Chapter 12: Shadows and Resolve
Karen's heart pounded in her chest as she crouched behind the twisted remnants of a shattered column, the cold stone biting into her palms. The darkness of Voth's Soul Domain swallowed everything—light, sound, even hope. It felt like the shadows themselves were alive, crawling, hungry.
She could barely see Joshua amidst the shifting abyss, but she could feel the fierce energy radiating from him. His aura pulsed like a beacon, unwavering even as tendrils of darkness whipped and snapped around him.
He's holding his ground… Karen thought, breath shallow.
Her mind raced. The feeling of power in that domain was suffocating, oppressive. She knew—instinctively—that no one below High Soulborne should face that kind of force and live unscathed. Yet Joshua wasn't just anyone.
Beside her, Leslie and Marie exchanged anxious glances, their usual twin confidence shaken. Jim's fists clenched tightly, eyes never leaving the battle. Even Cassandra, usually distant and aloof, seemed tense, her breath hitching as the shadows thickened.
Karen's fingers twitched. Her own proto-domain, Shadow Bloom, pulsed faintly in response to the abyssal darkness—a wild, strange echo of the power they faced. She felt the weight of her own soul-bound weapon, The Abyss prototype, humming softly, as if beckoning her to step forward.
But she stayed back, watching. Learning.
If Joshua can hold his ground here, maybe… maybe I can get stronger. Maybe I can survive this world.
Her mind replayed Joshua's lessons—the control of soul energy, the weaving of domains, the discipline of weapon mastery. Each memory was a lifeline.
Suddenly, a tendril whipped near her hiding spot, and she instinctively raised her hand. Dark petals erupted from her fingertips—sharp, flickering like living shadows. They flared, slicing through the creeping darkness, creating a brief, fragile barrier.
"It's like a shadow garden," Marie whispered, eyes wide. "Your proto-domain… it's really alive."
Karen swallowed hard, steeling herself. The battle was far from over. But now, more than ever, she knew her place in this strange, shadowed world.
She would grow.
She would fight.
She would survive.
....