The sun had fallen from the grey skies of the Wasteland, letting darkness have its way.
The remnants of the night crawled from the shadows, searching for prey.
I could almost hear their claws sieving through the crimson sand, scraping against stone.
I stood at a cave's entrance, trying to steady my nerves....
But my shaky legs betrayed me.
Still, I tightened my grip on my rifle and stepped inside.
In that darkness, the cave felt endless — ready to swallow me whole.
I stayed close to the jagged walls, reminding my self, 'that it was just a empty cave' not 'a empty void'.
The sound of dripping water echoed throughout its depths sending chills down my spine.
Fastened unto the jagged walls, I walked slowly and quietly, my body twitched at every sound and the thought of encountering something in the darkness terrified me.
But still I pressed on.
Ignoring the strange screams and sobs that echoed from within the cave's walls — ignoring the familiar crunch of bones beneath my feet — i continued until i reached the end.
I pulled a piece of wood from my bag, wrapped a cloth around it, and lit it.
As the makeshift torch flared to life, its flickering light revealed a gruesome emblem.
It was a...a...a—
"Come on. A what"
A bleeding eye beneath a dangling skeleton.
Its presence was so unsettling that i stumbled backward, landing hard on the ground.
I quickly stood up and studied the symbol. A bleeding eye drawn in blood. A skeleton hanging above it. A cave that screamed of death.
It was clear it wasn't just an ominous symbol.
It was a warning.
The entire cave was a death sign.
But still I was confused.
"Why?"
Hmmmm.... because if the whole purpose was to scare people off.
Why would they leave a key?.
At the center of the eye, where the pupil should have been, was a keyhole shaped like a shard — no bigger than the palm of my hand.
A wave of uncertainty washed over me, my resolve buckled, leaving only fear and doubt.
I held the key tightly, knowing that opening the door could release something that should never be freed.
At that moment only a single thought remained.
This singular choice could make or destroy my life.
I understood i had a choice but If i turned back now, i would never be able to face something like this again.
I think it was a way proving my conviction, a show for myself that I could make the difficult choice, the scary choice, if I ever had to.
I silenced my fear, inserted the key, and opened the door.
The wall parted, revealing a secret passage. I steeled my nerves once more and gripped my rifle even tighter.
The loud screams softened into pitiful wails. Quiet sobs turned into desperate cries. The sound of dripping water vanished entirely.
I stepped into the eerie passage, leaving my doubts behind and regretting nothing.
The door sealed shut behind me, and torches mounted along the walls flared to life, almost as if the cave itself sensed my presence.
Fear and dread coiled around my heart, but i had already made my choice.
The torchlight drove back the darkness, revealing engravings carved into the stone. They told a story of blood, death, and hysteria.
The first image depicted a skeletal figure crowned with twisted horns, shrouded in chilling white fog.
The second showed men, women, and children being forced into the fog's depths, their faces twisted with terror.
The third was pure horror — broken, mutilated bodies scattered in grotesque disarray.
Amid the carnage stood a lone figure: a pregnant woman, her eyes filled with terror and pain.
The final engraving showed a monstrous birth — a creature bursting from its mother's womb as the people bowed in worship.
It was the...the...the White Death and a...a...a...a——
Argh(his head ached in pain as if it was being ripped apart)
"This is it Jack you have to remember"
And something that resembled a woman
At first, the ending seemed clear to me.
They were devoured by the being they worshipped — a fitting end for their sins.
But the story did not end there.
A new series of engravings followed, drawn in blood.
They depicted people tearing one another apart, killing themselves, dancing in seas of blood and corpses. Again and again the images repeated, beginning with blood and ending with blood. Their depraved eyes held a trace of sadness and despair — at least, that was what i thought.
Eventually, the engravings ceased, leaving behind a message carved deep into the stone:
"Only now that we have felt their pain do we realize our sins.
Only now that we have felt their fear do we understand their suffering.
Even death could not liberate us.
Please, we beg of you — end this hell."
Their cries echoed in my heart.
Their words twisted my stomach into knots and for a moment just a moment I felt their pain, their regret, their despair.
It was unbearable
I gazed forward and
Before me stood an ancient door, adorned with mysterious talismans and intricate symbols of protection. I placed my hand upon the stone, and it crumbled, revealing an enormous chamber filled to the brim with bones.
And at its center stood a cradle.
The sound of crushed bones echoed as i marched through the chamber, awakening the monster slumbering within the cradle. Torches high above flared to life with pale blue flames as the creature rose.
Its black eyes locked onto me as it slid free of the cradle.
I stared up at the monstrosity with grim determination.
Its upper body was a twisted fusion of dark, glossy scales covering its back, while its front was exposed — pale, almost translucent skin stretched taut over warped muscle.
A grotesque maw gaped open, lined with jagged teeth capable of swallowing a man whole. Twisted tentacles writhed from its head like serpentine hair. Its lower body coiled into the powerful tail of a serpent, lifting the creature several meters above
me and casting an ominous shadow.
"What are you waiting for? Should I offer myself to you on a plate?"
My voice dripped with disdain, but instead of attacking, the creature extended an arm — almost friendly, if not for the razor-sharp claws.
I sensed no bloodlust. Even so, the being before me was a monster. Born of a human or not, that fact did not change.
Suddenly, the creature writhed in agony. It clawed at its own flesh, tearing into itself as it screamed. It collapsed into the bones, then surged forward in an instant, propelled by its tail.
I activated his enchantment just in time. A barrier flared into existence, deflecting the blow and hurling the creature back toward the cradle.
The force shattered the barrier.
I barely had time to register his surprise before the creature screamed again.
I slung his rifle over his shoulder and unsheathed his machete. There was no time to think — the second attack was already upon me.
The creature wove its tentacles into a twisted spear and launched it at horrific speed. I sidestepped and rushed forward, blade raised.
We collided in an instant. Steel met claw with a deafening crack that echoed through the chamber.
The creature's left arm swung toward my neck. I twisted away, suffering only a shallow cut as i brought my blade down toward its throat. The creature bent impossibly, evading the strike and lunging again with its right arm.
I quickly stepped back, surviving by the skin of my teeth.
The creature unraveled its spear into hundreds of tentacles, slamming them down like a volley of arrows. I raised my barrier again, forcing them back one by one.
The monster growled in frustration.
Already short of breath, i laughed weakly.
"Surprisingly, I'm pretty hard to kill. You're gonna have to try harder if you want to stuff me into that disgusting mouth of yours."
"Qui…ckly… k-kill me."
I frowned.
"I will"
The tentacles shot skyward and rained down, each strike capable of piercing bone and stone.
"Enchant bodily functions. Visual acuity. Muscle density. Bone strength. Reflex speed."
My bones shattered and reforged themselves, stronger than before. Muscles tore apart and reknit in violent cycles. My eyes burned crimson as blood streamed down his face.
But compared to what they felt...what you felt it was bearable.
I dashed forward in a single step, narrowly evading each tentacle. The ground trembled beneath him.
I know the monster felt it — death approaching.
It shifted its scales from back to front, but it was too late.
My blade dripped red. The creature's upper body collapsed into the bones.
I raised his machete high.
"Thank you," the monster whispered. "It's quiet now. After so much time… it's finally quiet."
"Shut up."
Its voice trembled, filled with guilt, sorrow, pain — and relief, as though a crushing burden had finally lifted.
"I thought I could free them. I thought I could free her. My mother still rots — body and soul — trapped in fog of her own making, waiting for him. I wonder… did she ever spare me a thought?"
"I said shut up. You're nothing but a monster. This was always how it was going to end."
There was no reply.
The creature was already dead.
Jack dragged the corpse across the chamber and tossed it into the cradle. I spared it one final glance before turning away.
Leaving the sea of bones, the ancient chamber, and the despicable cave behind me, i walked back into the wasteland.
Thinking back on it now, we understood each other but I was the only one that refused to accept that.
At the end I was wrong and I hope it understood that too.
Can you tell me another story"
"It's okay now, Harris"
"I remember"
"Thank you"