[Dungeon: The Ephialtes Tribulation.]

 

“What the hell!”

 

I start looking for some way out of my current predicament. I frantically scan my surroundings and find myself in some sort of domed room. The only exits being the hole in the ceiling and a set of stone stairs going down.

 

Seeing no way to climb to the hole in the ceiling, I decided to go down the stairs. The stairs gradually became more cave-like as the were traces of water on the walls and the stairs just became a gradual slope as I descended. Luckily, my spark was able to act as a light source for me as it glowed. It was even able to concentrate its glow into a beam of light, like an LED flashlight.

 

As I descended further down, I caught glimpses of what appeared to be runes carved into the cave walls. I could hear a faint buzzing noise as well as got a slight headache as I continued.

 

“Kairi are you able to read these runes? Also, are you able to figure out where that buzzing is coming from?”

 

“I am sorry to inform you, but I am unable to read these inscriptions. I also do not detect any sort of audible disturbances.”

 

I walk closer to a set of runes to inspect them. Upon reaching them, I feel a burst of pain and a flash of images in my mind followed by what appears to be…words of some sort?

 

T̵̛̲̤͉̦͛̀̇̐̓'̴̠͕͈̱̳̓̆ͅţ̴̜͈̻̙̯̥̆̿̏͜ ̵̫̤̥̖̲̍͛̀̅͘s̵͕͓̦͇̍̌͜͝ớ̸̞̩̟͚̞̬̖̱̳̖̤̓͒̇͒̈̐t̶̝͚̮͓̣̮̯̹̟̦̼͓́͠h̶͚̪͚͉͙͔̘̣͕̰̒͑́̊͝ͅ ̵̲́͒́̓̈́͐̂̑̓̋̔ͅf̸̨͕̬̻̱̮̠͉̃̔́̏̽̽̈͜͠u̸͍̥͗́̓ţ̵̯̞̰̬͈̉͗̎̄c̶̭̪̥̹̗̟͊́̏̆̂͝͝k̴̹̔̈́̈́̊̂̔̔̽͗͝͠ơ̴̺͕̇͊͜͠ņ̴̟̦̯̬͈̽̐̅̀͝'̶̨̱͚̯̦͈͇̬̉̑t̸̡̪̉͝

 

The burst of pain brought me to my knees as I held my head in my hands.

 

“Gwyn! Are you ok?”

 

“Yes. I’m fine now. Just had a bad headache for a moment.”

 

I shakily rose to my feet with my head still slightly throbbing. With nowhere else to go, I continue my descent. The cave’s eerie quietness starts to gnaw at me, and I make small talk with Kairi to stave off the feeling.

 

During a moment of silence, I hear the slapping sound of bare feet running on stone. I could not determine which direction it was going and stopped just as suddenly as it started. I directed Kairi in front of me and had her shine a light down the passage as far as it would go, but the darkness seemed to devour the light.

 

With my attention focused ahead, the hairs on my arms and neck pricked up as I felt the signs of breathing on the back of my neck. Shocked, I spun around and jumped back while using the light to see what was behind me. Frantically looking around, I hear the slapping of feet again; this time, it moves closer towards me and seems to be picking up the pace.

 

Panicking without thinking, I turn and start to run further down the passage. The sound of the feet behind me getting closer and closer as I ran spurred me on. Up ahead, I saw a door and threw my weight into it as I desperately wanted on the other side.

 

With a loud groan, the door flew open, and I quickly shut it and leaned my back against the door as I fell to the floor on my butt, gasping for breath.

 

“Kairi. I don’t think I like this place anymore.”

 

The silence was the only thing that responded to me. I then noticed I couldn’t see the light from Kairi anymore. Thinking I had left her on the other side of the door, I quickly stood up to open the door. Instead, I was met with a solid wall with no trace of a door.

 

“Kairi!?”

 

“KAIRI!?”

 

Frantically I snapped my head from side to side in my desperate attempt to locate my friend and only companion. What I saw instead was I appeared to be in a large round room, similar to a bathhouse one would associate with ancient Greece. The center was a large pool of black liquid and a shrine depicting A woman with clear membranous skin with a mass of fluid and tentacles inside. Tentacles were sprouting from her body to form hair and other appendages, with them sometimes wrapping around herself. Fluorescent lights of different colors flash through her skin. The woman had an unsettling beauty that made me want to look on at her forever, and the statue, being so lifelike, did not help.

 

I finally broke myself out of my fixation and noticed the room was being dimly lit up by the statue. I edged closer to the pool and peered into the black liquid, and found myself relaxing as I gazed into it. I stared deeply into the hypnotizing fluid, longing to fall into it and surrender to its embrace. I started to see tiny specks of lights appear in the pool along with swirls of different colors. It was stunningly beautiful.

 

T̵͓̍'̶͎̍ṯ̵̈́ ̵̾ͅs̵̥͗ò̸̦ť̸͈h̵̳͋ ̶̖̋u̶̝͋ḽ̴͠n̶̳̐!̵͋ͅ

 

A sharp pain followed by a flashing message in my head brings me out of my stupor. I step away from the pool and look around for an exit. On the other side of the pool, I see a large door. I slowly walk around the pool and make my way to the door.

 

The door turns out to be a massive 5m double door. After a quick inspection, I give the door a push but find that it doesn’t budge at all. Stepping back, I inspect the door for any locks when I spot a small altar next to the door. On the alter appears a jagged dagger and a carved circular shape with a hollowed-out center.

 

Above the shape are some of the same runes I saw earlier. A flash of words appears in my mind again, followed by another headache.

 

G̶̖̝̳͖̥͍̃̈̽͝n̵̲͇͔̬̬̈́̒̊'̸̜̪̯̩͖̮͗͂̓̀̌͠ț̵͙̠̥̲̖̐̐̇͘͝h̶̅̆ͅ'̵̤̘̅b̴̙̬̈́́t̵͍͐͊̚h̸̨̹͉̖̹̣̃͛̀͆n̶̖̼͍̗͉̦͐̑́̅͛̕k̵̢̡̛̦͍̈́͊̅̕͝ ̷̡̝͖̥͖̩́̆̚a̵̩͖͉̿̄̃̎́͒ḧ̴͚̳̩̜́̏̅͘ ̸͚̉̈̄̀́̃c̷͎̉̑̏͝h̷̡̡͙̱͎͌̑͝͝'̸̻͎̞̈́̂̅̓n̷̹̬̎̒̃̌g̵̬̘̞̜̽ľ̴̯̥̀͆́̕u̵̫̞͛̿́i̶͎̤͍̖̦̇̆̄͘

 

“Uggh! Stop it! What are you trying to say!”

 

The words flash once again, this time with a less severe headache.

 

Ǵ̸͎ń̷̝'̵̣̑t̵̐ͅh̶̏ͅ'̸̛̪b̶̺̌t̴̫͗h̸̙̅n̸̙̍ḳ̶̎ ̸͉̈a̶̯͘h̶͔͝ ̸͙̎c̸͔̀h̶̠͊'̶͇͗n̵̔ͅg̴̩̕l̷͓̈́u̸̜͐i̸̦̔

 

I feel myself getting a bout of vertigo as the words flash; even though the headache is less severe, my head still feels like it wants to explode.

 

Gn’th’bthnk ah ch’nglui!

 

“Please stop. I… don’t understand” I manage to get out in between sobs. I notice I have blood running down from my nose—another flash of words, this time with meaning.

 

Blood is the key!

 

Understanding the runes finally, I stare at the altar, trying to piece together how blood is the key. Doesn’t take me long as I realize the meaning of the dagger and the hollowed-out center. I pick up the menacing-looking dagger and the carved circle.

 

With shaky hands, I place my wrist over the circle as I bring the blade closer.

 

“It’s just a game. It’s just a game. It’s just a game.”

 

I repeated my mantra in my head as I drew the blade across my skin, feeling the burn as the knife cuts through. I drop the dagger as I finish the cut and use my free hand to hold my arm steady as I try to pour as much blood into the circle as possible.

 

After filling up the center, the blood flowed out and followed the carved-out paths. Once the whole shape was filled with blood, it glowed, and the large door rumbled open. Words once again flashed in my mind, this time with no pain.

 

T’t soth ephaiah na’ah’ehye

The void will be free

 

I open my inventory to grab a potion to heal myself. However, instead of my inventory or even my game menu, I am met with nothing at all. I try to bring up the menu several times, and nothing appears. I look down at my wrist, cut off a piece of cloth with the dagger, and wrap my injury.

 

“What the fuck is going on!” I scream out to no one.

 

I calm myself down, thinking this is probably a bug. I have heard enough stories from Yuki about games having bugs. I figured this was probably the same. I peer down the new passage and find it is immensely dark—the walls pulse with a dim fluorescent blueish light in regular intervals.

 

Gathering my courage, I step into the hallway. As I do so, I hear the rumble of the doors behind me as they close. Nervous, I slowly walk forward, following the hall as I am submerged in darkness for a moment before the passage lights up again, only to fade back into darkness.