'Drip....Drip....Drip', the steady cadence of liquid dripping filled the silence of the cave. the sound of each drop reverberating through the cave, and the sound of footsteps. With each step, more drops fell.
"clink...drip....CLink...drip". A man walking through a cave, clad in simple pitch black armor, and a black sword clenched tightly in his wrist, reminiscent of a knight, although unlike any ever seen. He placed one foot in front of another as he continued through the cave.
Red streaks flowing on his armor, and reaching the ground, like tears of blood, streaming endlessly. liquid seeps through the cracks in his armor. Through his black gloves clenching his sword, to the gaps in his helmet and chest piece.
A river of blood leading deeper into the cave.
the cadence of steps and the drops of blood, unnerving, filling whoever hears it with dread, impending doom.
Not a single grunt escaped his mouth, and his eyes, visible through a slit in his helmet, dark as night, empty as the void. Yet despite the blood flowing from his body, he continued to walk. one foot....Then the other.
He had just asked to pass through, yet the ones guarding the entrance wanted to fight, and so he did, as he has done for so very long, after all, it not like they understood speech, or maybe they just didn't care for his. It had been so long since he had conversed with some on, seen blue skys, green grass and the wind blowing on his face, and today, after however long, he had finally found a way back home, and he was going home.
And so, he kept walking. Driven by the sole thought of freedom. For no longer could this land contain him, and he wanted out, by any means.
After a few moments, the cave began to widen into a large cavern, torches with red flames lighting up a path. At the end, a magnificent door.
without even a look of acknowledgment, he approached the door and studied it for a moment. There were strange patterns on the door, a language he had seen quite often in this land.
He raised his sword and plunged it into the ground, allowing it to stand free. He then lay his two hands on the door and pushed.
Even with his battered and bloody body he pushed with all his might, and the door began to open under the mighty force his body possessed, and a crack enough for a person to fit through was soon made.
he grabbed his blade and walked through, and kept walking and at the end of room beyond the door lay an altar.
it was strange, a round rock with arches protruding on two sides and curling around until they barely met at the top. Geometric patterns carved into them.
'this is it', he thought to himself.
he approached the rock, and after a moment of respite, he stood atop it. Plunging his sword into the ground, and placing both his hands on the pommel. He could feel his legs weakening, and he needed support to keep standing.
'Please, please.' he pled for the altar to activate, he could no longer bear to stay in this place.
It had been so long since he stepped through that god-forsaken portal. He could barely remember what people looked like, as all he was surrounded by were monsters. Grotesque monsters.
The terrain in the place was barren, no Flora anywhere to be seen. Just mountains for as long as the eye could see, and as far as the body could travel, and he had travelled.
The sky a blood red, no light source in the sky yet always illuminated allowing the eyes to see.
Beneath him, the blood dripping from him incessantly began to form a puddle, nearly overflowing off the sides.
He began to fell the darkness converge in his eyes, a sign either his death or respite was coming. He no longer knew the difference.
Death.
He could sense it, the overwhelming power of death, and the peace that would follow. He would know, as there had not been a single moment of his time in this place that he had not stood side by side with death, calling his name. He had grown ever too close to death, and he did not like it one bit.
but he wanted to see, one last time, the blue sky and the sun's heat on his skin.
"I just was want to see it" A deep, raspy voice came from the helmet. Emotionless.
"Just let me see it, and then i will no longer run from you" He said to no one.
And so, he just stood there, waiting for something to happen.
And then finally, his blood had overflowed and reached the arches on the sides of the round rock he was standing on. They began to greedily 'drink' his blood, as it flowed through the shapes in the rock, illuminated with a red hue, and a slight purple tinge.
He could feel it, his intuition was telling him he was finally getting out, he did not care where this altar took him, as long as it was far from here, very far.
When the arches were fully illuminated, it shot a red light down from the gap between the arches and a small luminescent pearl appeared in front of him and began to grow into a portal.
once it had finished forming, he picked up his sword and with a resolute step, he went through.
...
On the other side, a group of individuals clad in red robes were gathered around another strange altar. strange symbols chants filled the air.
"are you sure it's coming?" One of individuals asked another clad in darker red robes, seemingly the leader of the group.
"we know it is, we just have to wait, so stop talking, and wait." A gruff voice responded, his voiced laced with tension.
the tension in the cavern with the altar was palpable, literally a force that could be felt. and those in there knew what it meant.
Death was coming.
They did not know what it was, yet it was coming, the beings from the other side had warned them with uncharacteristic urgency that this plan must succeed and they knew that failure would mean not only their demise, but everyone and everything connected to them.
With a shine a small orb appeared on the altar and they immediately tensed up.
"GET READY TO RUN BACK" The leader shouted.
And slowly a foot appeared, dark as night, and the rest of the body followed. The being, once fully out of the portal, stood there.
"fwooooooooooh" a long, deep breath. As ice cold air filled its lungs and the wounds on its body began to heal, it took a step forward.
an indescribably pressure bore down on those clad in robes, a killing intent so sharp, it had materialized. a single step had rendered them unable to move.
"RUN NOW" A shout breaking the stupor.
and they began running, as if running from a beast, adrenaline pumping through their veins.
the being stood there and felt a sense of urgency that he hadn't felt in a long time. it knew that if they continued to run it wouldn't be able to escape.
But it's legs wouldn't move, it had pushed itself too hard to come here and now it was paying the price. But yet still, it took a step.
A chill crawled up the spine of those running, yet the fear of death did not allow them to look back, they simply ran with all their might.
They approached a large opening with a massive, suspended rock held by chains.
As soon as the leader passed the boundary of the rock he unsheathed the blade by his side and began to hack at the chains holding the rock.
soon, the others joined him, but they could feel the pressure getting stronger.
A faint whisper in the ear telling them to give up, that they cannot escape. yet the fear of death pushed them to continue swinging their weapons at the chains.
'Sigh' the sound of sigh filled he cavern, and those clad in robes heard it as if it was right in their ears.
Finally, the chains snapped and the massive boulder began to drop with the force of a mountain.
With one last glance inside, they saw the being standing there, pitch black. they could not tell just what it was due to the immense darkness being given off by it and it looked right at them, and they felt death.
Slowly, one by one, The individuals in red began to convulse, but it was too late, and with a massive bang, the boulder had sealed the cavern shut.
...
"That was too close." the leader muttered.
He was an old man, standing at an average height with a slight hunchback. He removed his hood from his head revealing long white hair and a beard. His presence was mighty, like a ruler, and his demeanor wise, like a sage.
He glanced at the others around him who had stopped convulsing, their bodies cold. Life sapped from their very souls.
"*sigh*... just what the fuck is that thing." he said, covered in chills, cold sweat beading from every inch of his body.
His legs still shaking from the fear, he walked away from the sealed cavern until he was no longer seen.
This trap was created for the sole purpose of not allowing any energy into the cavern. It had taken long, too long, just to set up the magic circles in the long winding tunnels to block the flow of energy. Let alone how long it took to activate the damn altar from this side.
'they should have just dealt with it on that side, why bring it here' he wondered to himself, before the darkness consumed him, never to be seen again.
...
Inside the cavern, The man stood there, disappointed in himself for not being more careful, but relieved that he atleast made it out.
'there is still a chance' he thought to himself.
throughout his years in hell, he had grown to become extremely patient, and he knew just how he could survive. But how long would he have to wait.
That's right, Hell. The Underworld. The land of the dead, of demons.
There were many names for that place, yet none could come as close to describing it as hell. plain and simple, hell.
With one last breath filling his lungs, he sat down with his legs crossed, and with one last resolute gaze, he closed his eyes, and entered a deep slumber. Waiting to be awakened by any soul unlucky enough to come across this cage.
The blood flowing in his body came to an almost standstill. His heart beating so slow, one could mistake him as dead. In this state he would heal, albeit extremely slowly, but it would allow him to live. Because he would not allow death to take him just yet.
and so, after an indescribable amount of time in hell, in this other world, he slept.
...
On the other side of the rock, almost unseen due to the lack of light lay some text brimming with evil intent, warning those from even approaching, but if one looked close enough they could see;
To any who may come across this,
We beg you turn back,
To any who may consider opening,
Think again,
For Death resides within,
The enemy of existence itself,
The slaughterer of demons,
The bane of the underworld,
The Scourge of Light,
The bearer of deepest darkness,
Nemesis.'