Beyond the Boundary

Zale couldn't move, or rather, he didn't dare to. His whole body reacted to the tingling of eyes pricking at his very existence. A foul and corrupt energy washed over him like sludge in a sewer. Fight or flight were in overdrive, pushing him to flee for his life. Yet, he couldn't.

He was certain of it. Any move he made would warrant his instant demise. The presence of death was clawing up his spine just as it had when he'd been stricken by the void lightning. Bile burned his throat, but he had no energy to vomit. One moment connected to another and then another. Trapped inside his head, an eternity passed.

Though he could not see the source of his ailment, the world he did see was grey and white. All meaningful color had been drained. Was he the only one? Were the others feeling it too? Had he simply lost his mind?

Questions raced until everything snapped back to reality. It was like a balloon bursting. One moment his lungs were squeezed of their life-giving oxygen, and the next, he was watching the fading light of energy from the pendant and hearing the receding hum. The room was no different than it'd been an eternity before.

Zale wiped sweaty palms on his pants and squeezed his fists to stop the shaking as he slowly scanned the room. Like a statue, he watched the scientists moving about unafflicted. They didn't feel it, he knew. He feared moving too quickly as if his body might crumble at a sudden jolt. His head mechanically turned to observe the room, panning from left to right until his eyes locked with the terror-stricken eyes of Shai. He knew.

"D-d-d-" Zale stuttered, and Shai barely nodded.

A deep breath soaked Zale's lungs in an attempt to pull himself together. He was amazed he'd neither vomited nor pissed his pants, let alone remained conscious. Neither of them spoke a word. Instead, they seemed to be communicating with their eyes with the occasional glance.

It was not until Kahmil approached with an inquiry about how to proceed that Shai snapped out of his terror trance. "Pharaoh, are there any problems? How shall we proceed from here?"

As if another soul had replaced him, Shai straightened his shoulders and stood tall. "Nothing to note. We'd do well to test this new artifact as soon as possible. There is no telling what dangers may lay on the horizon. As I've already secured the original, we can compare the two."

Everyone was plenty satisfied and, once the new artifact was no longer glowing with magical energy, they retrieved it. "As there is little difference between these artifacts we make and the ones found on bodies of fallen enemies or in dungeons, we should be able to test this as Obilesk's practice range," Shai explained.

"We will split the team in two. Half of you will stay and clean up. Afterward, you may take a lunch break, and then I'd like you to start analyzing whatever data we managed to procure. The rest of you may break now. I want you at Obilesk by 3 PM. Do not be late."