Do not let your mind rule you, but you must rule it yourself.
Aurelius' vision cleared. He felt a sharp pain on his back, head, and throat. His eyes slightly teared as he wiped it away, and pushing himself from the ground, he sat up in confusion.
Where am I?
Such thoughts went through his head, but he wasn't sure. He had blacked out from the pain and even screamed to the point where he thought he was going hoarse, but that was the last thing he remembered. It wasn't often that memory loss happened to him, except for a few times when he had fallen down and hit his head.
Aurelius searched around him. Nobody was present inside the building with closed windows that were dirtied and entwined with overgrown leaves and vines. In some areas, there were places where the windows were blocked entirely by vegetation; blotting out any light from coming through. It was as if the plants were keeping him in the dark.
Only the glyphs on the floor glowed slightly white and blue. Strange markings that Aurelius couldn't fully understand were in intricate patterns as they shifted into different words as it slowly faded away. Thick fog rolled in slowly around him, causing the room to darken.
Aurelius felt something wet on his fingers. Curious, he glanced down and froze. A large puddle of blood was under his legs, pooling outward like a spilled bucket of paint. His hands were covered red, and he scrambled backward in complete horror as blood slid down his thighs, leaving behind a trail in the middle of the cave. He frantically looked around his body, searching for any source of injuries, but he couldn't find anything.
The sharp pain on his back gave off an electrifying sizzle that shook down his spine. His head started to spin, making him feel dizzy. It took a moment for him to get settled and allow the pain to wash away, giving him the chance to refocus on his situation. Not too long after, when his mind was cleared, a strange apple smell wafted through the air. His nose flared open, sniffing the air.
"Apple?" Aurelius spoke, confused about where the smell was coming from. The stark contrast of metallic blood and the scent of apple wasn't something he would generally smell nor ever mingle together so well that it made him intrigued.
Does this room have an apple tree nearby?
He wasn't sure.
Curiosity lured Aurelius forward, wondering where the smell was and the reason why he was covered in blood. With a sigh of relief that he wasn't injured, he got up with some difficulty. He felt so weak; almost as if the whole world underneath him was swaying. His legs shook, and he fell forward a few times, catching himself against the wall.
"What's wrong with me?" Aurelius hissed under his breath, gritting his teeth. His hands slid up the wall in the hopes of stabilizing himself. Moving was difficult and taking the first couple of steps were torture. The hot jolting pain that shook him to his very core made him stumble again with his head hanging low. Even his head felt it had gained extra weight. He couldn't carry it properly.
This really sucked, especially as trying to smother the agony was painful to the point where he had to grip his teeth. Aurelius had to chant in his head to bear with it. Eventually, he was able to stand until the pain subsided, allowing him to breathe normally.
"Where is everybody?" Aurelius couldn't help but look around once again, trying to find at least some confirmation that there was at least someone around here who could tell him what just happened.
So far, he wasn't able to find anyone. He didn't like being alone; it made him uncomfortable and lonely. It wasn't helping him at all to see the trail of blood on the floor leading away from him. It was almost as if someone was dragged away forcefully, leaving behind the trail of blood that coated the floor.
The trail led toward a hallway that went in the opposite direction from the entrance that he had come from. Compared to the other entry, it was smaller and much more secluded, hidden away from the prying eye. Maybe he hadn't been paying close enough attention, as was his tendency, but he was sure there wasn't a passageway. There were no traces of it in the first place the last time he looked.
The howl of the wind blew through from the hallway as the whole atmosphere in the room changed into a darker, more seductive feel, seeming to beckon him in. Flickers of the pockets of sunlight attempted to shine through the windows from the side and overhead, creating a stark contrast of light and dark.
It was strange to see the light attempting to break through the dark room. Aurelius had to adjust his eyes quite a few times as he walked toward the hidden hallway. Numerous times he glanced down to see where the blood trails led. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to follow something with blood trails, but he couldn't stop himself. The thought of finding what was through the passageway was a more seductive lure that was difficult to break away from.
The hallway started to shimmer and static like a holographic monitor, causing Aurelius to momentarily freeze. He wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but that wasn't the case at all. Instead, when it didn't happen again, he walked forward, continually striding through the dim tunnel.
His footsteps kicked up the dry dust behind him, leaving a trail of bloody footsteps. His hand gripped tightly as he trudged forward wearily. Eventually, his expression changed from complete shock.
What welcomed him was an endless aquarium as far as the eye could see. He felt like he was under the sea protected behind the glass. Vibrant colors of blue, green, yellow, and red that reminded him of the rainbow continued to swim by. Beautiful aquatic fish and mammals swam over his head as Aurelius watched with awe.
Even the sparkles of the ocean water seemed to glimmer as if they were precious sapphires rippling in the water, fluctuating with the sunlight. Aurelius couldn't help but stare in awe; he watched the fish swim by as the shark followed after its prey, He walked forward, looking up, trying to take everything in.
The colors changed, shifting between dark blue, light blue, gentle green, turquoise, and even a slight tinge of orange from the setting sun that started to peek through the waters. It was a surreal feeling to see something magical underneath.
There wasn't a moment where Aurelius regretted his decision to come to this extraordinary place. Instead, he agreed with the thought that he made the right choice to arrive here, forgetting the original goal that he had previously had.
Everything was breathtakingly beautiful to the point where his hands reached up toward the window in the hopes of getting closer. The moment his fingers touched the window, the beauty of the ocean world shattered into a billion pieces of glass. It spilled onto the very ground all around him into large puddles as it clinked and clattered against the floor and swept through the hallway.
Startled, Aurelius jumped back and looked at his hand, utterly dumbfounded at what just happened. Such a simple touch had destroyed the beautiful image of the aquatic world, and what was waiting behind the illusion were pitch-black ocean waters contrasting colored marble glass that littered the floor up to his knees. The hallway dimmed as the groaning and moaning sound of metal twisting amplified itself around him.
Carefully, he scanned around to make heads or tails of the situation. His foot shuffled forward as the seabed of marble glasses clanked against his foot, telling him that the illusion before him had been destroyed by his simple touch. How it was possible, he didn't know, and all he could think of was that he was trapped in some kind of illusion.
Still, he walked forward in the darkness, as the world was static.
"Hello?" Aurelius called out, he brought his hand up to his mouth, hoping that someone would answer. "Is anyone there?!"
Only the echo of his voice answered back. Once again, there was a static sound, and the world flickered on and off, making the darkness surreal.
"Helloooooo?"
The marble floor slowly disappeared, giving him more of an even ground to walk on.
Aurelius could feel something wasn't right, especially since the moment the world had shattered. It felt as if he had disappeared into a rabbit hole to another world. Nothing made sense; making him confused and lost.
"Anyone out there?!" His words bounced around endlessly into the void, echoing back at him. With a sigh, he trudged forward, knowing full well that he needed to get out of there.
How did I get here?
The only thing he remembered was a momentary blackout. His memory was fuzzy, which brought him a slight headache if he tried to recall anything. With a groan, he pulled up his hand, rubbing his forehead in a small circular motion. He gave up trying to recall the past.
"Hello? Anyone?" Aurelius called again. Even though he knew that nobody was answering him back, it was the only thing keeping him sane. Being in this dark atmosphere wasn't helping his mood at all.
A deep sound of a low-pitched groan echoed back at his question. For some reason, fear gripped his heart, and he knew that he didn't want to stay here. He couldn't explain why, but the echo was dark and hollow. Bone chillingly depressing—such a voice wasn't something that Aurelius ever thought he could produce.
The static intensified, becoming more apparent every time the groaning echo replied, again… and again. Whatever was in this hallway was malicious; something feral that he couldn't explain. He felt the hair on the back of his arms start to rise up, and a cold shiver descended down his back. His heartbeat thrummed rapidly, telling him no, screaming at him to run.
Run! Run! Run! His mind screamed out continuously. Don't look back!
Aurelius ran, knowing full well what was chasing him was something that he could not win against. His leg pumped hard, trying to keep ahead of whatever was chasing him.
Looking ahead, he ran toward the only light that he could see. A strong current slammed against the glass wall that the tunnel seemed to protect. The window began to crack as small holes spilled out of the dark water; eventually becoming larger and larger.
Another powerful slam of water shook the glass walls. In seconds, whatever was holding the glass together burst open. Dark water spilled into the tunnel behind Aurelius. The roaring currents rushed after him, as if wanting to swallow him alive.
A large shadow swam a step behind, coming quickly next to Aurelius. Each sway of its tail broke more and more of the glass hallway in an excited vigor, spilling in more water as it swam by. It was as if Aurelius could feel the malicious monster glare, licking him from behind, wanting to swallow him up in one gulp.
"Get away!" Aurelius shouted in fear, knowing full well that a simple shout wasn't going to stop it—but he didn't care.
The monster came closer. Aurelius turned his head to the left, and he paled. What stared back at him was a red eye that burned with the intent to eat him alive. It watched Aurelius with the hint of mischievous glee as he struggled to get away.
Aurelius' heart palpitated, sinking down to his stomach. One bite was all it would take to swallow him whole. He tripped and fell into the burning light that seared his very body and soul.
Scrapes, cuts, and burns were all over him, purifying him. It was as if his whole body was on fire as he wiggled in pain as he curled up into a ball, trying his best to take the strain. It didn't take long for the mind-numbing pain to eventually fade away.
Aurelius felt warmth, safety, and even a place of belonging. This was his sacred space; he knew he was safe. He was pleased to escape the wretched darkness that almost overtook him. Aurelius even took a moment to enjoy the light that caressed his cheeks.
Peace. That was what he wanted.
Peace… Aurelius sighed. He let the light soak into his skin, enjoying the searing warmth that followed. The adrenaline slowly dissipated, allowing him to come back to his usual self.
For some reason, Aurelius felt the light start to scorch his skin as it became hotter and hotter to the point where it grew unbearable. It was as if he was in a hot kiln, baking next to bread that was being made in an oven. Though there was no sweet scent of food—but hot sweat and burnt skin. He could even taste the salty sweat that his body produced, trickling down his face and into his lips, reminding him that it was getting too unbearably hot.
Opening his eyes, Aurelius gazed around him and noticed that the scenery had changed to a hot desert. He was baffled at the change; it was as if the world had picked him up and teleported him into a foreign land. How he got from one place to another, he wasn't quite sure.
Looking behind him, the tunnel he came out from was being quickly covered by the sand. It was as if the wind wanted to cover up the pathway from where it came from, burying it underneath the hot sun. He didn't see a single drop of water and wondered if the sun had lapped it up.
The only explanation that he could think of was magic. There were just too many unexplained situations that he couldn't come up with an answer. With a final howl, the blazing hot wind pushed the last bits of sand away, completely covering up the entranceway as if everything that had happened was a dream.
Aurelius was happy to get away from one crisis, but he realized he had jumped into another.
The heat was scorching hot to the point where he felt as if his skin was melting. Even breathing was difficult, and each breath was a struggle just to gasp enough air and not burn his lungs to a crisp. His fingers slipped through the murky, sandy water. He bolted up, looked around, and tried to find his way out.
Aurelius felt a heavy pull from the sand. Every time he struggled he went deeper into the sand. The more he struggled, the worse it got, pulling him down.
"Quicksand!" Aurelius cried out in alarm, distraught at his unlucky circumstances. He stopped moving, trying to figure out a way to get out of this mess.
But it didn't take too long to notice that something was wrong. Black droplets of energy started to ooze out from the sand, popping as more tar substances bubbled around Aurelius. His heart quieted, knowing full well that his guts were telling him that the dark element was from the same black water that was chasing him in the tunnel. A pool of black energy started to form. Black chains made out of the power itself shot forward, wrapping him up in its embrace.
Aurelius struggled with every fiber of his being. The thought of being sucked into the dark water in the middle of a scorched desert didn't appeal to him, especially when it spelled death.
"Someone! Help!" Aurelius cried out.
More chains of black tendrils shot out from the pool of murky, sandy water, wrapping around his torso. It crept upwards onto his chest and arm, locking them into place the more he struggled. The black tendrils pulled him down, Aurelius' muscles screaming as he fought against it.
He didn't want to die.
No, he fought desperately to escape.
Aurelius' arm bulged with muscle as his right hand pulled against the black chain-like substance. With a snap, the chains broke apart, allowing him to temporarily escape. His hand reached over, ripping away the contents from his other arm furiously, but what followed were three more tendrils that shot out from the dark pool around him and replaced the one that had just broke.
"Help!"
Still, no one answered.
Aurelius was shackled as the oily energy spread. He could feel it up to his neck and then his chin. His movement slowed as he attempted to breathe in as much air as possible. He didn't want to die. He was afraid of what would happen next.
"Someone!" Aurelius cried out, with only the howling air of the desert wind answering his call. Smothering his voice and carrying it away, so no one could find him.
The black energy began to fill his nose; he hacked and coughed, trying to push the sticky liquid substance out. But nothing worked, and it only forced him to swallow more. He couldn't breathe. The burning sensation of water filled his lungs as his arms flailed around him, slowly becoming motionless as he reached toward the dimming light that left him.
Aurelius felt helpless, alone, and scared. An overwhelming festering emotion called anger swirled around him like a sick lesion of cancer.
Why?
Why had I been left to struggle alone?
Why was I here, stuck in this diabolical trap?
Why won't someone save me?
His vision blurred, and the last struggle of life drifted away from him. Darkness filled his every core, enveloped him back into its dark embrace as it rocked him to sleep. Centuries passed as he drifted into nothingness, forgetting who and where he was.
There was no sadness, no love or pure soft light that welcomed him in its embrace but kept him cold and lifeless. He wanted out—but the thought drifted out of his mind just as quickly as it had entered.