The psychological effect of being within a sealed steel room for a prolonged period can do significant damage to one's psychic. Yet such effect never fazed The Aspect of Form as he reclines on the icy floor, his arms splayed wide as if reaching for a hug with the cold surface beneath him.

Dave "This is closest fucking shit to a one-star bed found in a fucking crack den. I'm going to say it. This is fucking super lit!"

His placid demeanor weakens when he discerns a tiny fissure in the corner of his sunglasses. Swiftly rising from all fours to a stand, Dave surveys his surroundings— left, right, above, below— and... he is speechless. This can't be real!

Dave "Fuck! My flawless shades. How the fuck did it get cracked? That shit was supposed to be made of titanium or some shit."

As he puts them back on, a sudden burst of light replaces his reflection. Fading as quickly as it appeared, it reveals a bizarre man. An Irish resemblance is evident in his thick beard and expressive brows. His physique mirrors the dwarven figures of fantastical lore, yet his stature dominates Dave's. The man's attire is a curious fusion of a red, oversized cultist robe and shredded sections revealing his remarkable muscles.

?? "Very impressive guns aren't they? I'll be using them to crush you into a thousand pieces. Only then I can receive an audience with her holiness."

Dave "Dude. Why would you want to meet Space Hitler?"

?? "HOW DARE YOU?! She is my north star and shall one day rule the universe! Her armies are in the billions across the stars. It puts us "humans" to shame. You weren't there... the moment I, M111, saw what they were capable of. What SHE was capable of! I knew that following them will lead to the survival of our race so don't-

Dave "Blah blah blah. Your monologue is getting waytoodank now, bro. Let's just fight oversized dwarf."

M111 "But... I... you. You're the rude one from the list, huh? How unlucky. My squabble was supposed to be with the edgy lad. Well, either way. You'll both be dead soon."

Dave wields his bat and strikes at M111. The latter sidesteps and lands a blow directly to Dave's liver. The ensuing agony causes a wave of nausea, his vision blurs as he sees the imposing figure of the cultist preparing another strike.

In a nick of time, Dave rolls aside.

Dave "Whew. That was fucking close!"

He primes his bat for another attack and lands a powerful blow on M111's cheek. Yet, the cultist stands unmoved, like a stony stature refusing to tip over. Dave's curiosity suddenly peaked piqued and he circles M111, taking a better view of the man's face.

Dave "What the fuck?! No bruises! Please don't need me your power is invincibility or some shit, bro! Also, you don't have any freaky insect bits."

M111 "Hate to break it to yah but it is similar to invincibility. As for my modification, it is internal. My heart was replaced with a colony of worms. You see why I chose that kind of modification is because. Hey!"

Dave "Errr... oh. What d-did you say again? I fell asleep for a bit."

M111 "Seriously the nerve you have to take a nap during a battle is insulting. What makes you so confident?"

Dave "Oh, I don't know! Maybe like this is room. Yeah, this is a fucking room! A great majestic room!"

M111 "Huh, I don- Oh, I think I remember now! You have that power. Don't waste your time. It won't work for me."

The room morphs into a menacing hive of spikes, each striving to reach M111. However, this spectacle doesn't faze the cultist. He maintains eye contact with Dave, his eyes flickering with amusement as the spikes eclipse his form.

Dave "Woah. What a weird dude. That's what you get for getting super cocky, man. At least prove it before spraying it."

The wall of spikes breaks open— a hailstorm of sharp steel fragments surges toward Dave.

He conjures a barrier from the floor, narrowly avoiding a piercing demise. Peeking around his shield, he watches as the dust cloud settles, revealing the unscathed M111. The sight nearly unhinges his jaw in disbelief.

Dave "Alright, Dave. There is no batshit cowboy fucking way this fucker is 100 percent ground beef invincible. Maybe it's because he's jacked and has like defense as the superpower."

M111 "What are you thinking, rude heretic? Would you mind sharing it with me?"

Dave "Oh, fuck off. Anyway, I figured out your power, bro."

M111 "You do?!"

Hearing Dave's claims seem to unsettle M111... his legs quiver as he retreats.

Dave "Dude. you're running. Why? You're invincible! Like dude, you can just stand still-" "Hold on. Hold on the bloody minute! This big bearded fucker didn't move an inch when fighting me! So that's the condition for his invincibility!"

Dave places his hand on the floor. Sensing an impending attack, M111 attempts a sidekick, but Dave evades, and the floor waves like a stormy sea. With a fast swing of his bat, Dave targets the cultist's foot, the impact shattering M111's toenails and tripping him over.

Dave "This is over!"

Dave follows with an uppercut, launching the man skywards.

From the ceiling sprouts a fresh array of spikes that burrow their way into M111's flesh. The cultist roars in pain. Left with no choice, he fumbles in his back pocket and retrieves a strange object.

A shrill scream pierces the room, ricocheting off the walls.

Both combatants wince, covering their ears as the spikes come to a halt. Dave looks at the object— a mechanical device, resembling a mandrake from many tales of fantasy. He commands two spikes to assail the device from behind, but—

The mechanical mandrake lets out a second shriek.

This time, only Dave buckles, his ears bleeding, his hearing dominated by a constant ringing. M111 snatches Dave's sunglasses and puts them on.

M111 "You should've brought some earbuds. These are pretty cool. I have to say you have some nice taste for shades for rude heretic that is."

Dave "Give them back!"

M111 "Sorry... Can you repeat that? I can't hear you over the sound of coolness."

He sucker punches Dave's nose.

Dave "Aargh!"

M111 "It was fun but time to end this fight."

M111 then crushes the sunglasses under his mighty foot... A burning rage ignites in Dave's soul.

With a powerful stomp, the floor sents chaotic waves radiating in all directions from random spots. The sheer sight of it would make anyone nauseous. M111 notes the only stable ground is a small patch under Dave's feet.

M111 "Kid. You are fucking crazy-

Dave "Shut up!"

M111 totters off balance— Seizing the chance, Dave jumps up and slams his bat against the cultist's forehead.

The unpredictable terrain flings the brawny cultist helplessly as Dave relentlessly pursues him. Blow after blow, he strikes the man until his face resembles a warped caricature. M111 could no longer speak, his speech degenerating into nonsensical babbling and gurgles.

Dave "Give up, you bastard! You lost big time! Don't bother doing that transformation shit!"

M111 tries reaching into his front pockets. Dave brings down his bat once more, rendering his hands a mangled blend of bruised flesh and splintered nails. Dave inspects the contents of M111's pockets, only to find... money.

Dave hears a strange sound resonating from the tunnel of M111's deformed mouth.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The folds into himself, compacting and merging his body parts with folds of skin until he resembles an egg shape. No... now that Dave takes a clearer look. It is more like a shell.

The shell discharges a slug-like entity, a gelatinous mass of a red slimy substance.

Tiny points emerge across its surface and bloom into an empire of eyeballs. These orbs detach from the slug and roll toward Dave, emitting tiny lasers that prick his skin. With the swing of the bat, a burst of spikes launches out but the eyes bounce right off them.

Dave "What the.... this fucking noise. Are these eyes like pong balls?!"

Increasing his onslaught of spikes becomes pointless as the eyeball remains unharmed. However, he manages to herd them away. Dave's gaze lands on the walls, sparking an idea. He maneuvers the eyes, including the bizarre slug, towards the opposite wall.

Dave "It's over! Take this!"

With immense speed, sections from the left and right walls collide, obliterating the slug and its aberrant eyes.

As the wall recedes, the pulverized remains of the slug morph into a gelatinous goo, before reforming into a shark made of intestines. Its gaping maw reveals rotating rows of teeth made from written paper. Struck with interest, Dave observes this phenomenon from a safe distance. Despite lacking eyes, the shark seems to acknowledge his presence. Distracted, Dave sends a minor spike toward one of the shark's teeth.

The tooth ricochets within its mouth before ejecting onto Dave's hands.

Unfurling the paper, he reads...

"My pathetic son. If you don't change and work harder for your future then you will feel the wrath of my belt!".

Spotting the paper in Dave's hands, the shark goes berserk, bounding towards him with its maw slowly opening wide.

Dave "Woah. That's a mighty fine bite you're doing there, bro."

With a quick spin, Dave evades the impending chomp.

... However, the friction caused by the teeth collision unleashes a barrage of spectral jaws in all directions. One connects with Dave's shoulder, the phantom teeth gnawing through his flesh to the delicate bones beneath.

Dave "Ugh! Dammit! When will it stop?!"

As he distances himself from the shark, the ethereal jaw flickers like a distorted hologram and vanishes with a loud zipping sound. A temporary reprieve. Dave retrieves a bandage from his inventory and applies it to his wound, covering as much as he can.

Dave "Shit. That's one fucking bandage down. Let's try something different. A new track. A new fucking style."

With a theatrical gesture as if hoisting an enormous weight, Dave commands the room.

A hefty slab of steel erupts from the floor behind the shark while another emerges in front of it. As the two are in sync, they ascend and, on the verge of clashing...

Dave "UNO! Fly bitch fly!"

Dave mounts the rising plate, bat in hand, ready to clock the shark. However, the creature dodges, leaping to the right. With a wicked grin, Dave manipulates a pair of steel spikes, directing the steel plates after the shark.

The plates collide, bisecting the shark mid-flight.

Bits of intestines, bone, and flesh rain down in a gruesome shower. Out of curiosity, Dave investigates a fragment of flesh. It exudes a jasmine-scented candle aroma and bears the consistency of chewed bubblegum. Searching for more paper teeth, he finds them ruined and unreadable. Still, with a bit of focus, he manages to uncover a lone word on a scrap— "Regret".

Dave "Man, is this your dad saying it or you, dude?"

No reaction... The room shudders. The lights go out.

In the pitch-black void, the shark's remains vanish. An eerie silence descends, Dave can feel an unknown presence moving outside the steel confines.

Dave "Come out! We can't play this game all day!"

A massive creature bursts from beneath. It manages to bite down on his right leg. Holding back the pain, Dave strikes downward at his shadowy adversity. It lets go after consuming his right foot. He takes a syringe out of his inventory and restores his foot to tip-top shape.

A colossal creature erupts from below, sinking its teeth into Dave's right leg. Suppressing the pain, Dave counters, landing a downward strike on his shadowy adversary. The creature releases its grip, leaving Dave's foot consumed. He retrieves a syringe from his inventory and restores his lost foot.

Dave "Alright! Out comes the night vision goggles!"

Upon donning the goggles, he takes in the enormity of the creature before him. It is a pig, bizarrely constructed from assorted global cuisines. Despite the mouth-watering sight, a sickening stench emanates from the creature— an unholy mix of vomit and pesticide– That fact alone is enough for him to not approach the beast.

With a mighty stomp, the pig triggers a row of spikes that pierce through Dave's legs.

Dave "What the fuck?! That's my power!"

He nudges a way out, retrieving another bandage, but it is wasn't enough to cover the extent of his injuries. Profusely bleeding, Dave charges forward, noticing the pig is held together by lengths of receipt tape. Vaulting onto the pig's back, he clings on despite the creature's violent thrashing. With purpose, he starts ripping the receipts apart, causing an avalanche of foodstuff to tumble down.

Dave "Ummm, these look pretty good but something tells me that it is poison or some shit."

The cascading food transforms into a skin-toned goop and morphs into a featureless humanoid figure.

It takes on the form of a naked woman, albeit devoid of reproductive organs. Its faceless head turns towards Dave, the skin contorting into an expression of wrath.

It charges, a knife clutched in its hand.

Dodging the entity's uncoordinated attacks, Dave retaliates with a well-aimed kick, propelling it into the opposite wall. Upon impact, the figure transmutes into a set of letters along the wall— "WHY HER?!".

Dave "Yo, this lore shit is a bit confusing man. Just tell me the whole thing already!"

The embossed letters rearrange themselves, giving rise to another feminine humanoid.

This figure is strikingly beautiful, with long, golden hair, adorned in a bikini. It beckons Dave closer, but his retreat provokes a reaction, transforming her into a colossal serpent. Dave vaults up, summoning spikes aimed at the snake's head, but they fail to penetrate its sturdy scales. Landing and retreating, Dave racks his brain as the serpent slithers toward him...

Dave "Oh yeah. Maybe if I do this!"

Opening its gaping maw, it's head plummets down. Dave hurls his bat into the awaiting abyss and rolls aside.

The snake halts for a moment, its head gyrating as it struggles to expel the foreign object. Initially, it regurgitates saliva but soon starts hacking up blood and fragments of its own tongue. Dave watches as its once vibrant eyes dim, shedding seas of blood.

Dave "The good old spike bat in the monster's mouth trick. I just came up with that lol."

Dave retrieves his bat from the snake's mouth, now coated in a grimy mixture of blood and mucus. Strangely, the blood and mucus slither away toward the lifeless snake's corpse.

With a flash, the corpse changes into a ten-armed, ten-legged entity.

Upon closer inspection, the creature appears to be comprised of ancient gold coins and modern currency, including USD, AUD, Euros, Krona, and many others. It moves bipedally with astonishing speed, circling the room before stopping in front of Dave.

All of its arms simultaneously descend onto Dave, who quickly raises his arms to absorb the impact.

Dave "Fuck! Shit!"

He retreats, his shattered arms hanging limp by his sides.

Reaching a safe corner, Dave envelops himself in three layers of protective steel. Attempting to administer a syringe using his foot, he fumbles and the syringe shatters to pieces.

Dave "Fuck! I might be fucking screwed here!"

He takes a deep breath... an audacious plan begins to take shape in his mind. Limited in options, he decides to act. Opening his protective shell, he finds the monster waiting patiently. Ignoring the pain, Dave propels himself towards the creature, wrapping his arms around its torso. The creature leans back in confusion.

Dave "Take this. UNO!"

All the matching gold coins within the creature begin to vibrate and collapse onto each other.

All that remains is a solid ball of gold scrap. Dave kicks it around the room in hopes of inflicting damage, but it remains unblemished. Using the last vestiges of his strength, he commands the room's walls to crush the gold ball. It compresses into a flat disc, only to gradually reinflate to its original round shape.

Dave "Fuck. I give up. This is! I'm fucking dead. Aren't I?"

?? "I wouldn't give up that easily if I were you, young man."

From the golden sphere, a torso begins to sprout, followed by legs, arms, and finally, ragged clothing.

The being now bears the physique of a man in his thirties, clad in the disheveled attire of a vagrant. Dave watches anxiously as the man approaches him.

With a speed beyond which the eye can see, the man punches the ground.

From his pocket, the strange creature puts a couple of sticks into the crater and lights them up.

Dave "You're not going to kill me, bro? What's your deal?"

?? "No, you have already gone through enough trouble going through my own troubles. My name is George Hilton."

Dave "Wait, George Hilton! The George Hilton! The guy who was like the next big shot to the richest person on Earth. What happened to you, bro? I heard you disappeared."

George "Would you like to hear the whole story or just the backbone of it?"

Dave "Well, you did fucking spare me but I also don't want to fucking listen to the whole biz. Sooo... maybe summarize a lil bit, bro."

George "Very well. You see I was..."

George Hilton was a very rich heir to a massive car manufacturing company. However, he was a bit of a pushover and it was almost as if his life was plagued with misfortune. He was a lazy individual who have everything done for him like cleaning, cooking and even putting on his clothes. This behavior led to his father berating him at every second and sometimes physically as well with a belt.

He had a friend who would mooch off of him, always asking and convincing him to go out to eat. George always complied and this ate his allowance dry, causing him to steal some while his father wasn't looking. When he did catch him, the beatings became worse. George grew depressed.

Until one day, he met a girl he liked and she liked him back. They begin to date but it was short-lived after he found out that she was cheating on him with another man on some beach. What's worse was that she was killed a few days after in a nearby parking lot. There were knife markings on the corpse, carving the words "He's mine!" into her breasts.

After the whole ordeal, his mind borders on suicidal tendencies. George began drinking and playing beer pong. Someone from an opposing company saw this opportunity and began to exploit him in those times of grief which eventually caused his family's company to go bankrupt.

The man asked George to surrender the company to him and he accepted it without resistance. George roamed the alleyways of the city and overdosed on drugs until he was near death. One day, a robed man asked him if he wanted to be reborn and so George took the man's hand.

Dave "Woah that was harsh, dude. Now I get why you joined those bastards."

George "This is the truth I used to believe for a long time but now that I have transformed I have learned a few things. Yes, I was lazy and my lack of pride caused me to give up everything. However, everything else was planned by them! Young man! Please avenge me so that I may rest easy in the afterlife!"

Dave "Very well old man. I'll give you this promise."

George "Thank you..."

George scatters into thin air, just as the wall behind him erupts open.

Dave "Took you guys long enough."

Adrian "We have no time to talk. Here, let me fix that then we start digging Asap."

Dave nods and Adrian applies his last syringes, fixing his arms. The group then begins digging...

Acknowledging the situation, Dave allows Adrian to administer the remaining syringes, healing his damaged arms. United, the group resumes digging...

(To be continued)