Scarlet.

SLAP! Suddenly, she felt a stinging pain on her cheek. "CALM THE HELL DOWN, WILL YOU!?" Scarlet's slap silenced Freyja instantly. Scarlet held her shoulders, looking at her in the eyes. "Frey, relax. She's not weak and you know it."

"That's right. Maybe it's the weird presence that's influencing both your brains right now. It happened to me before. Don't lose to it Frey!" Aya sounded harsh, but sincere.

The calm didn't last long. Freyja's eyes widened in surprise. All of a sudden, they all felt a sinister presence so strong, so very strong, it felt like they are in the belly of a demon. Instinctively, they stood on guard. The presence they are feeling is by far, the strongest they have ever encountered. The three of them couldn't help but tremble in fear.

Scarlet made the first move. She summoned her firey-red aura arrows while Aya followed by conjuring her silk whips. They tried to attack the tunnel's walls, the air, randomly, but nothing happened. "What the hell…" Scarlet is sweating. Her hands trembling. Aya too, could barely keep her knees steady.

"ARGH!" All of a sudden, Freyja felt tentacle-like things grip her ankles from the ground. She fell down face-flat. The tentacles started dragging her deeper into the dark tunnel. "Freyja!" Scarlet shot the tentacles while Aya wrapped Freyja with her silk whip and pulled her back fast. Luckily for Freyja, she escaped thanks to them.

"Freyja, snap out of it!" Noticing Freyja is all of a sudden, caught in a daze. Again, Scarlet slapped her cheek. "Wake up dammit! And here I thought you calmed down already!"

Freyja opened her eyes, but crouched, squeezing her head tight. She's suddenly having a splitting headache. When those tentacles dragged her, flashes of images came rushing into her mind. "I can see something!" She shouted, trying her best to endure the headache.

She saw a fragment of her lost memory, of dark aura covered tentacles pulling her in the same way. In that memory, she's with someone… two of them too. One a child, and one a blonde boy. More memories flashed in her mind. More and more. Though she can't still make sense of them entirely, like puzzle pieces they're coming together little by little. Scarlet and Aya guarded her as she tried to remember more.

Then, one clear shot of memory came to her. It was so vivid, it's almost she's taken back in time:

"LENFIARE! It's the Phreins!"

Someone, whose face is blurry, pulled her hand. The young man holding her hand disappeared in thin air, but the moment he did, she felt her body light all of a sudden. Then, she levitated. And then, she fled as if she had her own pair of wings. She fled high up into the sky! So high, she could see the entire palace, its gardens, and... it stopped there.

Freyja opened her eyes. The headache subsided. "Frey, you okay now?" Aya held her forehead.

Freyja stood up. "Aya, Skar, this thing is not an ordinary sinister aura!" Freyja's face all pale. "This thing shouldn't be here in the first place! How did it—"

"Freyja!" Aya felt more tentacles wrap around her waist all of a sudden, dragging her to somewhere. "Get down Aya!" Freyja called her white aura blade and slashed the tentacles off freeing Aya in an instant.

The three of them stood back to back. Saving the explanations for later, they fended the growing number of dark tentacles attacking them, while thinking of a way to find Van.

~ o 0 o ~