As Cyrus continued treading inside the cavern chamber he tried to distract his thoughts with the surrounding area. The crystals that emitted light were fairly numerous in number, however when he had attempted to use one as leverage for himself it ended up breaking off. While they were pretty to look at and seemed durable they were in fact quite brittle.
Vween! Vween!
Noticing the device’s reaction to the crystal he held it up towards it. In a surprising twist the crystal was absorbed into the device. Huh? I thought this thing only absorbed weapons. I guess a crystal can be used as a weapon, but certainly not this one. And even if it could I’d feel weird using something as small as a crystal instead of a sword or spear. Puzzlement overcame Cyrus as he tried figuring out how the device on his arm functioned.
After the events of the goblin battle Cyrus had moved the device from his injured left arm to his right one. Though he was unsure if it would even work there was the fact that when changed into the sword or spear the device would unlatch itself to form the weapon. The shield was the only real exception to this. While he couldn’t purposely leave it behind, he could at least control where it would latch onto.
Curious about it he mentally commanded the device to change into the absorbed crystal. However, nothing happened. Worried that he might have broken or damaged it he mentally shifted it between its other forms. Seeing that there was no such problem he tried once again to shift the device into a crystal but met with failure. Trying to figure out what was a wrong a stray mental though leapt out at him.
Insufficient materials. That was the intrusive thought that entered his mind. As for its origins if it wasn’t Cyrus himself then it must have come from the device. Intrigued by the notion he quickly gathered some more crystals along the way, allowing the device to absorb them all. He had tried to absorb an entire crystal but found that it was too big for the device to absorb.
After absorbing quite a bit Cyrus attempted once more to shift the device into a crystal. Like before it was a complete failure. This time the mental message of insufficient materials didn’t come to him. Not knowing what to do anymore he simply ignored it and continued on.
Pain and hunger continued to derail his thoughts. He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to last. Coming across multiple tunnels he chose one at random and went through it. Looking around he noticed that small crystals were peering out of the walls, the same kind that produced light. While they were fairly dim they provided just enough light to see. He theorized that it was probably these crystals that also allowed him to see when he first awoke, their appearance so small he simply hadn’t noticed.
Huff…huff…huff…
Walking for a few minutes more, Cyrus found himself wheezing, his body tiring out. The battle with the goblin had obviously taken its toll on him, both physically and mentally. Shoving his distraught emotions about killing to the back of his mind he temporarily closed his heavy eyelids.
Loosing stability Cyrus quickly opened his eyes and sent his leg forward to stop his fall. The brunt of the impact sent a wave of pain to him as he realized the leg he used to stop his fall was the one he had injured.
“Gah!”
The sudden influx of pain escaped his lips in dismay. It was enough to cause him to topple over to the ground. Trying to get up he found himself unable to properly gather the strength to do so. If I don’t figure out something soon…
As the dust cloud from his fall settled, Cyrus saw something that made his thoughts cease completely. It wasn’t another goblin or a different creature. It wasn’t anything like the strange device or light crystals that were equally mysterious. No, what he saw was something that he recognized. There in plain view, seemingly teleported in, were the remnants of a building of modern times seemingly merged into the cavern.
With a spark of hope once again showing itself Cyrus forgot all about the pain he was feeling. Putting as much force into his body as possible he quickly made his was towards the building. Looking at it he saw no door, this specific section being a different floor, but noticed smashed windows leading in.
Without even thinking how or why the windows were smashed Cyrus quickly made his way inside. In a building like this he might find food, first aid, or even other people. While the chamber of light crystals gave false hope of an exit, this building gave a definite hope for survival.
Carefully making his way in Cyrus noticed the true size of the building he entered. While in the tunnel it may have only seemed like a small section of it that was broken off, in truth it seemed as though it were completely intact. Sure there were areas of the wall being destroyed, but from what he could tell the entire structure of the building was still whole.
Cheering in his mind he quickly set out to find something useful. The end result, while not the best, was still something he was thankful for. A couple candy bars, two bags of chips, some Tic-tac’s, and three bottles of water. He had thought about searching the room some more but the building’s slanted angle had caused everything in it to be scattered around.
Content with what he had Cyrus took a quick chuck of water, completely emptying one water bottle in the process. With his thirst quenched for the most part he then quickly went on and devoured the sources of food he scavenged earlier. Seeing as the chips made too much noise, he deciding it best to eat those first, saving three candy bars for later.
Looking around he managed to find a knapsack, placing anything useful in it before putting it on. With slight nourishment he continued to explore the underground building. If I’m underground and this building is still intact then would going to the top have me closer to ground level? At worst I’ll just have to come back down, might even find more supplies along the way. With such thoughts Cyrus decided to head towards the highest point this building would take him.
Climbing the slightly steep building proved a little troubling for Cyrus. With his leg still injured it was a difficult trek for him. Opening the door to the next room he came across another disturbing sight. Based on a sign he had just been on the sixth floor, but here on the seventh was something unusual.
A police car half caught in a nearby wall made its presence known to all. Further inspection showed that the police car didn’t crash into the building, rather it seemed to be merged with like. It was as if the world itself glitched out and the police vehicle clipped into the building while also being teleported underground with him.
The notion of what happened to Cyrus grew more and more confusing with each new piece of evidence presented. As this room was essentially in the middle of the cavern in the most literal of sense, the light crystals that seemed to sprout everywhere were nowhere to be seen.
Luckily the lights of the car were on, slightly blinding Cyrus but lighting the dark room as well. A quick search of the room showed nothing of interest other than the police car itself. Walking towards it, he took a quick look in. The back half of the car wouldn’t be seen, covered by the concrete of the building. Despite looking like that neither the car nor building seemed as though they impeded the other, the car wasn’t shown to be crushed and the walls seemed perfectly intact.
Rummaging through some papers and equipment Cyrus stumbled upon something. A weapon lay on the floor of the passenger seat, a handgun. Looking at the modern weapon he knew of Cyrus remained staring at it for a bit before reaching out for it. He had never handled a gun before but given the situation he may end up needing it. At the very least it could be used as a good deterrent against enemies who knew of the dangerous weapon.
Weapon! As if barely processing that he quickly brought the gun over to the small device. Though he didn’t know much about it, what little he did know was that it seemed to absorb weapons into it just as it did with the spear, sword, shield, and dagger.
“Huh?”
Dumbfounded at the loss of reaction from the device those words left Cyrus’ mouth. He didn’t understand why nothing was happening. The only conclusion that he could draw was that the device could only absorb medieval weaponry such as the things before, but it had also absorbed the light crystals which in turn also seemed to provide nothing to him.
Grabbing a holster from inside the car he quickly put it on and placed the gun in it. He looked around for some ammo but found nothing. While slightly depressed he quickly made his way to the next room.
Dark, everything was a pitch black abyss. While the next two rooms could be filled with some light from the police car by leaving the doors opened, it was only a matter of time before he had to move up a floor and leave the illuminated car lights behind.
Equipped with the shield just in case Cyrus remained wondering what to do. Thinking on it if he could being out those light crystals the device absorbed out then he could use them as a makeshift flashlight. He could also head back to collect some and bring them here, but if he ran into something along the way then it would be bad.
Stuck wondering what he should do Cyrus’ gaze fell onto the shield. A slightly strange thought had entered his mind. He had imagined a shield created out of those light crystals in his head, musing over the thought of a flashlight-shield.
Vween! Vween!
Suddenly there was a reaction from the device. Cyrus watched confusedly as the shield glowed, despite not actually illuminating anything nearby, and changes its form. Hmm? What’s going on? I didn’t tell it to change forms.
Cyrus observed as the light skewed a bit before reforming into a shield. It was an act that had greatly confused him. It wasn’t until the glow vanished that he realized something different.
“What’s this?!”
Voicing out his surprise he watched as the device shifted from a shield to another one. This time however the structure of the shield was vastly different as it dimmed slightly with pulsating light. The shield in his right arm now looked like it was made completely out of the light crystals he had absorbed prior; almost in the same shape he had imagined it in a moment ago.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Wondering something Cyrus changed the shield back and forth from the gaudy overly decorated one and the light crystal version. The result was that he was able to switch between them with ease. Wonderment overcoming him, he imagined a light crystal sword in an attempt to create a glowing “holy” sword.
Insufficient materials. That phrase entered his mind again. Apparently either most or all of the crystals he had absorbed were used to create the Light-Crystal Shield. Switching back over to it he saw as it illuminated a small area with a dim light. Sending mental thoughts to the device through the link they shared Cyrus discovered that the light emanated from the shield could be easily controlled from blinding all the way to being off.
Using his new Light-Crystal Shield, Cyrus continued on his venture to the top of the building. At one point he came across a fridge but found its contents all spoiled, making him wonder how long he had been down here.
It wasn’t until he entered the thirteenth floor that something felt wrong. His encounter with the goblin had put Cyrus’ sixth sense on end, enough so that he could feel like there was something else here in the building with him. Placing trust in his survival instincts he dimmed the light of the shield to the point where it illuminated very little, just enough to make out what was in front of him.
During his entire way up there wasn’t any signs of another tunnel meaning it was either he continued forward or go all the way back down and go on from there. Placing his ear on the door leading to the next floor he listened for signs of something there.
The sounds of cackling flames accompanied by a strange smell of something cooking came to him. The thought of it made him believe that there were other people here besides him; other stranded survives of whatever happened to put them there.
As if forgetting all other thoughts he quickly opened the door. What met his eyes was not what he had wanted. Humans, he saw humans there except they were bloodied, beaten, and missing limbs. Looking over to the fire in the room he was as roasted ligaments were grilled over them, charred to a crisp.
As the smell of blood and charred limbs assaulted his nose Cyrus completely lost all processing power. Like a statue he remained there looking at the scene. It wasn’t until he heard a snarl that his head automatically turned towards it. A goblin was there. Except it was not just one or two, but five of them huddled together like a group. Cyrus saw as the creatures were holding onto various burned human limbs, eating them with great delight.
Noticing the single human who intruded upon their feats, the five goblins each gave out a shriek before running towards him. Seeing them advancing the pain in Cyrus’ arm and leg pulsated in despair. Recalling the sensation of being stabbed he managed to regain his bodily control and slammed the door before running away.
Up the square staircase, round and round, Cyrus ran as quickly as he could. The nauseous feeling he had after viewing the gruesome scene still in full effect. He had seen what they were eating. He recalled the charred looks of the feminine arm having a bite taken out of it, the leg that was being shared amongst two of the goblins, the organs being chewed on by another, and finally the head of a little girl that was missing an eye being mercilessly bitten into by the last one.
Cyrus felt as though his body was becoming sluggish, wanting to puke out everything he had eaten and then some. He continuously held back the stomach acid making its way to his throat. Due to his currently sluggish nature he ended up being tripped by the staircase, falling directly onto his stomach and as a result released the floodgates.
Gagging, Cyrus watched as his stomach emptied its contents right then and there. The strange mixtures of food he had eaten and even some liquid from the water he had drank returned to the physical world.
With nothing left to hurl out Cyrus continued to gag and heave out nothing but air. His heartbeat racing the fastest it has ever been, his body trembling and seemingly unmoving, and his mind in complete disarray.
Hearing the sound of rummaging footsteps behind him Cyrus turned his head to see the group of goblins quickly following. Instinctive reactions took the helm once more as his body forced itself to continue running upwards through the slanted staircase to escape the pursuit.
Floor after floor he ran. It wasn’t until he made it to floor twenty-four that he stopped to catch his breath. His legs wobbled from the strain. Looking back he could see as the goblins continued to chase him from a few floors down.
Wanting to shake them off he quickly entered the room of floor twenty-four, quietly opening and closing the door, rather than continuing up. If all went well then he could avoid the goblins, catch his breath, and come up with a plan of action. With the device and the gun there was a good chance of survival in this fight.
Crawling underneath one of the desks Cyrus made himself scarce, steading his breathing and attempting to blend into the darkness. He debated on whether changing back to the gaudy shield or keeping the Light-Crystal Shield equipped. Defense or visibility, he wasn’t sure which was the appropriate one to sacrifice. After all if these goblins could see in the dark then they’d find him no matter what, but having no light means zero visibility for him and a less likely chance of escape.
Now that I think it, those goblins weren’t wearing any armor. From what he could recall from the quick glances he had there seemed to be no goblins wearing armor like the first one he encountered. Then again there was the possibility he merely missed it during his hectic getaway.
Waiting for a bit he heard the door to the room he was in creak open. Cyrus silently freaked out in his mind about what to do. Observing best he could he saw that there was only one goblin that had entered. Did the rest continue up, go back, or hiding?
Debating whether or not to take this chance to try to get rid of one of them Cyrus unintentionally caused some clutter to move and sound out his location. Seeing the goblin make its way towards him, adrenaline still pumping, he made his choice.
“Gwah?!”
With the Light-Crystal Shield I mentally commanded it to activate its brightest setting possible for a split-second. With the makeshift flashbang the goblin panicked as it was momentarily blinded.
“Haaa!”
Screaming to motivate himself, Cyrus clenched his eyes tight as he grabbed the spear the device shifted into. Recalling where the goblin was and the path to it he held the pear directly out. With the momentum of his running he managed to send the spear through the goblin’s head. With a killing shot the goblin died off fairly quick.
Not wanting to see the results of his job Cyrus turned his head before opening his eyes. Changing back into the Light-Crystal Shield he quickly made his way to the open door leading back to the staircase. Grabbing onto the railing he tried steadying himself.
When every hair rose on end for him Cyrus knew the fight wasn’t over. Quickly turning he saw another goblin rushing towards him with a rusted and chipped dagger. Blocking with his shield he saw as the dagger bounced off it, but not without chipping some of the shield off as well.
“Shit!”
Forgetting how brittle the light crystals were Cyrus had attempted to block an attack with a shield made of them. If not for it being a rather weak creature then his entire shield might have broken apart. Instincts in full drive Cyrus ran towards the off-balanced goblin.
As before he changed to the spear, using his momentum to increased its piercing strike. With a direct hit he heard a struggling gurgle in the darkness as well as a sudden halt to his advance. If he had to take a guess then he must have struck directly in the goblin’s throat and straight into a wall.
With a quick swing he launched the goblin off the staircase as he heard it fall to the area bellow. Still in the momentum of the swing he felt something heavy suddenly landing on the spearhead. Hearing the agonizing cry that followed made it obvious that one of the goblins must have jumped down from the area above to try to ambush him.
While things seemed to have been going moderately fine, an unexpected problem occurred. While the weight of the goblin and gravity drew the top of the spearhead down, Cyrus attempted to lift and send the spear in the opposite direction to try to throw the goblin down the staircase away from him.
During this motion the spear snapped. Cyrus could hear as the weapon broke in two as well as the goblins cry as it fell down the staircase. What should have been a relieving moment was actually one of dread for him.
Recalling the strange device and its various forms, it would always merge with the weapon and appear on a different location on it. For the shield it was directly in the middle, but for the spear its location was the spearhead itself with the blade actually protruding from it. With the spear snapped directly in the middle the device it fell alongside the goblin’s body.
Now stranded in the dark with no weapon other than the gun Cyrus felt a chill down his spine. Even with the gun if there was no visibility then he could miss his shot. In addition the device was the only means of defense he actually had. He had considered taking the first goblin’s broken armor but was too injured and exhausted to do so.
Cyrus, feeling overwhelmed by the darkness, grabbed hold of the gun and drew it out. With heavy breathing he used his left hand to find the guardrail of the staircase and began to go up. Slowly, step-by-step, he made his way to what he hoped was salvation.
When a searing pain emanated from the side of his stomach Cyrus lost grip and fell down the stairs from the loss of balance, losing grip of the handgun in the process. Reaching to the side of his stomach he felt the touch of something warm and wet. Realizing it was his blood he quickly curled up in fright.
Though it was still dark Cyrus could feel as though he was able to see a menacing outline of the goblin approaching him. Seeing the ghastly image made his quiver in fear. Thoughts of the device came to him in that moment. Thoughts of it returning to him and saving his life like some sentient superhero.
Vween~ Vween~
A reaction from the device came over Cyrus’ mind. It was the same yet different in meaning. As if reacting to his plea to return to him, Cyrus saw the device fly his way over him as it shifted into the more durable gaudy ornate shield.
Before Cyrus could celebrate this fortuitous event, a sudden weight brought his attention back to the goblin. Like with the first goblin he changed to shield into a spear, however this time no reaction came from the device. Still in shield form confusion and fear plagued him.
Why isn’t it working?! Is it because the spear broke? With thoughts racing through his mind Cyrus tried changing into a different weapon. Just as the first time the goblin who was too close to the device ended up being pierce when it began to change forms. This time a short sword appeared to kill the beast. As if on instinct Cyrus twisted the blade as best he could against the struggling goblin. Like the two before it he tossed it down the staircase, hoping to never see the creature again. He had noted that sometime during the skirmish the same feeling of his soul-burning-fighting-spirit had activated once more before snuffing out.
Changing to the Light-Crystal Shield, Cyrus quickly found the handgun and placed it back in its holster. Checking his latest injury he saw it was nothing by a scratch and nothing to really worry about, although it still hurt.
Becoming sick of the place Cyrus decided it best to just make a beeline to the top and not check the various rooms on each floor. With this shield lighting the way he made his way up. After what felt like hours he arrived at the topmost area of the building on floor forty-seven. With hands gripped on the door handle he gave a quick deep breath before turning it an opening the door.
Room after room he went through. Just as he had lost hope of escaping he opened the latest room he found. That instance he was assaulted by a blinding warm light. Looking out he could see through the window that was half submerged in the rocky ground and half in the open air.
Finally making it Cyrus ran to the half-submerged window to take a peek out. Though he couldn’t really see much from what he could assume was ground level of the top half of the window, he at least saw greenery and the bright blue sky overhead.
Seeing another broken window up ahead he quickly made his way towards it and climbed out of the nearly submerged building. Taking in the bright warm sun rays and enjoying the breeze of the wind Cyrus couldn’t help but begin to tear up. The thought of death continued to plaster his mind throughout the entire ordeal, the thought of dying cold and alone in that frightening place. Now he had finally made it out.
Still, things weren’t over yet. He still needed to find a way home and find out how he ended up in such a bizarre cavern in the first place. As Cyrus opened his clenched eyes to take in the view he became wide-eyed and flabbergasted.
A mountain range lay to the farther parts of the end, blocking anything that may be hiding behind them. The hill he had found himself on was peering through the dense forest that surrounded it. Rocks, crystals, and even rivers seemed to float around in the sky like it were the most natural thing in the world. In fact he could even make out a kingdom floating in the sky.
“Where…just where the hell am I?!”
Chapter End