CHAPTER 123: ECHOES IN THE DARK

The rain poured down in heavy sheets, soaking Dila’s frail body until her silver-white hair clung to her face and neck. Her breaths came ragged, each step a stumble as her weakened legs struggled to carry her forward.

"Fran... Fran!" Dila shouted, her voice breaking with desperation, echoing against the storm. The sound was swallowed by the rolling thunder, lost in the curtain of rain.

She looked wildly around, her blue eyes blurring with tears and rainwater, unable to tell them apart. Ahead loomed the side of the castle, its dark stone wall pitted with countless holes and cracks.... hollow pathways carved like a labyrinth that seemed to vanish into shadows. The openings yawned at her like a hundred unseen eyes, each one a possible direction yet none offering comfort.

Her chest rose and fell sharply as she heaved for air, clutching at her stomach. The rain felt heavier, pressing against her thin frame, while the mud clung to her legs and slowed her steps. She leaned against the wall, weak fingers trembling as they touched the cold stone, her breath misting faintly in the air.

"Fran... please... answer me... I didn’t mean it... I always love you, I swear I do..." Her voice cracked again, fading into sobs as no reply came back. Only the storm answered, wind shrieking between the holes in the wall like cruel laughter.

Dila’s knees buckled, and she slid down against the wall, her soaked clothes plastered to her skin. Her whole body shivered as the cold bit through her bones. She clutched her lefy hand tightly, pressing to her forehead against it as if to draw strength from its frustration.

Still, she forced herself to lift her head, her teary eyes scanning the hollow pathways that opened like a maze. Somewhere in that suffocating darkness, she believed Fran was there. She had to be.

Her lips trembled as she whispered hoarsely, "Fran... don’t leave me... not like this... I’m not ready to lost you. Your my only family."

She pressed her palms flat against the cold stone wall, forcing herself upright though her legs trembled under her own weight. Her clothes, heavy and drenched, clung to her body as she staggered toward the labyrinth of hollow openings carved into the castle’s side. Each step felt as if the earth itself pulled her down, but she pushed forward, teeth clenched against the stabbing ache in her chest.

The moment she stepped inside, the world around her was swallowed whole by darkness. The rain’s roar dulled to a muffled drip, echoing somewhere in the distance. She lifted her head weakly.

"Fran... please... where are you?" Her fragile voice trembled as it carried down the winding passage.

Her answer came only in echoes. The sound of her own words bounced off unseen walls, twisting back at her until it felt as though the shadows themselves were mocking her. Her breath caught as she felt a sharp pain in her side....

"Aghhh..." she winced, clutching her ribs as her knees nearly buckled. Tears blurred her eyes as her voice broke into a desperate cry. "Fran... help me... I can’t... I can’t take it..."

The silence was unbearable. Her cries faded into the void, swallowed whole by the labyrinth.

Stumbling sideways, Dila dragged herself along the damp stone wall, her fingers trembling as they trailed across its rough surface. Her steps faltered, weak and uneven, and every movement sent a wave of exhaustion flooding through her.

The darkness pressed close, so suffocating she couldn’t even see her own hand in front of her face. Only her voice remained, fragile and shaking, filling the emptiness with broken pleas.

"Fran... please... don’t leave me here..."

Her words cracked, dissolving into sobs as she kept walking blindly, her echo chasing her deeper into the endless black.

The rain poured harder, running down the stone walls as the thunder echoed above. Albedo’s voice cut through the storm, deep and fierce, his throat tearing with desperation.

"Dila!" he roared, yet the sound was swallowed by the downpour, reaching her only as a muffled echo that faded into the darkness.

Within the labyrinth-like hollow, Dila’s weak legs stumbled forward, her hands brushing against cold, damp stone. Her breath came out in fragile gasps, her body shivering violently from the chill.

And then... a faint voice.

"...Sister..."

Fran’s tone, soft but distant, slipped through the cracks of the dark. Dila’s head lifted sharply, a trembling smile curling on her lips as tears mingled from the rain drop on her hair.

"Father... Fran..." she whispered weakly, her voice quivering, "where are you... I’m here... can’t you hear me?"

Her words bounced back at her, hollow and distorted, swallowed by the labyrinth. Each unanswered cry made the silence heavier. The stone walls pressed closer, and her small, trembling figure seemed swallowed whole by the endless black.

She staggered again, hugging herself tightly, her thin frame wracked with cold. Her lips trembled as her voice cracked, soft, broken.

"I’m... afraid..."

The last word bled into the darkness, her echo lingering like a ghostly whisper, fading and twisting until even her own voice seemed foreign to her ears.

The air inside the hollow was thick, damp, and suffocating. Dila’s soaked dress clung to her skin as she pressed a trembling hand against the jagged stone wall. She was defenseless, nothing but her bare hands to feel her way through the pitch black.

Her breath rattled, uneven and shallow. The storm outside had dulled into a muted roar, leaving the cavern in near silence. But then....

Thock...

A low, solid sound struck one of the far walls. Not loud, but heavy, as though a blunt stick or staff had been tapped against stone. The echo crawled through the hollow, stretching unnaturally long, reverberating in every direction until it was impossible to know where it came from.

Dila froze. Her fingers dug into the wall’s wet surface, nails scraping against the stone as she held her breath. Her whole body trembled.... knees knocking together, lips pressed tight.

Thock... thock...

The sound repeated, slow and deliberate. It was distant, yet it carried a weight that pressed against her chest. It grew louder with each strike, as if whatever it was.... was drawing closer step by step.

Her heart pounded violently, every beat ringing in her ears louder than the echoes. She bit her lip until it bled, the iron taste mixing with the rainwater that dripped from her hair into her mouth.

Her voice broke out without meaning to, ragged and strangled by fear.

"Who’s there...?" she whispered, but the sound cracked, barely louder than a whimper.

She swallowed hard, moving slowly along the wall, her palms sliding over the wet stone. Each cautious step splashed lightly in the shallow water at her feet, but even that tiny sound made her flinch, as if it would give her away.

Her body shivered violently, both from the cold and the terror that gnawed at her spine. Tears welled at the corner of her eyes, though she forced herself not to sob.

The thick sound continued... deliberate... patient... almost as if whatever was making it knew she was listening.

The darkness pressed down on her like a suffocating shroud, the damp air chilling her skin as her soaked clothes clung heavily to her body. Dila pressed her trembling hand against the rough wall, her fingers continue dragging weakly over jagged stone. Every step she took made the faintest scrape, and she winced, her breath hitching as though even that tiny noise might summon whatever was stalking her.

The sound behind her grew sharper.... thick, wet, echoing slams, like something striking stone with a weight that didn’t belong in the silence. It wasn’t rushing, but it was closing in, steady and patient, as if it knew she was trapped. Dila shut her lip hard, her blue eyes wide though they could see nothing in the consuming dark.

"Dila... think... you must not encounter it... or it might be bad news for me..." her voice quivered in her head, forcing herself to stay calm. She crouched lower, pressing close to the wall, trying to quiet the sound of her boots sloshing in the wet ground. The cold was biting through her bones, her body shivering uncontrollably, but she forced her breaths shallow.

She tried to focus.... her mind racing. The air... I must feel where it flows... that’s the way outside. She spread her palm gently into the darkness, straining to sense the faintest breeze. But instead, currents brushed from every direction, whispering and swirling around her, making her more uncertain. Her heart sank. "No... it can’t be... everywhere feels like the exit..."

Her body stiffened, her teeth chattering as the sound thudded again, closer now, echoing as if it had entered the same narrow tunnel she stood in. Panic twisted her stomach, but she clamped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from crying out. She thought, I must move... but I can’t let it follow me. If it hears me...

Her legs shook as she shifted sideways, pressing so close to the wall that her shoulder scraped painfully against the rough stone. She dragged herself slowly, carefully, her breaths ragged and shallow. The dark was absolute, her fear gnawing at her, and yet she kept repeating in her mind like a fragile prayer.... Don’t let it hear me. Don’t let it hear me.