The sensations Luis experienced from going into the shadows were not what he expected.
As he was being pulled into the shadows while holding his sister, the shadow hands pulling him sent tingles throughout his entire body. He felt as if hundreds of insects were crawling on his legs.
That sensation didn't last long though, as after he entered the shadows, the sensation disappeared. Instead, he felt himself falling.
His sister wasn't with him anymore, and he couldn't move. He was in the same position he originally was. Even though there wasn't any air resistance and it didn't feel like his speed was increasing as he fell, Luis could instinctively tell that he was falling further and further down.
He wasn't able to feel anything except the falling sensation. All he saw was darkness, heard no sounds, and smelled nothing. With him not being able to move thier was also no sensation of touch which gave him a creepy feeling.
He wasn't able to tell how long he was falling because he couldn't feel anything, which disoriented him a lot. Luis lost his vision for a split second. If before it felt like he could only see darkness, now he felt like he truly couldn't see anything not even darkness, just absolutely nothing, as if he passed out for a second. After that split second, the feeling of falling disappeared.
Luis was surprised when he opened his eyes. He expected there to be more darkness, but to his surprise, the room was brightly lit with flames flying high above, illuminating everything. Luis was in a big circular hall with a ceiling that seemed to endlessly stretch upwards, along with the walls.
Even though the flames illuminated everything, the room had no color. Everything in the room was black, seemingly made out of shadows. The scenery was unexpected: when Luis appeared in the hall, he was surprised that he wasn't on hard ground, but on a soft sofa. The sofa also looked like it was made out of shadows and had no color except black, but it was surprisingly comfy.
While Luis was still taking in his surroundings, one second after Luis appeared, so did Lira, on the couch next to him since it could fit two people. She was sleeping, sitting straight with her head resting on the couch. Before Luis could look at his surroundings further, he felt someone hug him from the front while he was looking at his sister.
"Luis! Lira!"
His mother's voice pierced his ears, confirming who it was.
Her arms outstretched, pulling both Luis and Lira into a hug. Elena squeezed them both tighter.
"Luis, I'm sorry I wasn't there to help both of you. Sera told me what happened. You did well to fight and survive to protect your siblings,"
Elena said in a voice full of worry and relief.
Before Luis could speak, he felt a pat on his head. He looked up to see his dad, who held Kael in one hand while he patted Luis on the head with the other.
"Your grandmother said she put Lira to sleep because she used too much aura and she used her healing on Lira. I can sense it on you, so don't worry about any injuries. You will be fine. I healed Kael, so he's also fine."
Luis felt a bit of worry when he first appeared in the hall because of the unfamiliar surroundings, but to his surprise, it all disappeared when his mom hugged him. He didn't notice it, but it was because of the same ability his grandmother used.
Elena was sending golden flames directly into both Luis and Lira. This consumed more aura, and you wouldn't be able to see it because it wasn't on the outside but sent directly inside. These flames were much more effective than what Isabella did, helping ease pain and calming them down much more. However, being a grandmaster aura user, Elena had already used thirty percent of her aura.
With the flames in effect, Luis started to feel drowsy. He leaned on his mother's shoulder, feeling like he could sleep at any second. Before he did, though, he moved his head back up from his mother's shoulder.
Surprised by the sudden movement, Elena lost concentration of the blessing for a short second, which made the drowsiness from Luis disappear.
"Mom, Aelina was right next to me, but she didn't appear like Lira,"
Luis said with a hint of worry in his voice.
Noah spoke in a calm voice while continuing to pat Luis's head.
"Don't worry about that. Aunt Sera can teleport people to different spots. I can sense her aura. She's with her mother. You should just rest for now. Just close your eyes."
Luis also wanted to say what he experienced and what happened with Taran. As he was thinking about that, he felt less and less scared about what he had just experienced.
His thoughts seemed to have cleared, making him think about what he could have done differently in the situation. All his emotions related to worry and anxiety about what happened were disappearing, and before he knew it while blinking, he had fallen asleep on his mother's shoulder. Everything that happened started to just feel like a bad dream before he slept.
Five hours later
Luis woke up to the feeling of a thick warm blanket draped over him. His mind was still sluggish from the chaos that he experienced.
He moved slightly before noticing the weight of something on his sides. Resting on his shoulder, he leaned back on the couch, where his younger brother and sister nestled against him.
Luis slowly sat up straight raising his head from the back of the couch making sure not to wake up his siblings. Looking around he again realized how big the space was the ceiling and walls stretching endlessly. Looking around he could see that countless figures filled the hall, some of them who he knew were Phoenix clan members in the village, some who he had seen in the villages but didn't know were Phoenix clan members, and some who he had never seen before.
Luis also felt like the hall had grown bigger than when he last saw it, now it was big enough to fit more people. He could see groups of people all having hushed conversations around the room.
His eyes moved across the room until he spotted the backs of his parents in a bigger group near the center of the hall. All the people in the group seemed to have intense expressions and even from a distance, he could see the tension in their stances.
While Luis was still looking around a figure from the group where his parents were turned around and gazed at Luis. With a subtle movement,he gestured to Luis's father that Luis was awake.
By the time Luis looked back at the group where his parents were he was surprised to see his father was right in front of him a few steps away. Noah kept walking and crouched in front of Luis until they were at eye level.
"What's up, kiddo"
His father's voice was quiet but it carried the same warmth Luis knew.
Luis swallowed his throat dry, he wanted to say something but he didn't know what to say and how to say it, the words lingered in his chest.
Noah's gaze softened as he looked at Luis "How are you feeling?"
Luis's hands tightened around the blanket, letting out a slow breath, Taran's lifeless form haunted the edges of his thoughts.
Taran.
"I…" His voice caught, barely a whisper. He clenched his jaw, forcing the words out. "Taran's gone."
Noah's expression didn't change, but something in his eyes did. A flicker of grief, of understanding.
Luis swallowed again, his hands curling into fists against his lap.
"I couldn't save him, I couldn't do anything."
The words felt bitter on his tongue, an admission that burned like fire.
His breath shuddered, his voice breaking.
"I wasn't strong enough."
Noah didn't speak immediately. Instead, he sat down beside Luis, his presence solid and unwavering. Noah placed a hand on his son's shoulder, a firm grip. Noah didn't console him saying it was his fault or he did his best. He simply let Luis have his silence, allowed him to sit in the weight of his own grief.
After a long moment, Noah exhaled.
"You did everything you could."
His voice was quiet, steady.
Luis shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "But it wasn't his fault Taran wasn't a Phoenix clan member but bhe was just trying to help but because he was friends with me he's gone. I… wasn't strong enough to help him."
"It doesn't matter if you are strong or not there are times when it will never be enough."
Noah continued.
"Not in war. Not in survival. No matter what we do, there will always be people we can't save."
He paused, his voice quieter.
"That doesn't make it your fault."
Luis bit the inside of his cheek, the ache in his chest refusing to ease. He wasn't sure he could accept that not yet.
His father sighed, shifting slightly.
"When I was younger, I watched people I cared about die, too."
His voice was distant, his gaze fixed on the fire across the cavern.
"I thought the same thing you did that if I had been stronger, if I had been faster, maybe they would've lived."
He glanced back at Luis. "But that kind of thinking will eat you alive."
Luis clenched his fists.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
Noah was quiet for a moment. Then, he reached out, placing his hand over Luis's. "You remember them. You carry them with you. And you keep moving forward."
Luis exhaled slowly, his gaze looking at the floor. His grief wasn't fully gone yet but his father's presence did help make it a little easier for him to bear.
"I don't want to forget him," Luis murmured.
"You won't." Noah's voice was certain. "You carry him with you, in every step you take."
He tapped a gently with his hand against Luis's chest. "Here."
Luis stared for a long moment before nodding his pain didn't ease yet but the support of his father made so he didn't feel alone anymore.