As the dust settled, a hidden opening emerged before us, revealing a narrow tunnel ahead. The passage seemed to whisper secrets, inviting two curious souls to embark on another journey into the unknown. The tunnel's embrace felt chilling, as though time had folded back to our first descent.
I glanced at Stephen, noticing a distant look in his eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked with concern. He nodded, a faint smile on his lips, and gestured towards the entrance. "Shall we?" he said. I responded with a nod, and together, we stepped into the mysterious tunnel beneath the hill.
As we entered the tunnel, its narrow walls seemed to twist and turn in strange ways, playing tricks on our senses. The path ahead appeared to shift and sway, as if the very ground beneath us was undulating. It felt like walking through a funhouse maze where every step altered our perspective.
I glanced at Stephen, but his expression mirrored my confusion. The tunnel's eerie atmosphere intensified, with shadows dancing along the walls and ceiling, distorting our perception of space. It was as if the tunnel itself was alive, constantly changing its form to confound and disorient us. We pressed on, our footsteps echoing in the shifting corridors, unsure of what lay ahead in this topsy-turvy maze.
The glowing worms clung to the tunnel's walls, their light creating a magical display. As we went further, the worms defied gravity, crawling on the walls and ceiling, creating a dreamy dance of lights. Their soft glow revealed intricate patterns on the tunnel's surface.
Now and then, droplets of water dripped from above, catching the gentle light of the worms as they fell. The droplets moved slowly, creating a soothing melody as they landed in small puddles below. The water, too, added to the enchanting atmosphere, forming a captivating interplay of light and liquid in this ever-shifting environment.
As we ventured deeper into the tunnel, things took an intriguing turn. The ground started shifting at peculiar angles, defying the usual rules of gravity. Those worm-like creatures, once predictably crawling, now gracefully moved between the walls and ceiling, almost like they were choreographed.
The air thickened with an otherworldly essence, and the surroundings took on a dreamlike quality. Luminescent worms, once a comforting guide, now flickered like a mysterious beacon. The passage seemed to warp in length and width, creating an unpredictable journey into this distorted maze.
Abruptly, we found ourselves in a cavern, and the intriguing distortions persisted. The cavern's dimensions fluctuated, creating an illusion of vastness and confinement simultaneously. It felt as if the tunnel had birthed a space where reality itself was a flexible concept.
The luminescent worms in the cavern emitted an eerie glow, revealing pools of stagnant water. The once still water now rippled with unnatural movements. Shapes slithered beneath the surface, unseen but suggested by the distorted reflections dancing on the water.
Approaching cautiously, the luminescent worms flickered and dimmed, casting elongated shadows that seemed to writhe in tandem with the mysterious movements in the water. The air grew heavier, carrying a sense of foreboding that matched the uncanny spectacle unfolding before us.
"What is happening?" I ask myself but I could not come up with a reasonable answer because everything was strange to me too. I wondered if this type of stuff scared him too but I quickly pushed those thought to the back of my mind and I tracked on .
As we ventured deeper into the seemingly everlasting cavern, an unsettling unease crept over me. The glow from the worms, once comforting, now flickered erratically, casting grotesque shadows along the cavern walls. My eyes darted to Stephen, and horror gripped my heart. His gaze, once vibrant, now held a disturbing emptiness—hollow voids that sent shivers down my spine.
Timothy, standing nearby, underwent a ghastly metamorphosis. His lively features contorted into a ghastly semblance of a corpse. Terror consumed me, and I took a step back, finding myself suddenly outside the tunnel entrance.
When Stephen asked, 'Shall we?' my expression twisted into one of horror. The world seemed to warp around us as the macabre transformation of Stephen unfolded, casting a chilling pallor over the once-familiar scene. Stephen noticed my distress and quickly reassured me that everything would be alright, but my gut told me a different story.
My gut screamed "danger! danger!" But the mission, oh, what was the mission again? I can't believe I've forgotten why we're here. I turned to Stephen, puzzled, and blurted out, "Hey Stephen, why are we here?"
He chuckled, and I swear, his answer added more confusion, "Oh God, June, have you forgotten already? You're the one who suggested coming to the Reaper's Nest to explore and bond." He smiled, and I just nodded, shocked by my own boldness. Did I really ask him out? Well, might as well make the most of it. As we stood there, he extended his hand, waiting for me to grasp it. I did, and with our hands entwined, we entered the tunnel together
"ESCABULUS REV"...
....
Meanwhile, appearing right below the Titanic statue of Hentesa, Lenard, Finn, and King Amadeus all glanced towards the sky. King Amadeus broke the silence, "Speak."
Lenard nodded and told the king the same story he had just shared with Badu Larohua, albeit twisting it here and there. He emphasized the king's death and the gruesome demise of his wife and daughter. Lenard also mentioned how his death had come at the hands of Romano and Baichun, which shocked King Amadeus greatly. The king listened to every detail Lenard spoke, and after Lenard was done, King Amadeus gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"You could have at least shared the details with me first, and then we could have devised a much better plan or even canceled the wedding ceremony. But I understand why you did it. Let's just hope that this is enough to stall destiny," King Amadeus spoke. Lenard chuckled.
"Who said anything about stalling? This is where we change our destiny as a whole. The threads of our destiny are already interwoven, but today we can cut those threads and weave new ones that don't involve death. Right now, you need to do everything I say, exactly as I say it, and maybe we'll come out of this alive. Alright? Now, wait for my signal, both of you," Lenard spoke quickly without explaining his plans to King Amadeus.
Right after they finished speaking, a man clad in night armor appeared from the shadow of the Titanic statue. He had discarded the sword that was supposed to be at his side, but he kept his armor on.
"That's the Destroyer, right?" King Amadeus asked, and Lenard nodded, stepping out.
"I believe you are Apollyon Twyla, the Destroyer woven from a double thread. A myth, a legend. I'm honored to be in your presence, but I have to ask, why are you here?" Lenard inquired to the man in Nesa'ean royal guard armor, but he received no response other than a whisper, "shadowscape: veiled city." Almost instantly, Lenard screamed, "Scapes now!"
"Firescape: Hell," murmured Finn. King Amadeus whispered too, "Waterscape: Kingdom of the Trench."