The ground beneath the vile totem cracked into perfect lines, forming a five-meter black cube etched into the dirt, each corner hissing as if resisting existence.
Then, silence... before the cube arose.
A cubic void emerged from the ground, pitch-black and dead silent, a perfect square of nothing swallowing everything above it.
Around its edge, the light bent… then vanished entirely, as if it were consumed.
Darius watched for a moment, his voice calm.
"You did well... You should leave now, before the Hound sees you. Also, stay nearby, I might need you again."
Mantis glanced at the cubic void, gulping a mouthful in dread after sensing that something was moving.
Having no plans to see what it was, Mantis swiftly took off, running and tripping along the way until he was out of sight.
Meanwhile, the darkness cube was becoming more concentrated with each second, the sunlight failing to break it apart.
