Chapter 3 - Chapter 2.1: (The pathway toward the unknown)

Chapter 2.1: (The pathway toward the unknown)

"Is there magic in this world too... Like in the fairy tales and novels I've read?"

Suddenly, my legs started moving on their own. I couldn't control them. They just stepped forward, one after the other, onto the glowing cubes.

"What is happening...!?" I gasped, my voice trembling. My heart pounded in my chest like a drum. "My body... it's moving on its own!"

As I climbed the stairs made of glowing cubes, they sparkled even brighter, like real stars beneath my feet. Each step lit up with a soft, gentle glow. I moved carefully, trusting my body to keep going, even though my heart beat faster with every step.

The surroundings were breathtaking. It felt like I was walking on a path made of stars, floating in endless darkness. Glowing orbs, like little stars, drifted around me, gently moving through the air. The scene was quiet and magical.

Then I heard a weak, deep voice, soft and gentle speaking in a language I could not understand.

"⟒ᚻ 𐌗𐍆ᚣᚣ𐍆⟒ᚻ⟟ ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ ᚣ∰⟠𐍈⟟̄, ⸸ᚻᚣ∰ᚻᚡ∰⟡⟠ ∰⟟̄ ⟒𐍆𐍀ᚣ⟟ ᚣᚻ𐍊⟟ 𐍀𐌑 𐍆𐍀⟟̄ 𐍆𐌗 ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ ⟟𐍊ᛣ⟊⟡ᚻ𐌑𐌑, ⟡𐍆⟟̄ ⟊⟡𐍆⟒∰⟡⟠ ⟟̄𐍈𐍊⟟̄ ∰⟟̄ ⟒𐍊𐌑 ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ ⟟𐍊ᛣ⟊⟡ᚻ𐌑𐌑 ∰⟟̄𐌑ᚻᚣ𐌗 ⟠𐍀∰⟟∰⟡⟠ 𐍀𐌑. ⟒ᚻ ⟊ᚻ⟁⟟̄ ⟒𐍊ᚣ⟊∰⟡⟠ ∰⟡ 𐑂∰ᛣ𐑂ᚣᚻ𐌑, ⟟̄𐍈∰⟡⟊∰⟡⟠ ⟒ᚻ ⟒ᚻᛣᚻ 𐍉𐍆ᚡ∰⟡⟠ 𐌗𐍆ᛣ⟒𐍊ᛣ⟟, ⸸𐍀⟟̄ ᚻᚡᚻᛣx 𐌑⟟̄ᚻ⟁ 𐍆⟡ᚣx ⸸ᛣ𐍆𐍀⟠𐍈⟟̄ 𐍀𐌑 ⟟ᚻᚻ⟁ᚻᛣ ∰⟡⟟̄𐍆 ⟒𐍈𐍊⟟̄ ⟒ᚻ 𐍈𐍊⟟ 𐑂𐍈𐍆𐌑ᚻ⟡. ∰⟡ ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ ᚻ⟡⟟, ⟒ᚻ ⟟𐍆 ⟡𐍆⟟̄ 𐌑∰𐍉⟁ᚣx 𐌗𐍆ᚣᚣ𐍆⟒ 𐌗𐍊⟟̄ᚻ—⟒ᚻ ⟒𐍊ᚣ⟊ ∰⟡⟟̄𐍆 ∰⟟̄, ⟒∰ᚣᚣ∰⟡⟠ᚣx 𐍆ᛣ ⟡𐍆⟟̄."

??? - "We followed the light, believing it would lead us out of the darkness, not knowing that it was the darkness itself guiding us. We kept walking in circles, thinking we were moving forward, but every step only brought us deeper into what we had chosen. In the end, we do not simply follow fate—we walk into it, willingly or not."

"Whose voice is that?" I asked the empty space around me. "Maybe I'm just hearing things"

As I reach the last cube, I was met with a majestic door, dazzling with golden embellishments. This door is over 35 feet tall.

"What's that big door? It's massive!"

Then the door, creaked open, releasing a billowing cloud of dust that filled the air.

As I step Infront of the grand door, the scattering cube lights regrouped and morphed back into their colossal cube shape, In the palm of the giant statue.

I entered, clutching the luminous rock, the door slammed shut behind me with a loud thud.

As I walked inside, I felt a sudden tickle on my face. I brushed my hand across my cheek, only to find sticky cobwebs clinging to my skin. With a grimace, I quickly swiped them away and spat on the dusty floor. "Ugh, this place is a mess," I muttered to myself. The air was thick with the musty smell of decay, and every step I took sent clouds of dust swirling around me. It was clear that no one had been in this place for a long, long time.

After 2 minutes of walking

I saw three passageway that were over 20 feet high each. The right side was blocked by boulders, so I went to the left. This passage was blocked by wooden planks nailed together with swords, but some had crumbled due to age.

As I walked through the left passageway, I entered a series of connected rooms that resembled a massive coliseum, but with a prison-like vibe. The rooms were filled with stacked cages enclosed in iron bars.

I touched the iron bars and felt the rough texture of rust on my hand. When I looked down, I saw a brown and yellow stain left in my hand. Curious, I brought my hand to my nose and caught the strong scent of metal and rust.

"What do I expect, of course it'll smell like rust." I muttered

Next to the iron bars, there are torches with rusty handles, but they no longer have flames.

Inside the iron bars, I saw skeletons with chained hands and feet. As I approached each one, I noticed a variety - some were human, some with horns, and others a mix of human and beastly features.

"Are the skeletons inside a human?, even though they have fangs and horns?" I whisper

Inside the cages are monstrous skeletons, some resembling giant horned snakes, others with beastly features with six limbs.

"This place is really creepy." I mumble

As I turn my head I saw a brick fences lining the sides are marred by mold growth.

I approach the fences and then, I gazed up at the brick fences, feeling the dusty, mold-covered surface beneath my fingertips, I noticed a massive spherical orb from the ceiling of the coliseum prison.

As I walked down to the lowest floor, I came across a sinkhole in the center of this place.

I descended toward the lowest floor, each step echoing in the hollow silence, until I found myself at the edge of a sinkhole yawning wide in the center of the arena.

Only then did I see it—what I had failed to notice before. Floating directly above the abyss was a circular slab of cement, shaped like an arena of its own. And beneath it, chained together like beads on a rosary, eight orbs hung in descending order—from the largest at the top to the smallest at the bottom. They pulsed faintly glow, like a firefly, as though something inside them was alive.

The arena itself was littered with bones. They covered the ground.

I leaned over the edge of the sinkhole and felt a chill crawl up my spine. It wasn't natural—that much was clear at first glance. The walls were lined with old bricks, already dark with age, their surfaces slick with moisture. A narrow staircase clung to the curve of the shaft, winding down in a spiral that seemed endless, as though it wanted to drag me into the darkness bellow.

I placed my foot on the first step. The stone was damp, and my weight sent a hollow echo bouncing through the pit. I moved slowly, each step deliberate, my left hand brushing the cold wall for balance. While I held the luminescent stone in my right hand, keeping it in front of me to light the way so I wouldn't stumble and fall. With every turn of the staircase, the light from above dimmed, swallowed by the shaft. The air grew heavier and colder.

At last, my feet touched the ground. I paused, listening. The silence was suffocating, broken only by the slow drip of water somewhere deep in the shadows. It was the kind of darkness that pressed against the eyes, thick and impenetrable, as if the earth itself wanted to blind me.

I lifted the stone from my hand. Its faint yellowish orange glow seeped into the blackness, spilling across the bricks and damp earth, revealing just enough to keep me from stumbling. Shapes flickered at the edge of its light, as though something waited just beyond reach, hidden in the dark.

"Thanks to this rock," I whispered, my voice low, almost afraid the shadows might answer, "I can see everything. As long as I have it, I'll be alright."

But even as I said it, I wasn't sure if I believed myself.

As I walked, I accidentally stumbled into something, the luminous rock slipped from my grasp and fell to the ground.

When I'm about to pick it up

I saw tall glass containers filled with mysterious green liquid, reaching up to 10 feet high. Within the large containers were bizarre body parts of an unidentified species: a massive brain, a furry clawed arm, a heart bristling with fangs, a striking gray eye with slit pupils and more. The place had iron tubes along the walls and floor, giving it a mad scientist's lab vibe. Creepy humanoid mannequins sat in corners, each with a transparent ball in their belly.

"Is this things alive...? This place is freaky...!"

In the center of the room sits a large cage containing the skeleton of a fearsome monster. The creature's bone structure is distorted, with multiple horns, seven legs, a massive arm, sharp teeth, a snake-like tail, and a huge horn on its forehead. Human skulls are mysteriously attached to its remains.

In the side, there's a wooden table and chair with a leather cover that's been carefully stitched. On top, is an old leather-bound book, a feather quill with a pot of ink next to it, Nearby is candles, their wax long dried and piled up in thick layers.

Next to the wooden table, there are bookshelves with old books, human skulls and jars filled with preserved body parts like ears, fangs, and bones.

I touched the table and it felt strange, like dry, stitched human skin. Startled, I quickly stepped back and left without looking back.

I quickened my pace, silently repeating, "Don't turn around, don't turn around." I realized it wasn't animal leather on the furniture, but instead, a disturbing realization dawned on me: it was human skin stitched together.

I felt as though I were being choked, unable to breathe, as if countless invisible hands were gripping my throat and covering my mouth, and at the same time, my body was being pulled backward, resisting every step. But the grip weakened the farther I went, and I pushed myself to move faster towards the stairs, desperate to escape.

Once again, I heard a voice, but this one was different. it whispered brushing against my ears, spoken in a language I do not understand. The voice is eerie and unsettling, yet beneath its creepiness, it have a strange, unknown yet knowledge.

"⟟̄𐍈ᚻ 𐍉𐍊⟟ 𐌑𐍆𐍀⟠𐍈⟟̄ ⟊⟡𐍆⟒ᚣᚻ⟟⟠ᚻ ⟒𐍈ᚻᛣᚻ 𐍆⟟̄𐍈ᚻᛣ𐌑 ⟟̄𐍀ᛣ⟡ᚻ⟟ 𐍊⟒𐍊x. ⟒𐍈𐍊⟟̄ ∰𐌑 𐍉𐍊⟟⟡ᚻ𐌑𐌑?, ∰𐌗 ⟡𐍆⟟̄ ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ 𐑂𐍆𐍀ᛣ𐍊⟠ᚻ ⟟̄𐍆 ᚣ𐍆𐍆⟊ ⟟̄𐍆𐍆 ⟟ᚻᚻ⟁ᚣx? ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ 𐍉𐍆ᛣᚻ ⟒ᚻ ᚣᚻ𐍊ᛣ⟡ᚻ⟟, ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ ⟟ᚻᚻ⟁ᚻᛣ ⟒ᚻ ⟟ᚻ𐌑𐑂ᚻ⟡⟟ᚻ⟟ 𐍊⟡⟟ ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ 𐑂ᚣᚻ𐍊ᛣᚻᛣ ⟒ᚻ 𐌑𐍊⟒. ⟊⟡𐍆⟒ᚣᚻ⟟⟠ᚻ ⸸ᛣ∰⟡⟠𐌑 ⟡𐍆 𐑂ᚣ𐍊ᛣ∰⟟̄x. ∰⟟̄ 𐌑𐍈𐍆⟒𐌑 ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ ⟒𐍆ᛣᚣ⟟ 𐍊𐌑 ∰⟟̄ ⟟̄ᛣ𐍀ᚣx ∰𐌑, ⟒∰⟟̄𐍈𐍆𐍀⟟̄ ⟟∰𐌑⟠𐍀∰𐌑ᚻ 𐍆ᛣ ∰ᚣᚣ𐍀𐌑∰𐍆⟡, 𐌑𐍈𐍆⟒∰⟡⟠ ⟡𐍆⟟̄ ⟒𐍈𐍊⟟̄ ⟒ᚻ ⟒𐍊⟡⟟̄ 𐍆ᛣ ⟒∰𐌑𐍈 ⟟̄𐍆 𐌑ᚻᚻ, ⸸𐍀⟟̄ ⟒𐍈𐍊⟟̄ ⟟̄ᛣ𐍀ᚣx 𐍈∰⟟ᚻ𐌑 ⸸ᚻ⟡ᚻ𐍊⟟̄𐍈. 𐍊⟡⟟ ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ 𐌗𐍀ᛣ⟟̄𐍈ᚻᛣ ⟒ᚻ ⟠𐍆, ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ 𐍉𐍆ᛣᚻ ⟒ᚻ 𐍀⟡⟟ᚻᛣ𐌑⟟̄𐍊⟡⟟ 𐍈𐍆⟒ ⟟𐍊ᛣ⟊, 𐍈𐍆⟒ 𐑂ᛣ𐍀ᚻᚣ, 𐍈𐍆⟒ ⟟̄ᚻᛣᛣ∰𐌗x∰⟡⟠ ⟟̄𐍈∰𐌑 ⟒𐍆ᛣᚣ⟟ 𐍊⟡⟟ ᚣ∰𐌗ᚻ ⟟̄ᛣ𐍀ᚣx ∰𐌑. ⟟̄𐍆 ⟊⟡𐍆⟒ ∰𐌑 ⟟̄𐍆 ⸸ᚣᚻᚻ⟟, ⟟̄𐍆 𐍀⟡⟟ᚻᛣ𐌑⟟̄𐍊⟡⟟ ∰𐌑 ⟟̄𐍆 𐌑𐍀𐌗𐌗ᚻᛣ, 𐍊⟡⟟ xᚻ⟟̄... ⟒ᚻ 𐑂𐍊⟡⟡𐍆⟟̄ 𐌑⟟̄𐍆⟁. ⸸ᚻ𐑂𐍊𐍀𐌑ᚻ ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ ⸸ᚻ⟠∰⟡⟡∰⟡⟠ 𐍆𐌗 𐍉𐍊⟟⟡ᚻ𐌑𐌑 ∰𐌑 ⟟̄𐍈ᚻ 𐑂ᛣ𐍊ᚡ∰⟡⟠ 𐌗𐍆ᛣ ⟟̄ᛣ𐍀TH."

??? - "The mad sought knowledge where others turned away. what is madness?, if not the courage to look too deeply? The more we learned, the deeper we descended and the clearer we saw. Knowledge brings no clarity. It shows the world as it truly is, without disguise or illusion, showing not what we want or wish to see, but what truly hides beneath. And the further we go, the more we understand how dark, how cruel, how terrifying this world and life truly is. To know is to bleed, to understand is to suffer, and yet... we cannot stop. Because the beginning of madness is the craving for truth"

<■■D ■■■C■■E■>

After a few minutes, I manage to escape the creepy place, my body covered in cobwebs.

"There was a human ear in that leather table "

I catch my breath and wonder, "Is this place supposed to be a dungeon? Feels more like a scene from a horror movie."

"The surroundings are nothing like a dungeon. In fact, it's incredibly peaceful. I thought dungeons would be filled with threatening monsters and deadly traps, that are ready to attack me at every turn."

Then if it was not a dungeon, It could either be the remnants of a bygone civilization, or a meticulously crafted structure designed to conceal secrets.

It's as if I was inside of a hidden treasure chest that lies untouched, buried in the depths of the forest, waiting to be discovered.