With not much else in mind, Kane decided to test his mettle, in search of any forgotten treasure that may ease his life of poverty. With newfound confidence and determination, he'd forgotten about his original task, and strode into the dark cave mouth, swallowing him whole until he'd completely vanished into the shadows.
As he traversed the darkness, he was beginning to feel just how much of a poor condition his boots were in. His feet getting poked by cool rocks, soaked by stepping in puddles of a liquid thicker than water, and occasionally stubbing his toes into stalagmites was more than enough of an indicator that new boots were a priority when he returned with his fortune.
The further Kane travelled, the more he felt the darkness suffocating him. In the sense that his mind grew sluggish, his senses grew weary, and his chest pounded heavily, letting his entire frame feel his heartbeat.
There's something here, Kane stopped for a moment, taking deep breaths as he held himself up against a rough and wet wall. He grinned. I can definitely find something here!
And so he went onward in silence, with each passing second, proving to be a greater obstacle that lasted longer than the last. Each one a hurtle greater than the last. Until he would come across a bend where the darkness would no longer exercise its reach, expelled by a pulsing red light.
Curious, he pressed onward, eager to uncover the mystery hidden away and enshrouded in darkness. He snuck around, keeping low and making sure to keep an eye out for any hidden angles. He may have lacked the sophistication of most, but Kane was no push over when it came to survival. For it began when all was lost.
As he neared the last bend, he could have sworn he heard a murmur or a whisper, though at this point, with how he was feeling after spending quite some time in the darkness, he wasn't sure if he was imagining things or not.
Regardless, he took cover behind a large protruding rock after passing the last bend, taking some time to ease his mind as he listened carefully. Though he'd finally composed himself, he found that his heart pulsed stronger than before, though it felt out of place—his heartbeat felt as though it were outside of him, like a timpano being smacked at a consistent rate, drowning all sound around him.
Is this me? he asked himself, genuinely unsure of what was going on. Whatever... Let's take a look. Slowly, he peered around the room, taking notice of the source of the pulsing red light, and the eroded rocks, like magnified fingerprints. Seeing that no one was around, he stood up and walked over to the source of light.
No matter how hard he squinted, nor how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand what he was looking at. Sat atop an altar as plain as the stone around him was a red mass at least twice his size, pulsing much like a heart.
Kane kept his lips tightly pressed against each other, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. I can't take this thing. It's too big. I don't even know what it is, but it beats like a heart... Is it a heart? But of which creature? It's bigger than me!
He looked down out of disappointment, but was met with an interesting sight that earned his undivided attention. Around the base of the altar rested several vines: winding and coiling on itself, pale, ash-gray, jagged, streaked with veins of black that flowed downward as they continued travelling along the vine.
Seeing that there was indeed something that he could take, he ripped the vines from the rock they burrowed into, startled by a black liquid that splattered around and on himself. The black streaks continued flowing downward, disappearing at the ripped ends of the tube-like plants. He harvested whatever he could, nearly filling half a bag, where the same black ooze dripped through, staining both the ground and the brown bag.
Now what? he asked himself, questioning if he wanted to push his luck. That is, he was trying to stop himself from pushing his luck, rather than debating if he should or shouldn't. Though, curiosity and an untamable desire were two things of his that often proved to be vices of his as he stared at an area that was carved out, leading back into darkness. There's no way I'm not exploring this entire place. That squirrel led me here. Perhaps I can find it in here.
He walked along his toes, making sure not to make a sound as he continued onward, stepping into the darkness once again. This time, however, the rock floor felt warm and dry. No longer did the floor consist of any smaller rocks poking his feet. Now he felt as though he was intruding someone's home.
I can't see anything in this damn darkness. He clenched his jaw as he sneered, until he felt his heart drop as the next step plunged him into a slide carved into the rock below. Just as curious as he was, he proved just how equally foolish he was, yelling "Oh shit!" a few times in a high pitched and tremulous voice.
Not long afterward, he'd find himself shot out of the slide, rolling along the ground in a new room, dimly lit with torches hooked along the walls. Unlike the previous parts of the cave, Kane knew that something was off about this place in particular. The walls of rocks that he'd have expected to be jagged and weathered were smooth as though they'd been sanded. The torches, however, gave off a red undertone, creating a fiery colour that bathed in crimson. The floor was just as smooth as the walls, suggesting to him that he was not alone. Wherever he ended up, there was something hiding deep within. But what? What hid so far into the cave?
Such were the questions he asked himself, staring at an empty doorway with torches hung above arch, and some more along the walls inside the hall, revealing a long and straight path, carved into maroon stone.
Kane chuckled awkwardly, looking back at the slide that brought him here. "Surely there's a way out, right?" he asked himself as he hopped back onto the slide and tried climbing up, though it was too steep and offered no leverage. "Fuck," he mumbled under his breath, his eyes trembling as he bit his nails. He chuckled once again, though it sounded more like a wheeze than anything. "So I have no choice but to go that way," he added as he looked back at the arched doorway and approached it.
He sighed, feeling the adrenaline pumping in his veins, his usually open hands now clenched into trembling fists, letting his nails dig into his palm. What was supposed to be a simple and quick errand now spiralled out of control, leaving him at a loss for words as he stared at the torches down the hall, beckoning him to finish what he stared: sating his curiosity.
"Ah, screw it," he said, facepalming and dragging hand down his face, before commencing his unconfident stride down the hall. "There better be some treasure in there."