Kelvin's eyes snapped open, only to squeeze shut again as a wave of excruciating pain surged through his body.
Every slight movement sent shockwaves of agony radiating from his chest, where the pain was most intense, centered in the upper right part.
The pain seemed to hold him captive, paralyzing his thoughts as it demanded all his attention.
After what felt like an eternity, the torment began to subside, settling into a more tolerable level.
Yet, even as the sharpness of the pain dulled, tremors continued to ripple through his body, reminding him that the agony still lurked just beneath the surface.
Had his eyes been open, he would have seen a bright, milky halo slowly diminishing from his abdomen toward his chest.
With great effort, Kelvin forced his eyes open, every movement taxing his exhausted mind.
As his vision adjusted to the dim light, he took in his surroundings—a rough-hewn tunnel where he lay sprawled on the cold, uneven ground.
'Where am I?' The question echoed in his mind as he struggled to process his situation.
Before he could fully comprehend his surroundings, another sudden wave of pain struck, this time concentrated in his head.
It was overwhelming, forcing him to abandon any thoughts of his location as he focused solely on surviving the onslaught of agony.
Disjointed memories began flooding his mind, each scene more bizarre and incoherent than the last.
The memories of two distinct individuals clashed chaotically within his consciousness, amplifying the pain in his head.
The confusion and disorientation were unbearable as if his very identity was being torn apart by the conflicting memories.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of suffering, a semblance of peace settled over him.
The pain in his head began to recede, allowing him to start sorting through the chaotic mess of memories.
Slowly, he began to distinguish between his memories and the foreign ones that had invaded his mind.
But just as clarity started to take hold, a guttural growl echoed through the tunnel, jolting him from his thoughts.
His eyes snapped open again, scanning the tunnel for the source of the primal sound that sent his senses into overdrive.
Squinting into the darkness at the far end of the tunnel, he made out the large shadow of something steadily approaching.
Instinctively, Kelvin attempted to move, testing his proprioception, but the growing intensity of the approaching growl cut his inspection short.
Recognizing the imminent danger, he forced himself to his feet, suppressing the residual pain that threatened to topple him.
Despite his disorientation, a fragment of memory provided him with a rough understanding of the tunnel's layout.
He quickly but cautiously followed the cart tracks, which led him into a large, tower-like cavern.
According to the fragmented memories, this was a central hub for all the resources mined from the tunnels.
Kelvin had emerged from the sixth layer of the mine.
Without hesitation, he made his way toward the stairs leading down to the lower levels of the cavern.
The growls behind him grew louder, accompanied by a chorus of unsettling, bestial sounds.
Instinctively, he knew he had to reach the exit or find another smaller tunnel before the creature fully emerged from the darkness.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the beast forced its way out of the tunnel with a piercing screech that reverberated through the cavern.
Kelvin looked up to see a massive rat-like creature with coarse brown fur covering its entire body.
Its elongated snout and drooling maw, filled with jagged teeth, spoke of the untold horrors those fangs could inflict on flesh.
'Goddammit,' Kelvin cursed as the creature's identity clicked in his mind. It was an Earthen Mole, a beast from the memories that weren't entirely his.
With a sudden sense of urgency, he abandoned the idea of reaching the exit and instead searched for the shortest path to a smaller tunnel, knowing full well the beast's capabilities.
Nearby, a large square platform hung suspended by ropes secured to a chain that stretched across to the opposite stairs.
Kelvin gauged the distance, contemplating the jump, but a sudden whooshing sound above him warned of imminent danger.
Without a second thought, Kelvin leaped for the platform.
The deafening crash behind him confirmed the disaster he had narrowly avoided—the beast's lunge missed him by mere inches.
Clinging to the metal structure, Kelvin pulled himself up and secured a stable position before turning to assess his next move.
The entire staircase had collapsed under the creature's weight, leaving a heap of splintered wood below.
Kelvin watched intently, but his limited knowledge of the creature told him not to be hopeful.
The shifting of the debris confirmed his suspicions.
The fall had not harmed the beast; it emerged from the wreckage unscathed.
Kelvin kept a vigilant eye on the creature, observing its movements.
To his relief, it seemed unaware of his presence.
The creature sniffed the air and objects on the ground, growling and clinking its teeth, but it hadn't detected him yet.
For the moment, he was safe.
But first, he needed to recall what he knew about the creature.
As if on cue, details about the beast resurfaced in his memory.
According to the miners' orientation, the mine was the nesting ground of a magical beast known as the 'Earthen Mole'—a species of blind, rat-like creatures that thrived underground, feeding on ores with magnetic properties.
Kelvin couldn't fully grasp all the information his memory offered, so he focused on the most pertinent details, sparing himself from the headache that intensified with each attempt to retrieve more.
Armed with this limited knowledge, Kelvin took a deep breath and began formulating a plan.
He needed to either kill the beast or find a way to prevent it from chasing him once he made a break for the exit.
He scoured the cavern for anything that might aid him in his endeavor.
The ground was littered with tools, but the platform he stood on was barren, save for a few chunks of stone.
He would have to make do with what he had.
Grabbing a piece of stone, Kelvin threw it some distance away, toward the opposite direction from the exit tunnel.