Kira’s lungs burned and spots danced before her eyes with the beat of her blood pounding fruitlessly against the powerful grip around her neck. She desperately scrabbled at the arm at her neck, drowning in panic as the blackness crawled in from the edges.
Numbness spread across her face as her jaw compressed into her cranium, supporting the entire weight of her dangling body.
No no no. Help me! Anyone!
The Night Warden at the other end of the arm seemed to say something, but all words and sounds were null against the pounding of her struggling heart. Kira flailed and kicked, squeezing her eyes shut as she frantically pried at the iron fingers.
Kira was starting to black out as everything became faded and distant, mind blank as she hopelessly gave one last push of mana to her gauntlets, weakly punching the arm that was choking the life out of her.
The pressure immediately lifted. And Kira fell from the tree top once again, she gasped as fresh air smacked her in the face, colours and sensations returning once again. Kira barely had time to cheer incredulously midair that her pathetic punch worked, twisting to meet the thoroughly pulpy ground with yet another Earthen Decompaction spell, her soul spinning mana from her rings as the mana cloud she had absorbed earlier had been spent.
Landing with a soundless puff of soil, Kira scrambled to her feet, gasped and huffed with exertion, wading through the thigh high sea of loose earth as fast as she could. Kira tugged clumsily at her pocket for an emergency flare, determined to survive the night by whatever means necessary.
Kira ripped off her left gauntlet in sheer desperation, stuffing it under an armpit before her fingers closed on the smooth container as she felt herself trip. She quickly held out an arm to cushion her fall.
But her arm went straight through the soft ground as if it met air instead and Kira’s heart leapt to her throat as her face also fell through the floor. Kira felt as if she was abruptly plunged into a frozen lake, as freezing cold darkness consumed her whole.
Kira reflexively tried to gasp from the shocking cold, but her stomach twisted in horror as her lungs nearly collapsed trying to pull non-existent air from the inky void. There was nothing she could see, not even her hands when they rose to cover her lower face, reminding herself not to breathe. She had a weird but strong feeling that if she expelled the air from her lungs, she would not get them back in.
What she can see though, which was inaccurate as Kira sensed more than saw, the culprit who had trapped her in shadow, she stiffened in realisation. Kira instinctively twisted in the zero gravity as much as she could and shot the flare in her hands at the Night Warden, body bent awkwardly to aim as she quickly found no amount of peddling with her hands will turn herself around. There was simply nothing, not even air for her to push against.
But nothing happened. Kira felt the recoil from the flare but she saw nothing, not even a speck of light nor peep of sound from the projectile. The adrenaline filled moment of clarity soon gave way to dismay and utter dread. Lungs burned once again as the presence of Valendor slowly closed the distance between them. Kira finally took a moment to notice her surroundings, or lack thereof.
She soon found that she couldn't stand the thought of being in nothing. Looking up, nothing. Down, nothing. Either side? Nothing but darkness and the abyss greeted her. Was she even on the right side up? What even is the right side up? If she were underwater, she could’ve at least seen the surface above her. This was simply inescapable.
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Kira felt that she was going to lose her mind if she didn’t suffocate first. Ironically, it was the presence of the Night Warden, though invisible to the eye, that shone like light in the darkness, a stark contrast of nothing and something, was the sole reason Kira was able to maintain her sanity.
Having experienced nothingness just for a little while, just witnessing a blurry blip banished any questions of her own doubtful existence. Strangely calming and menacing, Kira observed the blinding presence, and marvelled at how fitting the name Night Warden was for the entity before her.
Enforcer of the lightless prison.
The words came to Kira, unbidden, as bright spots joined the Night Warden in the abyss, dancing and popping into life as the very same life was leached from her lungs.
Hysterically relieved to see anything in the void, Kira laughed the stale air from her dying lungs out, the sound tinny and muffled as she only heard it travel from within her chest, and floated absently as her mind started to fade.
If you still wish to live, silly girl, do not call for help in any way. Not with a flare, and no screaming either. Or I will pull you back into the shadows and you will die, as you are currently about to.
Kira gurgled mutedly. She could barely form a coherent idea in her head anyways.
The world suddenly lurched unpleasantly back onto the treetop, the moon blinking innocently above Kira as she spluttered and retched on the cold, but relatively warmer, air refilling her shrivelled lungs. She gasped and shivered in shock, almost falling off the treetop for the umpteenth time before a black gloved hand grabbed her shoulder and steadied her.
“So, Kira,” The voice of Valendor ran chills down her spine, tone mocking. “You think you, are qualified to be my master?”
The Night Warden’s tall form was a dark silhouette against the silver of gentle moonlight. “I think you will find yourself sorely mistaken,” The grip on her shoulder hardened and Kira winced in pain. Valendor leaned down close to her face. “For there is only one being in the entire world that has the right to do so, and you will not insult their being by claiming to be equal in that status. You hear me, girl?”
“Wait, why…? So…Professor Theodric is qualified to be your master?” Kira was utterly flummoxed.
“What? That little morsel? Gods no!” To Kira’s complete bafflement, Valendor proceeded to throw his antlers back and roared with unrestrained mirth. He took a while before finally wheezing. “Ha. Oh, you are hilarious, little one. I’m glad I didn’t kill you just yet.”
“Thanks I guess,” Kira mumbled, relieved that her careless comment hadn’t angered the Night Warden. Thinking about it, Kira realised that it was a dumb question as the Night Warden had mentioned being in service to the Dark Lord, the shadow pillar himself. Kira understood that then, why Valendor had been so pissed.
“Right. Now, swear an oath of loyalty to me, and I will let you live. Simple enough for your little brain, no?” The Night Warden finally straightened, returning to his usual crisp, no-nonsense tone.
“Sorry, my dad teaches me not to swear any oaths to strangers.” Kira’s foot began sinking into the very branch she was on, a curl of shadow wound up her leg.
“Wait wait wait!” Kira said quickly, grabbing onto the hand on her shoulder for dear life. “You can’t kill me!”
“And why not?” The fangs flashed in dark amusement.
“They’ll know I’m missing! The Professor knows you don’t like me because I summoned you!” Kira clawed onto Valendor’s black sleeved arm like a feral cat. A hint of hysteria cracked her voice. “They’ll know and they’ll join the dots! He’ll know you did it!”
“So?”
The dark silhouette laughed cruelly in her face, antlers glinting sinisterly as it cocked its head mockingly. They were razor sharp, and Kira had to forcefully swallow the lump in her throat.
“And who do you think will care?”
A familiar kick connected with her shoulder, and Kira was swallowed by the yawning maw of the abyss with only jeering laughter filling her hollow heart as she fell once again.