Chapter 3 - Inner Self
In front of him were two corridors forming a large "V" in opposite directions. The left corridor was lit by torches, while the right was completely dark, as if light couldn't exist there.
"Two paths… one illuminated and the other in darkness."
Trying to understand the logic of the architecture is useless, but clearly, I have to make a choice.
The door behind him was closing, and Lucan realized he couldn't go back the way he came. Even if there was no path, he somehow preferred the atmosphere of that dungeon.
With no alternative, he walked down the torch-lit corridor. If something appeared there… he had already accepted his fate.
Even so, it's one thing to say it in your mind… it's another to live it. The fear of the unknown is always greater.
Walking down the long, illuminated corridor, he squinted his eyes as he saw clothes on the floor. Approaching slowly, he turned them over and realized it was a complete outfit.
"Definitely wouldn't be just lying here like this…"
Leaving that item in place, he continued to the end of the corridor. When he got there, he realized there was no more path; his door led to nothing. An endless darkness, no path. But this darkness was different from the absence of light; it was alive.
Lucan went back and took a torch from the wall.
"Good thing it's a regular torch; if it were magical, it would go out as soon as I removed it from the wall."
He didn't want to risk conjuring his torch. With the torch in hand, he threw it forward, and it fell into the darkness, continuing to fall into a chasm until it disappeared.
Jumping into that abyss is definitely not an option.
A card item had almost infinite durability but could be destroyed. The card item also couldn't be dismissed if it moved away from its bearer.
I get the feeling that nothing returns once it falls into that sea of darkness in the abyss.
Suddenly, at the edge of the abyss, he felt two conflicting emotions: one telling him to stay away and the other calling him to jump.
"Better check the other corridor… the dark one… and hope there isn't an abyss."
Returning to his other option, he didn't notice that behind him, in the darkness of that abyss, two white moons appeared. Lucan continued his path without looking back, but deep down, he knew there was something. A sensation ran through every hair on his body as he turned his back, but he wouldn't look back.
It's better to play the fool and never be curious because I know that if you stare into the abyss… the abyss might stare back at you. Whatever is looking at me, ignorance is bliss.
Lucan turned to the other corridor without looking back from where he came, his instincts screaming at him not to look back at the presence at the end of that corridor behind him.
Arriving at the dark corridor, he did the same thing, taking a torch from the wall and throwing it. To his surprise and relief, it didn't fall into an endless void; the torch hit the ground, illuminating the area.
Approaching the torch on the ground, he picked it up and threw it farther ahead.
I don't want to walk and fall into a chasm.
He conjured his torch and held it in his hand after the wall torch he had thrown went out. Since his torch was a special item, if it went out, he could just dismiss and conjure it again. But, fortunately, his humble torch wouldn't go out. Continuing to throw the torch into the darkness, he walked just enough to stay close to it, repeating the process, picking
it up from the ground and throwing it farther ahead.
Lucan kept doing this for a while; he didn't know if hours had passed. His whole body was sweating, he was tense. Looking back, he realized that all that remained was darkness.
My way back is no longer visible, and I can't even be sure that what's behind me is the path I was on before.
Desperation gave way to fear as he realized he was alone, and only the limited illumination of the torch reached.
I could very well be surrounded by an abyss, and all that remains is the ground I'm standing on... the next step could mean my death or eternal suffering in a constant fall.
Giving in to this thought, he didn't dare throw the torch again, fearing being left in the dark.
I don't want to risk the ground I'm standing on disappearing if the light moves away from it, but this... I know fear is just a feeling, but my whole body is trembling. I can barely
take a step without imagining that I'll be condemned to be trapped in this darkness forever.
After hours of walking slowly with the torch in hand, each step became heavy, and the sensation of falling into a precipice at any moment grew. His heart was beating rapidly, and then Lucan sat down in the darkness, but stayed facing the same direction. At that moment, he feared forgetting which way he had to go; his sense of direction was no longer working. Wherever he looked, there was only darkness.
Sitting, he took a deep breath when a thought crossed his mind.
I'm alone, but if there's something out there, it will immediately know I'm here. I'm the only light in the darkness.
With the torch in his hand, he dismissed it.
"Screw it."
Lying on his stomach, he crawled like a soldier in a trench, always looking forward, even though the darkness had robbed him of his vision. He had various thoughts that if he stayed in the dark, the ground would disappear, and he would fall into the abyss, but that didn't happen.
To avoid walking toward the abyss, he lay down and crawled; if his hand didn't touch the ground, it would mean there was an abyss ahead. That way, he wouldn't fall unlike if he were walking upright.
When the fear of the dark and falling passed, only his determination to continue forward remained. After a few hours, he finally saw it.
"Light!"
A square illuminated by the glow of a torch.
A door to an illuminated corridor.
Finally, his hopes paid off. He stood up to run but halted that feeling.
Caution, if I run and there's an abyss there... I'll fall to my death right at the exit of this place.
Still lying down, his hands touched something.
Water?
Lucan grabbed his torch and illuminated it. He saw a lake and, a few meters ahead, his exit.
Do I have to swim to the other side?
Then the fear touched his mind again. He threw his torch into the water, and it kept burning, even wet. But something happened; his torch continued sinking deeper into the darkness. Calling it back, he threw it farther ahead and saw squares in the water; they were pillars that went down to the bottom… if there was a bottom.
I'll have to jump on these squares to get to the other side?
He took a deep breath and threw the torch high, illuminating all the squares he needed to jump on. Lucan ran like a madman, jumping on each one, when he felt something move in the water. Seeing the door getting closer, he gave a mental command to dismiss the torch and started climbing the stairs, running.
"Hahahahaha," he laughed, running and throwing himself to the ground on the other side of the door. He quickly closed it, not wanting to see what was climbing up behind him. He saw a wooden plank there, a type of latch called a 'bar lock,' and used it to secure the door. Lucan just sat there, listening to the sounds of whatever was out there banging on the door.
"Hahahaha," he laughed at himself, sitting there wet while listening to the creatures making whispering noises. After a long time, they stopped.
"I'm definitely crazy," he nervously laughed at himself.
Lucan sat there for a while, recovering from the terror he had just experienced.
Looking to the side, he saw a corridor with a slightly open door and what he saw…
"Sunlight."
Lucan had found the exit.