The cycle repeats itself...
I thought as I found myself walking forward without a clear destination once again.
I had walked for over an hour in this dark tunnel, utterly blind...
Or rather unable to see.
The absence of light in the tunnel had completely nullified my ability to see.
Maybe it's for the best...I mean who knows what horrifying things could be in this damn cave...
The Silver Lining was resting in my firm grip, swaying as I walked forward. It seemed to emit a faint glint in the impenetrable darkness of the strange cave.
CRUSH!
The sound of rock breaking under my feet echoed as I continued walking, the sound gave me pause for a while but I soon ignored it and kept going.
This wasn't the first time it had happened.
In fact, when it first happened, it made me remember a certain skill.
I think...I've reached another stop...
I thought for awhile as I came to a halt, staring at the darkness before me,
I hesitated for a moment and then thought, Let's try it again...
I raised my sword and instantly, slammed it against the wall.
CLANG!
The sound it reverberated through the dark tunnel, bouncing off rocks from all areas and vanishing deeper into the shaft.
[Skill: Echolocation has been activated.]
I strained my ears to listen to the echoing sounds but ultimately failed.
[Debuff: Partial Hearing is active.]
"Fuck my bad hearing!"
Oi! You've been cursing a lot as of lately.
You! This is all your fault!
My face contorted into an angry glare as I screamed in my head.
Sigh...whatever...you were going to enter sooner or later anyway...
My inner voice said with an air of nonchalance.
At its tone, my body trembled violently with anger, I suddenly wanted to manifest it into existence so that it could experience the cold dread of this place.
But in the end, I ultimately shook my head.
No matter how much I wanted my inner voice to feel pain, it couldn't and then again, it's pain won't free me from this place. It's a waste of time to even think about that.
God...why can't hurting people just solve my problems...?
I shook my head in agony before taking a deep breath and then exhaling, then another and then exhaling. My trembling body calmed down and my face turned calm.
I muttered to myself, "Nothing good comes out of not being calm."
With that, I took another step forward and continued walking.
As I walked, a thought suddenly came to mind.
Hmm...that was strange...
"Why did that happen?", I said with a raised eyebrow as I recalled two events.
I remembered that before I stumbled upon the skeleton horde the system uttered something.
It was... Bloodlust detected...
As I continued walking, I brought a hand to my chin and pondered.
"When I entered this place as well...the system said Extreme Bloodlust detected..."
What was similar between these two scenes?
My eyes widened in realization, "The system...the system didn't say anything about an enemy!"
Wait...what does that mean then?
How could the system detect bloodlust without detecting an enemy?
At that thought, a couple of scenarios formed in my mind.
Could it be something that can't be perceived...like a ghost or something...?
Or...could it be...the...
"Environment?"
Suddenly, beads of cold sweat formed on my forehead as I felt my intuition ding at my answer.
Now that I think of it, that night was the first time I remained awake in the Wyvern Woods.
All the other nights, I had been asleep...
Now that thought begged the question.
What happened on the nights of the Wyvern Woods?
My mouth instantly hung open as my heart rate increased. I remembered the simple yet terrifying words written in the Quill-Book.
TURN BACK!
Didn't he write that after he entered the Wyvern Mountain?
I suddenly stopped walking and then looked back. A pale smile made its way to my face and a feeling of gratitude made its way to my heart.
Strangely, I felt glad to have gotten lost in this absolute darkness.
Idiot! Are you forgetting that when you entered here the system said Extreme Bloodlust?!
I stopped walking and then opened my mouth and then closed it. I opened it again and then closed it.
A deadpan expression made its way to my face as I brought my hand to my face.
Oh...well...
It is what it is.
Blud has lost it!
With that, I completely forgot about my predicament and walked forward.
Minutes passed as I continued to simply march forward. As time passed, my legs began to feel numb and my body slowly began accustomed to walking in absolute darkness, thanks to the help of my new skill, Resistance.
I had to admit that without it, I probably would have died at the start from being exposed to that amount of bloodlust and even if I somehow survived that one. My brain would have turned into a vegetable from being exposed to the constant feeling of dread.
In fact, there were too many benefits to count.
I guess another thing that made the situation better was the nature of the tunnel. All I had to do was walk in a straight line, there were no twists or turns or dead ends. The path was simply straight.
CRRRANG!!!
The sound of steel being dragged against stone reverberated through the dark tunnel before vanishing into the distance.
I was now dragging Silver Lining due to how weak I was now feeling, it seemed that even Resistance had its limits. I didn't dismiss the sword because of my paranoid nature, who knew what would jump at me the moment I let my guard down.
HUFF! HUFF!
"You know...I could really need a torch right now...", I mumbled as the weight of walking in impenetrable darkness was slowly setting in, before I could endure it but now it was slowly becoming horrifying. The inability to see whatever was around me was driving me crazy.
I clenched my chest with a hand and looked forward.
How long is this tunnel?
My question hung in the air unanswered.
Tsk...I hate this kind of circumstances...this kind of problems where you can't do anything but grin and bear it...
"It makes me feel weak..."
Once I said that, I realized that right now I was literally at the bottom of the food chain in the harrowing expanse of the Wyvern Mountain.
Haha...
I remembered my life back in the real world. I was literally the strongest and smartest student in my school, no one could come close to me in any aspect. I had perfect grades, was unbeatable in sports and combat, and had all the girls flocking around me all the time.
I had everything until...that day...
I gritted my teeth before bashing my fist to the ground.
BAM!
I could feel a cool feeling on my knuckles, it was blood.
I paid it no mind and said, "After that day what came next were the darkest days of my life..."
I wanted to relish in the feeling of those memories. I wanted to forget my cruel reality and bask in ecstasy, to forget pain and let go of everything.
To become untethered...
But of course...
None of that could happen.
Not in this cold darkness.
Not in this Wyvern Woods.
Not in the Wyvern Mountain.
Not in this game.
Not in the real world.
And not in this life.
But it's not because reality wouldn't let that happen...
But because I would never let that happen!
My face turned into one of stalwart determination. The same determination that I had when I massacred the horde of skeletons, the same one I had when I walked for hours on without rest. The same one I had when I climbed that goddamn hill.
"Fuck you, Untethered."
You think you can break me...you think I'll lose to you...
Nah...I'd win.
A grin shrouded in darkness made its way to my face as I stepped forward with a newfound strength.
I took another step and then another step and then another...
And then ten.
And then a hundred.
And then a thousand.
And then a million.
Yet nothing changed.
My face turned into one of utter despair when I took one more step.
It was in that moment that I discovered that the darkest days of my life...
Where yet to come.
In fact, they were just starting.
My lips quivered in fear, my heart was pounding in terror and my eyes were filled with despair.
I realized that I couldn't win.
I realized that I had been deluding myself.
I realized that I was nothing before the cruel world of Untethered.
I was an ant that could be crushed easily.
In that moment, I cried out with all my strength.
"GOD WHY? WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?!"