Kalm's body trembled, and it felt as though his very soul was shivering with fear.
His eyes darted about, narrow and unsettled, drinking in a scene that no logic could fully grasp—
Thousands of grotesque creatures lined the banks of the river, their twisted forms silent and unmoving.
A single clear path lay between them, as if they were welcoming an unseen procession,
A march toward some grim coronation…
Something violent.
Something bloody.
Something deadly.
He wanted to turn back—his body, his soul screamed at him to retreat.
But he couldn't.
His mind simply failed to comprehend what was unfolding before him.
*"Everything in this cavern is deadly, strange, and impossible…"*
The boat crept forward, drifting between the monstrous ranks.
Overhead, a crimson light followed Kalm, spilling across the river and illuminating the horrors around him—
As though the light itself whispered:
*"This was all prepared for you, lost one."*
Or worse:
*"Behold my strength—I've slaughtered them all and bled them dry into this endless river."*
Kalm's lips curled into a forced, bitter smile, while beads of sweat formed on his face.
He muttered under his breath, voice quivering:
"R… really impressive, terrifying entity.
You're incredibly powerful, brutal, overwhelming, vicious…
If you could, please… just *not* erase me from existence or kill me outright—
I would be truly grateful from the bottom of my heart…"
He chuckled nervously, eyes fixed ahead.
The cavern was growing narrower.
Slowly, Kalm noticed the walls closing in around him,
And the river itself seemed to shrink, forcing the boat into a tighter current.
The further he drifted, the fewer monsters he saw…
But the water remained red—
Thick with blood.
Everything about this place shattered common sense like brittle glass.
It defied all logic, all rules of what a person believed could or should exist.
If a Sleeper—one of the aware—sat with an ordinary man and told him these stories:
Of loathsome beasts, of unnatural power, of voices from beyond the known world,
Of twisted lore that unraveled reality and made the skies collapse and oceans vanish…
The poor man might suffer a heart attack on the spot.
Or at the very least, he'd be haunted by nightmares for days—afraid to sleep.
Kalm was just a normal child now.
One who had walked a short but terrifying journey alongside the warrior Kalystra.
He had seen things—unholy, unnatural things that warped every known rule.
Yet even by the standards of the awakened,
What was happening now…
Was beyond the beyond.
The first absurdity had been the sacrifice of every soul in this world just to curse him—
To brand him with *\[The Cursed]*,
A title that forbade him from wielding weapons or enhancing his physical strength.
He couldn't even kill. He couldn't fight. At all.
Ridiculous.
Then came the other traits.
And worse still—his binding as *\[The Sacrificer]*.
"Useless nonsense…"
Kalm tilted his head, stealing a glance at the crimson light above.
He sighed, lowering his gaze to the bloodstained walls of the cavern.
*"What now\...? Where is this current taking me…?"*
Even though no immediate threat was visible,
There was something in the air—
A presence.
Something soaked in blood and death.
It made his skin crawl.
Made his soul scream.
Kalm took a step back and crouched, folding his legs beneath him.
He placed his hands on his knees, drew in a deep breath… and exhaled slowly.
In moments like this, there was no point in preparing for battle.
Especially not for someone as helpless as him.
What he needed—desperately—was clarity.
He had to quiet his mind, shut out the madness that gnawed at him:
The images, the smells, the blood, the sacrifices,
The lost، the weapons, Kalystra,
The Eight, fate itself…
He had to stop thinking.
Stop drowning in thoughts that exceeded his understanding or power.
Just breathe.
Focus.
Inhale…
Exhale…
His chest rose and fell in steady rhythm.
His limbs slowly stopped shaking.
And the suffocating dread began to recede.
"Just follow the current… Fate will carry everything where it must go."
And then… calm at last, Kalm opened his eyes.
The cavern had narrowed further, so much so that it looked like the walls would soon close in entirely.
The river quickened as the gap shrank.
The boat picked up speed.
Tiny droplets of cold, bloodied water splashed into the air and struck his face, soaking his hair.
A strange wind began to whistle in his ears—an eerie, haunting tune.
Kalm wasn't experienced in situations like this,
But even he could sense something was wrong…
His heart started pounding, loud and fast—like war drums.
Then he heard it.
A deep, distant roar, coming from ahead.
The sound of a river surging…
Toward a massive drop.
A waterfall.
A towering, blood-red waterfall…
A plunge into the unknown.
"Wait… hold on… Please, oh world—
I… I can't swim.
Maybe let this one slide…?"
A blank expression spread across his face.
Even as the freezing water stung his skin, he felt heat rising in his chest—
The unmistakable heat of fear.
And then he saw it.
Just a few hundred meters ahead—
A massive waterfall, the crimson torrent diving into a bottomless pit with terrifying speed.
No chance to stop.
No way to escape.
A waterfall…
"To hell with swimming…
Will I even survive that fall?"
He had no way of knowing.
And no choice but to find out.
The world had sealed every path.
Now it would force him to experience this… no matter what.
If he lived—it would be a victory.
If he died…
…well, better not to finish that thought.
As the edge drew closer,
Kalm tensed every muscle in his small body and clung tightly to the side of the boat.
And in his heart, he prayed—
And cursed.
Maybe one of them would be heard.
Maybe some forgotten entity, asleep or buried,
Would stir…
And reach out a hand of mercy.