Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Tap, tap, tap.

Eraqus felt his heart drop down into his stomach at that sound. It was late. Very late, and no one should be up, at least not without a damn good reason. Eraqus slowed his steps, ensuring silence through the halls of Scala Ad Caelum. If it was another student, he’d just tell them he forgot his books. He really didn’t want to get in any trouble.

The tapping stopped, then started back up again, this time coming from further ahead of him…No… Above him.

The keyblade wielder looked up slowly, listening to the rattling in the ceiling and taking a step back. The rattling paused, then continued, this time closer. One of the ventilation panels began to shift before it was removed entirely. Eraqus raised an eyebrow, wondering what kind of madman would sneak through the building’s vents? He would soon eat his thoughts, breath stopping and heart pounding, when he saw what emerged from it.

It wasn’t another student. Hell, it wasn’t even human!

Long, thin arms, tipped with claws reached down, the palms laying flat against the ground as it pulled its spindly body from the vent. The thing’s chest glowed with a pulsing red light, highlighting its metallic lower jaw. Its head was rounded like a black glass helmet  with antennae that protruded from the back. Its torso was sickly, every rib visible, making this monster appear starving. Finally, following the protruding spines, Eraqus saw the source of the noise. Its tail had spikes that open and closed in a pattern, making clicking noises with each movement.

Standing up, the monster was significantly taller than he was. Eraqus tried to move back, his heart being squeezed. Never in his life had he seen a Heartless that looked so vile, so dangerous. It moved its head to the side, a ring of pure red eyes, that looked as though they were made from the same material as the marking on its chest, looked at him. Eraqus could only guess that there were three on each side of its head.

But the thing didn’t move.

In this horrid, dark lighting, it might not have been able to see him. Taking another step back, the heel of his shoe got caught on one of the protruding edges of the wall, tripping him over with a loud thud.

The creature definitely heard that.

Its head snapped in his direction, a low rumble echoing in the hall. Eraqus gasped and fumbled to his feet. The creature opened its mouth a tiny bit, crawling on all fours once again to chase after him.

Eraqus had no choice but to run.

He turned around and fled, trying to keep his voice quiet. If he guessed correctly, and this creature couldn’t see him, then it hunted by sound. His feet carried him far, but weren’t fast enough to dodge the monster’s attack. It leapt up and tackled him, only giving Eraqus a split second to summon his Keyblade in retaliation.

The thing clamped its jaws around the steel, growling and salivating. Eraqus struggled to force the creature off of him. Its claws scraped the tiles on either side of his head, tearing up the floor. It wouldn’t be an easy task to fix. One swift kick to the creature’s chest sent it into a coughing fit, allowing Eraqus to wiggle out from underneath and make a break for the exit.

He ducked into a classroom, yelping as the monster threw the tables. Eraqus dove behind one of the few that was flipped onto its side, pressing his back against the hard wood. He held a hand to his mouth, trying to stop any sound from leaving his lips. He could hear the thing’s panting breath, its sniffing, and the horrific clicking of its tail as it tapped against the chairs.

Tap…tap…tap…

Like it was searching for him. This thing, whatever it was, wanted to eat him. He knew it. That's why it salivated as soon as it knew he was there. The ribs, the hunting, everything pointed to Eraqus being nothing but food for it. He clenched his fists, trying to ignore the sweat of his palms. Squeezing his eyes shut, Eraqus forced himself to think of any way he could get out of this situation.

The sniffing of the beast grew closer, signaling to Eraqus that his time was running short. He looked around frantically. If worst came to worst, he would have to try and sneak his way out.

The testing hall became eerily silent. Eraqus didn’t know if the monster left, or if it was waiting for him. He didn’t hear it leave, which didn’t bode well for his survival chances.

Looking to the side, his breath caught in his throat. The monster’s tail was slithering up to the leg of the overturned table, which rocked under a new weight. Eraqus feared what he’d see when he looked up, and was met with an even worse sight than what he imagined.

The demon loomed overhead, one of its sharp clawed feet resting atop the table, shifting it ever so slightly as the creature moved to look over Eraqus. He saw the underside of the creature’s jaw as it undulated and moved with every breath it took. The sides of its neck puffed as it let out a throaty growl.

Eraqus couldn’t look away. The thing was so close! If he so much as moved a muscle wrong it would snap him up like he was fresh fruit. And with the sharp teeth he had the pleasure of seeing up close, he wouldn’t last a minute, keyblade or not.

The beast let out a low pitch clicking noise, turning its head in every direction. Was it…using echolocation? It seemed as though it was, because the moment it turned to the side of the table Eraqus was hiding, its head began to tilt downwards. Eraqus just watched with bated breath, waiting for it to rip his head clean off.

A whispery echo rang through the near empty room, catching both Eraqus and the creature off guard. Latched onto the large windows was yet another creature. It had eight large spider legs with an odd membrane connecting them together, forming webs like a dragon’s wing. Despite the darkness, it was easy to see the humanoid body the limbs were connected to. The main body was segmented, similar to a bee’s, with the legs wrapped together and forming the abdomen.

It waved one of its four arms at the beast hunting Eraqus, commanding it to come closer. The beast let out a howl of understanding and bounded over, jumping through the now open window. The second creature ducked through the opening as well, using some sort of dark portal to reach in and close the window from the inside.

Lighting from outside flashed, illuminating the spot where Eraqus sat, and highlighting the second creature. Eraqus felt his breath get stuck in his throat as he and the spider-monster locked eyes. Despite its odd outward appearance, this thing, whatever it was, had a human face. Though the features were indiscernible, its auburn eyes were unmistakable. It kept its gaze on him for a little while longer, enough to make Eraqus think it was going to go after him too, before it latched the window’s lock and slowly crawled its way up the building, disappearing into the night.

The keyblade wielder let out the breath he was holding, doubling over and holding a hand to his mouth. He wanted to vomit so bad.

Thunder resounded from outside the Land of Departure, following the lightning that lit up the halls. Eraqus blinked at his surroundings, watching as the fading memory of the two monsters dissolved. He rubbed at his eyes, then scratched at his chin, trying to refocus on the book in front of him. Stormy nights like this always brought back the reminder of what happened that night.

It was the last time he had ever seen those two things. And yet, for some reason, in the past sixty-six years, Eraqus could not forget the look in the spider’s eyes, and how human it was. It terrified him. To know that a creature so alien could mimic a human being so perfectly. He was certain now that those two monsters were in fact True Darkness, and that he narrowly escaped with his life.

Yet he still couldn’t stop the question that plagued him to this day.

Why didn’t the second creature attack if it knew he was there? Was it toying with him? Wasn’t darkness supposed to be cruel?

He was interrupted from his thoughts when the sound of distant thunder was unexpectedly accompanied by knocking at the door. Confused, Eraqus stood up and walked over. Peering out the window, he spotted a Radiant Garden guard standing outside, soaked by the rain.

Eraqus opened the door and silently gasped.

The man in the guard’s uniform was standing before Eraqus, holding a black-haired youth in his arms. The teen wore odd clothing that wrapped around his body, designed in the likeness of the human musculature system with bright red lines on his chest. His arms were dripping blood, or at least something similar, as it dissipated as soon as it hit the ground.

Eraqus dragged his eyes away from the kid to look at the man holding him. Grey eyes met deep brown, as the guard just stared at him coldly. Blinking out of his supposed stupor, the guard cleared his throat.

“My…nephew needs medical assistance,” he muttered. “Can you help him?”

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