I slowly opened my eyes. Torches flickered along the walls of a dark room, barely illuminating the space around us.
"Well, well. Look who finally woke up."
My body tensed. I looked to my right and found Lyra lying beside me, still unconscious.
"Lyra?"
I nudged her. No response. My stomach dropped. Did they take her soul?
"Lyra," I whispered, nudging her again.
She finally squirmed. A moment later, her eyes slowly opened.
"Where am I?"
We both looked straight ahead. A shadow floated in front of us.
"Where are we?" I demanded.
"The Eternal Darkness."
The shadow drifted closer.
"I can't wait to be the one to steal your souls."
I growled. Before I could say anything else, the shadow vanished into the darkness.
"I've been here before," Lyra whispered.
"You remembered something?"
Lyra nodded slowly. "I remember this place, but it looks different than before." She pressed a hand against her head. "But I still can't remember how I escaped."
I didn't say anything. Then I noticed something strange. My ankle. I looked down. It had been bandaged.
"Lyra, did you do this?"
She shook her head. "No."
"Then who did?"
"It was me."
I immediately looked around. Another shadow emerged from the darkness. My eyes narrowed.
"A shadow?"
"Yes," she answered.
I stared at the bandages around my ankle before looking back at her.
"But why?"
The shadow's form seemed different somehow.
"Look, not all of us are bad."
Lyra and I exchanged glances.
"Some of us are forced to do our master's bidding."
The shadow turned away from us.
"I truly am not a bad person, or rather, spirit, as everyone thinks I am."
She paused.
"I'm already risking everything just by talking to you."
This was becoming more confusing by the second.
"Do you know what happened to our families?" Lyra asked.
"I don't know much. I've only been out here. But I do know that some souls have already been taken."
Lyra's breath caught. Worry flooded her face.
"Lyra, don't be a fool and start asking questions," I warned.
She glared at me.
"We don't know if someone's secretly listening or if they have some kind of way to hear our conversation. I don't trust them."
"I understand why you don't trust me," the shadow said. "But I don't want to be controlled by my master."
Some of my suspicion eased. Only a little.
"Listen carefully to what I have to say. Believe me or not, but many people have been kidnapped. They're after their souls and potentially their bodies as vessels."
Neither of us spoke.
"There is only one way we can take a soul. Fear, anger, sadness, and despair. Anything the shadows perceive as negative. That's how all of this began."
"Began how?" Lyra asked.
"Once we were freed from the place where we'd been held captive, every kingdom except the Abyssal Domain, the Demon Kingdom, began to fall." The shadow drifted closer. "The rivalry between the kingdoms made everything easier. There was already fear, anger, hatred, and grief. We use those emotions to claim souls. Once a soul was removed, the empty body could become a vessel."
My blood ran cold.
"Some people were kidnapped because their souls were too difficult to claim. Others…" The shadow hesitated. "Others were easy."
Lyra stared at her.
"Like Osvaldo and Angelina."
Lyra gasped and covered her mouth.
"Grandma… Grandpa…" her voice broke.
I looked at her but said nothing.
"You were close to losing your soul too, Lyra," the shadow continued. "The last time you were trapped in the Eternal Darkness."
My eyes widened. "What?"
"Our master knew every race had powers that could interfere with his plans. Once those powers were stolen, he ordered us to capture those whose souls couldn't easily be taken."
I listened carefully.
"The Eternal Darkness is designed to break you. You sit alone and relive your pain again and again until eventually…" The shadow paused. "You give in."
My body became cold.
"There's something else you need to know. If something interferes with a kidnapping, they may decide to kill instead."
"Kill?" I repeated.
"A shadow cannot physically kill someone on its own. But once it possesses a body, it can use that body to do so."
Lyra's expression was serious.
"They may kill someone if breaking them emotionally takes too long, if their mind is too strong, or if something interrupts the process."
The shadow looked directly at me.
"Like when Lyra encountered you and your group."
Silence fell between us.
"This is… a lot to process," I finally said.
"I know."
The shadow's voice softened.
"I'm sorry for everything you've had to endure. I'll help you find a way out. I promise." She slowly began fading. "The world needs you right now." And then she disappeared.
Lyra and I were alone. For about five seconds.
"This never would have happened if you hadn't come looking for me in the first place," Lyra said.
I slowly turned toward her.
"You really are stupid."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Ophelia was extremely worried about you. She wanted us to find you. Most of us thought you might have already been taken."
"Well, this is your fault," she grumbled.
I stared at her. "My fault?"
"Yes."
"How is this my fault?"
"We got kidnapped and thrown into this Eternal Darkness place! And you decided to make noise when you found me!"
"How was I supposed to know shadows were hiding around you?"
"You should have figured they might have followed us after all of you ran off and left me behind!"
I went silent. Okay. She had a point.
"Fine. Next time, I'll make sure not to look for you."
"Oh, please. As if I–"
"Ha… ha… ha…"
The laugh echoed through the darkness. We both froze.
"Crap."
I looked around.
"I think we just ignored everything that shadow told us."
Lyra nodded. Then pain suddenly tightened around my chest. I grabbed it.
"Zac?"
Lyra suddenly winced and clutched her own chest. The laughter continued. Our anger. That's what they wanted.
"We need to stop arguing before we make this worse," I whispered.
"Yeah."
I forced myself to breathe.
"Can you remember anything about how you escaped the last time you were trapped here?"
Lyra squeezed her eyes shut. She concentrated for several seconds. Then shook her head.
"No."
"Perfect," I muttered.
I looked back down at my ankle.
"She really did bandage this pretty well."
"I'm trying to think, Zac."
"Right. Sorry."
Lyra closed her eyes again. Suddenly–
"Hey, everyone!"
A shadow appeared. Several more emerged behind it.
"You know what to do."
My body froze.
"Separate them."
"What?"
The shadows rushed toward us. Two grabbed Lyra.
"Get off me!" she shouted, struggling against them.
"Lyra!"
More shadows grabbed me before I could reach her. I kicked and struggled as they dragged us in opposite directions.
"Get your hands off me!"
"Zac!" Lyra shouted.
Her voice grew farther away.
"Lyra!"
They carried me deeper into the darkness until I couldn't hear her anymore. Then they dropped me. Hard. I groaned and pushed myself upright. Everything around me was pitch black. No Lyra. No torches. Nothing.
"Have fun."
The shadow disappeared. Silence. I looked into the darkness. Slowly… a figure appeared in the distance. It stood completely still. Watching me. My heart began to pound. Guys… wherever you are… Please find me. I need you now more than ever.