Thrum!
The Grand Abbot stared at John, eyes wide, mouth slightly agape. It was an expression never before seen on the man's face, at least not by anyone during the last several hundred thousand years he had roamed this world.
He was a man of incomparable experience, a man of complete control over his emotions. And yet, he felt only disbelief at the moment.
Thrum!
A thrumming sound echoed out within the void, soft, yet completely noticeable. It was like the pulse of a heartbeat, slow, but steady.
Thrum!
The sound echoed again, slightly louder than before. It came thirty seconds after the prior, and was followed by another slightly louder thrum thirty seconds later.
Thrum!
Thrum!
Thrum!
The thrums continued, each following the previous in perfect timing, like the ticking of a clock. Only the ticking was growing slightly louder with each thrum, as if the clock were becoming more and more powerful with each passing tick.
Thrum!