Chapter 159: His Whole World Engulfed

Roy kept walking with one step after another.

The further they travelled, the quieter the world became.

The laughter from the cabin had long faded into memory. The music that had shaken the walls only minutes ago was now gone, replaced by the rhythmic crunch of gravel beneath his boots and the distant murmur of waves breaking against unseen shores.

The night stretched around them like an endless ocean of silver.

Maddy rested against his back, her arms loosely hanging around his shoulders, her weight shifting every now and then whenever she nearly drifted off completely. Her normally immaculate composure had been utterly destroyed by alcohol. The woman who usually walked around with sharp eyes, cold replies and enough confidence to silence a room could barely keep her head upright.

It was strange.

Seeing someone who always looked untouchable become so undeniably human.

The moonlight caught strands of her dark hair every time the breeze passed through them, causing them to brush softly against Roy’s neck.

Then she suddenly lifted her head. "AHHHHHHHHH!"

Roy nearly stumbled. "What the hell?"

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Her arm shot outward dramatically.

"The road is moving!"

"The road is not moving."

"It is."

"It isn’t."

"It definitely is."

"You drank enough alcohol to sedate a horse."

She thought about it. "...oh."

A minute later she gasped again.

Roy immediately prepared for another drunken revelation. Instead, she whispered in horror.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"I think..."

She frowned. "...I think I drank too much."

Roy stared ahead. "Well, no shit Sherlock."

She seemed genuinely offended by his tone. "Don’t be sarcastic."

"I’m carrying you."

She went quiet; for a while neither of them spoke.

The city lights ahead grew brighter and the streets became busier. The distant glow of London started to dominate the horizon.

Then suddenly Maddy began squirming.

Roy sighed. "No."

"I can walk."

"Right."

"I’m serious."

"Maddy."

"I’m sober now."

"No."

"I am."

"No."

"I’m absolutely—"

She threw herself off his back before finishing the sentence; Roy already knew how this was ending.

Maddy landed successfully, for approximately two seconds.

Then the world tilted. Or at least it seemed to for her. Her knees buckled as she staggered left.

Corrected right.

Overcorrected.

Then sat down on the pavement with all the grace of a collapsing deck chair.

Silence.

Maddy blinked.

Then slowly looked up at Roy.

Roy looked down at her.

"..."

"..."

"I may need assistance."

"You think?"

"Your attitude is irritating."

"You’ve said that before."

"Because it’s true."

She attempted standing again.

This somehow ended worse than the first attempt.

The moment she got halfway upright, she lost her balance and immediately dropped back down.

Roy rubbed his forehead. "Maddy."

"What?"

"You’re drunk."

She thought about it. "...that’s a possibility."

Roy just sighed before crouching down again. "Get back on."

This time she didn’t argue.

Which was probably the strongest evidence he’d seen all night that she wasn’t thinking straight.

By the time they reached London properly, Maddy had sobered up slightly. Only slightly, enough to hold a conversation, just not enough to walk.

Street lamps illuminated the roads with warm amber light. Rows of houses lined the streets. Curtains glowed softly from lit windows. People finished dinners, and televisions flickered behind glass.

The city felt alive.

Maddy occasionally pointed directions. "Left."

Roy turned left.

"Right."

Roy turned right.

Then:

"Wait."

Roy stopped. "What?"

"I forgot."

Roy closed his eyes.

Several seconds passed.

"Oh wait."

Maddy pointed again. "There."

Eventually they arrived on a quiet residential street. The houses here looked comfortable rather than expensive.

Maddy weakly pointed toward one of them, and Roy walked up the path and knocked.

A light flicked on inside, and footsteps approached.

The door opened, and Roy froze.

Maddy’s mother stood in the doorway.

For a second, he genuinely thought Maddy had somehow become sober and opened the door herself. The resemblance was obvious. The same eyes. The same facial structure. The same presence.

Yet where Maddy carried sharpness, her mother carried warmth. Where Maddy looked like a storm cloud, her mother looked like sunlight after rain.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a gentle voice.

Roy immediately straightened. "There is a completely reasonable explanation for this."

Her eyes shifted to her daughter hanging off Roy’s back. "I’m listening."

"Birthday party."

"I see."

"Drinks were involved."

"I see."

"Several contests may have also been involved."

"I see."

Maddy lifted her head. "He didn’t do anything."

Both adults looked at her.

She pointed weakly. "He’s annoying."

Roy frowned. "Thank you."

"But he didn’t do anything."

Her mother studied Roy for several seconds.

Then she sighed. "Thank you for bringing her home."

Roy nodded. "No problem."

Maddy’s mother carefully took her from his back.

Surprisingly strong, and Maddy immediately collapsed against her.

Half asleep, still mumbling about butterflies.

The woman shook her head fondly.

Then looked back at Roy. "Genuinely. Thank you."

Something about her smile felt oddly familiar.

Comforting.

The sort of smile people only developed after raising children.

The door began to close. "Goodnight, Roy."

He paused. "How do you know my name?"

The woman looked down at her daughter.

Then back at him, a small smile appeared.

The same one Maddy occasionally wore when she forgot to guard herself.

The woman realised something about Roy; his eyes were the same as his... She then nods and shuts the door.

Leaving him standing alone outside. "...right."

The walk back was peaceful; the streets gradually emptied. Cars became scarcer, and the sounds of London softened.

The city seemed to settle into itself.

Roy shoved his hands into his pockets and started heading back toward the outskirts.

His thoughts drifted.

To the party. To Graham. To the photograph. To Maddy.

To everything.

Then— Something changed.

The world froze.

Not literally. But every instinct he possessed screamed.

The air became heavy.

Oppressive.

Roy stopped walking immediately, and then he felt it.

Prana. An ocean of it.

His eyes widened.

Above London, a pinkish-red light exploded across the night sky. As a colossal dome unfolded over the city, buildings disappeared beneath its glow, and roads were swallowed by crimson light. Entire districts vanished beneath a sea of prana.

The dome kept expanding.

Further. Further. Further.

Until it seemed as if half the world had been covered beneath a blood-coloured sky.

Then a voice spoke.

A man’s voice.

Powerful enough that it felt less like sound and more like pressure being forced directly into his soul.

The words echoed throughout London.

Across every living thing beneath the dome.

Roy heard it clearly, each and every syllable and every word.

Yet somehow—none of it made sense.

The language felt impossible.

As if reality itself refused to translate it. As if the human mind wasn’t meant to understand what was being said.

Back at the cabin, half the building had been engulfed by the dome. Half remained untouched, some stood inside the crimson glow, while others stood outside it entirely.

The party had stopped instantly as confusion, fear and questions began to arise. Nobody understood what they were hearing, and nobody understood what they were seeing.

The voice continued.

Relentless and unintelligible.

And then—light.

A single flash erupted from the centre of the dome.

Bright.

Far brighter than lightning and far brighter than daylight.

For a single impossible moment, London became white.

Not illuminated, but simply erased.

The city disappeared beneath pure light; the flash climbed into the atmosphere. Beyond the clouds and beyond the sky. Bright enough that, for a heartbeat, it looked as though a second moon had been born over England.

Roy threw his arm across his eyes.

The world vanished.

And then—Nothing.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The kind of silence that comes after something has changed forever.