A shiver ran through Azrael's very being. It was something he hadn't quite felt before but it felt familiar in a way. Closing his eyes, he let the rag he had been using to clean the bar slip from his hand to the floor. He needed to focus on what it was he could feel. Tremors ran through the essence of the universe and he knew whatever it was, he was close to it.
Concentrating, he threw his spirit from his body, tethering it so he could find his way back. He hadn't astral projected in some time, but it wasn't something he could ever forget. In this form, he could see his surroundings more clearly. Feel the structure of all things. He floated higher and higher so he could view as much of Preya as possible. Every ripple in that place in time and space was visible to him. And there it was. The disturbance. He could see it so clearly now. It looked horrifying... He had to find it. Throwing himself back along the tether to his body, he came to and opened his eyes.
Was that a gateway? A portal? And was it truly inside the body of a child? He saw the spirit of a child trapped, or rather traces of him, clinging on for dear life. No, this couldn't be, this had to be some kind of trick.
Without as much as a second thought, Azrael vanished, reappearing outside the shed he had seen from the astral plane. He could feel the gateways power, hear whispers calling from the great void beyond. He had to stop it somehow. At least silence it for now.
Seeing the child huddled up in the dirty shed broke Azrael's heart. The shard of his actual Heart that he kept around his neck, seemed to pulse with a faint light in response. Kneeling down, Azrael reached out to touch the child's shoulder firmly. While he wanted to close the gateway, he didn't want to risk whatever was in there retaliating and harming him either. Azrael understood that he was going to have to try his best to be careful with this one.
"Hey kid..." he said gently. A pearly light bloomed from his palm, intended to help keep the poor kid calm. He was hoping he might be able to at least dull the gateways influence over the boy. "You gotta snap out of it. Come on. Hear my voice and come back" he pleaded. The glow from his hand pulsed as he tried to influence the gateway, trying to draw Will back.