The voice chilled her blood, locking her in place. What. Was. That? The way it spoke was alien. Tracy felt knots in her stomach, realizing she was sharing a building with it. Tracy slapped her face. Now wasn’t the time to be gawking over a monster. Still, the way it had said princess sent a shiver down her spine. She made up her mind. She had to move. If this were a game, staying in this spot would be a death sentence.
She tried to pinpoint where the voice came from; Tracy couldn’t even begin to figure out its location. The sound echoed off the stone walls, adding even more to the unknown of the voice. Trying to understand it only increased her fear.
She forced herself to move, but her legs buckled as she put weight on them. She stumbled forward, grabbing hold of the statue in front of her.
Tracy took in her surroundings. There were two doors and a hallway. She wanted to avoid the doors if at all possible. Mindlessly walking into a room with a monster around didn’t seem very smart. That left the hall in front of her.
While this situation sent a shiver down her spine, the hallway curdled her blood. It was long and dark. Still, it seemed her only choice and best chance at finding the girl.
As she mustered her courage, Tracy leaned against the different statues and pillars, making her way through the hall. She wasn’t good with darkness, especially when she was alone. But she needed to find the princess quickly. If this monster caught her, then Tracy might as well die with no information to go off of.
Bracing herself, she took her first step into the hall. Her eyes darted around, looking for any sign of the monster. When sand seeped, or she heard rocks fall, she immediately thought it was some sign of the beast. Her heart raced from the paranoia. Trying to distract herself from the fear, she focused on her wound. She was surprised that she survived that fall. It was like she had a massive amount of defense, like a character in a video game. As Tracy thought about that, a blue screen appeared before her.
Level 0 HP 71/100 ^%$^$%%#@#@%#%$# N/A *%^$&$%&^^&*& N/A *&%$^^%$##&^%&%^&%$%%^$% N/A
Status:
Admission light (2 min): Recovery granted (20 hp a minute)
Origin seal: Locks attributes, abilities and inventory items until level 1 has been reached.
That explains a lot. Tracy thought as she rubbed her wound. It felt much better than it was a few minutes ago. Intrigued, she scrolled through the different stats. None of it gave her any info, to her annoyance, but she had something to go off of now. For instance, the admission light was a real lifesaver.
Using one hand, Tracy tried to swipe through the screen to another page. As she tried to, the screen shook before showing a message. Remove Origin Seal to gain access to advanced stats. Tracy clicked her tongue in irritation as she saw the de-buff. She would’ve appreciated anything to help her out of her current predicament, but still, no dice.
After a few moments of fiddling with the screen, she dismissed it with her mind. It slid over the top of her vision and out of sight, just in time, too. The monster shrieked again. Tracy braced against the wall. The hallway shuddered violently. Tracy held herself upright against the earthquake.
“Come out, come out wherever you are.” The monster said. “I can’t wait to see your mortified expression as I slice open your throat! Eh, heh.”
Tracy tried calming her nerves again as she heard the monster talk, with little success. Still, she tried to pinpoint where its voice was coming from, yet again, no luck.
Was the voice louder this time? It sounded like it was. Maybe the monster was growing closer. It could already know where she was. It could be toying with her, waiting for the right time to hear her scream. She shook her head, pulling out her thoughts from the paranoia, and focussed on walking. However, it did little to comfort her, as the hallway only got darker as she walked, Adding to her panic.
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Rocks tumbled in the distance. She could pick up small movements, like something small trying to scurry through the rubble. How did she pick up that sound? Tracy shook her head. She apparently was becoming superhuman. She smiled before listening in again. It wasn’t bombastic enough for a sadistic monster. Either that abomination was trying to hide, or…
Tracy’s eyes lit up. Or it was the princess. She pushed her hand away from the wall, steadying herself. They were strong enough to walk without help from the wall, thanks to the admission light buff. She pulled down the stat screen, finding that her hp had increased by ten points.
Smiling as she put the screen away, Tracy moved briskly towards the sound, albeit limping, going through different hallways and rooms. She turned a corner, finding orange light leaking through the cracks in the ceiling. The room was filled with alters, with various artifacts placed on them. Tracy scanned the room. In the corner of her eye, Tracy saw the princess pinned down by the rubble of a broken statue.
“What are you doing here? Go now!” The girl hissed.
“Not without you!” Tracy hissed back as she limped over to the princess. “I’ve gone through hell to get to you. You have a lot to explain–”
Tracy was interrupted by another shriek, followed by another quake. As Tracy stabilized herself, she felt the stones buckle beneath her. She had assumed she was on solid ground, although her instincts screamed at her to jump. She listened. As she jumped, the ground gave way beneath her, bursting open with light pouring out of the newly formed hole. She rolled on the floor, stopping against one of the alters.
Getting a hold of herself, Tracy sat up. Yellow light streamed in from the hole. As she looked inside, she saw a void of yellow light, with clouds swirling below it. Still shocked, she looked at the girl, still caught in the stone. Tracy bit her lip. There wasn’t enough time. Any second now, the monster could show up. Tracy darted to the girl, throwing stones into the void as she dug through the pile. Her arms moved frantically before the girl waved at her.
“Wait!” She said. “If you take me out then–”
Tracy couldn’t hear her. With adrenaline running through her body, she pulled the girl out of the rubble. As Tracy pulled her out, the rubble shifted before it tumbled to the side, crashing against an altar with golden plates and ceramic cups. The altar fell to the floor. The metal slammed against the bricks while the ceramics shattered against them. It rang like a siren and then went silent. A frightening silence filled the air as Tracy and the princess looked at each other, alarmed.
It didn’t remain silent for long. The awful sound of a growl filled the air before turning into a hiss. “Where does the mouse hide this time? Eh heh.” The monster said, its voice echoing through the room. “I wonder what you will think about my fangs as they puncture through your lungs and fill them with poison. Eh heh.”
Tracy felt the princess pull on her arm.“We need to move now!” She said. Tracy followed the girl as she ran, holding her hand before she hid under one of the alters with a velvet tablecloth draped over it. Tracy ducked under as the little girl covered her mouth. Tracy put her hands over her mouth in response until the only thing she could hear was the beating of her heart.
“Hide Presence,” the girl whispered as beads of blue and grey filled the air. They coalesced into a small orb before it burst in a shower of sparkles over them. Tracy looked in awe at the spectacle, but a stern look from the girl doused her excitement. She was pretty knowledgeable despite her frilly pink dress and her childlike demeanor. The seriousness in her eyes spoke to experience that belied her age.
The sound of steel clicking against the ground cut through Tracy’s thoughts. As the sound grew louder, so did her heartbeat. The monster wheezed as the clicking came ever closer. “So, where did my clever little prey run off to? Eh heh.” It said as the clicking sound came to a stop. Tracy stared at the princess, who put a finger against her mouth. As Tracy nodded, she heard metal ripping open flesh mere meters from where they were hiding.
“Found you.” It said. Time stood still, and for a second that lasted an eternity, Tracy locked eyes with the girl. As the second drew to a close, they both closed their eyes. The monster’s weapon slashed at an altar. Metal and wood crashed on the ground, but Tracy felt nothing.
Tracy did everything in her power not to gulp. The creature had gone for a different altar, but it did little to lessen her fear. The sound it made when attacking confirmed her suspicions that this was a monster she never wanted to be near. The beast growled in frustration before continuing down the hallway, clicking its feet gently against the ground before slashing another altar.
The monster continued, slashing at more altars as it went. However, as it continued, it only growled increasingly louder in frustration before it walked out of the room. Its feet still clicking against the stone floor.
In her curiosity, Tracy ever so gently looked underneath the small lip of the tablecloth. She caught only a glimpse of the monster’s form. Its feet were that of a skeleton completely covered in chrome, while scaled skin and flesh pulsated at its thigh. As it rounded the corner, Tracy could even see the outline of a tail that brushed against the floor.
They both waited for a minute, expecting it to return at any moment. It was only after that minute that Tracy took a breath. The moment when the monster was right next to her was still in her mind. Everything from the shadow it cast over the tablecloth to its faint smell filled her mind.
Still antsy, Tracy narrowed her eyes at the princess. “Mind telling me what the hell is happening?” She hissed.