After finishing my shower, I walked toward the rack of towels, the sheer variety of colors and sizes almost unnecessary in their abundance. Grabbing a plain white one, I couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of relief—finally, something clean. Towel in hand, I moved to the room-sized mirror mounted next to the rack. The polished surface reflected the fluorescent lights above, casting a stark glow over my appearance.
For the first time in... I don’t even know how long, I could see myself. No mud. No slime. No disgusting gunk obscuring my skin. My pale complexion, once corpse-like, had transformed into a healthier hue, somewhere between copper and white. Not bad, I thought. My hair, which I’d last seen as a jagged, unruly mess, now fell smooth and dark, like a silk curtain draped over my shoulders.
Damn. I looked good—or at least, I would if I weren’t so skinny. If I had more muscle, I might even pull off a Jason Momoa vibe. For now, though, I looked more like his scrawny understudy.
I spent a few moments flexing in the mirror. Well, trying to, anyway. My biceps were still disappointingly unimpressive. With a sigh, I finished drying off and hung the towel back on the rack. No use dwelling on it. I needed to figure out my next move.
Walking toward the exit sign at the end of the hallway, I felt the cold tiles under my bare feet, the chill seeping upward. The air carried a faint, sterile smell—antiseptic, maybe? It reminded me of a hospital, though the atmosphere felt... off.
The hallway opened into a large, bustling room. Rows of chairs filled the space, each occupied by someone freshly showered, their damp hair clinging to their heads or dripping onto their towels. Nurses rushed between them, grabbing vials, syringes, and bottles from neatly organized trays. Their masks caught my eye immediately. Unlike anything I’d seen before, they shimmered faintly with mana. The energy flowed over their surfaces in intricate, shifting patterns, mesmerizing yet alien.
How could they afford this many mana-enhanced masks? Were they crafting them here? The thought made me uneasy. Whoever was running this place wasn’t short on resources, and that made me wonder what their ultimate goal was.
Scanning the room, I realized how many people were packed inside—over a hundred, at least. It was a diverse crowd, though most looked as dazed and out of place as I felt. These must’ve been the early risers, the ones who woke up before me. Impressive, in a way.
My attention snagged on the first of several notable figures.
There was a young guy—human-looking, maybe sixteen—lounging casually in his chair. His small, slit-like eyes crinkled with amusement, a grin spreading wide across his blue, smudgy skin. Pointed ears jutted out from his damp hair, confirming his elven heritage. The elven features giving me flash backs of the elven fatass.
Fuck you, Eggshell.
I moved on, my gaze landing on a Minotaur sitting a few chairs away. His massive frame practically dwarfed the furniture, making his towel look almost comically small. I couldn’t tell his age—teenager, maybe?—but the guy was built like a truck.
Mmm, beef.
No! What was wrong with me? I didn’t even know him! But... that neck. That thick, muscular neck. It looked disturbingly appetizing. I shook the thought away, focusing on someone else before I embarrassed myself further.
The last figure was the strangest by far. A humanoid shape, but unmistakably not human. Its "body" radiated an eerie glow, pulsing faintly with red mana. The form looked human at first glance, but the way it moved—it was like a puppet controlled by something unseen.
A fire elemental in a flesh suit? Creepy. Definitely keeping my distance.
The room was colder than the hallway, the kind of cold that seeped into your bones and made you shiver involuntarily. Multiple doors lined the far walls, their purposes unclear. My instincts told me to bolt, to find a way out before something bad happened. But running would only get me caught, and the thought of trying to explain myself wasn’t appealing. A couple of injections couldn’t be that bad... right?
A nurse appeared at my side, their movements silent and efficient. Like the others, their face was hidden behind one of those mana-infused masks. They gestured for me to follow, and I did, more out of reluctance than obedience.
The chair they led me to groaned in protest as I sat down, the sound embarrassingly loud in the otherwise quiet room.
Creeeeak.
“Pfft—ow!” Are all elves just assholes?
The elf couldn’t help but snicker before being cut off by another jab of a needle.
I clenched my teeth, resisting the urge to respond. It was as if my jaw locked up whenever I wanted to say something, the words trapped behind an invisible barrier. Bitchas—
SHINK!
The sudden sting of a needle in my arm made me flinch. The nurse didn’t bother with any pretense of warning, sticking me with clinical precision and moving on before I could protest.
Great. Just great.
I went through a couple more rounds of having needles stuck in me and hearing the other weak-minded individuals that had just walked in squirm in their chairs like they bitches they were.
As the nurse moved on, leaving me with a dull ache in my arm, I shifted uncomfortably in the chair. Around me, the others—Eggshell impersonator, the Minotaur, and even the unsettling fire-elemental-doll thing—seemed to have settled into a resigned rhythm. Needles, bottles, and hurried nurses. No one seemed eager to ask questions, and for a moment, I wondered if I should. But the words refused to leave my mouth, so I stayed quiet, watching.
The cold in the room wasn’t just physical; it was in the air, the atmosphere, the way the nurses didn’t meet anyone’s eyes. If they had eyes behind those glowing masks. The longer I stayed, the more I felt it—a weight pressing on my chest, an unease creeping into the edges of my mind. This place does not feel very welcoming...
Just as I started considering bolting for one of the doors, a deep chime echoed through the room. It wasn’t loud, but it cut through the low murmur of shuffling feet and the occasional hiss of injected liquids. The nurses straightened immediately, their movements now more purposeful.
One of them gestured to me and the others who’d just been seated. Her hand pointed toward a set of double doors on the far wall, their steel surface polished to a mirror-like finish.
“Move,” she said, her voice clipped and mechanical. It wasn’t harsh, but it carried no warmth, no hint of humanity.
Eggshell stood first, rolling his shoulders like he’d just woken from a nap. The Minotaur followed, his massive frame swaying slightly as he rose. The fire elemental moved last, gliding rather than walking, its steps too smooth to feel natural. I hesitated, but the nurse’s gesture grew sharper.
“Now.”
"*Sigh"
I got up, my legs stiff from sitting. As we approached the double doors, I noticed faint markings etched into their surface—runes, glowing faintly with the same eerie light as the nurses’ masks. A low hum emanated from them, a subtle vibration I could feel in my being.
The doors swung open as we approached with a loud CREEK, revealing a hallway bathed in a dim, reddish light. The temperature shifted immediately, the cold giving way to a dry, oppressive heat. The air felt thick, like it was pressing down on me, making every breath just a little harder to take. How did they manage to get the surface of the fucking sun inside?
Elf prick was the first to step through, his grin undeterred as he strolled down the hallway. The Minotaur followed, his hooves clinking softly against the metal floor. The fire elemental seemed perfectly at home, the glow of its mana blending with the reddish light.
I trailed behind, my skin prickling with every step. The walls were lined with more of those runes, their faint glow casting shifting shadows. Occasionally, the markings pulsed brighter, as if reacting to our presence. This place was practically living with the amount of mana that was pulsing through it like veins and arteries. please don't tell me I'm in a giant mimic!
The hallway opened into another large room, but this one was nothing like the previous one. The walls were smooth and metallic, the ceiling high and domed. In the center of the room stood a massive contraption—a machine of some kind, its surface covered in tubes, levers, and glowing crystals. It buzzed softly, the sound just low enough to feel rather than hear.
Around the machine, several figures in long, hooded robes moved with deliberate precision. Their faces were obscured, much like the nurses’, but their robes were lined with more of those glowing runes. They appeared to be adjusting the machine, whispering to one another in a language I couldn’t understand. The ramblings were alien other than the occasional 'o' or 'ah' I heard.
We were guided toward a series of smaller stations set up around the room, each one resembling a workstation crossed with a medical examination table. The smell of ozone and something faintly metallic filled the air.
A hooded figure approached me, their movements fluid and unnervingly quiet.
“Lie down,” they said, their voice a strange blend of monotone and reverberation, like it was coming from both them and the walls around me.
I hesitated, my instincts screaming to run, but the figure didn’t wait for a response. Their gloved hand pressed firmly on my shoulder, guiding me toward the table.
The surface was cold, even through the thin towel I was still wearing. A set of restraints snapped into place around my wrists and ankles, their metallic edges clicking with finality. I glanced at the others. Elf guy and the Cow were already strapped in, the elf still grinning like an idiot while the Minotaur looked... resigned. The fire elemental, of course, didn’t need restraints. It stood motionless, watching.
The hooded figure leaned over me, their face still obscured. A strange device, shaped like a helmet with wires and glowing filaments, hovered in their hands.
“This won’t hurt,” they said, though their tone was as reassuring as a predator’s smile.
I wanted to ask what “this” was, but before I could form the words, the helmet was lowered onto my head. A sharp buzz filled my ears, followed by a sudden, blinding flash of light.
And then, everything went dark.
----------------------------------------
I woke immediately, touching my face only to feel a warm metal sheet covering my eyes, and more importantly my mouth. Fuck! No [Bite] for now I guess!
I looked around the area while sitting up, feeling the lack of restraints on any of my extremities...Why would they kidnap me, then just let me free?
Just... Blackness.
I was functionally blind to my envoirment.
What am I suppose to do about this?...
Hmm... Oh! [Mana Sight]!
I activated my skill, and I could recognize that I was no longer in the same dome room because there was no large machine that was chugging in the middle of the room anymore, and it seems that I now had actual cloths on my body.
I inspected more and saw the recognizable orangish red mana of the fire elemental directly above me. The flames of its mana seeped into whatever it was laying on, and seemed more attracted to somethings than to others. I attempted to refine my [Mana sight] a little bit.
I pumped mana to wards [Mana Sight] but all that happens is just seeing more intense amounts of mana, slightly blinding me for a couple of seconds. God! Fucking flashbang!
Ok... How do I see clearer with [Mana sight] without blinding myself?
1. I could see if I could pump specific amounts of mana to see clearly?
2. I could try to turn off just certain amounts of mana, or see specifically one mana?
3. I could Just rip what ever is on my face off?
...
Lets just go in order!
Trying the first one I try to pull from my mana pool, less like a push of mana but more like a stream. I move my mana Ridgely and not much is changing other than small burst of colorful mana so I try it a different way.
I move my mana not by controlling it specifically, but by making it so it can only go to certain places like a tube moving water. The mana doesn't move, so I start just pushing the mana with my will power and I move the almost hard air like substance towards [Mana Sight] feeding it slowly.
Everything is much less intense, but this is progress! I pump just a little bit more and...
WIS +1
It works! No longer blurry blobs anymore I can actually see the envoirment around me like seeing the outline of all of the objects around me. This sight only goes out for about 5 feet, but it works for my purposes. This would have been useful with Hercules!
The feeling of having one of my major senses back brings me extreme clarity, and I look around admiring my surroundings for what they really are.
I am inside of a small metal can of a room with rush piling up the walls with the other 3 people that I had seen inside of the dome with some metal mask coving there faces just as it was covering mine. Danm, how are they breathing?... how am I breathing?!?
I take deep breaths in and out and feel my wind pipe completely unrestricted like I don't have a metal sheet covering my head, looking over to the side of the 2 bunks that take the bulk of this rust bucket of a room and take a look in the mirror to see that the metal sheet was only attached to my head. It was slightly blurry but I think I could make it out.
I squinted, my [Mana Sight] trying to make sense of the inscription etched into the mask. The words shimmered faintly, their mana-infused script almost alive, shifting ever so slightly as though resisting being fully understood. I leaned closer to the metal panel bolted to the wall, using its distorted reflection to study the marks on my face.
It read: "Hungry Pup, 42"
The words felt like they had a meaning but a deep reverberating cold ran down my spine when I read them despite the warmth of the metal against my skin. I reached up instinctively, fingers brushing the edges of the mask. It wasn’t attached in any traditional sense—no straps, no bolts, nothing holding it in place—yet it didn’t budge when I tried to pull it off. It felt like it was fused to me, not just physically, but... magically.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The room’s oppressive atmosphere wasn’t helping. The dim, rusty walls seemed to close in, the faint groan of the ship’s—or structure’s—metal frame only adding to my unease. The faint hum of mana in the air pressed against my senses, a constant reminder that this place, whatever it was, operated on rules far beyond my understanding.
I turned my attention back to the others. Eggshell impersonator, the cow, and the fire elemental were still unconscious—or at least unmoving. Their masks, similar to mine, bore different inscriptions. I couldn’t quite make them out, the mana running through the engravings distorting my view.
The fire elemental's mask glowed faintly with a red hue, mana pulsing through it in rhythm with the faint flickers of fire that seeped out from its "skin." The Minotaur's was more subdued, the mana etched into his mask moving sluggishly, almost reluctantly, like it was weighed down.
Elf... well, his mask was different altogether. The mana on his shimmered with a chaotic energy, darting and spiraling in unpredictable patterns. Of course, even unconscious, this guy manages to be annoying. Bitchass...
“Alright,-” I tried muttered to myself but the my teeth scraped against the metal with a reverberating pain, trying to focus on my next move. The faint echo of my voice was oddly muffled, absorbed by the metal walls and the oppressive heat settling atmosphere.
I looked around, seeing the fire elemental become 'Activated' after it could hear the muffled SCREECH-ing of metal against mana enhanced teeth.
It slowly rises in a way that makes him seem like a machine, with his arms just flopping behind him as his upper body gets up from its lying position. The Elemental is entirely undeterred by the mask coving its flesh puppets face, and jumps off of the second story bed of the bunk with a weak SPLAT. I gets up quickly and stares into the wall, completely ignoring me.
"Mmmm... MGH!"
The noise rises the annoying elf from its slumber and he immediately slams his metal head against the celling from its head with a satisficing THUMP!
"Mmmggh..."
He was clearly complaining somehow but all that came out were his muffles. He got out of the bunk and hit the floor with his feet nearly silently, as he landed with practiced elegance.
He attempted to look around, then finally realized that the thing was covering his face, so he attempted to tear it off while rolling around on the dusty floor, with absolutely zero success. He was stuck just reaching around and looking at things as he crawled on the floor.
The noise finally woke the Minitour, and he awoke with a Grugff of silent torture and drowsiness. The only difference I could see between any of out masks it that they were all different depending on the shapes of our specific faces, like it was literally bonded to us.
The minatory stayed mostly still, then suddenly started squirming around as he tried to get out of his comedically small bunk, and I saw a small amount of steam escape his mask unlike any of the others. His tall build and large horns decided to not comply with the shape of the bed, and his form was pressed into it with a sweaty patch as he got up slowly feeling around his envoirment.
What to do...
Maybe try to find and exit, or maybe work with these people to try to find a solution to our conundrum of this room?
*Sigh
Alright, I'll try to work with them!
First I walked up to the Elf guy who was still on the ground and tapped him on the shoulder.
Tap- "MMGG!"
He got slightly scared and bonked his head against the meaty leg of the minitour, who quickly backed off from the foreign object right next to it and stuck its arms out.
The kept panicking, so I decided a plan of action.
How do I get them to realize that its the same people from the dome? I don't think they have [Mana Sight]?... Unless?
I walked over to the elf and pushed him onto the bed. He tried to resist, but I channeled a burst of mana into him, hoping he might feel it. If he had [Mana Sight], he'd understand what I was trying to communicate—see the surroundings, like I did.
[0/3200 Mp] Mana depleted. Shutting off skills that require mana…
[Mana Sight] deactivates. Darkness envelops everything.
I stood, hoping the elf caught my intention. Nothing happened except for some muffled noises and shifting. Then, I felt a furry tap on my shoulder—clearly the minotaur. He grabbed my shoulders and turned me toward him. A soft click followed, and tiny sockets opened on his mask. The air cleared, and I could see again. The elf pointed at his chin, where an invisible button had triggered his mask’s mechanism.
Finally, he realized. We couldn't speak!
I scanned the room in a panic, only to discover... there were no exits. The walls felt like they were closing in. My breath quickened. I fought to keep calm. The notification on my screen confirmed my rising anxiety:
[Claustrophobia] Active!
I fought the urge to panic. No time for that. I needed to focus before my stamina ran out.
[158/160 Sp]
I steadied my breath, my focus turning to the walls. The fire elemental was doing something odd to the surface, manipulating the metal as if it were clay. Curious, I pressed my ear against the wall to listen. The elf and the minotaur followed suit.
I could hear it—the wind. The unmistakable sound of shifting sand, like the Red Desolate.
I crouched low to see under the metal walls. No way out—no gaps, no breathing room. We were suffocating in here.
[134/160 Sp]
Dammit. We needed to get out!
I gestured to the elf and the minotaur, trying to signal what I had found. They didn’t get it. The panic surged again.
I spotted a dresser next to the bunks, flung it open, and found some clothes. Wait… what the hell? I looked down and realized none of us were wearing anything. Not even the minotaur—though he probably didn’t need them.
I caught their attention and pointed at the dark green uniforms, which seemed big enough to fit all of us. The elf and minotaur quickly covered themselves, awkwardly aware of their nudity. It occurred to me—were we drugged? Was this some kind of test?
We donned the clothes in silence.
[Pain Resistance] pinged at me. I checked my stats—no change in my condition, yet something still felt off. [Poison Resistance] was dormant, but I could feel something tugging at my body.
Wait… My frontal lobe felt… gone. A gnawing sense of dread struck me.
Had I just been lobotomized?
I wanted to activate [Undying Vitality], but I hesitated. The rising temperature and the dwindling air made it risky. I couldn’t waste any more stamina.
I turned back to the fire elemental, who was now examining the walls. My curiosity piqued, I activated [Mana Sight] again to see what the elemental was doing.
Buzzz…
The walls were covered in glyphs, layers of mana inscriptions like dense, shimmering stickers. The fire elemental was bending the mana with ease, breaking it down into smaller units. I watched, entranced.
BEEP!
"Warm Love, 46, has been identified as this team’s Mana Weaver."
Team? What was going on here?
A voice, reminiscent of the centaur lady's, echoed through the speakers. This one was colder, older, and entirely uninterested in us.
"The test is beginning. Good luck."
The walls groaned, shifting apart as the room broke down like cardboard. A vast white room was revealed—sand swirling around in small twisters. The harsh wind carried the grains, scratching at our faces like the Red Desolate's unforgiving landscape.
[96/160 Sp] Still draining… Why was my stamina still dropping?
I scanned the room for anything helpful and spotted a rugged, stitched dummy in the center. The minotaur was still pensive but seemed tired. I walked over and nudged him, signaling to the dummy. He didn’t respond, so I grabbed his hand and attempted to lead him toward it.
Finally, after some awkwardness, he followed.
Suddenly, the sand twisters began to whip around us, as if sentient, blocking our path. The minotaur threw gestures at the dummy, clearly trying to communicate. Did he want me to take a swing at it, or should he? I nodded—yes.
With a roar, the minotaur stomped his feet, his muscles swelling as he charged. He barreled through the sand twisters, clearing them effortlessly, before crashing into the dummy with a violent RRIP! He then slammed into the wall, disoriented, dummy pieces sticking to his body.
The elf rushed over, trying to help him up, but the minotaur simply shook his head in refusal.
BEEP!
"Quiet Cattle, 44, Has been Identified as this team’s Warrior."
The same cold voice from the speakers.
Before we could react, the entire room collapsed, revealing a towering skeletal figure sitting atop a decaying monolith. A staircase of rising steps stretched up toward it, the skeleton holding a key in its skeletal hands.
The skeletal figure perched on the monolith, its bony fingers curled around a key as if it were the most precious thing in the world. The monolith loomed above us, towering like a forgotten relic of a long-lost age. The air felt thick with the weight of centuries. Sand continued to swirl around the base, carried by the ever-shifting wind.
A sense of unease crept over me as I stared at the skeletal figure. What was it guarding? What was this test really about? The key it held seemed to shimmer ominously in the light, its purpose unknown but undoubtedly important.
The minotaur took a slow, deliberate step forward, his massive body dwarfing the rest of us. His deep, rumbling breath sounded almost like a growl, but there was a look of determination in his eyes. The elf seemed more cautious, but there was a spark of curiosity in his muffled gaze as he observed the skeletal figure.
I stepped forward too, my heart racing as I glanced at the others. It was clear that we were being tested, but for what? It seemed we had no choice but to approach the monolith and face whatever challenge lay beyond.
The staircase before us stretched upward, each step covered in a fine layer of dust, indicating it hadn’t been used in a long time. The path to the skeleton was clear, but the air around it felt... oppressive. Every step I took felt heavier, like something was watching us—waiting.
As I reached the first step, the ground beneath us began to rumble, and the sound of grinding stone filled the air. A low, eerie moan seemed to come from the skeleton, though its jaw remained motionless. Suddenly, a voice, deep and resonant, boomed across the room.
"To claim the key," it said, "you must prove your worth. The price of your actions shall be revealed in time."
The words hung in the air, their meaning cryptic but undeniable. I could feel the weight of them pressing against my chest, suffocating me with the unknown. But there was no turning back now.
With a steadying breath, I stepped up onto the first stair. The air around us seemed to distort, like ripples across the surface of a still pond. As soon as my foot touched the step, a sudden force pushed against my chest, and I stumbled, trying to catch my balance. The elf flinched, the minotaur instinctively raising his arms, ready to defend.
The ground beneath us trembled again, and from the cracks in the stone, shadowy figures began to emerge—ghostly, transparent, but with eyes that burned with intensity. They hovered in the air, slowly encircling us. The temperature dropped sharply, and a cold sweat began to form on the back of my neck.
"Only the worthy may pass," the voice continued, now sounding almost like a whisper, but reverberating through the room, "but be warned—once you proceed, there is no turning back."
I glanced at the others. The elf looked like he was considering something, his eyes darting from the ghostly figures to the staircase ahead. The minotaur, however, seemed to be growing increasingly agitated, his muscles tensing as he eyed the figures warily.
The ghostly figures moved closer, their forms becoming more solid. Their faces were a haunting mix of anguish and anger, their eyes wide and unblinking. Each movement they made sent a chill through my bones. It was clear they weren’t just illusions—they were real, or at least some form of manifestation.
The figures halted a few feet from us, their movements frozen in place.
One of the figures stepped forward, a skeletal hand reaching toward me, and the voice rang out again, “Do you accept the challenge?”
The words held a weight I couldn’t ignore. I felt the pressure building as I thought about what this might mean. What would the consequences be if we failed? What would happen if we succeeded?
I turned to the elf and the minotaur. Their faces were obscured by their masks, but I could sense the tension in their posture. They were just as uncertain as I was.
What now? Do we take the challenge and push forward? Or do we find another way?
The room had collapsed around us, revealing the eerie new environment. My mind buzzed with the unsettling sound of wind and sand twisting and shifting, as if the air itself were alive with purpose. We stood in a large, open area now, the monolith ahead towering over us, its broken, skeletal form perched at the summit like some grim sentinel.
My eyes fixed on the key clutched in the bony hand of the figure. The object sparkled with a faint blue hue, casting an unnatural glow in the surrounding desolation. I felt a weird pull toward it, but there was no way to reach it without passing through the sandstorms that swirled around the area. The only obvious path to the skeleton was the long, narrow staircase emerging from the sand beneath us.
The Minotaur stood still for a moment, his massive form a stark contrast to the fragile environment around us. The elf, having recovered slightly from his earlier flailing, cautiously surveyed the area. His eyes darted between the shifting sand and the staircase. Neither of them seemed eager to make the first move, but we had little time to waste.
I stepped forward, my body still feeling the weight of the previous confinement, but the desire to find out what was going on, what we were supposed to do, pushed me forward. The air felt heavy, oppressive, as though it were thick with danger. The sand continued to swirl, almost as if it were watching us, waiting for us to make a wrong move.
I turned back to the group and gestured toward the staircase, then pointed to the skeleton. No one moved. I tried again, a little more forcefully this time. The Minotaur made a grunt of agreement, his eyes narrowing as he nodded, and then took his first step toward the path.
"Let's go," I attempted to mutter under my breath, though I knew none of them could hear me through the mask. I just hoped they understood the urgency behind my movements.
We began walking toward the staircase, our steps slow and deliberate. The air seemed to tense with every inch we covered. The wind howled, but it wasn’t a natural wind—it felt deliberate, like something was intentionally trying to push us back. The sand around us became more aggressive, twisting and turning with strange patterns as though it were alive, trying to disorient us.
My pulse quickened, the familiar sense of claustrophobia creeping up my spine. My stamina was still draining steadily, and I could feel the strain in my limbs, but I pushed through. The last thing I wanted was to collapse in this hellish desert.
The Minotaur, seemingly unbothered by the encroaching storm, pushed on, his steps heavy and deliberate. The elf, on the other hand, moved with more caution, trying to avoid the worst of the swirling sand. But even he was compelled to move faster as the pressure mounted.
We reached the foot of the staircase, and I took a moment to glance at the skeletal figure. Its empty eye sockets seemed to stare right at us, unblinking, as though waiting for something—perhaps for us to make a choice, perhaps for us to prove ourselves.
The moment stretched out, and a sinking feeling gripped my gut. What was waiting for us at the top of that staircase? Why was the skeleton guarding that key? Would we be able to get it without triggering some sort of trap? I had no answers, only more questions.
And with no other choice, we began our ascent, each of us lost in our thoughts, the weight of our unknown fate pressing down harder with each step
I glanced at the Minotaur, who was still plodding along, unaffected by the storm, and then at the elf. His eyes were narrowed, clearly conflicted as he observed the skeleton and the glowing key. The elf had a look in his eyes, one that I could read as a mix of determination and desperation. He glanced at me, then at the key, and I could see the wheels turning in his mind. He had a plan.
Without a word, the elf took a step forward. The swirling sand seemed to part for him as he moved, his small build slipping through the air like a shadow. His eyes never left the key, the object of his focus, as if he could already feel its power. He knew, perhaps better than any of us, that grabbing the key might be the only way out, but it was a gamble—one that could mean either salvation or certain doom.
The Minotaur growled, seemingly sensing the elf's intentions, but he was too slow to react as the elf darted forward, his hand reaching for the glowing key. As his fingers brushed the cold metal, the sandstorm around us seemed to stop in an instant. Silence descended.
For a brief moment, I thought we had triggered a trap. I braced myself for an explosion or some other deadly reaction. But instead, the skeleton’s bony hand slowly opened, the key slipping into the elf’s grasp without resistance. The eerie silence stretched, tension hanging in the air like a thick fog.
Then, the world exploded in motion.
WHOOSH!
The sandstorm surged back with renewed intensity, as if in retaliation for the elf’s action. The pressure around us increased tenfold, the wind whipping like knives against our skin. I could see the Minotaur’s form being buffeted by the fierce winds, struggling to stay on his feet. The elf, holding the key tightly in his hand, staggered back, his face a mask of grim determination.
"Move!" I shouted, even though I knew he couldn’t hear me. My heart pounded in my chest as I grabbed the elf’s arm, pulling him back toward the staircase. The sand was becoming unbearable, suffocating, and I could feel the pressure building in my chest. The wind was no longer just a physical force—it felt like it was seeping into my very soul, as if the air itself was trying to crush us. I felt my teeth crash into the mask, but the rumbling pain only brought me more clarity in the shit storm.
The elf’s eyes met mine, and for the first time, I saw a glimmer of understanding. We had to move fast, or we wouldn’t survive whatever this place had in store for us.
With a final, desperate effort, we sprinted back down the staircase, the sandstorm howling behind us. I could feel the air grow thicker with each step, but the elf kept pushing forward, the key held firmly in his hand. We reached the bottom of the stairs, but the storm didn’t relent. We were still far from safety.
And then, as if by some miracle, the winds seemed to ease just enough for us to see the path ahead. The sandstorm still raged, but it no longer felt like it was trying to suffocate us. The walls of the monolith were slowly starting to shift, revealing a narrow passage that we could escape through.
The elf turned toward me, a wry smile spreading across his face despite the exhaustion and the madness in his eyes. The key—his gamble—had worked. He had unlocked something, something that might finally give us the chance to escape.
Without a word, he led the way, and we followed, our every step echoing through the now-calm but still-dangerous sands. We had a way out... but what would we face next?
What if this is just some sick game? What if its n-
BEEP!
"Jolly cloud, 45, Has been identified as the teams scout."
The same voice stopped my thoughts suddenly as we hauled ass out of the slit in the wall.
The Minitour... No 'Quiet Cattle' was clearly panting from the events that had unfolded as steam filtered its way out of invisible holes in the metal mask on his head. The flame elemental-'Warm love' was anything but warm with its complete lack of reaction to anything, And the elf- 'Jolly cloud' was panting on the ground of the newest experiment chamber or where ever we were as liquid was falling from his face. weather it was crying or sweating was negotiable.
[42/160 Sp]
My stamina was still draining as sweat was coving my body in its entirety. I was panting hard but took this chance to catch my breath and look around.
The first thing I had noticed when I was looking up from my crouched position was grass, like green, luscious, and healthy grass! I was tempted to take a big [Bite] but I had zero clue how I would eat anything despite the mask covering my face. I'm sure they added that feature!... I hope.
I looked around to see more fauna, as large towering trees were spread across a blue canvas that contrasted the sky with its intensity, 'Warm Love' was finally showing an emotion, as I saw a comically large frown appear on their face before disappearing like it never existed. 'Quiet Cattle' looked at all of us then waved us over.
He grabbed a handful of grass and shoved it into one of the many pockets of the uniforms we were wearing, as he pointed at a hard to see structure some amount away. He tilted his head while pointing at it with a hooved thumb, clearly asking us if we wanted to start going that direction.
'Warm Love' started walking immediately, seemingly tired of all of the living things around them. 'Jolly Cloud' followed suit after brushing them selves off while shrugging his shoulders.
I mean... I'm the last one, I gotta go.
I follow behind the group I was starting to like a bit, as I attempted to focus on the small village we were walking towards.
Neat.