Our next movement is a stride away from these pulses of Celestial Energy.

My body becomes riddled with fear, and it is only amplified by the vibrations that share the same emotion connected to me.

We barely just managed to stand up, and are having a hard enough time walking. There is no way we’re ready to face an unknown enemy. We need more time to grow stronger…

After a few steps in darkness, both of us begin to grow tired, and we’re forced to cycle Celestial Energy again.

It feels like we are lighting a beacon in this darkness by doing so, but it’s the only way to walk away fast enough.

Without using the peak of our cycles to make longer and faster strides, our speed is far slower than the approaching footsteps.

Yet, with us both using everything we have… it seems we can just about match the pace.

There is no sound at all in this void of darkness, even now as strange waves of white energy ripple through the floor, it is with complete and total silence.

I know we’ve shifted direction to move away from it, but as more and more footsteps follow, I can’t tell if we’re headed in a straight line, a curved angle, or if we’re even walking in circles.

The only sense of direction I have is the intensity of the Celestial Energy’s brightness, and from what side of my feet it makes tingle first.

These approaching steps felt extremely urgent when they appeared in our minds, but after over 10 cycles each pass, nearly half an hour; we are still running away from these ominous footsteps at the same slow and consistent pace.

My lungs feel like they’re about to give out, my skin is covered in sweat, and my muscles all ache, as we’re moving double the pace we ever have in the past.

However, whatever it is that is following us is not very fast either.

Even their inconsistent footsteps have strange ebbs and flows. At times all I feel is darkness around us, and it feels like we have finally gotten away. Then, other times, it speeds up, and the intensity of the footsteps is faster and greater, like it’s lighter on its feet for moments at a time.

My subconscious mind keeps trying to fill in the gaps of what this could possibly be. A demon? A monster? Some kind of unique Void creature? It’s too far away, and its movements are too inconsistent.

Sometimes, the waves that come my way have strange breaks in them, like it’s dragging something, or limping, or maybe carrying a heavy weapon.

At first it’s terrifying, but after a while, as we get farther and farther away, my heart rate slows and I’m more curious about what it possibly is.

More importantly… what this place is…

Is this really the Cyan Zone of the Upper Realm?

Is the Morvale Family Head here somewhere…? Lurking in the darkness.

The only memories I have of this Demon are a few faded images of him talking with Miriel through the reactor at the base of the Green Zone, and a few more using a strange mental link technique.

None of them ever showed a place like this… but then again, none of these memories showed any large defined features of the Cyan Zone at all. The only thing I saw was the faded imagery of a palace with many guards standing behind him.

It looked bright, nothing like the place I’m in now.

My mind continues to wander, especially during the small breaks of time we have in pure darkness, trying to think of any hints or ideas to solve these mysteries.

But the more I think, the more strange these readings become, and the deeper into the unknown we sink.

Maria and I continue shifting our direction, and pushing our bodies to the limits to get away.

Our Celestial Energy Cycle’s efficiency increases drastically from this, as our emotions, adrenaline, and vibrations are all heightened. There is almost no resistance in our resonance; all of the tension from earlier fades completely, as our minds are one, trying to figure out how to survive.

Some cycles rush through us in less than 30 seconds, and we use every single contact point on our bodies to push through more and more.

We begin moving up to 5 long strides each cycle, and get into a perfect rhythm, plunging into the darkness away from the threat.

Our pace speeds up, far faster than the approaching steps.

But… this doesn’t last for long.

The strain on my body and soul is building up through every cycle. I feel even Maria’s arms and legs start to tremble with fatigue. In this heightened state of urgency, it feels like we could go on forever, pushing off the fatigue to reach higher limits, but there is an external breaking point.

We slam into a hard black rock wall.

The abrupt stop makes us both fall to the floor, and halt our energy cycling for a moment as the rush of fatigue from the hour of what felt like a full-on sprint through the void just ended.

I feel nauseous, and every muscle in my body feels like jelly.

My breathing is so heavy, it feels like my lungs are not large enough to gasp in enough air with each breath.

To lie up against the wall, we both release one of our interlocked hands, and it takes minutes to fight this next battle to stay conscious.

We are so connected that when one of us has the feeling of dampened vibrations, like we are on the verge of passing out or falling asleep, the other is able to send a mental signal through our contact point.

This occurs over and over from both of us, until we’re able to control our breathing again and stand up against the wall.

Just as peace starts to return, the staggered pulses of Celestial Energy from the darkness come back.

We quickly start cycling Celestial Energy again and move away just as before… but the wall we’ve hit curves.

With only one hand clasped together now, we cover even more surface area on the ground, and I can even roughly sense where her feet tingle to get a better positioning of the approaching danger.

We move our feet in sync and change our direction to choose the second-best route.

But… we hit this curved wall again only 7 steps later.

It’s like we’ve backed into a dead end.

We quickly change directions again and try to run in the far opposite direction, but again, less than 20 steps later, the find that the wall curves both ways. It feels like the back of a massive cave.

We’re cornered, and the approaching footsteps only get more intense.

The bright Celestial ripples of light beneath our feet grow hotter and denser. The strange breaks in Celestial Energy readings every few steps as it drags something are even easier to read now. Whatever the thing it’s dragging is, it’s far larger than the one making the footsteps.

Maria and I stop in place as we realize there’s no outrunning this thing any longer. We’re going to have to face it.

The ripples in the flow become so bright, they almost feel equal to the Celestial Energy cycles that rush through us internally. Whatever this is, it’s letting out this much energy through its feet as pure excess…

My range has increased to about 3 meters outward, but it doesn’t help at all.

We just look out into the darkness, holding one arm in front of our chests, and the other tightly grasping each other.

My heartbeat races faster and faster as the footsteps continue to shine bright white in my mind.

I can’t tell if they’re hundreds of meters away, or right in front of my face.

Celestial Energy cycles are moving through us now, and we shift our bodies back and forth with each one.

The one of us that is at the peak of our cycle rotates their stance to face the direction where the footsteps approach. This is because they are the one holding the most power and potential for offense and defense, while the other rests behind them.

We continue this cycle back and forth while the heat beneath our feet grows.

Yet, at the start of one of my cycles, the footsteps forward suddenly stop.

My heartbeat only races faster, but I keep my Celestial Energy cycle moving and let the range of my ether senses grow at a steady rate.

Just as suddenly as they stopped, the footsteps start again.

This time, there is no inconsistency with its steps.

They are fast and even.

No more breaks in the ripples can be sensed, as though it dropped whatever it was dragging.

The steps grow faster and brighter as my own ether senses grow wider and I prepare for the worst.

It’s running right at us.

I grit my teeth and stare forward, channeling all of the Celestial Energy I have into my one free hand.

My breathing slows, as I become focused, not scared.

The closer this shadow of a being becomes, the hotter the Celestial Energy in my fist feels.

Maria’s vibrations hum through my whole body, making my focus multiply, as I’m aware of another mind watching my Celestial Energy movements and relying on it for her survival too as she rests.

A large clawed hand plunges out of the darkness and into my ether senses.

It looks about twice the size of my hand, and shaped like a Demon’s.

It’s full of cyan-colored threads and burns bright in my consciousness with a Celestial Energy glow.

As it stretches farther into my ether senses, my senses expand too as my cycle is hitting its peak.

I see a strong muscular arm that leads to a shoulder, then the entire body of a Cyan Cored Demon.

It’s covered in scars and deep wounds. One of its two short forehead horns is broken off. Some of its flesh wounds look like clean weapon slashes, while others are claws, and the worst of all is its left leg has a massive bite mark taken out of it.

The Demon is about four meters tall. It has no weapon itself, but its large clawed hand dives down toward me, aiming for my head.

I shift my whole body, so Maria knows to jump out of the way in the right direction; but I know I won’t be able to move in time.

I thrust my glowing white and red fist up toward the Demon’s claw and feel the Celestial Energy in my fist begin to leave my body.

The Demon’s clawed hand clashes against the energy that leaves my fist.

Its body is full of Celestial Energy brighter and hotter than mine many times over.

So much so, that it is overwhelming to feel a wave of bright white light flood into my body.

I feel my fist begin to crumple beneath its weight, and some of the bones in my hand shatter.

Yet, I stand my ground and keep my feet rooted in the black stone beneath my feet.

I scream out into the void for not even an echo to return, but the Celestial Energy in my grasp does begin to solidify and take form.

Even as my fist is crushed, I use the energy flowing through it to move the shattered bones and grasp the hilt of my Soul Sword that begins to materialize in my palm.

Its outline becomes a part of me, and the Celestial Energy flowing through me fills it up with a white and red luster.

Even so, I’m still overpowered, but as I fly backward, I thrust my broken hand downward and slice through the palm of this Demon. It’s less of a thrust and more of a shift in positioning, to let the Demon’s downward momentum cut itself.

A burst of red and white fire lights up in the darkness, and the Demon lurches backward.

This saves me from having to try and dodge its clawed hand, as it reels backward with the pain as well.

The shockwave of that impact, however, ripples down my hand, breaking even more bones, and the foreign Celestial Energy coursing through me is nothing like the icy Source resin I’m accustomed to.

This Demon’s energy feels like poison.

I can’t stop it from attacking me from the inside, bursting through my mind with hot white pain, and even surging through my other arm to flow into Maria.

It is mixed with my own Celestial Energy, as the natural end to my cycle, and I’m thrown off my feet flying backward.

Maria shifts her stance with me and takes the horrific wave of energy head-on.

I get back up to my feet behind her, as she raises her free hand in the air. Her cycle begins, and she mimics my movements, forcing all of her energy into her palm to let a bright white and blue Soul Sword summon between her and the Demon that leans back in to fight with its uninjured hand.