290 Pierced and Bloodied
There was a lot he still didn’t know about the afterlife he found himself in, other than it didn’t resemble any sort of realm after death that he had imagined; it was lonely, dark, and full of mystery.
He had to be careful with each step he took around what looked to be a cafe, going off the empty, moldy mugs that were either sitting on the dusty tables or held in the skeletons’ hands.
“Hold on…Isn’t this not right?” He mumbled.
It struck him as odd as he looked at the inanimate pile of bones that occupied the building, finding their existence to be questionable.
If this is the afterlife, why’re there skeletons here…? I guess I was already acting as if it was possible, but you can really die here…? He questioned.
Either way, he didn’t plan on finding out. Instead, he continued scoping out the desolate building, though only finding shattered porcelain and dusty bones instead of the key he needed.
I knew it wouldn’t be that easy, he thought with a sigh.
Leaving the half-built building, he was back in the chamber with four pathways, though one corridor would only result in backtracking.
Before he went down another passageway, he stopped for a moment when considering what he could be leading himself into.
…Hold on a second, he thought, if I just carelessly go through these halls, I’ll get lost for sure. Even if I find the key, what does it matter if I can’t even find my way back?
With that in mind, he didn’t actually know how he would keep track of the corridors he traversed.
There was no material to work with, especially not the sort of “rope” he was used to seeing used in situations like this, but he chose to instead follow a different method before going west to a new hallway.
He drew his sword from its leather scabbard, scraping it against the corner of the black-stone hall, marking a spot in it.
There. That should do, he thought.
As he walked through the hall, he found it much shorter than the last as he reached the other end within just a minute of walking carefully.
Just as he stepped into the chamber that awaited, finding it to be pitch-black, a noise met his ears–
It was a visceral sound of metal, revving up with an intensity behind it that made him freeze in place.
What’s that–? He questioned.
What sounded like an engine revving up met his ears; metal roared out like the grinding of machinery, thumping like a wild, erratic heartbeat that could be felt in his bones.
It was only for a moment did he then feel another presence nearby, one so suffocating in its grandiose evil that the air in his lungs was vacated in an instant, bringing him to a halt after taking a single step into the room.
BANG
–Before he could even react, a flash of light came from sparks propelling a bullet forth at ludicrous speeds, piercing his head with perfect precision, right between his eyes. There wasn’t enough time to even wrap his fingers around the handle of his sword once more, not enough time to process the blaring sound that had rang against his ears.
In an instant, he was taken out; his consciousness fell black without any dramatic alleviation from life.
The young man’s body went limp before falling face first into the ground. Just as his body made an impact against the muk-covered stone tiles beneath, his entire form relinquished into a puddle of black goo as if a raindrop of tar had fallen.
[“One of Seven Attempts, failed. Six more left. Try again, Emilio Dragonheart.”]
–Just then, the emptiness shrouding his consciousness dissipated, returning his sight as not even a moment seemed to pass for him as he finished his movement of drawing his sword to ready himself for combat.
“What–?” He let out.
He wasn’t in the dark room anymore, but back in the armory, standing there with his sword drawn and sweat exuding from his skin.
What happened…? I entered that room then it all went black…That voice, it said I “failed” one of attempts, he thought, did I die? How? I didn’t even see anything.
It took a few minutes for him to calm his heart as it was still thumping as though he were still in the lion’s den of danger; he couldn’t shake whatever it was he encountered before his untimely “restart”.
Alright…Let’s try this again, he thought.
As he left the armory with his crossbow, shield, and sword still with him, he moved noticeably slower and with more carefulness, trying to be quiet as to not draw whatever it was that ended him before.
This time, he chose to go north from the starting area, venturing down a much more narrow corridor before finding himself in a messy, black room with three more pathways and dark curtains hung everywhere in the chamber.
It was difficult to see much of anything, brushing past the curtains as he looked around the peculiar room for a sign of a key.
A bellowing breath that sounded something between an animal’s growl and the hum of heavy machinery echoed off the walls, causing him to freeze. It wasn’t a violent roar, but a harrowing emission; like the breath of something far more imposing than any beast he’d encountered.
It didn’t sound too far, but it was impossible to tell.
“…Hff…”
A quiet breath left his lips as he stood there, frozen in the dark chamber without any clue as to where the noise was coming from, or if whatever the ominous noise was knew he was there.
The sound of something “scraping” against the floor unpleasantly met his ears; it was as if a metallic object was being dragged across the floor, coming from a direction left vague by the continuous echoes.
What is that? Is it what got me before? He thought.
Trying to prepare himself and figure out where the noise was coming from, he only found himself becoming more perplexed, finding it becoming harder to pinpoint where the awful scraping and mechanical thuds echoed.
“Where…?”
As he mumbled beneath his breath, the rumbling suddenly became jarring and close; it was far too near, in fact. His ears were filled with the repetitive drumming of steel, prompting him to dash forward without any choice of direction.
–Is it here?! He questioned.
Glancing back as he entered one of the corridors, he failed to see anything through the veil of shadows behind him. Still, the rumbling couldn’t be ignored; it pounded his eardrums, repeating with an aggressive chorus as the weight of whatever was occupying the halls was felt gravely.
There wasn’t any part of him, no matter how deep down he looked, that actually wanted to confront the entity that inhabited the labyrinth. With that in mind, he continued racing down the corridor.
Move! Move! Move! He told himself.
Still, curiosity was impossible to resist as he looked back again, this time briefly seeing a flash from some sort of sparks flicking out of whatever was following him.
That’s–he briefly thought.
A bang filled his ears, nearly making him trip over his own feet before something penetrated the dark air behind him. There was no time to react with any meaningful response besides trying to lift his measly shield up in response to whatever it was that quickly bore its way towards him.
It was a small projectile, though fearsome; piercing towards him, he watched whatever it was bounce off one of the narrow walls of the corridor, richoting repeatedly.
What’s this–?! A bullet?! Here?! He questioned.
There was no way for him to perceive it without being able to reinforce his own reflexes, leaving him gazing at nothing but sparks for that second before–
The projectile ricocheted from the grimy wall to his right, piercing at a downward angle as it pierced straight through his calf.
“Ngh–!”
Past his flesh, it penetrated, leaving a clean hole through his leg before the projectile smashed into the leftmost wall.
What the…?! He thought.
As he winced in pain, feeling blood squirt from his pierced leg, he looked down at the steaming object that had shot through his calf, finding it to in fact be a grotesque iteration of a bullet of sorts: a black caliber, with vein-like protrusions running along its shell.
Though he felt a heat bubbling in his injured leg, he was quickly reminded that he was still being chased as he heard the drumming of machinery and heavy steel in the near distance, forcing him to continue moving.
“Nnh…!”
A limp was left in his attempt to run now, having to slightly drag his leg with each movement forward he took.
THUD-THUD. THUD-THUD. THUD-THUD.
Shit, shit, shit…! He thought.
Adrenaline flooded through his veins as he moved faster in response to the jarring, ear-thumping sounds of grating metal and slamming that quickly approached from behind.
Another bang released, causing a brief light to flash in the shadow-filled corridor of the labyrinth as once more, a projectile shot towards the young Dragonheart.
“Gah–”
As he ran with desperation, the supernatural bullet cleanly pierced through his shoulder, moving with such velocity that the force caused him to be flung forward several meters, flipping around uncontrollably.