She had sat there for the entire day, staring at the screens - the masses celebrating Guy’s death with food and drink. They sang songs, they cheered and they chanted their names. As a child she imagined she would not mind being a heroine - to be a champion of the depths, riding some beast into the maws of the Monstrum. Now that she was… she wished Menta would stop knocking on her door, screaming for her to join the celebrations.

Instead, she poured herself another glass of mushroom ferment and shuddered at the thought of the taste, kicking her legs up on the table as she swallowed the damnable glass down.

Menta had oftentimes aired his frustration with her, stating that it was “childish” to refuse to go on - to give him a chance. She had to resist spitting on the floor as she heard his voice yell her name through the locked door. She still blamed him for it all - the way it had gone down.

For years, those images had plagued her - fed to her by some ghost of the past whenever she slept. A broken promise, a monster beyond her worst imagination and death… death… She dropped the glass from her hands and gripped her temples as another jolt of pain - of pure, unadulterated terror shot through her. These attacks had become more frequent. It was not entirely a seizure, she knew as much. She could see, taste and feel two worlds at once; one being her physical surroundings, but a second one being that still chamber. Guy was there, staring at her with that hatred to his one eye - enraged at the enemy that sought to reclaim the core and end their lives. This mind-world was one of horror, not only with its vivid imagery of him, but the fright that came with it would linger for hours and reduce her to a shivering mess by long.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

This attack was different from the others, far more intense and far longer. Even after the images faded, she felt that lingering sense of dread and doom - a nightmarish feeling that made her pinch her thigh just to verify that she was still alive.

“Luna, for Logo’s sake! Open the door!” Menta’s screaming was frantic… panicked. She struggled to breathe and looked up to the screens to see that all her People had gathered by the portholes and windows - anything providing them with a look outside. Through the oppressive darkness at the back of her head, she quickly keyed the control panel to animate the exterior cameras, providing her with a dozen angles of… something.