Fearing the Night

The lights within the research lab began to flicker in a bizarre way, one Kieran couldn't wrap his mind around no matter what. Gossamer threads of smoky darkness rippled in the air, seeming as if it wanted to go to war with reality's ever-present light.

Curious of the dimming metal bed, Kieran touched it to see if it remained material… and it did, which made it baffling to try and understand. Then again, understanding his own ability to ruin through an infernal flame or by way of ignited blood was just as confounding — for a mundane human, of course. 

One who had not ventured into Zenith Online at all.

Kieran retracted his hand and circled the table. He noticed blackened veins start at Altair's fingertips and creep up his arm like a prowling assassin bathed in shadows. Catching Altair's pained expression and the exaggerated grunts that often escaped his lips, Kieran gathered he, too, was paying a cost. 

Only… his seemed different.