So, had I planned on finishing this story with exactly 50 chapters? Not really but it worked out well, didn't it? I had decided though, about 3 weeks ago, that I wanted to finish this story before the new year. Here we are!
Enjoy!
It had been a normal, quiet afternoon.
Or evening. Maybe even morning.
The only person in the room wasn't exactly sure of the time of day to be honest.
All they knew was that blue electric sparks coming from the ceiling was not a normal occurrence.
The sparks grew brighter and more frequent, illuminating the entire area in a blue glow.
Then, then it got dark.
Even with the sunlight streaming through the windows, whatever was happening seemed to suck the light away towards the origin of the sparks.
Not a normal occurrence at all…
From the gathering darkness began forming a… blob of something. It slowly solidified until it took the shape of a large and imposing set of black doors, ones etched with intricate carvings. They just floated near the ceiling, unmoving for moments until the doors slowly creaked open.
Very slowly. Agonizingly slowly.
What lay beyond the doors was nothing but darkness. Just pure darkness that sucked even more light away from the area. For a set of doors, it held an impossible amount of weight and magnitude that the occupant of the room could not wrap their head around.
It was just doors!
Then the eye opened.
An overly large – nearly the size of a human being – solitary eye was floating in the midst of the darkness. It stayed motionless for several heartbeats before bits of darkness began crawling, slithering across the doors, each one composed of tiny digits making them almost look like hands. Dozens upon dozens of tiny, worming hands.
They all moved slowly, not looking like they wanted to return to the doors but not wanting to venture too far either. They just –
Slammed into the ground. All of them in one sudden swoop, creating a column of darkness connecting the floor to the doors.
And yes, that eye was still visible…
It watched as the – the limbs of darkness began to recede, being drawn back to the doors as they left behind…
A person was laying on the ground. If they were dead or not, it was hard to tell, their face turned away as they lay on their stomach.
Their right arm though… It was bent in an impossible angle.
The limbs had finally all returned to the doors, leaving just the impossibly huge eye to –
The eye suddenly snapped towards the other occupant of the area, fixing them with its large, intense, and penetrating stare as if it was reading into the depths of the person's soul. Nothing moved.
"They failed once. They can't fail again. Last chance."
Those words came from the whatever lay beyond that darkness, every syllable clear as it echoed through the area. The only conscious occupant just stared, processing those words. Failed? Failed what? Last chance for what?
"What –?"
The doors slammed shut and, in a blink later, everything was back to how it had been.
Save for the newcomer still unmoving on the floor.
"Sir, whoever this is, they are still alive. Surprisingly."
The man jumped slightly upon hearing that other voice echo through the area, his workshop to be exact, but it was a voice he knew all too well. He knew that voice wasn't a threat.
Unlike whatever lay unconscious on his floor.
"JARVIS, do a scan and figure out who the heck this is," ordered the man, slowly making his way over to the newcomer.
He slowly nudged the person with his foot, avoiding the awkwardly bent arm – definitely broken, he concluded. Another nudge got the person's head to roll a little more to the side, revealing their profile.
"You have got to be kidding me… This is some sick joke."
I want to say a great big THANK YOU to all the readers! You guys are AMAZING! To the ones who have been with this story since the beginning or to those who have just discovered it, thank you all!
If this scene wasn't enough of a hint, there is a sequel planned and I hope to have at least the first chapter up soon!
Thank you all so much once more!
Happy New Year! 3 3 3