My vision was focused on the shrinking light above me.
It wasn't fading. I was being pulled away.
Like something decided I was no longer worthy of being illuminated.
Cold enveloped around my body in layers, freezing my joints in place. They didn't have the energy to struggle, nor listen to my commands. Just weighed and drifted downwards.
Slowly I sunk deeper into the depths of the darkness.
That's all I knew for certain.
Below, darkness pressing upwards like a living mass, waiting to drag me deeper. Above, the final sliver of light narrowed into a single thread.
My thoughts lagged behind reality.
Slowly slipping away.
I had died.
That realization came without emotion.
Followed by a second thought.
…How?
I couldn't form the answer.
But that's no longer important.
Something broke through the darkness below, cutting against the void with slow, deliberate movement. It wasn't in a hurry, why would it be?
Time slowed further as it approached me.
Like time was under its control.
I failed to recognise it at first.
Then it shifted through the black and it came to me.
Vampire Squid.
S-Rank.
From Torment of Tartarus.
That shouldn't be here.
The thought came easily, then immediately disintegrated after.
Why is a Field Boss spawning in-
The thought collapsed.
The creature stopped before me.
We stared.
If it could be counted as a stare.
My body didn't feel or respond to any fear. It didn't respond to anything. Even my breathing fell foreign, something no longer in my control.
Air left my lungs.
Bubbles floated upwards, slow spheres drifting into the abyss.
Underwater.
A lake?
No.
Too deep.
Too wrong.
The thought dissolved before it could stabilize.
The Vampire Squid rotated slightly. Its body pulsed once, bioluminescent edges dimly outlined its form. Not aggressive, nor curious.
Observing.
My awareness fractured further.
I feared that was the last coherent thought.
It was an inconvenience.
I never finished my Class Advancement.
I had been one step away from completing it.
Three months of preparation.
Poison immunity. Fire immunity.
To reach the hidden NPC in this structure.
The reward was supposed to be worth it.
It always was.
That's how the system worked.
My body felt heavier.
Or maybe it didn't weigh anything?
The creature drifted closer.
Its presence filled the remaining space between me and unconsciousness.
My final thought assembled itself slowly, like a broken interface attempting one last refresh.
I always thought death would be cleaner than this.
More structured.
A transitioned state.
Instead…
My mind failed me.
~~~~~~~~~~
⟪UNREGISTERED STATE DETECTED⟫
~~~~~~~~~~