Thunder cracks as the enclosed, cavernous space of the dungeon floor is filled with a ravaging energy which crashes off of the walls, barreling down towards the raid of adventurers, as it lashes out towards them, twisting and winding like a serpent releasing from its tightly wound coil to strike. All I see is lightning and sparks and magical energy flying every which way, as the tide of dungeon magic floods the entire floor, as it swallows us all.

AH!

  AAAAAH! I clutch my face with both hands, feeling the hot energy of the attack flow back over me. It hurts. It hurts. My fingers run along the sleek grooves of my cheek bones as I stroke my face. I like the way it feels. Ah! The dungeon shakes as the sound of the whiplash rings out all around us, echoing out like a loud growl. It is as if the dungeon itself is yelling, as if it is snarling and howling, now that it can feel me standing on the tip of its tongue. It’s ready to spit me out. I can feel it. I can feel the ground moving beneath my feet. I can feel the dissonance in the air. Aaaah~!

I shudder as the light slowly dies down. Thanks for sharing this special moment with me, guy.

  As the light slowly subsides, my legs rattle as the shaking of the dungeon beneath my feet continues. The wind, surging all around myself in all directions rushes through my bones. I lift my eyes, staring at the swirling dust which flies past my face. Sediment. A bit of dirt. Some fibers of the fabric of somebody’s clothes. It all swirls around myself, twisting and churning above myself, as if I were in the center of a storm. As if I were standing at the bottom of the ocean, watching the distant surface above myself crash and careen and become totally wild and out of control. Yet here I stand, alone, down in the depths.

Lifting a hand, I stretch out my fingers to try and touch it, to touch the surface that I can’t reach. It swirls faster and faster, floating higher and higher as it stretches towards the ceiling as it leaves.

Wait. Wait! Don’t go. Don’t leave me here alone. Don’t…

Don’t…

  The light dies down, the storm subsides, the energy dissipates and the dense, violent crashing of magic comes to a full stop as it runs out of power. The heavy fabric that is attached to my back falls down against my legs, the fringe just barely grazing my ankles. The leather bag on my waist stops slapping against me, both of those things leave me standing alone up here on this hill of dirt. Look at me, guy! Look at me! I’m so high up! I’m probably up on the highest point in the entire world!

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

- All by myself.

  I stop and lower my hands, letting them fall limply to my side as well, as I then lower my gaze along with it, staring towards the dungeon-gate that I desperately want to get out of. It’s all we have. It’s all that I have. It’s all that I have to believe in.

I step forward, setting my foot at an angle and slide down the hill, doing my best to keep my balance and not look like a total dummy. The fog, the dust and the loose sediment cast into the air by my strike, slowly begins to dissipate.

  There’s nothing for me here. I don’t belong. There’s nobody for me here. I don’t belong. So I’m going to leave. I’m going to go, because nobody here needs me to save them. Nobody here needs me for anything. Everyone would be better off if I was gone, so I’ll do them that kindness. I care about them after all. I’ll leave for their sake and I won’t say a word about it. I’ll carry that by myself, because it’s what a hero would do, you know, guy?

My body spasms, as a wave of energy pulses through me, the electricity stemming from my head and shooting out through my feet.

Something else comes to break the silence once again.

Voices.

Quiet, hushed voices that whisper. The cloud of dust floats all around myself, obscuring my vision as if it were a thick fog. Shh- shh! Listen…

Do you hear them too?

The things that whisper.

There!

  Did you hear that? I turn my head, scanning the area around myself as I listen to the soft voices that call out to each other. Something whispers to my left and I turn my head, looking for the source. But all I hear is a shuffling of feet, hidden behind the obscuring veil of fog.

Something whispers to my right. SHOO-SHOO GRIBBLER!

  I duck down, hunkering in a ready position as my head shoots to the right, my eyes twitching as I scan the distance, searching for the source of the noise. But I see nothing once again however. I flick my tongue, trying to smell the air. Sssss~ There is no gribbler here with me, there are no adventurers that I can see in the dust. All I hear are voices. All I hear are footsteps, I hear the pitter-pattering of tiny, little feet.

TINY LITTLE FEET.

  I smash the lance against the stones, breaking the ground as I crack the belt to instill some fear into their little, ratty hearts. I hate them. I hate them so much. I’ll break your feet. I’ll break your toes. I’ll smack you with the belt until you’re red and crying and then I’ll hit you some more after that, so that you’ll learn some respect!

  A sharp whistling cuts through the air and I feel my body lurch back as something presses itself into my breast. Looking down, fuming, I see the four arrows sticking in a cluster over where my heart should be, having pierced through the metal exactly next to where the other arrows are still stuck in my chest. I grab them all at once, crushing the wood beneath my fingers like tiny, little, soft bones and I throw them to the ground.

The world lights up and I lift my head just in time, to see the barrage of spells coming my way, flying straight at me from every angle in a full circle all around myself, breaking out of the fog.

They’ve surrounded me. Those little shits. I’ll show them. I’ll make them p-