Inside an Incomplete Novel

The pulsating music reverberated through the walls as I left the group behind and slipped through the throng of people, making my way towards the second floor.

The inauguration party was in full swing, and I knew the leaders of the firm would be gathered there

As I passed the dimly lit gallery adorned with beautiful paintings, I hit the lift button. Suddenly, a familiar voice startled me from behind.

"Where are you off to?" Ruby inquired, her soft voice barely audible above the music.

I turned around to face her, "Just taking a little stroll," I replied, feigning innocence.

"Doesn't look like a stroll to me," she remarked as she raised her eyebrows sceptically taking in my confident stride and glancing around curiously.

"Why don't you come with me and find out?" I suggested, the lift doors opened with a soft chime.

I stepped back, gesturing for her to enter, and followed her into the life and pressed the button.

The doors of the lift closed as it started descending with the silence that surrounded us.

Suddenly, the lift came to a stop and the doors slid open with a gentle chime. I stepped out into a new space, a set of interconnected galleries or corridors, each adorned with a series of exquisite art pieces.

The lighting was much brighter here than on the upper floor, giving the entire area an ethereal quality.

Despite the crowds, there was an aura of serenity and elegance that pervaded the atmosphere. A soft piano melody filled the air, adding to the already enchanting ambience.

As I looked around, I noticed everyone engrossed in their own conversations, yet still aware of their surroundings.

I felt Ruby's hand interlock with mine as she positioned herself on my right.

"What's the matter?", I asked.

"Never been to these kinds of places as a guest", she replied.

"As a guest? You don't like people noticing your presence excessively?",

"I can bear with one or two, not these many", she replied.

"You'll get used to it",

"You don't seem nervous?", she asked.

"Why should I be?"

Suddenly the world altar's piece in my domain emitted its own energy trying to send the waves outside as a person in a black and grey suit passed by me.

'Someone found another piece', I thought. The world altar's piece in my domain emitted its energy, and I knew what it meant.

'How is he -?', I thought as I turned around, I saw a person in a black and grey suit who also stopped and faced me.

We looked at each other for a moment, and then he turned around and increased his speed, signalling trouble.

Someone who had found another piece, but that wasn't the problem. I could contain the emission of aura because I had the piece in my domain, but that shouldn't be the case for the other person.

"You," I said, pointing at Ruby. "Go back and regroup with others,"

I commanded, and a shadowed figure stood behind Ruby. This one was much more powerful than the other shadows I had.

I broke free from Ruby's hands and followed the trail of the person into the ballroom as I fetched a mask from the tray that servers had on the entry of the room. The grand ballroom was buzzing with activity.

I scanned the crowd, my eyes darting from person to person, searching for any sign. And then I spotted him. The man in the black and grey suit, making his way through the throng. I followed him, keeping my distance, but my eyes never left him.

He moved quickly, weaving his way through the crowd with practiced ease. The moment he exited the room from the other side, he started running. I kept up, staying just out of sight as I followed him down the long gallery.

The man moved with a grace that was almost unnatural, his form not sloppy in the slightest.

He reached the end of the gallery and turned to face the wall, which was made up of thick glass. With a sudden burst of energy, he leapt towards the wall, his body slamming into it with incredible force.

I expected the glass to shatter, but instead, it turned into a veil of water as the man passed through it and disappeared.

The guards stationed at the exit stopped in their tracks, staring in disbelief at the empty space where the man had been just a moment before.

Some of them even touched the glass to confirm what they had seen, but it was just a solid piece of glass once again. The room fell silent as everyone tried to make sense of what had just happened.

"<Prometheus – Domain Binding>", I muttered connecting both of our domains as I could now sense his location.

I followed the same track and, with a powerful leap towards the glass disappeared just before the collapse creating an environment of hostility and shock amongst the guards in the gallery.

I can neither reduce the distance nor create any when both of us are in our own domains.

"<Dissonance>", I said as time slowed down and both of our domains shattered making our land on the rooftop of the buildings in front of 9th Heaven.

He fell imbalanced on the rooftop but got back up in no second and jumped to the other.

With a burst of energy, I chased after him as he jumped from one rooftop to the next, his movements quick and fluid.

"<Domain Segregation: Warp Reality>," I declared, feeling my domain expanding at an unprecedented rate, engulfing both of us. But just as it was about to enclose us in, he took out a card and threw it at the ground, neutralizing my domain's power.

I teleported beside him and a powerful punch stacked with my aura but it passed through him as he turned into smoke.

As I gathered my senses, I felt his presence behind me. Reacting quickly, I turned around and blocked his kick, sending shockwaves through the ground that shattered the glasses of the building behind me.

His eyes were like those of a lizard, with marvellous golden irises that emitted a golden hue, adding to his domineering presence.

"Got you", I said triumphantly.

"Really? For someone who is sustaining a life-threatening injury, you are quite resilient", he replied in a low growl, a wicked grin etched on his face.

His hair grew longer, adorned with golden enchantments that sparkled with malevolence.

"…"

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" he taunted as I released my grip on his leg.

"No," I muttered icily, my eyes glowing with a blue and red hue as dark, twisted nerves spread across the ground around us.

"Then what?" he said, tilting his head with a sly grin.

"I have no interest in knowing how you obtained that information," I said coolly, channelling my suppressed fury into a crackling aura of thunder that pulsated around us.

He took a step back, visibly intimidated by the raw power I was exerting.

"How are you this strong despite bearing a massive wound in your soul?" he asked, his voice laced with a mix of awe and trepidation.

"There is no point in justifying my strength to you," I retorted with a cold, hard edge.

"Dead men tell no tales, after all."