"You are..."
"Death."
A sudden laughter resounded in the chamber.
A voice reached their ears, mixing with the laughter, "Don't worry. That was just a joke."
After a pause, the voice continued, "I'm a sincere painter."
But none of their faces relaxed. Instead, a single word resounded in their minds: "Living monster." They intently tried to gauge the person standing before them.
The person seemed like a gaunt and eerie figure, with long silver hair that fell like a veil around his pale face. His eyes were sunken and dark, with an unsettling intensity that seemed to bore into the souls of those they gazed upon.
The skin of his hand was deathly pale. He wore tattered and stained robes, with threads of crimson and black that seemed to writhe like living serpents.
When one of them focused a little more, his face went blank, his eyes grew impossibly wide, and he was transfixed with horror, unable to look away no matter how much he wished to.
Suddenly, a palm fell on his shoulder, snapping him back to reality. "Oh my God! Where have we ended up?" he roared in his mind but didn't show it on his face.
Soon, his gaze fell on the person's hand, where he held a bag hanging down, even the little threads visible. It didn't take long to understand that there were heavy instruments inside.
At this realization, their pupils widened, and all their comrades' gazes met. A feeling of déjà vu washed over them. "We f*cked up."
Suddenly, a playful voice rang in their minds, "Huh, guessed already," which made them shiver down their spines. The last sentence the person uttered brought goosebumps to their skin, "Spoiling the fun, but don't worry, I know how to welcome guests."
With the last sentence, the person disappeared before their eyes, and the leader regained control. "We need to get out of this hell," he said, but suddenly an eerie voice resounded through the entire ruins, "Hahaha! Let's play hide and seek. I'm counting to five."
---
Suddenly, a screech came from the middle-aged man who hissed, "Brother, I can't explain more than this," and sat down, clutching his head.
Seeing the condition of the middle-aged person, the leader patted his shoulder. "Okay, I understand the grief of losing," he said, glancing toward the other middle-aged man whose eyes showed disappointment. Comfortingly, he added, "Let's let Vidham regain his condition before narrating his story."
Vidham suddenly stood up and, glancing toward his comrades who had now become his life-long brothers after spending around four months together, decided to clarify everything. With a deep breath, he revealed everything in one breath.
"Brother, I'm sorry. After that incident, I was heartbroken and those memories etched in my mind like there was no tomorrow, always haunting me, even in the daytime. At that time, I traveled around many cities and towns and even used up all my savings, but there was no cure for these horrifying memories. These memories always seemed to try to provoke me, evoke my feelings, and make me rush toward those ruins, but somehow, I managed to control myself."
"In that time, I couldn't even consume one meal. I was forced to use magic stones to level up and maintain my satiety and hunger. Like that, I managed to sustain myself for one month, but my limits were also reaching."
"In that moment, I decided to commit suicide because I didn't have the courage to face those monsters."
"In the end, I did try, but somehow, I didn't die. I was found in a hut and treated by the nomads. I don't know how, but they even sealed those memories." After narrating his background story, he slumped on the chair and asked, "Do you know what the nomads said to me?"
All the leaders and the middle-aged man glanced at each other with narrowed eyes and finally asked, "What?"
Vidham took a deep breath and revealed, "They told me to never unseal my memories or I can never escape his clutch. They also said that you were lucky we found you earlier and managed to seal the cause, because otherwise, no one would have been able to save you."
Lamenting his luck, he explained with a little frown, "The memories were indeed sealed, but I can still intuitively feel that terror, which reminds me never to unseal them as I level up. As for the dreams, the nomads said that as long as I don't unseal or take the initiative to roam those ruins, I can be safe."
Glancing toward the leader and the middle-aged man, he pleaded, "Brother, I have always supported your decisions, but this time, please listen to me. Never even think about exploring those ruins, or..." He didn't finish the last sentence, but everyone understood clearly the horror of those ruins.
One of them whispered, "Four months have passed. How much stronger he has become, no one knows."
"Hmm, you are right. It's better to be safe than sorry."
The leader suddenly asked, "Vidham, do you still remember those nomads?"
Shaking his head, Vidham replied, "No, brother. Those nomads cured me and disappeared from that place. I don't know where they went."
"Hmm, that's why they are called nomads."
"Okay, the plan is canceled," and their gaze fell toward the gate from where the sound of footsteps was coming.
Knock*
"Enter."
All the players, the team leader, and the explorer entered the room. Their gaze fell on the middle-aged man sitting among their members, and they understood that he was the camp leader.
The team leader took the initiative and said, "Thanks for saving us."
The camp leader nodded with a blank expression. "Hmm. Can you narrate your adventure?"
The team leader glanced toward the members and the explorer and explained, "We went to those abandoned ruins..." Little by little, the team leader explained everything and acknowledged their own carelessness.
All the narrowed gazes of the camp leader and the middle-aged man fell on Vidham. "This seems more horrible ...."