The Past (14) Crystals And Darkness

Delilah slowly looked at him pathetically before wrapping her hands around his wrist, "It is not stopping the bleeding that way." She untied it and wrapped it again in such a way that it almost made him breathless. "I guess that is okay. Let's hurry up before this house goes berserk. What are we to do next?"

Ezekiel allowed her to take his arm in hers, "Is there a blank wall just beside the idol?"

Delilah's eyes rummaged it and she looked back at him, "There is. I wonder how you knew this and told me to come along." She thought for a while and her eyes widened up almost immediately realising what she had just put herself into. "Right. Since you can see at night, why not come by that period and do whatever you want to, to regain your sight? Why do I have to follow you?" She slapped her forehead and gasped lightly, "How could I have skipped asking this question?" She turned to him, her arm gradually leaving him but he was really quick to stop her from doing so. "Why do you want me to follow you?"

"As I stated earlier, I want to regain my sight but the only way I can is to follow all the rules of this building and then regain it."

"Just like that? I feel like I am in a scripted fantasyland, how is that even possible?"

"I don't know. All I know is, some things are better left unknown."

"Why are you like this?" She whispered, "You are scaring me."

"Let's keep going."

"No." She stopped and Ezekiel stopped also, stunned. "Why do you keep avoiding my question?"

"Which?"

"Why did you have to tag me along to regain your sight? Why am I needed? You could have come here and be done with whatsoever you wanted to do alone but you insisted on taking this lad," she indirectly pointed to herself.

"The only time I could see how this building looked like was the first day I got blind. Ever since then, even though I come at night, every speck in this building remains dark."

"Why is it like that?"

"No idea." He paused and pulled her arm closer, "Maybe it's because this building made me blind. All you need to do is to help me with whatever things you can spot so that we can get to the real sacred room where my vision would be restored."

"There is actually a sacred room? Thank goodness, I almost thought I would end up meeting other rooms with horrible traps as this."

Ezekiel chuckled and the both of them walked slowly. Their legs stepping on the tiles as they should be. "What makes you think it would be less scary? Just because it is sacred?" He blurted out almost bursting out loud, "The first day I entered that particular room, I thought I had died after my eyes caught up with a lot at a time. I was much younger, than you in fact."

"A lot like what?" She was suspicious and at the same time, scared.

They kept going and then they reached the wall beside the idol. Delilah didn't want to take a look at it but she forced out all her courage and slowly, the wall slid as if it was an entrance only to be met with a more deadly room. "A lot like seeing demons appearing before you and demanding to get a taste of your blood or suck your bone marrow?" He joked, trying to pull her legs but he overdid it because the little girl shrieked like an iced turtle.

"What is this place?" She looked around. The first thing her eyes caught was a fast-moving shadow, she rubbed her eyes, thinking the room was just playing tricks with her but then another shadow walked but this time it was slow and she could see it clearly as though the owner of the shadow was behind her. It was the shadow of a woman. She clung to Ezekiel's arm tighter trying her best not to scream, "Let's go back."

"What? What can you see?"

"A shadow of a tall woman, it seems as if it's watching me, now." She whispered as she saw the shadow stop, directly pointing its face towards her.

"Ignore it."

"What?"

"Just ignore it, there are meant to either scare you or distract you. Look around and tell me if there is something tangible you can see."

She looked around, this time she felt the room's temperature drop low. She calmed herself down. Nothing would happen. As long as the blind boy was beside her. Why was she even saying that trash? The blind boy couldn't see, how would he save her if any monster nowhere appears and take her away? She shook her head. Oh no!

She noticed another strange thing, as the temperature seemed to drop down, the sunlight from the window began to go down, and at the same time, the window blackened almost making everywhere completely dark. "Why is it slowly becoming dark?" A lamp flickered on and then a spot on a wall showed gold writings. "I...I can see bold writings."

"Read them, Delilah."

"I...I can't. They are unknown words written in some cursive manner."

"Try."

She closed her eyes for some second and breathed hard. All these would be called a dream when they fade. "Ad.. crystaliummmlnum et ad tene-"

"Read again. It's Latin, I might know it."

"Oh-kay..." She swallowed her saliva and tried again, "adcrystalim etad-"

"Calm down, Delilah! And be fast too, I'm losing too much blood for you to be this fragile."

"Don't scare me. I'm still a kid!" She shouted back but shook as her words echoed in response. The echo was somewhat different. "Why do we even need to know what is written there? Are we to carry out a task? Just tell me no, please."

"Yes. Now, read."

"Ad crystallum unum et ad tenebras," she said every word slowly.

Ezekiel's eyes widened. "Crystals and...darkness?" He paused, "I... don't understand."

"You don't and how do you expect me to ?"

"Quiet! I think I understand. Read again."

"Ad crystallum unum et ad tenebras."

"It means..." He said his words, gently, "To make crystals one and to cause gloom."