The endless darkness, the eeriely comfortable feeling of floating in an endless expanse of darkness and voidness shattered like a clusters of dream. A powerful blue pair of eyes flared to life, eyes darting to their surroundings as they scanned the shadow-draped room with the frantic alertness of a hunted animal.
My heart pounded hard and fast, brutal and unforgiving even, as memories clawed their way back- visions of an ancient force descending upon me, ancient and unstoppable. The taste of blood and annihilation was still fresh in my mouth and my soul, and i shivered at the recollection of that power, an unseen force that seem to toy with my very essence.
I could still vividly remember the agony i had felt. The endless horrors extending their cold grasps onto the walls of my mind. It was far greater than what any physical horror could have done. It was horrifying, terrifying even and just remembering it gave me the chills.
Every part of my mind screamed at the horror still embedded in my psyche, an insidious echo that gnawed and scraped. It was not the sort of fear borne of the physical; it was deeper, an assault on my very soul.
And even my mind seemed to tremble and ache at rememberance. My mind revolted the thoughts of me trying to delve into that part of my memory.
And i truly wasn't so foolish as to go poking my nose around it. Garren- The Amaraith had told me, and i had also learnt and found out by myself.
They are some beings whose name shouldn't be known. Some beings whose face shouldn't be seen. Some beings you should pray you never encounter throughout the years of your life before returning to the endless darkness.
And that ancient force that had descended. I could confidently beat my chest if anything that it was amongst them.
Perhaps... even of a higher category.
This thought of mine sent cold chills down my spine, fear gnawing at him like a dog gnaws on a bone.
It was clingy and unrelenting, trying to drag me into a bottomless abyss.
Blinking against the oppressive dark.
The blood-slicked cobblestones brought me out of my thoughts. I was back to the checkpoint- which means the...
My eyes shrank in horror, fear even as i rose to my feet. My body shivering ever so lightly as i bolted out of the broken door. The cold pressure of unseen eyes pressing against my back. I knew it wasn't paranoia; the Amaraith's presence throbbed at the edges of my mind.
My thoughts spiralling into chaos.
My blue pair of eyes scanned the surroundings.
The endless darkness inching closer and closer towards the walls of my mind. I could feel the faint tug- the cold siren calling and influence of the Amaraith growing ever-stronger.
Desperation slowly crept into me as my mind ran into a frantic pace, chaotic thoughts racing through my mind.
Hitting hard and fast, brutal and unforgiving even.
The paper.
I still clutched it, even before my rebirth at this accursed checkpoint.
And if it's a checkpoint just as I assume it to be, shouldn't the paper be around here.
It should-logic dictated it.
But where? Where could it be?
In desperation, I grabbed a fistful of my long hair, trying to ground myself.
Minutes- no, seconds- were all i had before the battle began. And the moment it begins, I didn't need to be told to know I was done for.
That...I had no doubt about.
With gritted teeth and clenched hands.
I made a seemingly crazy decision.
I had to.
I had no other choice.
Taking a breath that burned my lungs, i drove through the nearest door.
I had two reasons for doing this. First, this seems to be a safe zone- well the various strange oils, weird objects and stuffs which i caught a glimpse of said it all.
I wasn't sure if it was a safe zone. Yet it was my next best option. Even if it doesn't happen to be a safe zone and is perhaps a fluidity zone. The horror there would be nothing in comparison to t-hat... that ancient force.
I was literally betting right now, betting on some sort of miracle. I wasn't one to believe in miracles, but this time i needed them as much as i forced my Arcana to believe they did exist.
And secondly, reasonably enough, if the paper wanted to escape from the influence of the Amaraith. It had only one way of doing that.
And that was to move into a safe zone. As for how i know that- it can move. I also don't know.
I-t...it just feels like the right thing to know of.
There and then, memories and fractured insights swirled through my head.
For reasons previously unknown to me, but now clear as day to me, Garren had always denied entering any safe zone. I had thought Garren simply didn't want to. But the cold truth was, he couldn't.
Safe zones weren't just shelters; they were sanctuaries meant to repel beings like Garren
A bitter smile twisted my lips.
Realization cutting deeper than any blade.
So many clues and details i should have noted.
Yet i had failed to notice any.
I had kept them all hidden all just to feel that surge of warmth.
...Just to have a family to call mine.
I bit onto my lower lips, forcing down the hidden memories that threatened to burst forth as i dashed into the endless darkness before him. Leaping into the room just at the last moment as terrific undulations spread across the entire space.
Something ancient and supernatural pressed against the barrier, testing the door. The room groaned under its weight, but it held. For now.
My breath came out ragged as the noise receded, leaving me wrapped in suffocating quiet. I swallowed hard, letting determination fill the empty spaces that fear had carved out within me.
Now, that i was supposedly out of harm's way. And Just like i always say: Take things one step at a time. And now that I have completed the first step.
It is time to take another.
"Now. Where could that piece of paper be?"
I questioned no one but myself and perhaps the endless void within me. I glanced around me, as i moved forth. The floorboards creaked at my footstep, as though alive and breathing. Doors shook and echoed a grating sound that scraped past my heart.
My hair stood on end.
The cold dark presence felt alive. It felt close, almost as though it was stalking and watching every move of mine.
I shoved down the unease, gritting my teeth. I moved into the darkness, the various objects: arti lining the walls- and for some weird reason.
I still can't remember the full name.
Not that i really cared anyway.
"Where's the damn paper."
Minutes had clocked by and i had roamed what seemed to be the very expanse of this weird house. Yet i hadn't seen any paper of sort. Heck. I haven't even seen anything apart from the strange objects.
Desperation was slowly beginning to creep in.
And then.
The door to my right suddenly pounded hard and loud. My heart leapt to my chest, pounding hard and fast against my ribs as i drew back a little.
The door before me seemed to beacon to me, glowing with a powerful white light.
Could it be it?
My body trembled lightly.
As i struggled to shake off the dread slowly settling within me.
I exhaled sharply.
And then, with hardened resolve, i bursted into the door only to pass through a barrier of light that left me gasping.
WHOOSH!!!
Warmth.
It wrapped around me, a dissonant comfort in the face of terror.
My eyes widened in fear, shock even as surprise rippled through me.
"Now. That was a first."
I couldn't help but say in amusement.
Glancing around me.
The endless darkness surrounding me slowly receded, overwhelmed by a bright glow that radiated outward, filling me with t-his strange warmth.
It felt cold yet warm, soothing and comforting.
It was... eeriely familiar.
I stared ahead, my eyes piercing into the distance.
And there, I saw it.
The paper.
My last thread of hope.
My only hope of survival.
My heart thumped hard and fast, slamming hard against my ribs as i dashed towards the paper.
I expected the world to shift, for a trap to spring.
But nothing came.
Relief, sweet and fleeting, brought a smile to my lips.
My hands reached out, fingers trembling as they closed around it.
And then, i suddenly rolled to my left.
Yet nothing happened.
But still, it wouldn't hurt to be careful. Would it?
I laughed lightly.
After all, I can still let a smile settle on my face even after all the unending cycles of death, horror, pain and agony that I have gone through
That... that alone was worthy of praise.
I laughed to no one but myself, the facade i had worn to mask the slipping away of my sanity.
The laugh was hollow but real, bubbling out of me as i clutched the paper.
My heart pounded, but for once, it wasn't in terror. Tears pricked my eyes as i glanced at the drawing on the paper: a necklace, its intricate designs familiar in a way that made my soul ache.
Memories threatened to break him apart, but this time, they were kinder.
I couldn't even understand why I started to cry.
I really couldn't.
I-t It just felt weird, and painful.
Not just a physical pain- a pain that rippled through my soul to the very core of my being.
...Realization soon dawned on me.
This was it.
The token of unbreakable bonds.
Of promises that defied fate itself.
It was my only way out of this endless cycle of pain, agony and betrayal.
The way to get there, the creatures manning and surrounding the grounds.
I knew every single detail and for once, the past me wasn't so cryptic. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, as i clutched the paper... the invisible necklace tightly to my heart.
My eyes slowly got closed as a strange surge of warmth coursed through me.
The warmth spread deeper, rooting me to the present, and for the first time, hope did more than flicker- it blazed!