Book One – Chapter 13

She was an existence of no Rothar and no physical matter, yet when she had compressed her form, she had become a presence. She was not a phantom presence, not a dark shape or a shadow in this light-drenched environment, but she seemed to affect the Material Dimension. Midnight knew because even though she was nothing, the light started to flow around her. Beams of light, formerly prismatic reflections and straight rays, visibly bent in their trajectory towards her as if Midnight herself was attracting them. Unintentionally, she was pulling these phantom presences of light towards her.

The beams were not like Yves’ attacks of light, not like spears that had touched her when she had been a beast. Instead, so gradually that Midnight could observe the changes, the light started to form ovals and rings around her. The omnipresent beams formed an intense orb of light with her at its center, encircling the ripples that extended from her essence. There was still no pain, but the phenomenon unnerved her. Midnight had always been a creature of stealth; regardless of the reason behind the disturbing spectacle, this light was a growing target on her.

Immediately, she compressed herself even more, condensing into the mass of ripples she had been during the fight against the shadebeast, who had aggressively reduced her to the size of a patherren — a cup-sized manifestation of her former self. This intuitive compression not only further reduced her size, or rather, her reach, but also made the beams of light bend even more strongly and from a greater distance. The denser Midnight became, the larger the orb grew.

And then, something more happened. Suddenly, the darkness tethered to her essence began to erode. She felt herself being expended, exhausted merely to exist in the light-filled environment. Immediately, Midnight retreated from the light, seeping back into the mountain. The moment she did, the circular orb dissipated. Enclosed within the rock but with her senses extended, she felt the beams thinning and straightening back into their natural form. She attempted to emerge once more, but as the orb reformed and condensed around her, she once again felt her form disintegrate and diminish further.