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Vajra POV...
Well I've got heartaches by the number...
Whistling my way along, I walk throughout the sewer and out the gate. It's time to do a little grave robbing. Although an act that seems shameful, I don't mind since it furthers my goal.
As long as it furthers my goal enough, then the means are justified. I look up towards the sky, a white hawk catching my eye as it flies overhead. The hawk is eclipsed by the sun before my eyes, seemingly disappearing within its brilliance.
I look back down as I walk, having had enough of staring directly at the sun. My eyes hurt from doing so, as if there were some kind of... solar protection lenses for eclipsed objects.
Step by step, I walk across the ground until the sun is blocked out by clouds. It begins to rain, the water seeping into the ground and turning dirt to mud. My boots begin to dredge up small bits of mud, sticking to my boot as if clinging to a life unlived.
Disregarding the mud or the rain, I keep walking forward and to the west as my hair grows damp. If anything, this rain makes it more advantageous for me due to the possibility for natural lightning.
The buildings around me eventually become thinner and thinner until it's simply open grass reaching forward and towards my destination.
I hear a church bell far off in the distance, the chime resounding throughout the city.
Wrought iron bars connected to a blackened gate, as tall as a giant and wrapped around stone pillars as if briars. Moss climbs the pillars, as if scaling a grandiose tower to heaven.
The gate is imposing as all could be, as if trying to scare it's onlookers away from the graveyard. A pair of rusted and bloody spikes wouldn't look too terribly out of place, to be honest.
In the middle of the grand yard lies a spire, like that of a church yet distorted. The spire twists up and up, as if it had been mangled by a catastrophic and tumultuous force.
At the bottom of the spire is a door, decorated in what appears to be melted silver. But too much skipping ahead when I'm still outside the gate.
I jaunt towards the gate, grabbing a bar and giving it a solid pull. No good. I put my other hand on it this time and put my left foot back, attempting to wrench open the gate.
It doesn't work and now my back hurts. I let go of the gate and crack my knuckles, deciding to just climb the damn thing. Thank god no one put wire at the top of this menacing fence, man.
I put one hand above my head on the gate and then the other before sticking my foot onto a diagonal bar and pushing myself up. After that, I raise my left hand and then my right before repeating the entire process.
In a matter of around 12 seconds, I get up and straddle the top of the fence I use my hands to take pressure off my legs before getting my other leg on the side of the fence I want to be on. I put my hands on the top of the fence before simply letting go and falling to the ground.
"Oommphh..."
A small grunt escapes my lip as I drop, the breath slightly leaving my lungs.
Unfortunately, I forgot about the mud and immediately slip, banging my head against the ground and a rock. What a day to have a tough body. I roll over onto the side, having hit my ribs fairly hard as well. My hand runs through my hair and comes back with a bit of my blood on it.
I just got no-diffed by a tough fall. If I didn't have mana, that would've killed me, I think. I curl up slightly, rolling onto my stomach before pushing myself off the ground.
Most of my clothes are now covered in some delightful dead people mud thanks to my humpty-dumpty-esque fall. I begin walking through the yard, past some old and ill-maintained gravestones, and towards the door.
I see a keyhole on the door, which is what concerns me the most, because I swear to god if I need a key to get past this...
I grasp the large handle of the door to the crypt, pulling them towards me in expectance. Unlike the entrance gate, this one seems to actually open when attempted. How lucky for me.
I walk through the door and close it behind me, being greeted solely by a set of descending stairs. The stained glass chapel-like windows catch the light from the outside and morph it into a disgusting green.
The windows have a picture in them, depicting some kind of coffin containing a king inside of it.
His face is comprised of mere bone, a golden wreath wrapped around his skull as if it could protect him from some afterlife threat. His right hand contains a sword whilst the left contains a torch with a fire that burns black as the night.
Gee, how welcoming.
Well, what exactly was I expecting from a place called an Imperial Crypt? Sunshine and rainbows? I descend the steps with aching feet, tracking some mud on the steps that I feel might slip me once again. I'm starting to dislike mud.
It's thick and yucky and it gets everywhere.
You know what would really help this crypt out? Some railings on this staircase. Speaking of the lack of railings on this staircase, I slip and begin to tumble down it. Probably should've taken off my shoes.
I curl up into a ball to protect my head, tumbling ungracefully down the stairs and sadly hitting every possible step. The only silver lining is that no ones here to witness it.
This is definitely not my best moment, definitely a lowlight in the 2 lives I've lived.
Like the ball in a pachinko machine, I eventually reach the bottom of the stairs. Took a few seconds, but we got there.
Standing up, I feel like I've already fought half of the battle and am currently losing. The passageway from here is lit by torch light, as if the atmosphere wasn't bad enough.
I start hobbling forward, my legs quite sore from all this falling. I'm not seriously injured, just really achy in places that usually aren't achy... and also slightly bleeding from my head, but who cares? I most certainly do not have drain bamage!
Heartaches by the number? Nah, regular aches by the number.
I can hear my footsteps upon the stone echo into the distance, letting me know that I'm in for a fun time. Boy, oh boy! I sure do love horrors beyond my comprehension.
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