Ch 96
As I held the lamp above my head, my voice trembled with desperation as I shouted, “I wish the Djinn was trapped in the lamp!” The words seemed to echo in the oppressive silence, each syllable charged with the weight of my fear and determination. The room held its breath as if the very air was waiting for what would come next.
The same cyan mist that had poured out earlier now enveloped the Djinn, beginning to flow back into the lamp. It snaked around the room in questing, searching tendrils, seeking out its prey like a serpent hunting mice. When it grabbed the Djinn, he laughed—a sound that grated on my ears and made me scream in pain. The laughter reverberated through the room, mocking and cruel, slicing through my resolve. The mist wrapped around me like a liquid shroud, lifting me into the air. The sensation was disorienting, and my heart raced as the ground disappeared beneath me. In a dizzying whirl, the mist pulled me, Thomas, Kingsley, and the Djinn into the lamp, spiraling us through a vortex of cyan smoke.
~ROD, RUN 7, THE LAMP, FLOOR 2, THE FALLEN MERCHANT CITY OF AERLYN~
I awoke in a strange, otherworldly place. Everything felt unnaturally large: chairs too big, torches the size of humans, a table meant for giants. The scale was unsettling, like being trapped in a giant's playroom. The cyan smoke permeated the room, a hazy fog that blurred the edges of reality. For a second, I almost felt like I was back in the perfumed prison room. The air was thick with an oppressive sense of magic and confinement, making it hard to breathe. Each inhale felt like drawing in a thick, heavy substance, weighing me down.
The Djinn, now also trapped, appeared before us, laughing maniacally at our shared fate. His laughter echoed ominously, bouncing off the unseen walls of this mystical prison. "Welcome to your new home!" he jeered, his form flickering like a disturbed flame. His eyes burned with evil glee as he relished in our mutual imprisonment. "Escape if you can," he taunted, his voice dripping with malicious amusement. Then, just as suddenly as he had appeared, he vanished, leaving Thomas and me to our fate.
Thomas’s scream echoed through the cavernous room as he slammed his fist into the giant table. The sound was a dull thud, swallowed by the oppressive atmosphere. “This is all your fault. If you had just given me the lamp, I could have fixed things,” he spat, his face twisted with rage. His eyes blazed with anger, the intensity of his emotions palpable.
“Sure, like I knew he would trap us inside of here,” I retorted, my voice rising in response. The defensive anger surged within me, a desperate need to shift the blame and protect myself. The tension between us crackled in the air, thick and suffocating.
“This is why I never wanted to work with you,” Thomas snarled, his eyes flashing with a mix of anger and past grievances. “Ever since Klericho...” He paused, frowning as if struggling with his emotions. Then, he turned away, the fire in his eyes dimming. His anger seemed to deflate, replaced by a weary resignation. “It’s a moot point, and this arguing gets us nowhere.” He walked forward, placing his hand on the wall, just as I had taught him, searching for a way out.
We navigated the perimeter of the vast room for what felt like an eternity. The silence between us was heavy, filled with unspoken tensions and the weight of our predicament. As we moved, a faint whirring noise caught our attention. The sound grew louder with each step, soon accompanied by a whooshing noise and distant screams. The atmosphere grew tense, and our shared silence was filled with unspoken fears and anxieties.
We both paused, looking at each other. “What do you think that is?” I asked, dread creeping into my voice. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat a reminder of the unknown dangers lurking ahead. The air felt thick with anticipation, every nerve on edge.
Thomas’s face hardened. “I’m not sure, but considering how much the Djinn changed the second floor, I’d bet my entire inventory that it’s a trap or something,” he said, his voice shaky with uncertainty. Despite his words, there was a flicker of determination in his eyes, a resolve to face whatever lay ahead. The uncertainty gnawed at us, but there was no other choice.
“The only way to find out is to charge ahead,” Thomas replied, determination hardening his features. His jaw was set, and his eyes burned with a mix of fear and resolve. The resolve in his voice was almost reassuring, a strange comfort amidst the chaos.
~ROD, RUN 7, GUILLOTINE ROOM, FLOOR 2, THE FALLEN MERCHANT CITY OF AERLYN~
The next room was bizarre. A singular, rickety wooden suspension bridge, held up by magic, joined two clay platforms, each holding a door. The bridge swayed ominously with every gust of wind; each creak was a harbinger of potential doom. Halfway down the bridge was a platform with an all-too-familiar altar. On that altar sat a carbon copy of the Djinn's lamp—the one we were trapped in now. The sight of it sent a chill down my spine, the implications clear.
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Then I heard the noise again. Giant axes and three guillotines descended from the sky, slicing through the gaps between the bridge's planks at different intervals. The sharp, metallic sound was accompanied by a low hum, like the distant growl of a beast. At the other end, a literal horde of bizarre creatures awaited us. Their faces were contorted into angular shapes atop beanpole bodies, their limbs little more than hands and feet jutting out at odd angles. As they noticed us, they screeched and started crossing the bridge, three, four, five at a time. Their shrill cries filled the air, a cacophony of terror that sent shivers down my spine.
As they made their way down, the axes and guillotines descended from the sky. It was a slaughterhouse. Creature after creature was sawed in half, cut off at odd angles. The sight was gruesome, a macabre dance of death. The screeching was a horrifying, gut-wrenching sound like a toddler being ripped apart. The sight of their twisted bodies being severed sent waves of nausea through me, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. The blood splattered across the bridge, the metallic scent filling the air.
I glanced at Thomas, his face pale but determined. “We have to get across,” he said, his voice steady despite the chaos around us. His expression was grim, a stark contrast to the panic rising within me. I nodded, swallowing hard as we prepared to face the deadly gauntlet ahead. The bridge seemed to stretch out infinitely before us, a narrow path lined with deadly traps.
My heart shattered at the sound of the creatures' screams, and then things got worse. The parts of the creatures that didn’t fall off the bridge bubbled, jerked, and then morphed into more of the creatures, leaving behind almost a gallon of blood each time. The air was thick with the stench of blood and decay. If we didn’t hurry, the room was going to overflow with their grotesque forms. The sight of the multiplying abominations, drenched in blood, filled me with a deep, primal fear. Their numbers grew with each passing moment, a relentless tide of horror inching closer and closer to us, blocking the only way forward.
The fear clawed at my chest, threatening to overwhelm me. But I forced it down, steeling myself for the ordeal ahead. We had no choice but to cross the bridge and face whatever awaited us. The thought of failure was unbearable, the consequences too dire to contemplate. With a deep breath, I took the first step onto the creaking, swaying bridge, the weight of the situation pressing down on me like a physical force. The air was thick with the promise of danger, and I could only hope we would survive what lay ahead.
The air was thick with the acrid stench of sweat and fear. My shirt clung to my back, drenched with the exertion and terror of the situation. Every breath felt like inhaling hot coals, and my muscles screamed in protest as I forced them to move.
“What are we supposed to do against that?” I screamed, my voice raw. The horde of abominations surged forward, their grotesque forms multiplying with each slash of a blade. Panic twisted my gut into knots, and I felt a cold sweat bead on my forehead, mixing with the grime and blood that coated my skin.
Thomas, ever the calm in the storm, glanced at me with a steady gaze. “Maybe they are weak to magic since physical damage isn’t working. Maybe try using Scan,” he suggested his voice a lifeline of rationality amidst the chaos. His eyes were sharp and focused, contrasting with the frantic energy that coursed through me.
“Scan!” I shouted, the word tearing from my throat as the creatures drew closer. Their bodies were a nightmarish amalgamation of twisted limbs and bubbling flesh, each more hideous than the last. The bestiary entry appeared before me, the text clear but offering little comfort:
Enemy Entry 0027: Abomination (Djinn) Level 4: Weakness: Lightning. Strength: Everything else; physical damage absorption.
The abominations are beings created by the wild, disruptive magic of the Djinn. Unlike most other abominations in Penance, these creatures are laughably weak. However, physical attacks that rend the flesh will separate the creature into two or more pieces, forcing the remaining pieces to regenerate into two or more increasingly grotesque forms. The longer the torso, the more times the creature has regenerated. The progenitor is the only creature that can truly die. To find it, look for the smallest abomination.
Stat:
Level
Health
10/10
Loot
No loot unless you want limbs that will reform into a new abomination and buckets of blood.