I raise an arm, seriously considering just breaking through the doorway with a show of overwhelming force but… no. I cannot allow my pride to drive my actions, not when I am in this naked and weakened state.

Stepping away from the door is difficult though, mostly due to the difficulty in assuring myself it is from caution and prudence not fear.

I turn stiffly toward the center of the room, though pointless without light it is a symbolic in its own way, I firm the decision to first complete a search of this area before I even consider outside of it.

Bringing up my mental map of the room I note that I awoke in approximately the center of the twenty by twenty meter space. It is hard to judge this as fact due to my previous martial arts practice and the disorientating darkness but it seems to be true. I had encountered nothing when walking directly south of that, or when walking along the outer walls so those areas at least are ruled out.

Perhaps there was something to the north of where I awoke? An altar or pedestol of some kind?

I step directly away from the door, heading northward toward the other end of the room. My heart stutters for a moment as I lose contact with the reassurance of the wall and step into the dark void of the room, but I will lot allow such uncertainty stop me. I am better than that, and I am capable of walking in a straight line at the very least.

Extending a hand like a feeler I walk in slow measured steps, expecting to find nothing but hoping regardless. … I am disappointed though when all I find is the opposite wall, just as cold as it was when I entered.

I turn and lean backward into the solid comfort of the wall as I look into the darkness of its center. I reconsider the room's design and wonder if there might be something to the left or right of the room, but eventually decide to put that aside for now. Performing a grid search of the room would take too long, and while I am confident in my ability to walk in a straight line I am not that confident. I will leave that option for when other avenues have failed.

What other options have I?

Feeling the cold stone under my palm, I begin to wonder. Usually torches and other light fixtures are laid on the wall itself, aren’t they? Though I felt nothing during my walk around, perhaps I was simply looking too low..?

Turning I reach out with my left hand, stretching it upward along the cool surface. Somehow I am more confident in this search than in the walk across the room, a surity that was a lacking making me expect results here. After a moment though I am disappointed, the feeling stronger than it probably should be by now.

After a moment of pique I sigh and gather myself, and turn to return to the door when I pause and… step slightly to the right. Returning my hand to the wall, I reaching up again and almost as if lead to it… I feel a bump in the wall.

I exalt as I grip at the bump, enfolding its palm sized form in my hand. It is smooth but not quite perfectly round, feeling closer to egg shaped and with slight inconsistencies as though it were a poorly made drop of glass.

Twisting and brushing it does nothing, but I somehow know that this is the answer to the light problem. I just need to make it…

[Awaken.]

A jolt of power flows from me and into the stone, like a spark of flame from flint. And like the spark it seems to catch something within the stone, creating a small flame within it and bringing light to this new existence for the first time.

The stone is a small one, slightly smaller than the palm of my hand and seemingly pushed into the hard rock of the wall itself. It looks like some kind of dirty brown glass blown by an unskilled crafter, it's only impressive quality being the tiny pale white flame I had ignited within its center, the tiny thing illuminating the area around it.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The light is a gentle one, just slightly brighter than a candle. But any light is better than none, and in this otherwise pitch darkness it shines like a beacon.

Looking around I take in the room.

As previous exploration had shown it is a twenty by twenty cube of stone seemingly carved out of the center of a massive stone by a crazed sculptor. The room is utterly empty except for the arch of the entrance, the doorway it leads to and the stones much like the one I just ignited. Each of the stones seem to have been placed around the room in a haphazard way as if by a lazy crafter with immense strength simply pushed them into the stone walls as an afterthought.

Looking down at myself I note my initial inspection was correct, I am clearly a strong if young male. My skin is a pale white, nearly to the point of albinism, and utterly hairless and almost unmarked. A lock of my hair shows a great deal of contrast, its dark brown color, a near black in this dim light, simply makes my skin seem even paler.

Also providing a sharp contrast, and the only thing marriing my skin, is the red colored blood slowly hardening on my side and palms from my previous fall, the dim brown-white light making it seem closer to mud than to any true red.

Not willing to break the one light I had by meddling with it I head to the next closest stone and reach up to touch it, once again Awakening it with a touch of that inner fire. It is effortless to send out the spark this time, an instinct as simple as breathing, but I feel slightly dizzy afterward. It has created an empty feeling in a way that feels unfamiliar. The light ignites though, showing a stone slightly greener than the other, wrapped in swirls of yellow, but filled with the same tiny but precious illumination of flame.

Touching it I feel it for a moment before gripping it and, with a yank, pull the stone from the wall with surprising ease. It is cool orb, the flame within seemingly generating no heat. It is surprisingly heavy for its size, perhaps about the same as lead?

I look to the door before looking back at the walls, briefly considering taking the other stones too. But they are going nowhere, and I feel an instinctual fear of spending too many of those sparks of power. They are clearly in limited supply and already I feel weakened by just the few I have spent.

Taking the small light I head back to the door, considering what to do from here.

With my current weakness the idea of attacking the door now seems foolish. In retrospect I doubt I could have truly destroyed it, not in my current form. Any such attempt would likely harm only my hand and what little remains of my pride.

But that does not mean I should simply open it and step out. Why leave my fate to trust in unknown others, ones who could have had something to do with my current position?

Perhaps I should douse the light in my palm, using darkness to conceal myself as I exit? It would give me a moment to grasp the situation at least before deciding on my next actions.

This could be seen as suspicious though, leading to future trouble. There is something to be said for simply leaving with confidence, light in hand. Facing those outside with pride and aplomb could make a better first impression.

Then again there is a danger in taking a moment once I leave to assess. Perhaps I should simply dive from the doorway at a dead run? If I flee out of the immediate area then any traps laid would be foiled. I would have to swallow my pride a little to do something so cowardly, but better a live coward than a dead king.