Shivering, I found myself back in the tunnels with something frozen to my face. Recollection slowly dawned and I ripped the now icy tendril from my cheek, along with a layer of skin. I stood there breathing heavily as I collected myself, while the demons I was supporting just looked at me strangely.

Elmidath tensed up, raising her gauntlet. “What’s happening?”

“I—” Opening my mouth, I found I didn’t know where to begin explaining and after a little thought, I decided it could wait. “I’ll tell you about it once we get out of here, I don’t want to spend another second down here.”

I picked up the pace as best I could with Elmidath’s father slowly us down, all the while watching for more of the tendrils. There were a few instances where I was sure I saw something grey in the darkness and froze, only for there to be nothing there. Despite my contact with the being that dwelled here, I couldn’t begin to fathom its will but it seemed to have no further interest in interacting with me. Assuming it had done so on purpose in the first place.

After an exhausting trip we made it all the way back to the familiar spike-studded tunnels beneath the manor. We were sitting down for a meal and a rest before the final stretch of the journey when the rumbling started. The sound was coming from all around us, though at first, I had no idea what was causing it. Then I saw the walls on either side of us shift ever so slightly toward us. I stood there, gaping. “The walls are closing in.”

The others seem to have come to the same conclusion, and Elmidath immediately went over to help her father while shouting at me. “Get over here.”

Shaken from my surprised stupor, I helped support the ailing man again. We walked as quickly as the former Lord could manage and I found, to my dismay, that even the walls ahead were moving. The tunnels seemed endless now and it seemed like we’d be crushed without being able to do anything. But once the walls were uncomfortably close, leaving barely enough room for us to move, they stopped. At least the ones directly around us did.

The walls ahead and behind kept moving until we were sealed in a narrow corridor. I didn’t have the mental or physical energy to do much more than watch. What was I even supposed to do? It’s not like there was anything meaningful I could do to stop it. Elmidath’s eyes were wide with shock while her father just looked resigned. I sat down in the limited space available, trying to avoid the spikes as much as possible.

After a few cursory attempts at breaking through with an implement she formed, Elmidath gave up and sat down herself. It was to be expected, there was no way we were digging through the thick layer of rock with what we had on hand. And there was no telling how much of the tunnel had closed up. If it was the whole path then we’d be dead long before we even got close to home.

So that was it then? We were going to sit here and wait for our slow but inevitable death? In theory it was a terrifying prospect but I felt only lethargy, hadn’t I fought enough already? Still, there was on upside to our current predicament. As uncomfortable as the tiny chamber was, at least I could get some rest. I was dozing off when some part of me noticed something was amiss.

Blinking, it took me a little while before my conscious mind realised what was wrong. Little by little, the blackness around us was closing in. Whatever had caught me before must be coming after us in the real world. Maybe our deaths wouldn’t be so slow after all. Much like with the walls, there was nothing we could do to halt the approach of the utter dark so I just closed my eyes and let it happen. When I opened them again to confirm that it had happened, I saw that the blackness was receding. But not outward, it was moving inward to form a towering long-limbed form of pure darkness.

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Intangible, it filled most of the space and looked down at where Elmidath stood beside her father. A tide of blaring noise erupted from the creature and I jumped. I covered my ears, but it made little difference against the cacophony. The noise warped and twisted; a chaotic construct of shifting sound.

It alternated through a dizzying variation in quick succession before finally settling on one that approximated human speech. The sheer volume combined with the incredibly low pitch made it feel like it resonated in my bones, but it was comprehensible. “Thieves…” The long drawn out utterance echoed painfully through the narrow tunnel.

Elmidath stepped toward the terrible thing, with one hand on her hip and the other pointed accusingly at the creature. “We haven’t stolen anything. He’s my father, you have no right to him.”

A dark, immaterial hand closed around Elmidath’s father and he grunted. The tip of its shadowy thumb pressed against his forehead. “Debt… Unpaid…”

Elmidath raised her gauntlet to intervene, but her father gave her a look and shook his head. Grimacing, she put her arm down and watched as the thumb passed through his forehead. For a second, I thought it had killed him but then the thumb withdrew. The tip broke off, leaving a shard of darkness lodged in his forehead. Beginning with the edges, the dark shape dissipated leaving behind one final word. “Serve…”

As it vanished, Elmidath’s father got to his feet unaided and the walls around us pulled back. I went over and took Elmidath’s arm. “What the fuck just happened?”

“I… don’t know.” But my question seemed to break whatever daze she was in and she turned to her father. “What happened? Are you okay?” She reached out to touch the object embedded in his head but he caught her wrist.

“I’m fine. Let’s keep moving.”

He strode off in the direction of the manor, leaving Elmidath and I, both dumbstruck, to hurry after him. Whatever had happened to him was clearly affecting his mind and his body. What even was that thing? A demon or some other creature? I couldn’t recall having seen anything like it before. The closest would be… the spirit I’d encountered in the forest? I can’t imagine they had much in common. Seeing that Elmidath was still shaken, I put my hand on her shoulder as we walked. “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Her only response was an unconvinced mumble. Well, it’s not like I could really expect her to believe me. It was a ridiculous assurance given the circumstances. But what else was I supposed to say? It sounded a lot better than saying I was sorry about her father being possessed by a shadow monster.

We continued in uneasy silence all the way back to the manor. A servant was on watch beside the cellar door, the moment they spotted us they gave a deferential nod and ran off. Korzan arrived a few moments later and gaped at Elmidath’s father. “Lord Sarinknell…?”

Not acknowledging Korzan’s presence in the slightest, he looked to his daughter. “We can’t stay long. Gather what supplies you need and we’ll leave for the village.”

“But- “Elmidath’s protest was cut short at a glance from her father.

“Was I not clear?”

She bowed her head and hurried to do as she was told. But I wasn’t so easily swayed, I needed to know more. “Why are we going to the village?”

Narrowing his eyes, he looked me over. “I have important business to attend to.”

“If it’s your business, what do you need us for?”

“I’m still weak, I can’t do this on my own.”

Was he really that weak? Sure, he was still extremely thin but he seemed to have no shortage of energy. Seeing that I wasn’t going to get anything further from him, I went off to help Elmidath and the servants. Even work was better than standing around waiting with the probably possessed man, whatever that even meant when the person in question was a demon.