The presence of the wolf felt overwhelming so Dreu simply closed his eyes. His limbs were no longer useful and he couldn’t summon additional help. Faced with such a powerful foe, he couldn’t even hope for a miracle.

  I hope Ragellon and the others don’t stumble onto this place. They wouldn’t fare any better than me or those bulls. Maybe they'll get away to safety.

  A strike to his body made his breathing stop. The pain was so bad that he was steadily losing his consciousness. The young man couldn’t pinpoint where he was struck but the attack somehow rendered him more helpless. His entire body had stopped responding now. Then, a second strike to the same spot made him lose consciousness. At least, that was what he thought would be the case but he felt a sense of weightlessness suddenly. Dreu looked around to see that Isonron was gone. Instead, he was surrounded by complete darkness with no light at all.

  Why can I not see my hands?

  Dreu knew that his hands should be right before him. He could feel them but he couldn’t see them. His senses couldn’t grasp the darkness and screamed for him to escape. He frantically swung his hands around but he couldn’t feel anything solid. He couldn’t even tell if he actually moved or if he was imagining it all.

  Damn it! Why am I here? Is this where people go when they die? Is that why I can move my limbs without pain now?

  “Feed!”

  The voice echoed in the space so Dreu couldn’t pinpoint where it came from, not that he had any sense of direction at this point.

  “Feed upon the shadow!”

  “Feed? What do you mean by feed?”

  The young man expected a response but there was none. With no other choice, he opened his mouth and inhaled. As the gas filled his mouth, he felt himself choking on it and the bitter taste didn’t help. Dreu took a moment to recover when he noticed the absence of darkness in the location he just inhaled.

  Guess I don’t have a choice.

  Dreu inhaled as much as he could and proceeded to cough until he fully ingested the shadow. For once in his life, he could relate to a sheep grazing everything in sight. Bit by bit, dim light returned. It was a welcoming sight as Dreu could finally use his eyes to see. The dim light didn’t reveal anything but he was certain something would show up once he completed inhaling all of the shadow. As he proceeded with the inhalation, he did wonder about the purpose of all this shadow. He didn’t feel particularly stronger or weaker. His prompt never once showed up and, despite checking several times, he couldn’t summon it again. Eventually, he had given up on his prompt and just cleaned up the remainder of the shadow.

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  “Good! Release!”

  Dreu screamed as he felt something trying to explode from within. He could feel the gas spreading throughout his body, causing his innards to burn. His limbs were no longer responding while his thoughts were blanking out. Eventually, the young man accepted his fate of eternal suffering. His throat was coarse from all the screaming and the rest of his body felt numb. If the pain hadn’t been so overwhelming, he would have gladly embraced unconsciousness to end his own suffering. Yet, the pain never stopped pulsing through his entire body, putting him in a state of endless suffering.

  “And it is done,” said the voice after what Dreu felt was an eternity. “Train well with what you were gifted and one day we may meet again!”

  The pain slowly subsided until the young man could finally embrace sleep. When Dreu opened his eyes, he found himself in a small room. As he tried to get up, pain spread through his body, discouraging him to even move.

  What happened? Where am I?

  Dreu felt relief when his prompt finally showed up. With much effort, he summoned Dar who flew over him concerningly.

  Please heal me! My body hurts so much!

  Dar proceeded to use her healing wave which instantly brought the young man comfort. He then summoned Loryss to speed up the healing process. He had to figure out where he was and the room offered too little information. Until he could walk on his own strength, he would be helpless. While summoning others to scout was an option, he could ill-afford them to be picked off one by one. After his last battle, he realized how vulnerable he was all alone.

  I need to escape wherever this is and get back. I hope Ragellon and the others can avoid whatever that underworld creature was.

  As soon as his body didn’t hurt with every movement, Dreu sat up on the bed. The young man was amazed by his injuries he knew the wolf inflicted on him. Those injuries were far too serious to have been healed this quickly. A few minutes later, he took a few unsteady steps until he reached the doorway. He poked his head and noticed the coast was clear. Then, his plan to recall many companions was thwarted by the fact that there was still a cooldown on all of them except for Aggich.

  If there’s a cooldown, then a day hasn’t passed since that battle? I'll keep Aggich as a backup.

  With all of his combatant companions out of the picture, Dreu could only rely on Dar and Aggich as support. He unsummoned Loryss for the time being due to how well the interior was lit. As he tiptoed down the hallway, he could hear some voices downstairs. The voices were too quiet for him to make out what was said and who was there but they provided him with a rough idea of how many were downstairs. Dreu estimated that they were some distance from the stairs so, even with a sneak attack, he would be spotted before he got close enough to strike. Just then, Dar offered to help.

  I will distract them so you can attack them from behind. If needed, Aggich could slow them down while their backs are turned.