Like Inception, I felt like I was in a dream within a dream. Sounds echoed through my head, but I didn't understand them.
'What's wrong? I asked.' as I pulled my body off of the floor. Sticky mucus fell off my body as I did. 'What's wrong?' I asked again, but still, I got no answer. 'I must be hallucinating,' I thought as I felt the strength in my body return slowly.
My body burned.
'Let's try to use the mist to cool down.' I thought, but as I called for it... the familiar feeling of coldness and the tingles from the chill did not appear.
'Hmm.' I thought. 'It looks like the trial has restrictions? But why am I feeling this amount of heat?' I questioned myself as I slid forward.
Luckily for me, the heat had died down to a bearable temperature, but still, I continued to burn from the inside out. As if spontaneous combustion was a phenomenon that actually existed, I could feel my entire body burning as whatever it was, was coursing through my veins and throughout my body.
I looked around as I sweated and beads of mucus slid down my face.
I was still in the dark room, but it was slightly different.
Red. Glowing dark red.
...
I moved forward even more towards the red glow. As if the world was responding to my movement the ground began to shake as a red path appeared before me. It didn't take me long before I found it had lead to.
A spiked-shelled snail.
Standing in my way the snail stared me down and I recognized it. It was the leader of the spike-shelled snails that I had seen so many days ago. The same leader that had unfortunately died due to me and its unluckiness.
'Why... why is their leader here?' I questioned as I stared at its tiny body. I was now twenty times its size and it could barely even stand up to me at that point.
It looked back at me. The rage in its eyes was evident but understandable. It had died an unjust death.
Badump. I heard my heart beat loudly within my head as the urge to murder something grew within me without reason. 'What was that?' I questioned in my mind as I began to pant. 'Why am I feeling this way?' I thought as I was unable to control my emotions at all. Taking deep breathes I managed to calm myself before I looked at the snail ahead of me once more. Again the pang of anger grew, but this anger was soon replaced with the feeling of guilt.
'This is completely weird.' I stated to myself as the feeling of guilt washed over me completely without. With it came weakness and hesitance ... I knew that I had killed it before, but I had gotten over it. I didn't understand why I was feeling it again.
'Why is this happening?'
But before I knew what was truly happening, the Spike-shelled snail began to screech as it charged at me like I was Goliath.
Tap.
I felt a light tap as its body slammed against my foot and rebounded off. My skin too thick for its spikes to penetrate me.
"What are you doing?" I asked as I tried to control the flash of emotions that fell upon me. "If you're here from the grave to get revenge, then I'm sorry. I'm too strong for you now. Besides. I believe that balance had been achieved. I killed you and your colony I admit. But attacking me won't do anything."
It didn't hear me. Screaming it came at me once more.
'It's just an apparition. Maybe it's part of the challenge?' I thought as I tilted my body slightly. In one motion, I batted the Spiked-shell away weakly.
Tink. But I didn't know my strength. I knocked it away, way too hard. Hitting the floor, its shell instantly shattered and its body splattered over the floor. It's probably how it actually died.' I thought as the feeling of guilt inside me only grew.
Then poof.
It disappeared into a cloud of dust.
It was followed by a rumbling sound.
Soon the sounds of chattering filled the room as thousands of shadows appeared around and shifted in the darkness.
'What's that?' I questioned as I squinted to see in the darkness. As if the room welcomed the new arrivals, the red light that was glowing around me brightened.
And then I saw them. Their mandibles opened and closed as their small black eyes stared straight at me. Their antennae bobbed up and down as they surveyed the surroundings, but I knew. I knew that they saw me.
Instantly a wave of rage washed over me as the guilt that I had felt just moments before disappeared.
Badump.
Although my vision was blurred the last time I saw them, I recognized them. 'You.' I thought as I felt my anger growing. Instantly like something had broken inside of me I charged forward as memories appeared in my head.
Badump. Badump. My heart beat harder and faster as memories of the migration blasted through my mind. Hundreds of snails were carried off. Through my blurry vision, I could only watch while the six-legged dark creatures carried my siblings away back then and I vowed internally that I would get revenge against them.
Badump. Badump. Badump. My heartbeat accelerated as adrenaline coursed through my veins.
'They are here now. I can AVENGE YOU ALL!' I thought as I suddenly accelerated forward without a thought as I charged at the thousands of enemies in front of me.
...
The first trial had truly begun.