Chapter 177: Episode 177 - The gap

The buzzing grew sharper, vibrating through the walls until the lightbulb above us flickered at the same rate I'd seen outside. Joe turned toward it, pale and his lips pressed tightly together.

Joe - Oh no.

The word hung between us, heavier than the buzzing itself. I felt the air stir, grow colder, as if Regum's breath had seeped into the room. The shadows on the ceiling stretched, curving into shapes I recognized: marks, faint but undeniable, the same ones I'd seen outside. I approached Joe, my voice low.

Ness - It seems the barrier was already broken, perhaps even before we crossed.

Joe's eyes turned toward me, wide and restless. His hands gripped the counter as if anchoring themselves to something solid.

Joe - If it was already broken before… then we didn't cause it. We just ended up involved in this mess.

The buzzing intensified, rattling the glassware on the shelves. A faint crack ran across the ceiling, glowing for an instant before fading into the same symbols I'd seen outside. I felt a tightness in my chest.

Ness - Which means it's been waiting for us… maybe… Maybe waiting for us to leave Regum alone.

The air thickened, pressing against my skin like invisible hands. I could feel Regum's pulse in the walls, in the floor beneath my boots. It wasn't just dripping; it was demanding space.

Joe moved closer, lowering his voice to a whisper.

Joe - Wait... If that's the case, do you think someone's behind this?

Ness - Do you think that's the case, or is it simply that Regum is claiming something we didn't expect? Perhaps it's right over the people of this world.

The buzzing reached a point that made my teeth, ears, and head ache. The refrigerator door opened by itself, the plate Joe had left clanging until it shattered on the floor. The shadows on the ceiling thickened; they were no longer faint marks, but complete glyphs, glowing with a sickly light that pulsed to the rhythm of my heartbeat.

Joe - Ness…it’s not just a leak. It’s here.

The apartment creaked, as if the walls were alive. A crack opened in the far corner, and from it spurted a glimmer, like molten glass, bending the air, distorting the room. I staggered backward, the scar burning so intensely I thought it would burst. Joe went on the defensive, his fingers glowing with his characteristic reddish-orange, a glow that transformed into flames that blazed around his fists.

Ness - No… it's crossing.

The brightness expanded, stretching upward into an irregular arc. Inside, the air rippled, and for a moment I saw the impossible: fragments of Regum itself bleeding through it. A forest of blackened trees, a sky ripped open by violet lightning, and eyes—hundreds of eyes—watching from the other side. Joe stood before me, his voice hoarse with panic.

Joe - We have to do something! This isn't just Regum anymore, it's the Earth. It's both our worlds.

But I knew, deep down, that this wasn't something we could simply close. It was a breach, a wound in reality itself. And it wasn't accidental, it was deliberate. The glyphs on the ceiling lit up, and a voice—not spoken, but directly into my skull—whispered: You left us. You thought you could walk away.

I gasped, clutching my head. The voice wasn't just sound: it was memory, pain, every scar I carried, intensified. My eyes widened, my brow furrowed, and still clutching my head with all my might, I felt it throbbing and ready to explode at any moment. The pressure in my skull increased until I thought I would split in two. The voice grew louder, layering on echoes—my own, my mother's, Luke's—all twisted in Regum's cadence.

Voice: You belong to us. You always did.

The crack in the corner widened, spilling a light that wasn't light at all, but liquid shadow, dripping upward, defying gravity. The glyphs on the ceiling ignited, and suddenly the apartment wasn't the apartment anymore; it was both here and there, Earth and Regum overlapping, merging into one another.

Joe's flames roared louder, licking the walls, but they didn't burn as they should. The fire bent, distorted, was swallowed by the brightness. His gaze turned to me, desperate.

Joe - Ness, it's drawing us in!

Ness - I feel it too!

I felt like a strange magnet, like a wind stronger than I'd ever felt, pulling us toward the crevice. I tried to plant my feet on the ground, I tried to use my magic to hold onto a wall, but I couldn't. I still felt it pulling me in, stronger than the two of us combined. The pull intensified, dragging me toward the chasm. My magic faltered, Joe's flames bent and faded, and I thought, "This is it, we have to face it."

Then, through the roar of the chasm, another voice cut through from the opposite side.

Luke - Ness! Hold on!

I turned, incredulous, as the door burst open. Luke stood there, his eyes glowing with a blue light that showed he was drawing his full power, his hands already weaving symbols that clashed with the glyphs on the ceiling. The apartment shuddered, the rhythm faltering for the first time. Behind him, Tobias surged forward, his grip firm as he held me by the waist with all his might, pulling me away from the magnetic wind. His presence was solid, steady, a force that calmed the chaos clawing at my mind.

Tobias - You're not going anywhere. Not like this.

Tobias pulled me away, while I stretched out my arms and clung to Joe, who was about to succumb to the overwhelming force. The rift threatened to widen further, but Luke, holding an earring in his hand, approached it. He held the earring forward, facing the rift, while reciting words in another language that my brain somehow translated automatically. Although I could understand, I wasn't sure if there was any meaning to the words I was hearing.

The rift stopped expanding and ceased to pull us in, though it didn't close. It simply remained there, as if expectant, as if paused. What we had seen on the other side of the breach, the eyes that had been watching us intently, had also ceased. On the other side of the breach, there was only darkness, darkness and a complete emptiness.

Luke lowered the earring; sweat beaded on his forehead.

Luke - I hope the time he gives us is enough.

Tobias squeezed me tighter; now he wasn't just holding me, he was embracing me. His voice was firm but stern.

Tobias - Then we'll use it. Whatever it is, we'll face it together.

The apartment creaked, half Earth, half Regum, suspended in a fragile balance. The paused crack pulsed once, like a heartbeat, and I realized with a shiver that it wasn't receding. It was waiting. Everything around us was no longer just the same apartment we were in; it was somewhere in between, with tiny distortions that screamed this was Regum, while spaces reminded us of Earth.

I turned to see Tobias's face, which was completely terrified and staring.

To be continued..