The being once more felt that same static as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He felt the cold ground on his skin as he regained awareness. The soft sound of wind which once whirled past him had vanished; and as he opened his eyes, he found that the once bright, infinite landscape was now gone.
He stood up to better observe his surroundings. All around him, a black void filled his eyes. The air was stale and damp. A low-pitched drone echoed through the darkness, eerily growling across the plane.
As his eyes adjusted to the blackness, he noticed jagged, geometric shapes in the distance. The shapes were still, unlike the shifting shapes of the world he first found himself in. Unlike the seemingly infinite distance between him and those in that world, the shapes appearing to be part of the sky itself, these darker shapes appeared to be of finite distance.
The being, still curious of the world around him, traveled to these shapes, the ground compressing slightly with each step as though it were covered in a thin layer of sand. As his eyes adjusted more to the darkness, he made out more details of the world: subtle variations in the sand covering the ground, exposing a smooth surface beneath.
The shapes, once silhouettes against the dark sky, now appeared as small buildings; slanted roofs created sharp contours from which metallic pipes flowed like vines, seeming to wrap themselves around each structure, interconnecting each house like webs in an almost organic manner.
The being explored this new environment, navigating the town through the darkness, following each pipe, each alleyway as though it were some massive maze. Occasionally, there would be a brief illumination from a streetlight, breaking the darkness and silence in short flickers. The being followed each flicker, almost as though it guided him through the empty streets. The flashes revealed strange geometric writings on signs and buildings. He couldn't make sense of them; curiosity whirled in his mind on their meanings, and moreover, where they might have come from. Despite his minimal knowledge, the emptiness of the town was palpable. Objects which seemed to have purpose, to be used sat lifeless, rusting and eroding with the passage of time. Yet other objects seemed fresh, as if used just recently.
He continued to traverse the winding roads of the town, traveling deeper into the maze of streets and pipes as the buildings became taller, larger monoliths. The evidence of life was even more evident here: winding footprints littered the dusted streets, leading him on searches for their source and destination. He followed them down alleyways and side roads, the footprints grouping up in a chaotic nature as they wound around corners and narrow streets. He began to see small drops of pitch black liquid following the footsteps, becoming larger and forming small puddles the further he went.
Dashes of that same liquid stained the walls like ink, dripping down and mixing with the dust on the floor below. The pipes widened and narrowed as he walked between them, the smooth metal speckled with black.
Ahead of him, he began to hear a strange noise; a grunting, almost organic, yet distorted. It had a dissonant pitch to it, overlapping with itself and distorting even further. It was only when the being carefully walked along a narrow alleyway, following a trail of liquid leading to it, did he find the creature from which the noise emanated.
It was a strange creature. Its flesh was a dark gray; blue veins wound around every inch of its skin as though they were roots claiming mounds of earth. Covering its body were hundreds of crater-like protrusions which appeared to open and close with a slow rhythm, as though the creature breathed through them. Its limbs were long, bony things which flesh twisted around loosely, warping and moving in an unsettling manner with each subtle movement of the creature. It was hunched over the body of another being, its flesh was paler and smooth much like the being which studied the scene before him, hiding behind a group of pipes to avoid notice.
The creature appeared to claw away at the body's flesh with long, gangly black fingers, spraying a black liquid across the floor which, now apparent to the being, was blood. Splashes of it dashed the floor, flowing out into a great puddle around the corpse. Each handful of flesh the creature stuffed into some maw on its face. The being hid far behind the creature and was unable to get a good look at its face.
Suddenly, the creatures head perked up. It let out several distorted breathy noises. The being carefully stepped backwards, wary of the creature's actions. In a snapping motion, the creature turned to face him, its face now fully on display. It was like a large gaping maw, teeth sticking outwards from all sides, gooey black saliva strung between its teeth which chattered together, creating an eerie clicking sound. Within this mouth, a small glowing orb hovered, vibrating slowly, staring at him as if it were some sort of eye. The being stood up, his heart pounding, prepared to bolt at a moment's notice at the first sign of movement from the creature.
The creature's head began to twitch; slowly at first before transitioning into a faster, chaotic shaking as its body tensed up. Its face contorted inwards as it breathed in before letting out an ear-piercing scream which echoed through the empty alleyways of the city. The being flinched at this and hastily turned around, sprinting down the narrow alleys, dodging pipes and taking sharp corners. Behind him, the creature gave chase, bolting after him on all fours, its twisted legs springing off the ground as it galloped at him.
The being quickly darted around a corner, nearly falling over as he caught himself on the ground before speeding back up once more into a full sprint. Behind him, the creature, unable to decelerate in time, smashed into the wall, letting out a distorted yell of pain as its body struck a metal pipe. It quickly rebounded, regaining its speed and giving chase once more, fastly gaining on the being.
Its claws kicked up dust, leaving long scrapes against the ground as it ran, howling and screaming in an unnatural, pulsating manner. The being looked back, hearing the nearing of the sporadic stamping of the creature's claws against the ground.
It quickly closed the distance, pouncing on the being. He slammed into the floor, forced down by the creature's weight. He turned his head to look at it. The creature stared at him, its teeth twitching as juices dripped onto the being's face from within the creature's contorted jaws. Its claws dug into the flesh of his back, drawing a stream of oozing black blood. Had he a mouth, he would have howled out in pain. He winced, his body trembling. He opened his eyes to find the creature staring at him still, its face inching closer, mouth widening, teeth chattering and twisting. As the being looked at it, eyes widened, he felt a surge of fear engulf him. It overwhelmed him, tearing away at any sense of reason or logic. He felt a static feeling spreading through his body once more, flowing down his spine like a river and outwards to his fingertips. His vision darkened, a blackness filling his mind.
When he came to, he found himself lying face down on something. It was cold, wet, and had a slight squish to it. He regained consciousness to a greater degree and propped his body up. Parts of it clung to him; strings of viscera stuck to his body and face. He looked down at it. It was the creature, its body torn and mangled, its face caved in. Pieces of pale bones jutted out from its gored flesh. Blood dripped outwards from a fresh wound on the being's face, likely dealt by the creature's claw.
He touched his hand to it and looked at it. He found the sight of his own blood strange. It was pitch black, like the blood of the corpse he had seen before, like the blood of the creature whose body now lay before him. He stood up, feeling a slight sense of vertigo and confusion. Questions filled his mind of whether he was the one who killed the creature and, if so, how he even managed to do so.
Laying beside the creature was the small glowing orb which once hovered within its maw. He picked it up, looking at it closely. It seemed to respond to his touch, humming softly and glowing brighter, illuminating his surroundings. He took it with him, using it to better see in this world of darkness.
He continued exploring the empty town, looking at smaller details now with his improved visibility. He saw small writings on walls in some indecipherable language, scratches left behind on surfaces in a chaotic manner, symbols etched into various objects.
He followed the winding roads and pipes and came upon a square hole in the ground. Looking down it, he could see no bottom. A faint mechanical sound echoed through it, slowly getting louder. After a moment, a box emerged from the hole. It was hollow, one side open, allowing him to view inside through a barred metal gate. Within, a pale yellow lamp dimly glowed, highlighting sharp contours of details etched into the walls. Suddenly the gate opened with a loud creaking sound. He stepped inside out of curiosity, feeling the box move slightly under his weight. Behind him, the gate closed, making the same creaking sound. The being panicked, slamming his hands against the bars to no avail. The box began to move, descending back down into the shaft from which it emerged as the being took one last look at the dark city before him.