_________
Constellation Progress:
— — — — — — ___
2 of 3 Trials Completed
_________
Good… Just one more left…
I could no longer stay awake and drifted into a deep sleep.
When I opened my eyes, all I could see was black. My hands and arms were visible, but my surroundings were not.
Immediately, I knew something was off. It was the same feeling of being watched but brought up to a much more intense level.
Chills traveled from my spine to all of my nerves.
Sweat dripped from my forehead.
Goosebumps covered my body.
My hair stood straight up.
Something about this place… It is activating every physical fear response in my body. I tried speaking out, but even that was impossible.
What is out there…?
I could only frantically check my surroundings, but they were all the same black. It soon began to feel like there were eyes. They were watching me, staring at me with extreme attention, not wanting to divert their focus.
I could only lay there, basically paralyzed, terrified of what any of it could be.
!!!
Something's touching me! What felt like a hand covering my face, preventing me from seeing, was not like I could, anyway. Another traveled to my chest, right where my heart is.
Shhhhh… Shhh… Shhh… Shh…
A voice whispered constantly in my ear. At some point, it felt like the entire void was filled with whispering.
Soon after, the hand on my heart changed positions. I could feel something sharp connecting with my chest.
Wait…!!!
— — — — —
"AGHH!" I screamed, feeling a sharp pain in my heart.
It was like a large knife was penetrating my heart. Whatever it was stabbed me continuously.
"D-damn i-it!" I yelled, frustrated and defeated.
I was in the shack earlier with Sothis, but he was nowhere to be found. The inside was the same, and even the door was still broken.
Anyway, it was painful, yes, but it wasn't like the others, where I couldn't at least get up. I'll just have to deal with it for now…
I'd been so focused on the pain that I didn't notice the smell coming from atop the table. It was that pleasant, alluring smell you experience waking up from your grandma's house.
My body moved on its own, walking to the table. The food lured me in, literally.
"Woah…"
Seeing this made me realize just how hungry I was. My attention was on getting through the trials and heading to Celeste. Once that realization hit, I could feel how exhausted I'd been.
My entire body was sore. It felt like I could collapse at any moment.
Sothis entered without me realizing, "Yo!"
"Oh, what's up?"
Sothis sat on a chair, inviting me to the table.
"Your constellation isn't fully activated, but I decided you needed a little break. We can't have your body breaking down before we get down to real business, can we?" Sothis explained.
I should also wash up, I feel nasty, and my clothes are still tattered.
The food wasn't anything too crazy, just something you'd eat for a nice breakfast: Sunnyside eggs on top of homemade fries and hash browns accompanied by a glass of water. Keep in mind that this was a large plate filled to the brim. My mouth watered without realizing it, making me forget whatever I was stressing about a few minutes ago.
"Bon appetit!" Sothis said, eating his share.
I couldn't care too much about how sloppily I ate; my body needed fuel.
While we ate, Sothis spoke, "I had to get you outta there real quick. You were in bad shape after the fight, haha."
Now that he mentions it, my arms, torso, and a bit of my legs are bandaged. They stung a bit, but not to the point of paralyzing me.
"You did great in there, ya know!" Sothis congratulated me, stuffing fries in his mouth.
"It was a little pain in the ass but worth it in the end, now I just want to move on."
"I like that energy, but relax a little more after you eat, alright?"
After eating, I decided to head to the river to wash up.
"That reminds me, I cleaned your hoodie. Although, you could've maybe rocked it painted red."
I looked at him, then at the hoodie, and said, "Yeah, nah, but thanks."
It was cleaned now, but I didn't feel the need to wear it for the subsequent trial. It's not like it would help raise my defense or anything.
"You got another toothbrush and toothpaste?" I asked, heading out the door.
Sothis got up from his chair, walked over to the cabinet, pulled out both, and handed them to me. He said, "When you get your constellation, it will typically take care of hygiene such as this."
That was definitely a plus. Guess that means I'd just have to work harder.
I washed up really quickly further along the river and headed back.
Feeling refreshed, I was ready to continue. Even the stinging heart pains had gone away.