Darkness

Having quickly had his conversation with Yan Gong, Huang Yang met up with the group of new talents. They were all looking forward to going there, which is why they didn't care to wait around for long. Huang Yang told Pen Min that he was going to spend some time with them and then took off.

It was not the longest walk, but since the cave was well hidden in the woods and didn't give off energy unless a person was near it, no one had discovered it.

"Have you see the beast that lives there?", Huang Yang asked. He wasn't really that worried, since the other children had been there and still lived to tell the tale.

"No, that's the interesting part of it, we know that something is there, but we just can't see it", Li Feihui said with an eager voice, seemly very happy about Huang Yang joining them. He thought that this may be the start of a beautiful friendship.

"Is it too deep for the sun to reach it?", Huang Yang asked with a raised eyebrow. A cave was scary at night since nothing could be seen in there, but when the sun came up, it was generally better, since a person could study it from afar.

"We're not so sure, but that's not the weird thing about it...", Zhou Ru said with a worried expression. Like many, she wasn't that big a fan of the dark and only wanted to go there, in order for her to hang out with Huang Yang.

Huang Yang's eyebrows frowned. But before he had the chance to ask, Yu Jian already answered.

"No matter how high the sun is, it's as if a black curtain is covering it", he was as serious as ever and had already begun clutching his two swords. He didn't want to be unprepared in this situation.

Walking just a couple of feet behind them were the two twins who were making sure Hao Hai didn't fall over anything.

"We haven't even achieved the opening realm yet, so we will keep a distance while taking care of Hao Hai as always", Xiao Jin said.

This was the normal arrangement. The two sisters and Hao Hai had a great bond since they were the youngest and therefore also the weakest. No one doubted their talent, they just needed more time.

Hao Hai always wanted to join his friends, but since he was blind, he always needed someone. Luckily his new martial art would help that. It was both a passive and active skill, in a way.

He would be able to feel the world by using the wind, while also delivering devastating sword attacks when needed. In some way, he may even gain a better "sight", than others who have working eyes.

Huang Yang agreed with Xiao Jin, but his heart still felt shaken after hearing what Yu Jian had said, he couldn't help but imagine, what beast was powerful enough to block out the sun like that.

The children came to a sudden halt when they passed two tall withered trees. The group was surprised since the trees had been fine last time, but as they didn't voice this concern, Huang Yang hardly thought about it.

He hardly looked at the trees at all, as his eyes had already begun focusing on the cave.

It was impossible to miss, once a person got close enough. He felt as though his family should have found this a long time ago.

The stone was completely grey and greatly stood out in the green grass. All the plants seemed to willingly stay away from it since no speck of color was on it.

The rock seemed quite smooth until a person looked at the entrance. Deep cracks seemed to emerge as if they were tentacles of the beast within.

Huang Yang finally laid his eyes upon the entrance. It was as they had said. While the sun was up, it felt as though a border of darkness had cut off all light. It even appeared to be moving, as if it was black water which stood straight up.

A person would think that they would get wet if they walked in there.

The others looked at the cave with great curiosity, but ultimately couldn't feel anything or see anything. It did annoy them, but who in their right mind would put their lives in danger due to simply being curious.

The answer in this case was Huang Yang!

This wasn't due to him being simply too curious, but because he felt something. He didn't know what it was, but it felt familiar. It was calling for him!

He had never felt this before. When he saw his family, he felt the familiarity coming from within his soul, but this was greatly different. He needed to know what it was.

His blood was calling out to it. He felt as though he needed it. He wanted to take it, even devour it. Where this feeling came from, he had no idea.

"See! Isn't it cool, I wonder what's in there", Li Feihui said, while waiting to hear Huang Yang's reaction. He had hoped that they could spark a conversation over this matter. But when he turned to look at Huang Yang, the same time as the others did, he froze.

Huang Yang had a dazed look. He walked slowly, but it was clear that he was approaching the cave. The others didn't know what to do. They had never once had a reason to go near the cave.

"Brother Yang, are you sure you should go in there?", Zhou Ru asked with a worried voice. None of them knew what the cave held, and they weren't curious enough to look.

Huang Yang didn't answer but simply raised his hand, as a sign that everything was fine and that they should just leave him be for now. He needed to see what was in there, his blood needed it.

He only stopped once he stood just outside the cave. Before him, was the moving darkness which looked like water. He was tempted to touch it, but he didn't understand why.

The cave entrance felt enormous from where he was, the sun didn't exist beyond this point, yet he wasn't scared, he was happy, he wanted to go in there, where the sun didn't shine, he wanted to go through the darkness.

"Go get someone!", Zhou Ru said to Li Feihui, who could do nothing but stand in silence, waiting for something bad to happen. He snapped back to reality and took off.

Behind him came Yu Jian, who thought that he should help too. He wasn't on par with Li Feihui when it came to power, but since he had wind affinity, there was a chance for him to catch up.

Seeing the two run off, Zhou Ru told the other three to back up even more. She was currently the strongest of their group and would therefore have to take responsibility for the others well being.

As she was, now, the closest person to Huang Yang, she called out to him, hoping to wake him up from his daze. But no matter how high her tone got or how much she begged. Huang Yang didn't even look back, he didn't even raise his hand like last time.

While fear was welling up in the hearts of the others, Huang Yang felt ecstatic. His hand reached out, towards the unknown.

As if alive, the darkness crawled up Huang Yang's arm, slowly he was entering the abyss. It didn't feel like water, but more like cold fog which tried to block his vision.

While it looked as though the darkness was pulling him in, he was actually willingly going forward one step at a time. The sun was being blocked out as if night had come without any stars.

With hesitation, Zhou Ru finally began moving. She was originally not that far away from Huang Yang, so reaching him wasn't the issue. The problem would be if she was caught by the darkness.

But why did only Huang Yang act this way, why didn't any of them walk towards the cave. Was there something about him that made the darkness call out to him?

She hardly had time to think this through, as she stormed after him. Her feet left deep Imprints on the ground as she continued to accelerate.

Desperation became more and more clear in her eyes, as Huang Yang began fully entering the darkness. She then remembered the scene of them in the frozen forest. His back was like that of a hero, just like now, but this time it felt as though she would never see it again.

As she stretched out her arm, she could almost feel the cold from the darkness, but in an instant, her hand was stopped. It couldn't pass through the darkness like Huang Yang.

Before her eyes, the back of the young boy was flooded with deep darkness before vanishing into the unknown. For all she knew, Huang Yang had entered the abyss!