The way to the courtyard was easy to find, and in a sudden wave of exhaustion, Tyr found a place to curl up and sleep.

It had felt like he had just closed his eyes when a strange buzzing sound, to which Tyr opened his eyes in frustration. But Tyr was not lying down in a courtyard anymore, instead, he was floating underwater in what appeared to be a massive city.

Where in the realms am I?

The entire place seemed to give a dim glow, and there seemed to be markings on the walls and nearby pillars, which Tyr assumed was some form of writing he was unfamiliar with. Swimming in closer, Tyr saw that the reason the walls glowed was because of some sort of goo covered them, with parts of the glow moving from one point to the next. Going further down still, Tyr saw patches of large seaweed and was about to swim away when he saw something sway in the seaweed that was not part of it. Getting closer to inspect, Tyr saw that it was a clothe of some sort that was thinner at the bottom and got wider to a point at the end. For reasons he did not fully understand, Tyr reached out, took hold of the cloth, and gently pulled.

Immediately following that, a man’s body floated free from the other side of the seaweed. The eyes glazed white, what little hair there was left was attached to what little skin there was left, the nose twisted to rest on the man’s cheekbone as though it had been scraped, and the bloated tongue floated in the water due to lack of a lower jaw. The cloth Tyr had pulled was tied around the man’s neck, and most of whatever clothing the man had been wear was rotted away by the water, with the only things still intact being the shoes and a round silver looking medallion of some kind that seemed to have once attached to a vest the man wore, though now that vest itself was nearly rotted.

But for Tyr, what made him swim back slightly was the black mark. Twisting around the man’s body was an inky mark that started at splotch on the man’s forehead and ran down his body to his shoes. The line ran perfectly uninterrupted along the man’s body, being within the top layer of clothing, flesh, and even the bone underneath.

That is no natural mark, and though it is hard to tell with this light, I am certain I saw it move with the water flow. I should look for a way out.

Tyr began to swim upward, looking to see if there was any light other than the walls to indicate a way out, when he stopped suddenly.

The buzzing stopped.

Tyr turned to see if there was anything behind him, but only saw the same walls as before. Yet when he turned back around, he found himself face to face with the corpse from before. Tyr swam back slightly to get away and saw that the medallion on the remains of the man’s vest floated in front of him, and had been open on one side, revealing a white surface covered in black marks and two arrows, a long one pointing at one mark and a smaller one pointing at another. As though he was mesmerized, Tyr saw his hand reaching for the strange medallion and grabbed it.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The moment that Tyr’s hand was around medallion, the corpse’s hands grasped his arm and the head leaned forward with the tongue slowly stretched forth, splitting itself into four or five smaller tongues as it moved. Tyr swung his right arm, hitting corpse’s body and sending it slamming into the nearby pillar, its fingers having broken off and floating in the water to indicate its path. The entire place brightened for a moment then turned dark, followed by small ovals of green light moving quickly along the walls like an anthill split open. Tyr looked back at the corpse and saw, whatever the light was, move along the mark the man as though it was meant to be a pathway.

Tyr then saw a light above him. Looking up, he nearly saw an opening in the ceiling above and began swimming swiftly toward it, using his strength move faster than most people could swim. A quick glance down told that there had been other corpses in the seaweed and on the floor as well. Then the chanting started.

It was inaudible at first, but soon grew to become like a loud whisper, said by hundreds of voices and repeated over and over. As Tyr began to make out what was being said, he realized where he was and, if he did not hurry, who he was going to meet. This knowledge made Tyr, for the first time he had ever known, feel crippling fear.

“Ia! Ia! Cthulhu fhtagn! Ia! Ia! Cthulhu fhtagn! Ia! Ia! Cthulhu fhtagn! Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn!”

Tyr soared through the opening and swam a little further before he dared to look down, yet the glow that had been there before was now gone, leaving Tyr alone in the cold dark waters.

Dark? What happened to the light I saw?

Welcome to the city of R’lyeh, little one.

Tyr turned to see a massive orb, as large as the deck of a small seagoing vessel and a shade of green he had never seen in nature, glow slightly beneath him. It was smooth and featureless, yet Tyr felt an intense hunger and cruelty from it. With a speed and strength he did not even know he had, Tyr shot upward at breakneck speeds, kicking and scooping his arms for water.

Think you that distance will save you from me? You will forever be in my grasp, as all who come to R’lyeh are. Soon, you too shall be a sacrifice to the mighty Cthulhu. Run if you wish, it will only make you taste all the sweeter when caught.

Tyr felt some massive thing in the water come to him and felt a scream begin to rise in his throat. Just then, the water became warmer, and after a blink of his eyes, Tyr found himself scrambling to his feet in the middle of the courtyard in Asgard. The sun had just begun to rise in the distance and a fire had been lit on a brazier a short distance away from him.

A nightmare. Probably brought on by eating and drinking too much before going to sleep.

Tyr breathed a sigh of relief and began to walk to go inside, then rigidly stopped. Tyr looked down at his closed fist, raised it up and opened it. Upon opening his hand, Tyr felt a sense of grim dread wash over him, then slowly walked over the brazier and placed the medallion within the flames so that it would burn.

Illuvatar help me.