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Chapter 153 - The Ember Games (17)

A hulking shape hung upside down from the ceiling rafters, wrapped in what looked like a cocoon of shifting shadows and rope, swaying faintly like it was breathing. Long, black tendrils trailed downward like spider legs, curling in the stale air.

Two glowing eyes blinked open, locking directly with his.

Ezra's brain short-circuited.

He went completely still.

His soul left his body, took one look at what he was seeing, and promptly considered reincarnation.

'WHAT IS THAT?!'

His heart slammed against his ribs.

'Is it a thrall? A corrupted spirit? Did I just lie down under a cursed ceiling beast?!'

The shadows stirred again.

'Oh gods, it's alive. It's ALIVE. It's gonna drop down and eat my face—it's a monster. A ceiling demon. Born in darkness. Raised in nightmares. And I've just taken a nap beneath it like an idiot—'

He bolted upright with a strangled noise halfway between a gasp and a high-pitched wheeze, nearly tripping over the edge of the bed in his panic.

Then the shadow mass shifted—

—and waved.

Just a lazy, upside-down wave.

"…Hey."

Ezra blinked.

The terror short-circuited into confusion.

"…Asli?"

The black cocoon unraveled a little, revealing the very familiar face of Asli, his body wrapped in a thick weave of shadow threads that shimmered faintly like silk. His blindfold was slightly askew, and his expression was completely deadpan.

"Yo," Asli replied casually, still hanging upside down.

Ezra gawked at him.

"You… you're wrapped in your own shadow? And just hanging from the ceiling like a goddamn cursed chandelier?!"

"…Yeah."

"Why?!"

"I got bored. Also cold," Asli said flatly. "It's warm in here. Like a sleeping bag. With gravity."

Ezra opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

"You terrified me. I thought you were some kind of ceiling demon about to suck my soul out."

Asli tilted his head—still upside down.

"Ceiling demon?"

"Yes! You were just hovering up there, with your creepy rope cocoon and glowing eyes, like something out of a horror film! I was this close to throwing a rock at you!"

"Well," Asli muttered, "That feels a little…..shadowphobic."

Ezra pinched the bridge of his nose. "You can't just hang from the ceiling like that. People live here!"

Asli shrugged. Or at least, the upside-down version of a shrug.

"I don't see the problem."

Ezra sat up, still catching his breath.

"You scared the absolute crap out of me."

"Well. Should've knocked."

Ezra stared at him for another long, exhausted moment. Then he dropped back onto the bed with a groan, rubbing his face.

"This trial is going to kill me. And it's not going to be the enemies—it's going to be you."

From above, there was a pause. Then—

"So… mind helping me down?"

Asli's voice was casual, but there was the faintest hint of sheepishness beneath it.

"I, uh… might've gotten a little tangled."

He gave a small wiggle, swaying gently like a very dramatic wind chime.

Ezra didn't even lift his head.

"You got stuck? In your own shadows?"

"It's not stuck. It's strategically cocooned," Asli replied defensively.

He twisted again. Nothing happened.

"…Okay, maybe a little stuck."

Ezra groaned again and dragged himself upright.

"Unbelievable."

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