Chapter 144: The Silent Call

The day rose gently, painting the skies with a blend of gold and misty blue. Light filtered through the curtains, caressing Sakolomé's face as he sat near his bed, eyes half-open.

But those eyes… were no longer quite the same.

A deep, luminous red, pulsating like an ancient fire—the pupils seeming to sink into a sea of determination and mystery. He stared at them for a moment in the mirror. He knew this day would not be like the others.

He dressed slowly, with care. A red jacket, black gloves, and long red sports pants.

His boots, dark reinforced black, designed to walk on all terrains—including those of worlds that refuse to be named.

He moved toward the door. At that moment, Shushu emerged from a magic circle, finally taking his full demonic form.

A tall, slender silhouette, long white hair cascading down to the small of his back, slightly opaline skin, but iridescent black feathers descended from his hips to his ankles. Two thin horns curved backward, and his eyes shone with a deep amber red.

— "Let's go, Father!" he declared with a carnivorous smile.

Shushu raised his hand. A strange cracking sound rose in the air, as if the fabric of reality groaned… then he stabbed his finger into space, which tore like celestial paper, revealing a swirling golden and black vortex.

— "This will be a first for both of us," he said, almost ceremonially.

Sakolomé squinted.

— "You were capable of that all this time?"

Shushu shrugged.

— "Opening portals between worlds is nothing for a demon born in Hell. Shall we go?"

Sakolomé took a long breath, then nodded.

They crossed.

The light was blinding at first. Then it stabilized.

And there, Sakolomé was struck by a vertigo of admiration.

The world of myths stretched before him like a dream sculpted by a poet god: floating valleys, waterfalls suspended in levitation, trees with golden and silver leaves, and a sky so vast it felt like looking inside a divine mind.

Each step on the misty ground echoed softly, as if the world itself was singing.

— "It's… magnificent," he whispered.

Shushu joined him.

— "Yeah. But remember, this world is beautiful… because it hides its horrors well."

They walked for a while.

— "Remember yesterday's plan?" Sakolomé asked.

— "Of course. I'm on it. Just keep your aura calm; I have to emit without interference."

Shushu closed his eyes, crossed his arms. A slight magical tremor surrounded his body, then slowly spread into the environment. A beat, imperceptible to the human ear, extended like a wave through the world's systems.

Silence.

No response.

— "Nothing?" asked Sakolomé.

— "No. I'm still trying."

Shushu tried again. A second pulse, clearer, more intense. The air vibrated slightly, some trees seemed to react… but still no trace of a higher consciousness.

— "Still nothing," muttered Sakolomé.

— "Hm. Third attempt."

Shushu concentrated once more. This time, the emission was deeper, as if probing the underground nodes of this world's sensory system. The atmosphere grew slightly heavier.

But nothing.

Sakolomé frowned.

— "Are you sure she's here? Maybe she left. Or… she's no longer."

Shushu opened his eyes slowly.

— "No. There's no trace of her in the system's vibrations. It's… as if everything is normal, but too normal."

He froze.

— "Wait."

Sakolomé turned to him.

— "What?"

Shushu frowned, lowered his head slightly, as if listening to something deep below.

— "There is… something."

— "Is it Ysolongue?"

— "No. I don't know. It's old, heavy… not a divine or demonic presence. But rather… an emotion."

— "An emotion?"

— "Yes. A distress. An enormous sadness… frozen in a place, like an echo even the system cannot digest."

Sakolomé straightened.

— "Can you locate that?"

Shushu nodded slowly.

— "I have a direction. Over there, northeast. Somewhere in the suspended hollows, where the lands float in silence. It vibrates too strongly for it to be trivial."

Sakolomé clenched his fists.

— "Then let's go."

He dashed forward, Shushu following, a more worried smile on his face this time.

— "It's never good when a world wants to hide what we seek."

They walked a long time among millennial trees and floating bridges. The sky, foggier here, let through a pale, diffuse light. Then they saw it.

A huge dark stone castle, with collapsed towers, partially swallowed by nature, stood in the middle of a valley frozen out of time. Thick vines covered the walls, dead branches pierced broken openings, and the symbols carved on the stones seemed almost erased from history itself.

Sakolomé stopped, frowning.

— "Are you sure this is where you feel that thing?"

Shushu, back to his tiny size, fluttered above his shoulder before settling on his head.

— "Yes, Father. It's here. The strange sensation I perceive… pulses from this place. The closer we get, the clearer it becomes, like a heart beating in slow motion."

Sakolomé slowly approached the castle, placing a hand on one of the entrance pillars. The stone was cold, dead… but not inert. There was something beneath the surface, like a forgotten memory.

— "This castle has been abandoned for a very long time," he murmured. "And yet… something inside waits. How can what you feel come from here? No matter."

He approached the great wooden door, imposing but cracked by time. The rusty hinges already creaked under the mere caress of the wind.

Shushu, still on his head, squinted, sensing a subtle tension in the air.

— "Be careful, Father. We don't know what hides behind this door."

Sakolomé, calm, placed a hand on the handle.

— "Don't worry…"

He pushed it slowly.

A hoarse creak split the silence, the door yielded with difficulty, revealing a vast and desolate hall.

The castle's interior was plunged in muffled darkness, pierced by a few rays of light filtering through ceiling breaches. Colossal cobwebs hung from the tops of arches, covering frozen chandeliers and decrepit statues. A thick layer of dust covered everything; even time seemed to have forgotten this place.

But above all…

There was nothing.

No creature, no rustle. Even the cobwebs were empty. Not a single beast, not a single sign of life.

And yet…

— "Father…" Shushu suddenly murmured, in a tenser tone.

Sakolomé nodded.

— "There is someone. Or… something watching us."

He slowly turned around, scanning the corners, shadowed nooks, silent arches… but there was nothing to see. No movement. No breath.

Even the gigantic webs were motionless. Too motionless.

His gaze lingered on a broken staircase leading to a collapsed but partially accessible floor. Then he felt a silent call, a gentle but insistent mental pressure, like a breath from elsewhere.

— "It's coming from over there."

Without waiting, Sakolomé bent his knees slightly… then leapt.

He landed smoothly on the upper floor, between cracked columns. The silence was even heavier here, as if every step threatened to break a millennial tension.

He advanced slowly toward a partially collapsed corridor.

And there, at the end, a white wooden door, almost intact, as if time itself had avoided it.

It stood straight, without cracks, without mold, clashing with the dilapidated surroundings.

— "The thing watching us… is here," he whispered.

Shushu clenched his claws on Sakolomé's head, rising slightly, his usually mocking face now serious.

— "Let's be cautious, Father. This is not an ordinary presence. It seeks neither to flee nor to attack… it waits."

A silence.

Then Sakolomé gently placed his hand on the handle.