Endless shadow stretched out all around Kieran, creating a blanket of night that filled his entire view. In the distance a tall shape could be seen, moving away from him slowly. A feeling of urgency burned in his chest as the figure continued to create more distance between them. Somehow, he knew to follow it, lest he be left behind. Alone and surrounded by nothing but an eternal plane of writhing darkness, Kieran began to step forward on noodly legs.

Malformed shapes and silhouetted beings clawed out for him with every sluggish step he took forward, yet still, his would be guide kept growing farther from him.

Whispers reached him from the voiceless figure ahead, warning him to "keep up", he tried.

"don't fall behind" it would plea, yet still he did.

The sleepy veil pulled free inside his waking dream, much like fog on a lens, allowing his first fresh independent thought of curiosity.

Huh…where am I?

His eyes followed the strange urge to look down and check his footing but confusingly found no solid ground beneath him, the floor more akin to the undulating surface of a vast body of water but black as the deepest night. Fearful vertigo gripped his heart, telling him he would fall in and drown, never to be seen again.

Panic drove him to run away, to find the way out, only to discover he had quickly become surrounded on all sides by a wall of hazy humanoid shapes.

The eerie figures appeared to be formed from the deepest of the abyss around him and in his terror he screamed out wildly for help. No noise escaped his lips.

Blurry, faceless heads all turned to where he stood as one, their combined gaze ominously shone with a vibrant purple light that looked to peer out from somewhere 'beyond' the shadows themselves.

What little awareness he maintained told him to flee in the face of such ominous beings, but he couldn't move an inch. An innocent thread of shadow twirled up and around his ankle in whisps, suddenly the dark tendril condensed in a vice grip around his leg. A silent attempt to yell again drove the fear higher. He lurched forward with urgency, desperate to break free, only to fall face down toward the endless darkness below. Instinctively, a hand flew out to catch him, but instead of the terrifying abyss' embrace, the cold hard thud of stone crashed upon his face as he screamed himself awake.

Shards of grit and cold rough stones dug into his hands and face, telling him immediately that he wasn't in bed, where he should be. Instead, Kieran found himself lying on a hard dirt floor littered with small stones, his heart racing from the terrible nightmare that he'd just escaped from.

The contact felt firmly reassuring in comparison to the memory of darkness he was quickly understanding was just a horrifically realistic dream-nothing he hadn't dealt with before.

The unfamiliar floor held him for a few panicked breaths as he allowed his mental fog to gradually clear with the rhythmic thumps in his chest. A pungent scent of old earth filled his nose with every breath.

Ugh, this can't be good…

With a deep groan, he turned his head up so he could get a better look at his surroundings, only to be greeted by endless crawling darkness wherever he squinted.

“Ughhhh” What in the bloody-? he groaned immediately.

His left eyelid refused to open, fully sealed shut by a patch of wet stickiness.

What he prayed to be drying blood crusted slightly down one side of his face from a dull throbbing lump on the top of his head he was slowly becoming aware of.

Gingerly, he prodded at the mostly-dry matted hair that clung to his temple.

"Ow! Balls, how did i?–" huh??

The words reverberated strangely around him, it reminded him of being back in the training hall when there was nobody about.

Combined with the total absence of light and the hard earthen floor, he couldn't even begin to guess his location.

It smells earthy and damp? Like a cave? But there are no big tunnels I know of around here.

Unless it's an old tunnel somewhere? I'd say it definitely smells old, if that's even a thing...

“What the hell is this place? Did the train come off the tracks somewhere?”

If he knew just how far from home and from those old train tracks, the creeping anxiety he was beginning to feel might have just crushed him up into a ball of utter numbness.

Innate human curiosity took over, forcing him to search for more answers about the last thing he remembered. Staggering up onto his knees, his concussed mind reeled with further confusion when his right arm jerked to a sudden stop. A sharp clang echoed out from beside him and something hard, heavy, and uncomfortable scraped his wrist.

creeping dread seeped down his throat and threatened to swallow his curiosity whole as he instantly recognised the distinctive metallic rattle that followed. Even if he couldn't see a damn thing currently he could easily discern the unmistakable clattering of chains on the hard floor.

The growing fear mixed with a pulsing headache kept him from speaking too loud

"This crap is far too hardcore for my tastes" he murmured to himself as he wondered about his situation.

How did I not feel this being clamped onto me either? Examining with his free hands he could tell it was heavy duty.

The dull pain in his brain made his thoughts feel rather hazy. Kieran was sure he’d remember drinking enough to have a hangover, let alone acute memory loss. What had he been doing last?

I was going to Jimmy's place, got on the tube with Nathan-ahh crap…

“Nathan!” he gasped with a short breath.

That shit wasn't a dream?

The Divine System thing came, then i remember mana? This cant really be happening right? I'm being trolled for sure...

and where the fuck am I?

Someone had to have physically chained him up themselves he realised, and in some weird dark cold hall too, he just couldn't make any sense of it all.

On even his best of days, Kieran struggled with the fear of the unknown, always preferring someone to guide him or present a simple route for him to follow. Instead awaking to find himself chained up, injured, and left in the dark with nothing but his spiraling frantic thoughts, he set a new record for how much uncertainty and fear he could feel at once. Rusty cogs in his mind screeched endlessly and his blood pumped with a rhythmic wave he felt firming into the uncontrollable desire to just run and never look back, and run he definitely would if he could, that was for certain.

Okay, let's calm down first remember, then we think.

Now really isn't the time for a panic attack, Kieran.

He awkwardly push himself onto his knees and took a slow calming breath, the uneven dirt and jagged small rocks dug into his shins uncomfortably even through his jeans. The Shackle threatened to scratch his wrist as it wriggled slightly.

He clenched his hands tightly onto his thighs, forcing them to be still as best he could. The mental haze faded with each deep breath he forced down until he calmly decided he had to try literally anything–bar going full coyote and gnawing his own arm off–to improve the situation.

Starting with his most crucial first step.

Okay, let's pry the shackle free

He was confident he could budge it unless it was serious stuff, but chafed raw skin and stinging pain were the only reward when his somewhat greater-than-mediocre strength failed against his desperation.

"Aaagh shit" the short stifled complaint escaped his mouth. The words lightly reverberate in the dark, followed by the clatter of the chain from a frustrated slap. The thick, rusted metal band was far too solid.

It's chunky, maybe I can get it loose there somewhere?

Kieran began to rise unsteadily to his feet, an intense wave of nausea greeted him and the dots in the darkness spun all around–he bit back the pain of a the migraine then remembered his phone.

maybe i can check google for my location?

He let himself hope for a fleeting moment as he slid the phone out of his jean pocket.

"What?" Both pressing and holding the power and volume buttons repeatedly had no effect.

I was sure it had half battery at least when I last checked.

"Fuckin' brilliant!"

He complained as he shoved the dead brick of a smartphone back into his front pocket.

And there was me thinking I could just pull up a map…a map?

Oh shit, the class quest map? The vague memory presented him once more with the threat of ‘termination’ and--, enough that he didn't feel like an as much of an idiot when he began to paw at the air trying variations of potential commands he'd seen in manwha

“Show system map”

“Open map”

“Open sesame?”

Nothing, seriously? What else can it be for fuck sake?

Hmm…Maybe I just need to be more formal?

“System! He spoke in a clear, polite tone. "please show me the class quest location map."

what a mouthful...this could be annoying if I have to say every word...

A small blue window burst to life before his eyes, and Kieran allowed a little joyous cackle that he sharply stopped once his head immediately swelled with fresh pain. Okay, no laughing or shouting, I get it…fucking migraines.

The remaining joy he felt at seeing the screen quickly faded as he regained enough composure to read the short message on the system window.

System Error

Map unavailable inside Dungeons.

No fucking way, a dungeon? A literal god damn dungeon? i'm screwed.

“This bloody system is bullshit” he complained, the icepick in his brain slightly less sharp.

Too cheap to even hire admins to fix the bugs? Sounds like modern gaming companies, not some all-powerful ‘Divine’ system.

Ah, fuck speaking of error-filled games, if I die here I’ll never get the play the new scrolls game, its finaly coming out November.

The anger at being possibly denied the joy of playing a game he’d been waiting years for fueled him into thought.

Reviewing the screen he quickly realised there was no timer, so he prayed this stupid system would at least let him off on the whole ‘termination’ thing. Especially since it failed to show him where his class quest might be. Then again, that was assuming he lived past the 24 hours given by the system.

This is a fucking dungeon after all. Just please don't be spiders and snakes...

Kieran shivered suddenly, feeling cold even despite the fact those rainy patches that once soaked his clothes had long since dried up. A strange chill still seemed to sit in his very bones, however, not letting him rest comfortably for a second.

The fact his clothes were dry now told him he must have been unconscious for a good while, a few hours at the very least. Hopefully, he wasn't too far from the train station and could maybe retrace his steps home once he got outside.

Wearily, he started moving his body on the spot to try and clear the stiffness from his legs. Nothing too strenuous, just a few shoulder and hip circles–reminiscent of his martial arts stretching routine–and within a minute or two, the warmth of blood suffused his limbs and made him feel physically more stable.

With his free left hand, he clasped the heavy and rough chain to prevent more chafing and used the weight of the large thick chain loops and an outstretched palm for a guide.

“Let's see where this takes me” Each shuffling step filled him with more anticipation.

Please don't be spiders. Please don't be spiders. Please, don't be spiders.

I'm really not in the mood for any creepy crawly jumpscares.

Cautiously he trudged on, hand scanning out in nervous anticipation for what lay ahead in the dark. A few uncertain scraping steps later, he arrived at a solid rocky surface with even fewer answers for him.

Pulling at the bolt buried in the wall did nothing but frustrate him further, he found that it wouldn't budge in the slightest no matter how much he leaned his weight into each noisy tug.

Who the fuck ties people up like this?

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

The unknown agenda of his captives became more frightening to him the more he guessed at what these cruel people might want with him.

please don't be after my organs, I just wanted a quiet night out, let alone all the weird shit up until now...

A vocal part of his brain wished he'd given in to his desire to stay at home finishing off a new dungeon diver chapter.

Now i'm dungeon diving by myself and might be eaten by cannibals at best.

Kieran fought back memories of a recent documentary about cannibals and their meat-farming habits, vivid mental images of gore and chains flashed new and increasingly palpable fears into him.

He took another deep breath and let the damp air fill his lungs as he tried to be brave.

But first Nathan vanished, now me? i'm pretty sure this isn't a damn system tutorial like those I've read about in light novels though…where are the swords and shields, the magic.

“Oh shit the class quest timer! How long has it been?”

Returning memories of the system windows brought another pang of worry as he remembered the promise of ‘Termination’ if he didnt find his class quest location.

“Open map” he whispered hopefully. Okay not that…

“Show system map” he all but bellowed to get the system's attention.

Shit what the hell is the comm-

Rhythmic beating sounds from off in the distance drew his unwavering attention. Anxiety gripped Kieran's heart as he began to recognise the distant muted scraping of boots approaching on dry dirt.

Well, i guess I'm about to get some damn answers.

please don't eat me damnit.

Grim expectation grew in his chest as he made out different muffled sounds on top of the multitude of lazy scraping steps that drew closer. The new noises became increasingly clearer until a much louder and almost feral snarling shout echoed through his surroundings and echoed throughout the open acoustics reminiscent of a large hall. Ever more wild fear was instilled in kieran and he became overly assured about just how screwed he probably was. Deep inhuman shouts in the distance were followed by the unmistakable jingle of keys and what then sounded like a heavy door being unlocked then shoved open.

A warm breeze wafted in from the other side of the cavern, bringing the smell of charred pork in with it, and for just a moment he was reminded of summer barbecues at Nathan's family home–all he was missing was a cool Spanish beer to set the mood.

Kieran panicked when the acrid scent of rot and body odor worse than anything he'd ever smelled hit his nose. Then he hesitantly dropped to the floor as glowing embers peered in through A distant doorway. An unclear silhouette appeared to be holding a primitive style flame torch above their head, sunset orange vaguely lit the way into the cavern.

Kieran examined his surroundings as the darkness was gradually peeled away from the large room by approaching lights and echoing steps. He now saw the terrible excuse for a prison he was occupying in its full grimy glory. The tall circular rocky wall of the large room held several more sets of chains intermittently placed across its jagged surface. His eyes locked onto old rotten bones that were still held captive by the matching chains, and his fear for his own fate set a deep chill within.

"Holy shit…please don't let me die here"

He breathed out in a half whisper of a prayer to the universe, the supposed system, or any gods listening in.

Quickly he covered his mouth with his free hand as he realised he'd spoken aloud again.

I really need to stop talking to myself, who knows what they're gonna do to me. He silently admonished the mistake.

More torch-wielding figures filed in behind the first shining flame, all bright lights and shady silhouettes. Two were side by side carrying something heavy between them with an arm each, a torch in their free hands to guide the way. Several more followed closely behind them, holding what looked like clubs or maybe sticks down by their sides.

As his view adjusted to the overwhelming orange glow that now filled his growingly apparent prison dungeon, he took in an even more worrying and bizarre sight.

The figures with torches didn't look quite right to Kieran at first glance; why are they all wearing green? And extra leather clothes?

He couldn't believe his eyes as they beheld the sight of strangely short yet muscular green men in weird masks. They spoke to one another in strange flowing grunts that must pass as communication of some sort. but Kieran didn't want to judge anyone language too much just because he didn't know it.

Mottled dark green wrinkly skin covered their stocky bodies, all the way from below their rough brown leather shorts, up to their pointy jagged ears that stuck out the side of their heads like antennae before curling down like deflated balloons, their eyes big black orbsc their skull stretched into a stubby snout that bore short pointed tusks on the lower jaw.

Kieran has seen enough realistic cosplayers and movie costume design to know these alien beings were in fact very, very real.

They aren't human?

They look almost like swole Goblins? No…too big and wide, Orcs maybe?

Wait, yeah those are definitely Orcs, oh god damn they are ugly ass Orcs…

I really hope they don't vibe with man flesh

He could practically hear them in his head yelling "Looks like meat's back on the menu boys" but that was just his paranoia.

They approached in an almost comical waddle, each leg surprisingly thick and muscular much like their arms. He watched the lead two skulk clumsily closer to a part of the cavern further off to his right.

Kieran shifted his body slightly to get a better assessment of his captors, careful not to make a noise, he stayed as low to the ground as he could. Willing the chain not to give away his movement as he crawled like a slug. Straining his hands he clawed at the dirt underneath him, the pain gave further confirmation this was all still really happening.

"This is the weirdest fever dream of my life, or I've just been isekai'd to an absolute shithole, i am so utterly fucked"

He remained completely still except for the laboured breathing that he struggled to slow. The group marched further into the cavern, spreading out. Kieran lay there frozen as the lead orcs dragged what he now realised was a considerably longer body–another human? Another prisoner?– over to an empty set of chains on the wall. The overly long and round grey figure being half dragged across the dry dirt by the drooping sleeves of his dirty tracksuit.

No way! It's that drunk psycho from the train, but then where did the train go? how is he with me here?

Either we just disappeared like Nathan or they dragged us from the train surely...God, I hate this.

The grey tracksuit was in tatters, part of his torso appeared singed down to the flesh, flakes of charred skin painted an ugly pattern across his side.

That can't be good…did those orcs do that to him?

Not a single sound came from the grey lump as they clasped the man's wrist in a shackle then dropped his body to the ground face first with a hard thud.

Kieran watched in tense anticipation as the four figures took the flickering light with them. They noisily marched back to the door they had just entered through, slamming it behind them as the darkness reclaimed the now silent chamber.

The silence broke with a rush of air when Kieran let out the breath he'd subdued for almost a minute now, too afraid to even breathe, lest he attract their attention.

What the fuck do I do now? I can't get past that many of them, and even if I could, where would I go, I don't even know what's outside this door.

Helplessness wasn't unfamiliar to Kieran, but he'd never been so scared and trapped before; let alone kidnapped without the slightest clue how to even escape his shackle.

"Maybe" he thought out loud.

Maybe those keys they had might work, if I could find a damn keyhole that is"

The chained-up bones he barely glimpsed to his left served as a gruesome promise of what awaited him in due time if he remained here.

"Sorry Mr skeleton but I don't wanna look like that, I have to get out of here" He whispered with genuine sympathy for whoever had to meet such a fate here, the thought reminded him of the mam from the train that had just been dumped across the cavern from him.

Should I try to help him? He considered for a moment before remembering the events leading up to this situation.

The motherfucker was about to try and stab Nathan and me if the system hadn't saved him luckily, so I don't know…

Luckily? Really Kieran? What fucking luck is this. I'm so lost right now…no, maybe its just the head trauma, thats a valid enough reason and there's nobody to say otherwise.

"Please be doing better than I am at least wherever you are brother" the whispering prayer escaped his dry lips. He swallowed, the raw feeling in his throat telling him he would probably need to find water soon, especially after that blue flame had burnt his throat rawr not long ago.

Returning his focus to the prison break agenda, he resolved himself to slow down and think of something productive to do, his first decision was to find a way out of this shitty shackle before the Orcs came back. He guessed they would drag him off somewhere very unpleasant by the smell of cooked pork that called to his stomach from across the dungeon.

Kieran knew he needed more information. time to risk poking the bear for what he knows, I need to find out what's through the door before I can decide what dumb way I'm going to die.

"Hey, you alive over there shithead?"

He called in a half whisper half shout

Nope guess he's dead

Hi stood up and slowly stepped in the general direction he remembered the guards dumping the body

Approximately ten more cautious steps into the void and the smell of cooked meat intensified. Kieran swallowed to clear his salivating throat in resistance to his gag reflex subtly making itself known for a moment. The knowledge of what meat he smelled quickly turned his appetite to pure revulsion, then gnawing concern for his own sorry hide.

"Hey dude, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

He remembered his mandatory first aid training just enough to call out before getting too close, I don't want his blood on me too, and dude might still have his knife for all i know

"Yo! Buddy, wake up, they might come back soon"

He spoke to where he could feel the guy laying in the darkness now, getting close enough to the increasing stench that he could hear steady but shallow breathing just in front of him now.

"Dude wake up for fuck sake, please"

He went to take another step but ran out of chain length, his max range was just not enough to make contact. I'm an asshole for this, but he deserves it, kinda

Kieran picked up a small stone by his feet, then with a wince, launched it across the rocky floor. It cracked a few times across the stone before hiting something meaty with a soft thud.

I hope that was nothing important.

He waited a few more seconds for a response, the man continued his shallow breathing without a word. Kieran sighed ashamedly and scoured the floor at his feet until he felt a slightly bigger stone, this one half the size of his palm and considerably more weighty. Pulling his arm back to launch it even harder he froze as a short snort rang out, followed by a coughing burst before him. Hidden by the darkness he quickly dropped the stone he was moments away from hurling.

A harsh guttural voice called out, full of fear.

"Please! Noo! Don't burn me again ya green fuckers Please! I don't know what you waa-Aaahh fuck, me back!"

Kieran didn't want to interrupt the man crying but he feared the noise might echo past the door, and that would probably be far worse than dealing with this guy.

"Hey, hey, just calm down they've gone now, nobody here is trying to hurt you mate" Kieran reassured him from the dark

"Are you okay? I'm trapped here too so tell me what happened out there, why did they torture you, man?"

The man paused, probably not expecting another human to be there.

torture is so fucked up, the poor bastard is probably scared shitless.

The sympathy lasted right up until a resoundingly clear answer returned from the man as he half shouted "Fuck you ya cunt, I ain't tellin’ you nothin’"

Seriously? This asshole!

Kieran sighed, not expecting the man to be such a stubborn prick when they were both neck-deep in shit right now, the partially charred hog of a man even more so.

"Fine, suit yourself dickhead, guess we both just sit here until they come back and start roasting your ass on a grill again" Kieran uttered casually whilst the heel of his canvas shoe scratched noisily across the dry dirt, pretending he was going back to his spot by the wall and thankful the darkness hid his guilty smile for being so cruel.

"Okay okay! wait for fuck sake!" ugh" The main groaned from the strain of yelling.

"But, you've gotta help me outta here bruv I can't fucking walk properly" the man called back almost immediately, clearly realising Kieran might be his only chance for help too.

"Sounds like a deal, mate. I'm Kieran by way”

“But first, can you tell me what the hell happened, what did those Orc assholes want?" he kept any emotion other than sympathy from his voice, glad this guy couldn't see his face.

"Names Darren, Darren Smith" he half growled as if his full name was supposed to mean something to Kieran.

Shockingly diverse, how fitting.

"you said them green fucks are…orcs? this is fuckin’ serious bruv” Kieran was suprirsed the mean took him at his word considering his previous suspicion, but Darren continued to spill the beans. “Those bastards dragged me to some old fuckin’ door” he wheezed. "in the middle of this massive fucking room. Then they shouted at me over and over–ughh." pain cut him off and he took a few heavy breaths before he spoke again

"I told them I didn't know nothin’ and they best fuckin’ let go of me now"

Kieran heard him shuffling slightly closer in the dark, groaning from pain with every other move he made.

So they want to get through a door? I dunno what this is all about, but I don't want what he’s got that's for sure, dude smells like bbq pork now for fuck sake

Kieran decided to breathe through his mouth for a little to avoid the sickly smell.

"Then some shorter green bastard with a funny hat and some kinda burning stick kept stabbing at my back! I dunno what the fuck they wanted"

“Funny hat?” Kieran asked, the mention of something seemingly irrelevant not making sense to him

“Yeah” Darren muttered.

“It looked like one of those redskin type ones, all feathers and beads, but I coulda’ sworn it was glowing or summin’ too”

Kieran dismissed the casually racist wording this guy was throwing out, for now, but he was also genuinely concerned about the burning stick and tribal headwear too, a worrying thought struck him.

Do they have a mana user then? or some kind of mage? If this system uses game logic then would that be like some kind of Orc Shaman or Warlock? or maybe something fancy like a Pyromancer?

“It's not a game for fuck sake” Kieran shut himself up.

But..the system did say mana was a thing now, so surely other species would have learned some form of magic right?–ooooh, maybe different kinds?

"I told 'em to fuckin' speak English first, but they just kept yappin’ some foreign shit" The now mentally labelled 'definitely racist' man nattered, Kieran realised he sounded genuinely scared and worried, but he wouldn't let himself feel too sympathetic. This guy definitely couldn’t be trusted, not for a second. Especially if the asshole later recognised him from the train.

"ill fucking kill all of them, you watch bruv. When I was in pen, the boys ‘dere wouldn't treat me like this, let alone some green foreign pricks"

Of course he's been to prison too, I need to ditch this guy asap, he might just knife me in the back once we get out of here.

"For sure, mate" Kieran consoled with a shaky but confident voice, before promising "We'll both get out of here tonight, these little green pricks won't stop us" in a slightly aggressive Londoner tone. Social chameleon instincts kicked in with the adrenaline.

"Can you get up…Darren? I tried getting closer already but the chain they put on me was too bloody short." He asked the still-sniveling man. "Oh and does your cuff have a keyhole? or you reckon you can just bust out?"

"Nah, already tried before they took me, didn't I, arseholes had some kinda stick they poked it with, like magnets or summin’ that opened it I think"

Finally, we're getting somewhere, guess they have some magic keys then maybe?

Kieran slowly started seeing a glimmer of hope as vague outlines of a plan formed in his head, really complex mastermind strategies like: should he play dead? or maybe he should just try to fight his way out somehow. A feeling of shame came over him as he considered distracting the orcs with this guy for bait somehow and then running away solo.

Let's just hope they don't send so many next time, I don't see us both taking out two or three each by any shot, especially if they have a Magicboi out there.

The faint resolution to not be a scumbag and abandon someone who was also in chains and in need of help battled inside him with his desire to live, and his active disgust for people like this man.

I'll do my best, but if he seems fucked I just need to leg it on my own.

"How's this mate?" Kieran started.

"When they come back, as soon as one of us is unlocked, we snatch the rod thing and throw it to the other one, then we fuck them up together and get out, yeah?" He used the most persuasive and confident voice he could manage.

"Good enough I guess, but can't do much on me own with ma back like this. once I throw it over, ya better come get the fuckers offa me pronto yeah?"

"Of course man, and same goes for you" Kieran affirmed, sealing their death row deal in the dark.

Kieran was sure he would fuck this up, he was even somewhat counting on it, if that is, he wins the unspoken coin toss of who gets their chains unlocked first.

“Oh, one more thing fella? can you see your eh system map?” Kieran asked, almost slapping himself for remembering so late.

“Are you a retard? what the fuck is a system map? does it look like I’m carryin’ a fuckin’ map?”

“Nevermind mate, it's nothing important” he lied.

I'm definitely not sticking my neck out for him if he cant even be chill when im trying to help.

"And now i guess…we wait," he whispered more to himself than his fellow captive.

Kieran closed his eyes as he tried to figure out a better way to stay alive in the nervewracking darkness.