First there was light, then it was swallowed whole.
A split second later, Yun trailed his memory and snatched the teacup, chucking it at the window with all the strength he could muster. When the glass shattered, he bolted towards the source of the sound, ignoring the voice in his head screaming, "That's glass, you idiot! Have you lost your damn mind?!"
Regarding Erin's location, Yun had no way of knowing it, so he listened carefully for any sound while bracing for impact. The window was to his right, but Erin had positioned herself across from him — perfect for interception.
Thinking back, Yun saw nothing beneath her simple clothing, meaning no bodysuit. Her Lineage Path only seemed to rob him of his sight; the gap in their physical ability couldn't have been that large. There was a chance.
Clothes rustled from the left. Yun shifted his weight to his right foot, preparing for a hard pivot to the left. He slid out of Ma Siya's jacket, throwing it in front of him, where Erin hopefully was.
That old bat was going to kill him.
He lowered his head to dodge an imaginary strike, then pushed past Erin's left flank.
Raising his arms to protect his face, Yun charged forward, aiming for the window once more.
Glass shards crunched beneath his feet as he dashed over them. "This is about to hurt…"
"You sure are crafty. I've heard humans are like that as well. Did you pick that up from them?"
The crunching vanished, and so did the ground.
"But craftiness can only exist next to defectiveness."
It lasted only for a second, but the torture felt like an eternity. Erin's Lineage Path deepened its possession of Yun's sight, extending its cold grasp towards his other senses. The first to go was his sense of touch, cutting him off from his pressure sensors and position in space.
Yun was now drowning in a dark pool of numbing, viscous liquid, wondering whether he was sinking or ascending. It was all the same, never-ending void.
Smell and taste followed, which were his only anchors to reality. It was like he had died and descended into purgatory.
Yun might have been screaming, but he couldn't tell.
Cold. Frigid, suffocating cold replaced fear.
Infinite seconds passed in the finite eternity, and Yun saw a hand. Hope bloomed. He reached out to the hand, only for it to dissipate like dawn mist at sunrise.
He sank further into the void.
Who was going to come for him…?
While in this purgatory, who was waiting for him outside of it…?
"..."
Yun truly was… cold. Why did he have to throw away the jacket?
***
When the moment passed and his senses returned, Yun was sprawled on the ground. Erin loomed over him, Ma Siya's jacket in her grasp. She discarded it to the side, landing her flat gaze on Yun.
"That was a waste of celestial essence, no?"
"..."
Erin's head listed.
"Mind you, I didn't want to do that. Phew, so exhausting."
"..."
"When left alone with your mind, this is what it does to you? Poor thing."
Just then, two maids strolled into the lounge. They paced across the room and held Yun up by his arms. Erin turned away, adjusting the sleeves of her blouse.
"Take him out of the manor. Ask the Housekeeper where to keep him until an inquisitor is available."
"Yes, Herald."
With curt bows, the maids set out to leave. They moved Yun one leg after the other, and he let them. At least, that was a conscious decision he made… well, as conscious as he could be.
He cataloged the floor.
What material was the luxurious rug made of? A few options came to mind: the fur of a powerful Plague Monster, genuine wool sourced from an evolved strand of natural sheep, or was it something else entirely?
The thick, woven carpet made way for porcelain tiles, and Yun watched them unhurriedly wind and slip by.
After that, the next few hours were a blur.
Transitioning from the woody fragrance of the manor to the scent of fresh-cut grass, they found Maeve waiting for them on the outside pathway.
The maids kept their heads down and spoke in unison, "Housekeeper—"
"Yes, yes. I know."
She heaved a sigh and said to the air between her and Yun, "Adelaide. Is this how you greet us?"
"We're taking it down to the weapons house. Follow me."
The building she brought them to sat at the southern edge of the compound, set back from the main path. Built from dark stone, its windows were narrow slits, too high and too small to be useful for anything except letting a little air in. The door was heavy timber with iron banding across it, and the bolt was on the outside.
Standing guard was a heavily armored Divine, presumably a woman, judging from her figure. With a nod to Maeve, she slid the bolt to the side.
Inside, the main hall was long with a high ceiling. Weapons lined the walls from floor almost all the way to the ceiling — racks of spears, rows of swords on iron hooks, shields stacked and leaned in columns. Crossbows hung by their stocks on wooden pegs. There were axes on a low table near the far wall, heads down, handles upright in a row.
Everything was organized. Everything had a place.
If it were any other time, Yun would be devising a plan to get his hands on one of those, then get it through everyone's skulls.
But this time, he may as well have noticed that the hall had walls.
Maeve led them through a door at the back of the hall, then down a short corridor where the ceiling lowered considerably. Maeve produced a key. The door at the end of the corridor was thick wood, banded with iron, and it opened quietly on its hinges.
The room inside was small, relatively. It was still bigger than Yun's own "room".
And to his mild surprise, it looked comfortable. Very comfortable.
The stone floor was swept clean, and it shared the earthy smell of the manor. A single bed was fitted into the upper left corner, covered with clean white sheets. There was even an ornate wooden desk and chair, with an organized pile of papers sitting on top.
If Yun still had his flash-pad, he might even have access to the web.
"Throw it in," said the Housekeeper.
The maids let go of his arms.
"We don't need you here as much as you don't want to be here."
One maid pulled the door closed. The bolt slid home from the outside, and the sound of their footsteps faded away. Maeve was still there, though.
"The one to walk you out of here will be Lady Adelaide herself. Nothing more, nothing less."
Yun stood in the middle of the room.
"If you have information to divulge, say it now."
He sat on the cot.
He looked up at the ceiling, noting that the window was only as wide as a book.
"Good luck searching. Mother is a bit of an idiot."
Somewhere beyond the locked door, Yun heard a simple, "Hmm."
And then, silence. Maeve was gone.
He did not pace; he did not try the door. He sat on the mattress with his hands on his knees and looked at the window.
The light through it was direct for a while, falling in a pale bar across the floor that moved slowly as the afternoon went on.
The bar of light reached the far wall and began to narrow.
It thinned and went orange, then deep amber, colour spreading across the stone at the pace of a day's end. The shadow in the corners of the room came forward as the sun set, giving way to night's darkness.
The window held the last of it. A square of grey-orange that faded to grey.
Then it was gone, and the room was dark.
Yun had not moved.
It was late morning when he'd arrived at the compound gate. Just a few hours ago, he'd been telling himself that he was here to get Mother… to get Adelaide, and then return home.
But…
What home exactly? The Hollows? By now, either Gambino or Chet would have it out for him as soon as he took one step inside the pit.
No, his home was now the Forsaken Realm
Even then, to get there, he first had to go through the First Vision.
So in truth, he was here to say goodbye.
"But wouldn't you know it, guess I'll be dying of hunger in here…"
Yun's voice trembled.
From outside, he could hear the wind wailing and the subtle hum of the barrier that produced it overhead.
Just then, out the corner of his eye, the shadows along the base of the walls stirred.
"Huh?"
They pulled toward a point near the door like water finding a drain. The darkness swirled and finally coalesced into a circular shape.
From within the dark circle, out came a tall and imposing figure.
Now shrouded in a dark robe with a soft, golden outline, Branwyn stood in the middle of the room. The black waters of his intense gaze threatened to drown Yun permanently now; gone was the solace he once found within.
"So…"
Yun. remained frozen in place, like a downcast sculpture.
"You're Adelaide's boy, huh?"