I didn't leave my fortress for three days.
After my escape from the Crimson Caverns, I felt like something had been left behind—or maybe something had followed me back. I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, of something looming just beyond my perception. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw glimpses of the temple, the murals, the chains that had once bound something too large for my mind to fully comprehend.
And the whispers. The whispers hadn't stopped.
"He is watching."
"The seal weakens."
"You have begun what others failed to finish."
I barely slept. When I did, my dreams were filled with red skies and endless voids, visions of something massive, its eyes staring at me from the abyss.
The Slime Queen stayed close. She didn't speak—she never did—but I could feel her concern in the way she lingered near me, in the way her minions patrolled the perimeter with more vigilance than usual. Even they knew something was wrong.
But I couldn't afford to stay paralyzed. Not in this world.
On the fourth day, I forced myself to move.
If I was being watched, then I had to prepare.
If the seal was breaking, I had to be ready for what came next.
I began to build.
---
I expanded the Crimson Containment Project, reinforcing the trenches with heavier materials, laying down layers of stone and explosives to stop the spread. But I knew it wasn't enough. The Crimson wasn't just a disease—it was a force, a hunger, a living entity that pushed forward no matter how much I fought it.
I needed magic.
I spent weeks researching, scouring ancient tomes, experimenting with alchemy and enchantments. I refined my spells, learning how to infuse my Flamelash with new energy, weaving shadow and flame into something stronger than before.
I reforged my Meteorite Armor, embedding it with wards against the Crimson's corruption. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing.
Then I turned my attention to my fortress.
It wasn't just a home anymore. It was becoming something more.
I dug deeper, carving out massive underground vaults. I reinforced the walls with layers of iron, stone, and magical sigils—defensive spells that pulsed with faint energy, designed to repel unnatural forces. I installed turrets, traps, and automated barriers, all controlled through a network of wires and switches, linked to a central command station in my workshop.
If something came for me—if he came for me—this would be my last stand.
The days blurred together. Weeks passed. I lost track of time.
But I never stopped building.
Then the sky changed.
---
It happened at dawn.
I was in my workshop, refining another batch of mana-infused crystal bullets, when the Slime Queen suddenly froze.
Her body tensed, her translucent form shifting erratically. Her minions stopped moving, their small, bouncing forms completely still.
I felt it before I saw it.
The air grew heavy, pressing down on me like a weight. The torches flickered, their flames struggling to stay lit. A deep, low hum filled the silence, vibrating through the stone beneath my feet.
I stepped outside, my heart pounding.
The sky was wrong.
The sun still rose, but the colors were off—a deep, unnatural red bled into the horizon, staining the clouds like ink in water. The wind had stopped. The birds were silent.
Then, far in the distance, beyond the Crimson's edge—
The ground moved.
I stared, unblinking. The land itself was shifting, pulsing in slow, rhythmic waves, as if something enormous was breathing beneath the surface.
And then I heard him.
"DO YOU SEE?"
The words weren't spoken. They didn't echo through the sky or shake the earth.
They were inside me.
"YOU HAVE AWAKENED SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BE STOPPED."
I clenched my teeth, gripping my Flamelash until my knuckles turned white.
"No," I muttered, shaking my head. "I'm stopping this. I don't care what you are—I'll find a way."
"THERE IS NO WAY."
"THERE IS ONLY THE END."
The sky darkened further.
Then, on the horizon, a shape appeared.
At first, it was just a shadow, distant, formless. But as it rose, towering over the land, I realized what I was looking at.
A titanic eye.
Not the Eye of Cthulhu. No, this was far worse.
It didn't attack. It didn't move.
It simply watched.
A single, unblinking stare, filled with endless void, gazing down upon the world.
Upon me.
The whispers in my mind surged, overlapping, chaotic.
"THIS IS THE FIRST SIGN."
"THE SEAL CRUMBLES."
"HE IS COMING."
I felt something drip from my nose. Blood.
I fell to my knees, the weight of its gaze pressing down on me like a collapsing sky.
The Slime Queen let out a deep, distorted warble, her form shifting erratically, as if she was losing cohesion.
I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.
Then, as suddenly as it had come—
The eye closed.
The sky returned to normal.
The weight vanished.
I gasped, collapsing onto the stone, my entire body trembling. The world around me had returned to its usual Terrarian chaos, as if nothing had happened.
But it had happened.
And now, I knew the truth.
The first seal had broken.
Cthulhu was awakening.
I had very little time left.