Darkness had a sound.
It breathed.
Slow and low, like the air itself remembered how to move but forgot why. Aranea sat with her back against the cold stone, wrists bound by a faintly glowing thread. The thread wasn't rough. It pulsed. Like a heartbeat that wasn't hers.
Her heartbeat had started to slow hours ago. Or maybe minutes. Time didn't mean much in this place.
The last thing she remembered was the forest, Zann's hand brushing hers through the bubble, that one desperate second before everything went white.
Then the silence.
Then the dark.
Now, only the faint sound of dripping water broke the stillness. And beneath it… another sound. Breathing.
Not hers.
Aranea froze, straining her ears. It was shallow. Weak. Coming from beyond the stone archway at the far end of the chamber.
"…Hello?" she whispered.
For a long time, nothing answered. Then, a rasping voice, soft but sharp enough to cut through the still air.
"Took you long enough to wake up."
