Remirg Kryptos was dumbfounded at the opening of another passage. All of his brainstorming seemed to have vanished into thin air at the appearance of another trial.
"Now now now, am I supposed to fight another one of these bastards to get out of this hellish place?! Damn the Simulator!"
Lines appeared on his seamless forehead, reflecting a pang of annoyance on his face. He surely wasn't willing to face another fatal scenario.
[THE Z-TIER SHADOW DUNGEON COMPRISES OF THREE DIFFERENT HALLS. THE SILA, EDEN AND SYLPH HALLS. EACH OF THE HALLS IS GUARDED BY A RESPECTIVE SHADOW ENTITY, WIELDING DIFFERENT ATTRIBUTES BUT THE SAME LEVEL OF COMBAT SKILL.
THE CLEARANCE OF THE THREE HALLS WILL RESULT IN THE EVICTION OF THE PLAYER FROM THE DUNGEON, VIZ, ESCAPE.
HIGHER LEVEL REWARDS WOULD BE DROPPED ACCORDINGLY ON COMPLETION.
CURRENT HALLS CLEARED :1]
Mark, clearly mapping the situation, popped a new notification containing the necessary details at the right time. At the exact moment.
Reading the message, Remirg Kryptos produced a new expression. One which Mark had always liked. That of ambition.
A shine passed his eyes at the mention of higher-level rewards.
Though a person may judge Remirg to be possessed by greed, the greed to attain power. But Remirg was a creature of his own. A creature who only existed to initiate and dictate radical movements and revolutions.
He didn't crave power. He needed power. Power which would allow him to lighten the flame of revolution in the minds of the inhabitants of his planet. He needed the power to overthrow the oppressive rulers.
He needed power to rid the world of all evil.
But little did he know the real reason why he was bestowed with such a cursed blessing. The one and only being who concealed that information was the one residing right inside Remirg, his system.
Nevertheless, with a renewed vigor, Remirg Kryptos made his way out of the massive hall into the passage, taking long strides at a time, killing all of the emotions that resisted his victory.
Entering the passage, Remirg was met with a huge cuboidal corridor lined with cracked stone bricks. The floor was neatly tiled with stones and embroidered with symbols. A red carpet spread out in the center of the corridor gave Remirg the way.
Torches, bright white in color, provided light to every corner of the corridor, making the passage look like the very path to heaven. The path to Eden.
Eyeing at the message again, Remirg investigated the information he had received.
If his source was entirely right, as that was the only source he had, then he had to fight two other opponents to get the hell out of this place. It was going to be a pain in the ass. But still, he will do it.
Taking brisk steps, Remirg Kryptos started pacing the length of the corridor. He walked on till he was able to see a distant source of light, glowing like a point object, at what looked like the end of the corridor.
This time there were no loopholes or booby traps in this corridor. It appeared to be as plain and simple as it could be.
And he was true.
Swiftly arriving at the end of the beautifully carpeted corridor, Remirg was met by a dazzling sight.
A great room, constructed wholly out of marble, beautifully adorned with ornamental incisions in the walls and the pillars. A massive chandelier adorning the arched ceiling, domed up at the center.
In the middle of the hall lay a throne. A throne which looked like it belonged to a great king. But it was empty.
Cautiously checking his surroundings with "Prana Presence", Remirg Kryptos came to the conclusion that no living being was present inside the hall. Everything appeared to him the same shade of violet. Except the walls, whose symbols still presented dark green traces of prana imbued into them a long time ago.
Entering the hall producing the least sound possible, Remirg positioned himself in front of the throne, trying to comprehend what the impeding trial was supposed to be.
Though even after an hour of investigating the whole place, he was not met by any abnormality or a foe. Everything seemed to be perfectly in order.
Another round of searching and no results. Remirg seemed to be at the end of his patience.
"Something is needed to be done in order to pass this hall. Shadow entity.... Shadow Entity.....
Wait a minute! Shadows only exist when there is an absence of light! This whole ****** hall is covered with lights so that every nook and corner will be covered. So what I need to do.... Is to create a shadow."
Mark was impressed by Remirg's tenacity, even though he already knew that Remirg would finally end up in that very deduction. He just simply couldn't comprehend the brilliance of the protagonist he created. Though he was still imperfect and had a lot to learn. It still was a very long journey...
The only place that Remirg decided to create a shadow was the only possible one.
To sit right on the throne.
A tenacious smile appeared on his face.
The room was perfectly planned. It was created to give the player the feel of power. How it feels to be at the top of everything. But it also symbolized the deepest evils that presided in the player's soul by their shadow. The room challenged the player with their own monster. The monster which resided deep within themselves.
Stepping up the pedestal with supported the heavy throne constructed of solid gold, Remirg Kryptos descended into the cushioned seat with a graceful motion. Though his clothes said something otherwise.
A dark shadow was created right in front of him, covering a full meter of the floor.
Remirg looked at it.
For a few moments, it seemed that nothing would happen. But the next moment, the hand of the shadow, which was supposed to be resting on the throne jerked upward, bursting out of the floor, right into the three-dimensional world.
Bit by bit, the whole of the shadow made itself out of the floor and hoisted itself up.
Though it resembled Remirg in its figure, it was completely black, just like the shadow beast which Remirg had encountered earlier, in the Sila hall.
Its hair, though, possessed a bright green glow instead of a cyan one.
Similarly, its eyes bore no pupils and had the same homogenous glow, but green in color now.
But for some uncanny reason, the shadow entity of Remirg was wearing a suit of armor, which was emblazoned with the same textual characters he had been encountering everywhere else.
Also, as expected by Remirg, it didn't hear or respond to him.
Rising up from the high throne, Remirg made himself on the ready, though slight beads of sweat were still tricking down his temple.
At the moment, he received a new notification.
[YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED A NEW SHADOW ENTITY!
CLASS: HUMANOID
MAGICAL POWER RETENTION: 20
POISON RETENTION: 0
THIS SHADOW ENTITY POSSESSES THE EVIL NATURE OF THE PLAYER. THIS ENTITY CAN ONLY BE SUMMONNED UPON BY THE USE OF SPECIAL SUMMONNING SKILLS.
THE SUMMONING WHICH RESULTED IN THE SPAWNING OF THIS ENTITY WAS CAST BY THE GREAT MAGE BARAN AT AN UNKNOWN POINT IN TIME.
THE WAY TO DEFEAT THIS ENTITY ONLY LIES WITHIN THE PLAYER HIMSELF.]
This notification seemed to have proved Remirg's theory about the shadow summoning. But what was itching him was that he still didn't know how to defeat a practically himself.
Still, he shifted from his position, trying to increase his distance from the entity, which, surprisingly, was staying put where he first emerged from the ground, motionless.
And this was the gravest mistake his made.
The moment he made the movement, the shadow charged forward at an insane speed, hitting him squarely in the solar plexus.
He was knocked up ten feet into the air, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets. Blood gushed out of his mouth, splattering the front of his shirt red, which was already a mess of green.
The shock of the pain immobilized him. He had not expected his shadow self to be this strong. It hurt so much that he felt dying was a better option.
But still, he somehow managed himself up on his legs, not allowing himself to give up after he had come so far.
The shadow entity was standing behind the throne, again motionless.
Remirg, who was smart enough, decided wisely not to make any unnecessary moves. Carelessness would surely grant him a ticket to the underworld.
For a complete minute, he stood there, unmoved from his position. And so did the shadow entity. Apparently, it only attacked when the player themselves made their move.
Accessing Prana Presence, Remirg observed that the being which stood beside him, eyeing him conspicuously, didn't possess any prana at all. Though strange particles were still emanating from a point where its heart was supposed to be.
"So.... unlike the other beast, this one doesn't possess life...
It means I can't kill this bastard. The only way to destroy it is by somehow destroying its form. I need to find a way to despawn this guy. The armor that it has is a real nuisance."
Remirg Kryptos turned around his eyes wildly, trying to search for a break of this goddamn spell.
And just after a minute of searching, he found it. He found the item he needed.
He found the only weapon that can deal damage to this lifeless entity....