Chapter 9 : The prisoner of the tower

The shattered heart, now broken into a myriad of glittering fragments, dissolved slowly into the air. The particles of light, like dead stars, gathered into a fine mist, seeping into every pore of Domgis's skin. He felt a strange warmth, a vibrant energy coursing through his veins, like a second life slipping into him, insidious yet powerful. It was both comforting and terrifying. A silent fusion, intimate, an entanglement of light and pain.

He clenched his fists. The shards of glass, the memories of the heart, the weight of the struggle—all of it seemed to vanish in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. He didn't yet have a name for what he was feeling, but he knew something within him had changed, irreversibly. His breath had grown heavier, yet clearer, like a calm sea before a storm.

Suddenly, a low rumble shook the ground beneath his feet, as if the cave itself was holding its breath before a cataclysm. A flash of horror mingled with the light buzzing within him. Blood, surging from the depths, rushed through the tunnels with unpredictable fury. A raging torrent cascaded through the passages, swallowing everything in its path.

Domgis turned his head, searching for an escape in the chaos. The walls trembled, the cracks gaped, and the air was thick with moisture, mud, and the deafening roar.

He scrambled to his feet, his body reacting instinctively as the blood rose with terrifying speed. Waves began to crash through the tunnels, the sound of liquid slamming against the walls echoing like a scream. The flood was inevitable. Domgis couldn't afford to stay here; he had to escape, or everything would be swallowed.

The young man left the mirror tunnel behind and ran for his life.

In his flight, his eyes fell on the door to the great hall. He had always seen it closed, sealed by a mysterious presence, inaccessible. But today, the door was open. It was ajar. Something within him urged him to go, to cross that threshold. If the heart was the key, then this door had to be freedom.

In a desperate surge, Domgis headed for the door. The blood rose behind him, threatening to engulf him at any second. Each step felt heavier than the last, as if the ground was giving way beneath his feet, but he kept running. The air grew thicker, the humidity palpable, like an invisible wall closing in around him. His lungs filled with the dense air of the tunnel, and his heart beat faster, in sync with the blood roaring behind him.

He finally reached the door. He rushed inside just as the flood surged over the threshold, swallowing the last remnants of the gallery.

As he crossed the threshold, a strange sensation washed over him. He was no longer in the cave. A vast hall stretched before him, the floor covered in timeworn stones, massive columns rising in the shadows, their shapes indistinct in the pale light bathing the room. Silence reigned here, deep and heavy.

He stopped for a moment, panting, his hands trembling. Behind him, the door closed softly, like a breath. The chaos could no longer reach him, and Domgis, soaked and breathless, found himself alone in this immense space.

He observed the walls, the columns, searching for clues. No sound. Nothing.

Domgis was no longer in the cave's tunnels. He had crossed a threshold, but he didn't know where he was or what awaited him. He was no longer the tired human fleeing the flood. He was… an intruder in a world that didn't want him.

He had no choice: he had to move forward.

***

As he moved away, the light flickered one last time, as if hesitating to follow him.

Then, slowly, in an imperceptible breath… it faded, swallowed by the voracious darkness that silently reclaimed the deep shadows.