Argent Eye IV

17

I wasn't sure when I became aware of the fact that I was floating, except that I was.

It was dark, wherever I was, but at the same time, it was light enough for me to see everything. I took a look around, and objects started to come into focus. They, too, were floating around me.

After a moment, I realised what those objects were- they were weapons.

But not just any weapons.

Black Prometheum.

I noticed a number of blades, all of different shapes, just floating there.

Occasionally, one would vanish. Another time, a new one would appear, the sand-like particles coming together before me.

I familiar blade passed me then, and so I reached out to grab it.

Or, at least, I tried to.

I had no hands. In fact, when I looked down at my body, I realised that I didn't have one. It was almost like when I'd fused with the air, except this was not the same. When I was fused with the air, I felt powerful and light and airy. Currently, it felt like I was floating in syrup. It took a lot of effort to move my existence to look around me. My ears felt pressurised, like I were underwater. I couldn't hear much, if there was anything to hear.

Something else caught my eye then, and it wasn't a weapon.

It filled me with an incredible sense of fear. Worry. Anxiety.

Power.

The cloud of darkness just seemed to float there. It didn't have a physical form, but I could tell that it was looking at me. Watching me.

At first, I thought it was just going to linger there. I wondered why the darkness was here, and how it got here. But then I realised that I didn't even know where here was. I could have a good guess, though. The Black Prometheum weapons gave it away. Ronan had told me that nobody knew where the Black Prometheum disappeared to, only that it did and it was ready to be summoned whenever the Argent needed it. Was this where it went? This dark, empty place? Was I in a different realm? The depths of space?

I had no idea.

I started to panic when the cloud of black smoke began to creep closer to me. I could barely move, which wasn't helping the situation- it felt like one of those awful dreams, where running was out of the question. All I could do was float here, helpless.

Not to mention the fact that my elements didn't seem to exist here.

The darkness stopped, inches from my face. It was looking at me, I knew that much. Searching me. It was as if it recognised me, but couldn't quite place where we'd met before.

"Hello, old friend." I said, but it wasn't my voice coming from my lips. I hadn't even intended to say anything. "We meet again."

The darkness didn't say anything, but it did seem to let out a long sigh of relief, if that even made any sense.

Then, without another moment of hesitation, the darkness came at me, full force. It filled my mouth and eyes and ears, and continued to envelop my entire body. I could feel it fusing with my cells, filling me with an immense power. A power I never wanted to feel again.

I laughed loudly.

Then I seemed to fall.

_________

My eyes shot open, and it took me several moments to gather my bearings. I wasn't laying in bed- I was standing up, hand outstretched.

It took me another few moments to realise that my outstretched hand was holding someone's throat.

I gasped, and let Ronan go, suddenly out of breath.

"Jesus, Millie, what the fuck was that?" Ronan asked, shocked and also a little out of breath. Judging by the fact that he hadn't teleported out of my grip, I assumed that I'd woken just as it had happened. He was probably just as shocked and confused as I was.

I was still struggling to gather myself. My hands were shaking, and my pyjamas were stuck to my sweat-covered body. For the first time in a while, I felt cold. Sick.

I didn't know if I wanted to cry or not.

"Here, sit down." Ronan said calmly, clearly seeing the state I was in, and took my arm before leading me back to the bed. I perched on the edge of it, not sure what to say or do.

Ronan then knelt on the floor in front of me, and pushed the hair away from my face. I took hold of his hands- their coolness felt nice against my skin.

It was then that I looked at him, having calmed down a little bit.

"What happened?" I asked quietly. It was still dark outside, and looking at the clock, I realised I'd only been asleep for a couple of hours.

"I could feel your fear, Millie." Ronan said, still holding my hands. "When I came, you were asleep, tossing and turning. I assumed you were having a nightmare. I tried to wake you, but then..."

"Then what?" I asked.

"Well..." He frowned, and looked at me. "Your eyes shot open, and they were black. Before I could even react, you seemed to have shot out of bed and had me pinned against the wall. Then your eyes went back to normal, and you'd woken up."

Dread filled me as Ronan told me what happened. If my eyes were black, then that could only mean one thing. But, sitting here, I couldn't feel it. I knew how it felt to have the darkness lingering in my system, and it was something that could be felt at all times. It liked to remind me that it was constantly there, waiting.

Now, though? I didn't feel it at all.

"It can't be." I muttered, shaking my head. "It can't be back." I could feel tears beginning to sting my eyes, because the severity of the situation was beginning to hit me hard. It had been bad enough before. I'd hurt several of my friends with the darkness. Nearly killed. What if it was back for good? What if it had grown in power? But why would it want to come back to me? It hated being inside me.

Someone else's face popped into my mind then, if but for a millisecond, before my subconscious seemed to shove it back from the box I'd been keeping it in for the last few years. I barely had a chance to think about him before he disappeared again.

No. There was no way it could be him.

"Shhh." Ronan hushed, holding my face in his hands. He then came and sat next to me on the bed, and pulled me into a tight hug. I let him hug me, because it was the only thing that felt okay at the moment. He was warm and safe. "It's okay. We'll figure this out. Do you remember what you were dreaming about?"

I nodded, feeling a little calmer. "I was in this dark space." I began. "And there were Black Prometheum weapons surrounding me. They were all just floating there. I saw my own blade, and reached out to grab it, only to find that I didn't have a body. And that was when I saw the darkness. It started coming towards me, and then I spoke to it."

"You spoke to it?" Ronan asked.

"Well, it wasn't me." I said. "I mean, it was me speaking, but it wasn't my voice and I had no control over it. It was like I'd possessed someone or something. Or someone had possessed me. It's hard to explain."

He nodded. "Then what?" He asked.

"Well, it came at me. Full force. It filled me, and there was this immense feeling of power. Then I woke up." I said.

Ronan rubbed my back, which felt nice. "Let me make you a drink." He said, and went to get up.

"Wait." I said, and grabbed his arm. I didn't want him to go. "Please- can you just stay with me?"

Ronan smiled lightly. "Of course."

I got back into bed, and laid down, getting comfortable again. I didn't want to go back to sleep in case I returned to that place, but I felt exhausted. Ronan laid down next to me, and put his arm over me. His presence was comforting enough that I knew everything would be fine.

I closed my eyes, and let sleep take me.

_________