Chapter 74 - 73. Light [Bonus ]

TRIGGER: BLOOD, GORE. THOSE WHO ARE NOT COMFORTABLE CAN WAIT FOR THE NEXT UPDATE.

Black. A black like she had never seen before. Thick. Impervious. Ruthless.

It was as if the whole world had disappeared, engulfed in total darkness. No matter how much she opened her eyes, she couldn't see anything. The sensation was frightening, agonizing. No matter how hard she squeezed and opened her eyelids, she only saw the same black, empty and oppressive.

Total darkness replaced the usual luminous landscapes. Whether it was sunlight or moonlight, she had always lived in the light and this darkness worried her. Her heart started pounding painfully in her chest.

She wanted the light. She wanted the moonlit landscapes she and her people loved. She addressed a silent prayer to the Goddess who had blessed her life and her tribe by pressing her eyelids together with all her might and then she opened them slowly.

Light gritted her teeth and held her hands out in front of her eyes before moving them. Her eyes were desperately trying to catch something. Whatever. Even a stealthy move. But the darkness continued to envelop her.

She felt the coolness of the night on her raw skin and her body trembled. She put her hands on the ground and her fingers found the earthy soil, the smell of which penetrated her nostrils. Light got up painfully.

She was weak. Her whole body was still hurting. She swallowed hard, pushing away the pain that had imprinted itself in each of her fibers and had only dissipated a few minutes ago.

Every joint was begging her not to move, but she had to. After all, they had come for her. She had to show them that she had survived and that they could take her home. At their home. In her tribe. Near her parents and her twin sister. Near the pack.

She had only held on because she knew they would come for her. Light knew it. Since childhood, she had witnessed the exploits of the warriors of her tribe and the pack. There's no way those men who abducted her will get away with it.

Light's heart sank as she thought back to the ritual they had forced her to do. She knew it wasn't the real ceremony, but she couldn't help but fear. What if some power had awakened because of it?

Light shivered. Was the Goddess going to be angry with her? No, she would be forgiven. Light had done her best. The girl had endured days and days of torture until her nerves gave way.

Seeing that they had finally broken her, the men had dragged her aching and bloody body to an altar where the remains of a wolf sat enthroned. When she saw the flies swarming over the poor animal's body, she knew the ceremony was going to be a disaster.

Nevertheless, she proceeded step by step, imploring the Goddess to help her. When Light felt some strange energy entering her body, she knew something was off. However, it was impossible for a ritual not blessed by the Goddess to succeed. But if so, what was this energy flowing into her?

A feeling of cold had taken hold of her whole already bruised body, then an unimaginable pain had started to run through her.

Light had felt hundreds. No. Thousands, if not more needles shoot out of her and pierce her everywhere. At the same time, cries of horror rose all around her.

When the pain finally stopped, she thought her ordeal was finally over. Around her, a heavy silence reigned.

She expected to hear the voices of the warriors of her tribe, valiant and brave, who shouted as they rushed to pierce with their spears the bodies of those who had kidnapped her.

Light had waited for the howls and growls of the wolves of the pack that were sure to come too. She was the Alpha's daughter after all. Unfortunately, only the deafening silence had answered her prayers. Unable to move anymore, Light closed her eyes and passed out.

When she regained consciousness, the black had made her a prisoner of its kingdom.

Her body was still wounded by the torture that her executioners had inflicted on her, but also by this strange pain that had paralyzed her for several seconds. Still, she pulled herself up as best she could. Her legs shook, barely supporting her weight. She wanted to give it all up. A lone tear slid down her cheek and she gritted her teeth, swallowed the pain, and took a step forward. A first step, then another.

She walked like that for a long time. Or so it seemed to her. Between the pain in her body and the darkness around her, Light had no way of knowing how long she had been walking. From where or to where.

She was only wandering. The young woman stumbled often, her feet encountering the corpse of one of these men who littered the ground. They were all dead, she knew that. Yet no warrior was yet within reach to bring her back.

She stumbled over an obstacle and, once again, she collapsed full length. Her face hit the ground and a thick, sticky liquid stained her. She got up to sit down. Disgusted by the sensation, Light froze. His body was shaking.

She was exhausted. EThe young woman could smell clotted blood filling her nostrils and retching heaved her chest. Her executioners, having given him nothing to eat for days, only bile came out of her mouth. When the jerks finally stopped and the spasms in her stomach subsided, tears began to slide down her cheeks.

"I'm here! Help me!" Light was pushing his weak, strangled voice to the max. "Come! Please! Help me!" The cry she finally wanted to utter had escaped her lips, pushed out of her trench by her sole will to survive at all costs. It broke the silence and Light gasped. She had felt a force entering her and in front of her eyes, blurry and distant, a dark, moonless sky.

Her eyelids blinked and her vision sharpened. The sky. The sky was in front of her eyes. She lowered her head to look around and froze. His eyes widened at the sight of horror.

All around her, lit by torches, thousands of dark energy canals ran through the enemy village that had taken her prisoner. Hundreds of bodies were impaled on the canals which stretched like deadly lines.

They had all died without distinction. Men, women, children, old people. Their corpses riddled with the whips made of dark energy were connected to the girl who turned her head. The tears that had barely stopped started to slide down her cheeks and her body shook again. She got up painfully and stumbled.

Her movements made the energy canals move. Several bodies changed position and collapsed. Once again, a gag caused bile to rise in the girl's throat.

"Stop. No! Stop!"

As if she had spoken an absolute command, the thousands of canals all retracted at once, reentering her body. The shock of the influx of dark energy into her body left her staggering, but feeling overwhelmed.

Light fell to the ground and as she fell unconscious, a thought crossed her mind. They didn't come after all.. They didn't come for her.