Chapter 24: Red Moon

He discovered he could push this spirit vision ahead of him for a few meters and he even saw through walls, so as he hurried down the stairs, making sure to avoid the occasional house help, he did a broad sweep of his surroundings now and then, and so he came upon a startling discovery.

There was a shaft made of unknown materials, like an elevator, in the middle of the manor. The manor was four stories tall, and his laboratory was on the topmost floor. This shaft began on the third floor and extended to the bottom floor, but it led nowhere after that.

It was smooth, and the color was yellow, and the most peculiar characteristic of it was that it was the only material he could not see through, it was as if it was actively repelling his sight.

He found a small alcove to hide for the thirty seconds of darkness that came about as his spirit sight snapped back in his head, this occurrence always bringing him pain. He suspected that he would have been an invalid if not for his regenerating factor healing the damages inside his head.

Not only that, but he was not supposed to use the spirit sight in this method, he was damaging an unknown organ inside his head, but if he could heal any damages he incurred using this technique in exchange for sight, then he would do so without any hesitation.

There was a mysterious object or a hidden passage buried inside his manor, he did not find it that surprising after all the events that led him here were very suspicious, and he knew there were many things that were being deliberately hidden from him, nevertheless, this was not his priority at the moment.

His next stop was the stables where he was going to get horses and hurry down to the town, he was not a fighter, but he could be as close to the town as possible, and therefore he could collect lingering souls.

He expected Maeve to soon find him, and he would be protected along the way, he was not too foolish to think he might survive out there without her, he was still feeble and a small complication could end him, and there was nothing small about an Abomination attack.

Then he paused, where was Maeve? Why did he not find her inside the manor? Apart from the dozen staff present in different parts of the manner he could not find Maeve. Perhaps she was checking the grounds of the manor, but he doubted it, Maeve would never leave far from his side. Something was wrong.

As his vision returned, he turned back to the shaft he could see inside the manor, hidden by clever design that made it almost unnoticeable. Rowan had seen the designs of the manor and everywhere the shaft passed through was not supposed to even exist.

Opening the door to a guest room, he walked inside and shut the door behind him, going to the closet, he pushed the clothes away and tapped the back of the closet.

He pulled out the shears and began to cut his way through. It was not difficult, and he sliced through the walls with little effort, directly behind was a faint glow from the shaft.

It seemed to be built with a sort of gem, he ran his hand over it and discovered that it was shockingly cold. He tried to recall if he knew any mineral like this, but he could not recollect anything similar to it.

His hand was still on it when the temperature of the yellow rock began to rise, and it rippled like it was made of water, and before he could draw his hand back, another hand seized his own and dragged him into the wall.

He did not use his eyes to see but his spirit, and so he was able to witness everything.

The hand that grabbed him was made of the same material as the yellow rock and when he was dragged inside it felt more like he was passing through thick mud and not a solid wall, and then his mind was overloaded by a flood of sensations that it broke to pieces.

He saw a bright white light that was shattered into pieces by a clawed hand, the pieces of the broken light became many colors that became solid blocks.

Those blocks were covered by a wave of darkness; the darkness was split apart by a terrible roar, and with that sound chaos erupted.

Rowan felt his mind reassembled, only to break again when new scenes entered his mind. A rain of blood that erupted from an ocean's worth of bodies.

Stars fell from the skies only to be eaten by massive mouths, a mountain with spider legs dancing, and a smiling cup of tea that was devouring other cups.

This reality that he could hardly comprehend seemed to be forced into his mind and when he felt he could no longer hold on, he was blessed with the silence of darkness.

He was in shock for a while, before he realized that his spirit vision had ended, and so he could no longer see.

He should be holding himself and crying for the chaos that he had witnessed, he should be catatonic and listless, he should have run mad with despair, but the only thing he could feel was apathy.

You see, he had no time. His lungs were beginning to burn, and the hidden blade of his incoming death due to his limited lifespan hung on his neck, he had no time to mourn, he had no time to reflect, as far as he was concerned if what he was experiencing was not enough to kill him, then he would get through it.

Not because he was mindlessly optimistic, but because he had no time to waste. Death was whispering in his ears and he had no time to listen.

He braced himself for the frenzy and opened his spirit vision once more.

If he could touch his eyes he would rip them from his head, it seems his Icy soul made it impossible for him to go mad, or maybe he was already mad, how could he tell? But no matter the scene he saw, he had only thirty seconds of normalcy before he plunged back inside.

He witnessed countless mindless scenes, like a feverish dream that would not end, he repeatedly entered the chaos.

He began to feel despair when something bonded inside him, and he found himself in a passage.

It was a short path, and he stood in the middle, behind him was a green door, and ahead of him was a red door.

His mind locked on what changed his situation, and he called up the Primordial Record and saw a new entry.

Aspect Gained: Spatial Sight.

An Aspect? He would check the meaning later, but he already knew what Spatial Sight was capable of. It was his spirit vision on steroids. There were several new entries in the Primordial Record, but for now, he was only focused on this new Aspect he just received.

His new awareness was vast and did not seem to have any cooldown, he moved that awareness to the red door ahead of him, and he saw a scene of mayhem. He saw a devastated world and his awareness was covered by darkness.

When he became cognizant, he noticed he lay on the ground, all around him was a field of ruin and overhead was a Red moon.