Realm Lord
Chapter 76: The Castle of Doors

Chapter 76: The Castle of Doors

Arthur and Aziel went from room to room, door to door, their confusion mounting with each impossible transition. Every doorway they passed through led to someplace unexpected, the castle’s interior shifting and rearranging itself in defiance of all natural laws. If they were in the bathroom and walked into a bedroom, then turned around and went back through the door they had just come from, they wouldn’t end up in the bathroom but somewhere else entirely—a library with towering bookshelves, a conservatory filled with withered plants, or a dusty study with maps spread across ancient desks.

Time passed as they wandered through the ever-changing maze. Their initial curiosity had long since given way to frustration and fear. The constant physical exertion of supporting Aziel’s weight had left Arthur’s muscles burning with fatigue, and Aziel’s injured foot had begun bleeding again, leaving small droplets on ornate carpets and polished stone floors.

They were now covered in sweat, standing in a huge dining room with intricate paintings adorning the walls—scenes of hunts and battles, feasts and celebrations. A massive table dominated the center of the room, stretching nearly the entire length of the chamber. It was set for a feast that would never come, tarnished silver plates and goblets arranged before each of the dozens of high-backed chairs.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Aziel yelled, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling, outwardly frustrated as he slammed his fist against the dining table, causing the nearest plates and goblets to rattle discordantly.

Arthur lowered him into one of the ornate chairs, allowing his companion a moment’s respite from the constant movement. The wood creaked beneath Aziel’s weight, releasing a cloud of dust that danced in the candlelight.

"I don’t know," Arthur sighed, running his hands through his sweat-dampened hair, "but it seems we’re stuck here. Doors here lead to a different room every time you go through them... it doesn’t make any sense, this isn’t possible. I—I don’t get it."

Arthur’s eyes were wide as he stared at the floor, sweat dripping off the tip of his nose as he racked his brain desperately trying to make sense of any of it. The laws of physics he had understood from their realm meant nothing in this place. Spaces connected that shouldn’t connect; rooms existed where they couldn’t possibly fit within the castle’s exterior dimensions.

Aziel shifted in his seat, the pain in his foot momentarily forgotten in the face of their bizarre predicament. His brow furrowed in thought before a spark of hope lit his eyes.

"Okay, well by that logic, if we go through enough doors, we should eventually end up back outside, right?" he suggested, his voice lighter than it had been moments before.

Arthur gulped, raising his head to look at Aziel who still leaned heavily against the table. "U-uh, I—yeah... probably."

"Well, let’s get moving then." Aziel pushed himself up with renewed determination, grimacing as his weight settled once more on his injured foot.

Arthur stood up straight and nodded his head firmly. "Yeah."

They walked to the door leading out of the dining room, every step measured and cautious. Arthur’s hand trembled slightly as he reached for the ornate bronze handle, slowly turning it and pulling the heavy door open with pent-up anticipation of where it might lead them. Surely there were many rooms they hadn’t even seen yet—perhaps one would finally offer an escape from this nightmare.

The door creaked outward on ancient hinges, revealing a long and dimly lit hallway that seemed to stretch into infinity. Faded tapestries hung on stone walls, their once-vibrant scenes now muted by time. Pools of flickering light from wall-mounted candles created islands of illumination in a sea of shadows.

Arthur and Aziel stopped, staring down the corridor for a second before stepping across the threshold of the door. As soon as they did, just as every time before, the door slammed shut behind them with a finality that made both young men flinch.

Arthur decided it would be worth trying to use different doors each time, hoping that would somehow change their circumstances or lead them to an exit. So instead of just turning around, they decided to venture down the long hallway, deeper into the castle’s mysterious interior.

The walls on their left and right were decorated with paintings of stern-faced nobles and scattered candelabras that cast dancing shadows across their path. The hallway went on for what felt like forever with no doors breaking the monotony of stone and tapestry before finally turning left at a sharp angle.

Just as they followed along the hallway, turning the corner, their vision disappeared. Every candle’s light suddenly vanished all at once, plunging them into a darkness so complete it felt like a physical presence pressing against their skin.

Aziel and Arthur both tensed immediately, their bodies going rigid with instinctive fear. Aziel’s fingers dug painfully into Arthur’s shoulder as he spoke out in a shaky voice that betrayed his mounting terror.

"What the hell was that?"

Arthur could still see as if the lights had never gone out, thanks to his ability. The darkness that blinded Aziel was merely a thin veil to him, allowing him to perceive the hallway perfectly fine. He scanned their surroundings but saw nothing that might explain the fires going out—no draft, no movement, nothing to suggest what had extinguished every flame simultaneously.

"I—" But just as he was about to speak, he felt it.

It wasn’t because of his dark sense that he detected it, as Aziel seemed to feel it too, grabbing onto Arthur much tighter suddenly as both of their bodies froze tensely. A presence was near... behind them... above them... in front of them—they couldn’t tell. But whatever this presence was, it defied any logic in their brains, like it was demanding fear from them through its mere existence.

They couldn’t control their reaction. Their bodies betrayed them, limbs turning to stone, throats constricting, hearts thundering against their rib cages. They were terrified on a primal level that bypassed rational thought.

It felt like they were drowning in their fear, suffocating under the weight of an invisible dread that pressed down on them from all sides. The air grew colder, their breath fogging in front of their faces despite the relative warmth of the hallway just moments before.

Then Arthur felt it in his dark sense—a disturbance in his radiance. Something with weight and form and purpose.

Behind them, it took one slow, heavy step, the sound echoing down the hallway like a death knell. Then another step, closer this time, deliberate and unhurried, as if savoring their fear.

Arthur felt like he wanted to vomit, feeling this thing in his radius. His stomach churned with revulsion and terror. The presence felt wrong in a way he couldn’t articulate—like it was a tear in reality itself, something that shouldn’t exist in this world. It felt like he could pass out any moment, his consciousness wavering under the onslaught of pure, undiluted horror.

"Ru—r-r..." Arthur struggled to form words, his voice failing him as the presence drew ever closer. He could sense it reaching for them now, stretching out toward their vulnerable backs. With a final, desperate surge of will, he forced his voice to work. "RUN!"

The shout broke through their trance of fear like a physical blow, jolting them back to their senses. Arthur grabbed Aziel tightly around the waist, supporting his injured companion as they both desperately ran forward, their feet pounding against the stone floor in a frantic rhythm.

At the same moment, Arthur felt the thing behind them accelerate—its movements changing from the slow, deliberate pace of a predator confident in its hunt to the rapid pursuit of a monster closing in for the kill. It moved faster... much faster than anything that size should be able to move.

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