~Scott~

A muffling hand clamped itself around my ears, the world falling silent. My footsteps left no sign of falling, other than the sudden spurs rocketing up through my ankles, my chest aching from the strain of my heart trying to escape from between my ribs.

And then all at once I was falling again. A scream tore through the quiet, destroying it at the seams. My scream. Head over heels, lungs stifled, feathers to the face. Something was wrong, in the mess of panic throwing my thoughts in a whirlwind flashing behind my eyes.

I hit the ground, knees buckling beneath me. I hadn't realized my eyes were closed until I saw pulses of blue through my eyelids, the soles of my shoes and hands suddenly and startlingly cold.

A glittering sheet of frost spread from the impact point, an eerie glow coming from beneath my fingertips. There was no light for the ice to reflect off of, yet it gave its own sheen and light to the surrounding hall. I was back in the twisting lanes of the library, the bookshelves feeling suffocatingly close on either side.

I craned my neck upward, trying to see where I had fallen from. But it was just arched beams and paneled wood above my head.

A deep pit of unease was steadily growing in my chest, tightening just behind my sternum. My head felt heavy, my feet and legs throbbing mildly from landing. I forced myself up from my knees, standing. Like daggers on my back I could feel pins and needles prodding between my shoulder blades. Someone was watching me still.

With hands raised I began to walk slowly down one end of the hall, hoping it was the right direction and I wasn't heading deeper into the labyrinth of knowledge.

The darkness within the crevices of the stone skirted away from my feet, like water droplets racing across a stretched tarp.

You can run, but the shadows won't hide you, Scott.

The cold's icy fingers were wrapping around my throat, choking my breath in anxiety. Shadows swarmed just out of arm's reach, gathering in long jagged coils that seemed desperate to latch onto me and pull me in. I tried to divert my attention away, away from the dark, from the numbing cold gnawing on my fingertips and ears, from the goosebumps plaguing the back of my arms. From the sear in my chest, to the deep breaths I was taking, my heartbeat in my throat. And yet, like my heartbeat, the surrounding area seemed to pulse in tune, in and out of focus, both my vision and my sense of sound.

I was on edge, just waiting for one of their hands to grab me from behind, dig its nails into the skin of my wrist. I ran a thumb over my knuckles, vague white splotches spreading out beneath my fingertips just barely noticeable over my paling skin and the light layer of crumbling frost.

"Aeor, please," I whispered into the nothing, glancing over my shoulder into the darkness that laid just feet away outside of the icy glow's reach. My hand found the pendant beneath my collar, antlers carved from gold frigid at the touch. "Help me."

I knew at once that I had made a mistake.

"Your god is not here, little hero..." Exor's voice was far too close, their breath just as before along the edge of my ear. Light, nimble, yet lethal fingers grazed the underside of my chin, those same cold, dead hands. The darkness was closing in around my blindspots, overtaking the ice spreading from my footsteps.

Fear worked its evil magic for only a moment, keeping me as still as the statues of memory under the Demon God's gaze. But then my mind found its footing, taking control of my body.

I ran, the fleeting grapple of Exor's fingers trying to latch onto my neck futile.

The ice raced after me, spreading like torchlight along the walls, books, shelves and ceiling. A crackle of cold latching onto metal chains holding dead lanterns, ice expanding in the crevices of wood where water once was, splintering the beams dividing sections of particular subjects.

But I could feel the darkness follow, the wicked whistle of the creature lurking out of sight close. A scream ripped through my throat, stopping behind my teeth before it could escape, at the pale, ghostly hand reaching out from my own shadow to latch onto my ankle.

I was only slowed for a moment, before its grip slipped and I was free once again. But not for long. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't run forever. I had no sense of direction, the problem of being completely lost in an ancient ruin arising again.

I could see the shadows coming closer, dipping in and out of my peripheral vision, Exor's wicked smile lacing the black as they faded into the wall.

I twisted, a stabbing pain shooting through my wrist at the strain as I stretched out my hand. My veins throbbed before the ice around me thickened, spirals of new-forming ice exploding in clouds of frost in sharp spikes from the floor, walls, ceiling, all pointed towards what lay behind me.

I watched just long enough to see the shadows seep through the chinks within the icicle barbs, relentless in the chase.

I was angry with myself. I was the king of the elves, defeater of Xornoth. I had taken on the entire world with an army a tenth of the size and came a hair away from winning. I had the courage to take my own life, yet in death I was still running. I hated running. I wanted to turn around, face them, but my body wouldn't let me. Wouldn't let me face the god that had caused all the pain, despite how they had tried to twist the lines of the story. Wouldn't let me face the one who had tortured my brother, my sister, led to all of our deaths. I was furious, but I couldn't gain the courage that it had taken to drive that sword into my chest back.

"You're getting tired, little hero... I can give you rest." My body shuddered at their presence, their words laid thick with a false promise.

I shook my head, trying to shake their voice as it followed me, taunting. I could taste metal along my teeth, my side was on fire despite the chill in the air.

But in moments my path was blocked, the swarm of shadow gathering in front of me. A sharp pain exploded in my ankle as I tried to halt, fear gripping tightly to my chest as the darkness dissolved into Exor's form.

And they were angry.

"Stop. Fighting." They took a step forward, antlers arched towards the ceiling in deadly points. Despite the glow of the ice the darkness clung to their skin, dripping from their wrists and pooling at their feet. The red was fierce, piercing.

I tried to back away.

They reached out for me.

Slowly the thoughts nearing the back of my mind began to go blank, blurring and stretching into each other until I could no longer tell which was which. Memories of how I had gotten there and where I was slipping between my fingers as I tried desperately to cling onto them.

A lifeless hand had grabbed onto my wrist, pulling me.

Bang.

All I could see was red.

Bang.

But it wasn't Exor's red.

Bang.

It was—

Crimson flooded every corner of my vision, before exploding forwards. It slammed into Exor full force, shredding at their skin and throwing them back. An echo of rage left Exor's lips, the shadows grappling with the strands of red light, trying to force it back.

Exor's scar twisted horribly across their skull of a face, their expression melting from a grimace into a scowl of pitch black hatred. They swung, fingers outstretched towards the rings of red enclosing itself around them like a cage. The energy swerved, arcing towards the ceiling before driving straight down atop Exor's head. The god's knees buckled, but did not give out.

I scrambled backwards, panic pummeling in my throat. Pain exploded in my elbow where I hit the ground, the stone brick merciless. My sleeve tore, something warm soaking my wrist and dripping down through the creases of my palm as my fists clenched.

The brawl between the strange new source of power, the power that had guided me here, and the god continued. A violent blow to Exor's face had caused a profuse black stream to fall thickly from their nose, over the scarring on their face and onto their lips.

But they were only getting angrier.

"Coward," They spat, their voice filled with venom. "Faceless bitch."

The movements and flickers of the crimson became faster with fury, coils snapping at Exor's heels and neck like flames, streaks of pink raking their skin like burns.

Chills rattled my spine however at the grin they sported a moment later, a string of red caught around their knuckles. "Close enough." They twisted, drawing the red with them, and striking their arm towards the shelves.

A figure formed within the crimson, gaining color where Exor touched and that color spread out towards her fingertips.

Erin hit the rows of books shoulders first, pinned by her chest, just below her collarbone, by Exor's forearm. She gasped, lips parting and dry of air, hands flying to take hold of the god's wrist.

"Well, if it isn't the youngest of the Majors," Exor taunted, pulling Erin up to eye level. I watched her jaw tense, biting back a wince as her wings were forced to fold in on themselves from the way she was held. I could hardly think. I stared. She was right there, chest heaving beneath Exor, eyes narrowed in a glare down her straight and narrow nose. "I don't remember Scott inviting you to his little fantasy."

A light smirk twitched across Erin's lips, a mix of white and brown hair hiding most of what I could see of her face. Though small, that smile was dangerous. But something was very slightly off... was it bitter? "Really?" She asked breathlessly, the gravel to her voice intertwining with the playful, sarcastic edge to her tone. "I thought I was his honored guest!" She grunted as she pulled her knees up to her torso, slamming the heels of her tattered boots into Exor's ribs.

She hit the ground, giving Exor no attention while they stumbled backwards. There was an empty gorge where Erin had kicked them, swarming with shadow and beginning to rebuild upon itself.

Before I knew it she had grabbed my wrist, yanking me up off the ground. Her hands were cold, just like Exor's had been. Lifeless.

"Stop dozing off, golden boy, and pay attention if you don't want to die—AGAIN—!" She snapped, pulling me forward with even more force. I only stared for a moment longer. It was my dream all over again, except this time I was quite positive I wasn't dreaming.

She had started running with me in tow before I could find an answer.

It took me a moment to find my footing, and when I did I pulled my hand from her's, running alongside her.

"What's happening?!" I asked through deep breaths, trying to ignore the ache in my lungs.

"Bringing Xornoth here brought Exor here. Of course since this is your reality they couldn't alter it significantly by taking him over, but they've found other ways. Obviously." Erin snatched a book off of one of the shelves as we passed, opening it wide before throwing it backwards. I looked over my shoulder to see the pages separate from the binding, acting like razor blades whizzing towards the tidal wave of shadows Exor was traversing after us in.

"Okay, so how the hell do we get rid of them??"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out since I realized they were here— But your stupid ass has made it incredibly difficult!"

"What did I do?!"

"Everything!"

"What are you doing here?!"

"To be the comic relief." She spat sarcastically. "To save your ass you idiot!"

"How are you even here?!"

"My god you ask a lot of questions—"

"I have a lot more where those came from!"

"Shut UP!"

Apparently she meant up literally. We were rising, the hallway was flipping, my stomach dropped.

My ankles took the brunt of the blow as we landed on the ceiling, sprinting in single file down the center crossbeam. Why were we playing with gravity? "How—"

"NO MORE QUESTIONS."

"BUT I NEED ANSWERS!"

"TOO BAD."

I glanced over my shoulder. The entire hallway behind us was getting consumed by darkness, inching towards our heels. I was having trouble keeping up to Erin's speed— she may be small, but she was very, very fast —my lungs felt like they were about to burst. But I kept running.

I could feel the shadows snapping at my calves, Exor was still gaining on us. "Erin this isn't working—" My panic was very much apparent in my voice as I called out to my sister. She glanced over her shoulder, a wild look forming behind her eyes. "No, don't you dare, what are you planning—"

"Just keep running, I got this." The corner of her lip twitched, the glint in her eyes growing as her expression twisted into a smirk.

"Got what?!"

Too late. She was already going.

Apparently gravity really was bending to her will today. It all happened within a matter of seconds. She was in the air, throwing herself over me in a graceful arc. I glanced over my shoulder, and though my feet stayed firmly planted to the ceiling, her own force of gravity drove her feet first into the swarm of shadow, ringed in halos of red.

Gods, she was going to get herself killed. Again.

I didn't stop, but I slowed the slightest, keeping my eyes on the billow of black that Erin had disappeared into. It had stopped in its tracks, but still ate away at the walls, a solid sheet of abyss. Until it wasn't. The coils of shadow exploded, woven loosely together and leaving visible chinks and crevices to peer through.

"For Fate's sake you are incredibly annoying." Exor growled, just visible through the wisps of darkness, being illuminated by the red.

"I take pride in it." Erin's voice came from somewhere, just before a stream of red snapped across Exor's face like a whip, and she appeared from nowhere, her fist outstretched.

Exor grabbed hold of her wrist, flinging her body in the opposite direction with a stroke of their arm. Erin's wings flailed for a moment, before she steadied herself in the air, gliding down sharply to hit the ceiling again. She sprinted, leaping upwards to shove another blow overtop the god.

It was a grapple of power and sheer force. No blood poured from the gash formed across Erin's forehead at the swipe of one of Exor's hands, and only that thick, tarlike fluid trickled from the wounds inflicted on Exor's ghostly skin.

I slowed completely. I couldn't just leave her. Not again. I had no weapon. But I had myself.

I was already halfway back towards the brawling duo.

A sheet of ice exploded from my wrist forming into several wickedly sharp spurs, spiraling in the direction of the god.

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

One by one they collided with Exor's upper arm, penetrating deep into their skin. Their head whipped around in my direction, though I had no clue if the barbs caused them any real pain, rage flooding their expression. The perfect distraction.

Erin's fist collided with Exor's jaw while they were still stunned from the knives of ice sticking out from their arm. "I told you to keep running!" Erin snapped, despite looking quite happy at the blow she had landed.

"You forget I'm older than you."

"But you're stupider."

"Am not!"

"Okay Mr. I-stabbed-myself-with-a-god-killing-sword-to-try-and-save-the-whole-world. Get your heroic ass out of here."

I rolled my eyes. "Said the one who barreled into flames for me."

"Only because you were too blind to see a tsunami of FIRE!"

Clearly I was too blind to see Exor's attack too, because a moment later the side of my face exploded in pain.

The ground was no longer beneath my feet, and a second later it was under my back instead, my wing joints throbbing. I bit back a snarky remark that most likely would get my face obliterated, stumbling back up with hands raised.

Exor's chest heaved, their expression twisted in anger.

"Well you, sir, look mighty pissed." Erin commented, clearly not concerned about the possibility of getting her face obliterated. "Although I do admit, he looks better that way. The bruise compliments his eyes."

"Excuse me—" I started. "—we have the same eyes."

Suffocating silence flared throughout the library at the look Exor's expression twisted into. Still angry, pure fury.

Clearly they were not amused.

I had to remember that this was not Xornoth. This wasn't a fraction of Exor's power, this was Exor. And that was very, very different.

Exor's body exploded into shadow, shrieking streams of darkness barreling towards Erin and I like fireworks had been set off and released into the hall.

A hissing sound like smoke being released from a chamber whistled through the stone floor overhead, but I was too focused on the darkness consuming the hall, eating away at what we had just left behind.

"JUMP," Erin's voice was louder than the rest, her hand grabbing onto my sleeve and pulling me closer.

As soon as my feet left the ground (or the ceiling, I suppose?) everything changed.

With a thud the hallway shifted, rotating to be vertical, straight up and down, the end of the hall far, far, far below us.

We were stationary, mid air, hanging as if dangled by invisible strings, before we weren't. We were falling. Again.

I flared my wings, trying to steady myself in the air while we plunged. The air was frigid, slicing at my skin like daggers as it whipped passed. None of this made any sense at all.

"Scott," Erin's voice appeared again, from somewhere below me. I couldn't see a thing, just a mass of white and grey and black as my wings spun around me and I spiraled, facing all directions at once yet nothing at all. "You've got to relax."

"HOW?!" I shrieked, my heart dropping with nothing to hold onto and nothing to stabilize myself. This felt like the millionth time I was just falling.

Something hot and electric curled around the back of my neck and my torso. Energy pulsed, quick and penetrating my skin even through the fabric. And then I was flipped over.

Erin smirked at me, lying on her back with her wings tucked in tightly, falling just beneath me. She was facing away from the oblivion that was the end of the hall, it seemed to go on forever. Just rows and rows of books and shelves, a catacomb of history and knowledge.

I struggled in the air for a moment, before managing to fold my wings into one another to stop them from catching the air around me.

"See?" Erin said smugly, speaking loudly over the whistling wind, with a little wave of her hand.

I glanced over my shoulder. The darkness was still spreading, chasing us, turning the hall behind us into absolute void. "This still doesn't seem like a very good situation!" I called back, panic latching onto every word I spoke.

I could just barely see my sister roll her eyes. "This is your world Scott! Just get out of your head and change it."

"What??"

"Just change it."

My breath came out in puffs of white, immediately getting pulled past me and into the shadows. Just change it... change it how? I glanced around wildly, looking for something that I could latch my attention onto for more than a split second before it was too pulled past me.

My eyes followed the wooden beams of the bookshelves, parallel and aimed straight downwards into the nothingness the hallway had become. The bookshelves. The bookshelves.

In an instant the thought was gone, and the hall was moving again. The wooden beams making up the shelves began to twist and turn and loop, crisscrossing and opening up into a lattice of joists and supports. All around us and below us and above us, it was turning into a whole new labyrinth.

But now it wasn't a straight drop anymore.

Our momentum was carrying us right into one of the many beams now spanning across the drop.

"OH NO—"

Erin glanced over her shoulder, before her wings splayed and she crashed right into me, her fingers digging into my collar. We twisted, before we hit the board feet first, an explosion of frost and ice throbbing from where we, or rather I, made contact. Spires of ice crisscrossed the lattice, closing up the openings and reflecting off one another, creating thousands of repeating worlds going on forever.

And silence.

Erin straightened, her own breath leaving white traces in the air. We were in a tunnel now, of wood and ice and frost. Alone, I hoped. She peered into one of the jagged, frosty walls, transparent, almost.

"Nice," she said, flicking the ice. "Not what I expected you'd do, but—"

"I panicked, okay?" I replied, brushing myself off and letting my wings fall, the last couple of feathers dragging against the snow by my feet. "What now?"

Erin shrugged. "Dunno."

"What do you mean you don't know?!" I asked, wringing my hands in front of me. I was about to strangle her. "You've known what to do up until this point, haven't you?!"

"Calm down, dickwad, we'll figure something out." She snarked, hands now on her hips. "I came to one, save you, and two, add a little sparkle to this whole crisis. I haven't figured everything out yet—"

"Great. Just great." I mumbled, rubbing my face with my hands.

"Well Gem and the others should have gotten out with the—" She paused, her words ending sooner than her mouth shut. Her eyes widened just the slightest, something behind them flickering. It wasn't red, it was closer to their usual blue— green?

"What?" I asked, my attention completely snapping towards her. "What did you say?"

"Nothing, it's nothing—" She said, waving it off and beginning to wander slightly down the frosty passage.

"You said something about Gem—?"

"No I didn't."

"What do you know? Are they okay??" I asked, reaching forward to try and pull her back.

"I can't tell you that." She said, turning back around. Her jaw clenched. "You'll find out soon enough though."

"When did you become the cryptic one?" I mumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. "None of this makes sense. You died. I died. But now we have an angry god of darkness chasing after us, we're lost in a library that no one else knows about, and neither of us have a plan."

"Excuse me, just because I don't know what to do doesn't mean I don't have a plan!" Erin said, looking mildly offended.

"That's exactly what it means!" I cried, about ready to pull my hair out.

"Nuh uh!"

"Okay then, Erin. Why don't you enlighten me on this plan of yours?" I said slowly, keeping my voice low and my hands clasped together.

"I'm going to get you out of here." She said confidently, turning her nose up towards the icy ceiling.

I blinked. "That's your plan?"

"Hell yeah it is." She nodded, folding her arms with a smirk.

I took a deep breath. "Erin, THAT IS NOT A PLAN—"

Thud. The entire passage had just shaken, cutting me off.

I paused.

Thud. Little bits of frost and ice trickled down from the ceiling.

"What was that?" I breathed, glancing behind me before back at my sister.

Thud.

Erin braced herself, slowly moving towards me to face in the opposite direction, back to back.

Thud.

"Whatever it is..." Erin began. Thud. "It's getting closer."

My fists clenched, gaze flickering in every direction it could. Thud. It sounded like... Thud. ...footsteps?

A humongous eye peered at me through the sheet of ice.

I didn't even have time to scream.

The ice shattered, spraying shards of deadly frigid glass in all directions. I dove to push Erin to the ground, covering both our heads with one of my wings. Like needles the ice exploded against my feathers, digging deep but not all the way through. They attacked the back of my legs, glancing off the fabric of my pants.

As soon as the stinging stopped I was back up on my feet, my heart throbbing in my chest nearly as strong as the quakes that had left the hall shaking.

In the cavern left by the lack of a wall, was a...

"Dragon." Erin whispered, eyes going wide.

In front of us was a dragon.

It was larger than any other dragon I had ever seen, even the Ender Dragon, scales as dark as the shadows that chased us, talons longer than my forearms. Its neck arched high, high above our heads, breaking through the passage ceiling, its blackened teeth bared in a grin. Dark smoke curled from its nostrils, red eyes flashing brilliantly, reflecting crimson against the ice. Large horns curled off of its head, almost like...

Antlers.

"It's Exor," I said, watching as the beast's wings unfurled. "IT'S EXOR, GO–" I shoved Erin down the hall, breaking into a sprint.

It was Exor, Exor was a dragon, they were absolutely going to maul us into millions of pieces.

Why did we have to piss off a god.

Erin stumbled before regaining her footing, flinging herself around the corner beside me. She glanced over her shoulder, her expression wide with panic. "Why dragons?" she practically choked. "Why not— wolves. Or bears—"

"They like some dramatic flair?" I offered.

A growl-like roar sounded from just behind us, heated breath pounding against my back in waves. I made the mistake of glancing back like my sister.

The Exor-dragon was crawling after us, not a slow crawl but a dangerously swift and nimble one for their size. Its claws dug into the ice on either wall of the hall, crunching it easily within its talons, its belly gliding along the right wall like a serpent's. Its wings were tucked along its back, allowing it to fit after us in the passage.

And they were gaining on us.

In a moment of desperation I twisted, my heels skidding against the floor and kicking up snow and frost as I came to a stop. I felt the tug within my veins, the searing cold rocketing up my arms to my wrists and fingertips. Even more ice exploded from every surface in spikes and barbs towards the dragon. But it just shattered against its scales into dust. Shit. Again, the tug, the cold, even more icicles shutting the hallway off with a thick glacier.

It didn't break.

I took a step back, looking over towards Erin, several dozen feet ahead of me. She had turned around, staring at the new wall.

Crack.

A small fracture appeared in the ice.

"Uh oh..."

"Scott..." Erin called, her voice holding a tone of warning.

Another fracture.

"Scott!" Erin called again, her voice more urgent.

I was running now, back towards my sister.

An ear-splitting roar erupted from behind me, a deafening crash that could be nothing other than the ice shattering meeting my ears.

I covered my head with my arms, trying to shield my head from these new shards. Exor was being reflected on all sides, snarling with a murderous look in their narrowed eyes as they slid through the hole in the glacier, following us again.

"That did NOT work—" Erin shouted as I caught up with her, running alongside her dash.

"Wow I had NO IDEA—"

"I hate this, I hate this, I hate this, I hate this–" Erin said to herself as we dived around corners, hoping beyond hope that somehow we'd lose them. But we didn't. They just kept coming, closer and closer.

I could feel their breath again, an absolutely sickening warmth washing over me. "Can you do anything??" I asked, my ribs aching like a knife had been lodged between them.

"I mean probably?! Can't promise it's going to work—" Erin replied, glancing back again.

"Anything will work, just try."

Rings of red started to grow around Erin's wrists, she started to slow, eyes glowing crimson. "Don't spend a fortune on my funeral." She said, before diving backwards, red swirls of light looping around her body before barreling towards the Exor-dragon like lightning.

It struck their chest, then around their snout, a roar escaping its maw as it slashed its claws towards Erin's body. She dove towards the ground, sliding flat on her belly along the ice covered wood before rolling onto her feet to avoid getting sliced in half. She pulled her wrists and hands down, yanking the dragon's limbs with the strands of red towards the floor, entangling it in the ropes of scarlet.

This wasn't the first time she had done this, after all.

But suddenly, just as it looked like Erin had them trapped, the dragon was gone.

The red energy snapped back towards Erin, sliding through pure black smoke that had replaced the beast, spiraling like a tornado into a figure.

Exor's chest heaved in fury as their elven form reappeared. "I have had enough." They snarled, raising a hand up towards the ceiling.

With one snap, all of the ice burst.

I hit the stone floor of the library hall, not upside down, not vertical, back first, swallowing a gasp of air that stung my lungs. I scrambled to my feet. Exor had grabbed Erin by her throat, shoving her against the wall. Books tumbled to the floor from where she had hit it, clawing at their hands as they choked the oxygen from her.

Her eyes met mine, raspy words leaving her lips. "Get out of your head, Scott."

"Goodbye, Phoenix." Exor said curtly, before slamming her down into the ground. She combusted into crimson light, the small strands of her power fading away and seeping into the floor.

She was gone. Again.

Fuck.

Exor turned on their heel, tilting their head to the side to stare at me, expression lacking any and all humor now. "Just you and me. No sister to save you now." They hissed, blackness curling from their eye sockets as they emptied of the red, obscuring the entirety of their face instead of just the upper half.

No, no, no, no, no—

I stumbled backwards. When would I ever stop running.

My heel fell over a ledge, the floor was gone, rising up above me.

Someone's hand grabbed my wrist before I fell completely into the chasm.

I looked up.

Two purple eyes stared back at me.

A smile split across. the eight-year-old's face. "I've got you, Scott." Xornoth said in elvish, his hand gripping mine. "I'll never let you go."

I'll never let you go.

That same, dead, ghostly hand grabbed the boy by his scalp, smashing his face into the stone. His grip slipped.

Exor's face, broken into a grin, appearing just beside young Xornoth's as he pulled his head back up, nose broken and face bloody, red trickling from Xornoth's mouth and dripping off his chin.

"You can run, but the shadows won't hide you."

And I was falling.

~

I gasped, choking as I sat up straight.

I was covered in cold sweat, my shirt sticking to my back and chest, breathing so heavily for a moment I thought I was drowning.

I looked around.

I was alone, sitting in the middle of the entrance into the library.

The staircase was to my left.

Did I ever even go inside? 

***

does any of this chapter even make sense? i don't think so, no- 

but hey, that's the goal of the Scott povs

to absolutely confuse the shit outta y'all :D 

so uh, have fun with this one i guess

comments and votes are appreciated

also i apologize for the fact that it takes so long for these chapters to come out- this book, as i've said before, is unlike the other two. i have my own plot, i'm not following the events of a series and just adding my own touches like WLtDO and CF. this plot is original, and i'm still working out a few kinks, so it's going to take a little longer- please bear with me :')

and i disappear back into my void oOOoOoOo~