Blood suddenly slaughters out of Rohan's face, once more making a mess of the white floor he stands on. It's more blood this time however, a reaction followed from a more painful sting.
Rohan bends forward, putting his hand over his chest as he stumbles towards the wall with the ceiling tiles. He knocks his body into the wall and puts his back against it, breathing heavily after feeling as though he took the hardest punch to the stomach. He beats his chest twice, coughing with each hit to try getting any rest of the blood out, with a few splats coming out from the first hit, but by the second he seems fine.
He takes a deep twice, looking both ways down the long hallway that he had been walking for what has felt like forever, as he isn't even sure if there is an end to the hallway. He's far past the hole now, yet even then he isn't sure how much progress he has made, or how close he was to the main branch jutting out of the building.
He gulps and rests his head on the wall, knowing that he was going to keep feeling these sudden bursts of pain, unsure of when he'd feel the last one. He's not even sure how he's able to feel the pain of his body, for he wonders if this was part of the nightmare's design, even though according to Peitho's words it seemed that he wouldn't feel the pain.
Then again, those were the words of the man who put him into the nightmare, and the ones who forced innocent hostages into risking their own safety to fight for them. While Ari has always been a reliable friend, the one that Rohan always found to be most relatable since both of them were more intellectually driven, it was hard to trust any of what he said now.
Rohan lets out a chuckle out into the empty hall, which echoes the sound. He then softly says to himself, "Wow, this really did not go the way I planned, huh?"
He then looks down both ends of the hallway, and sighs to himself before mentioning, "Oh wait, nobody can hear me. It's weird not having someone in my head to talk to, although part of me thinks it'd be better if I didn't start hearing voices. Why am I still talking, nobody's there. Come on Rohan."
He gets off of the wall, and looks back down at the pink veins in the ground, seeing that some of the blood he spit out was on it, which makes it even look more disturbing. His expression recoils out of disgust from the sight, as the makeup of the nightmare felt far creepier than anything he's experienced.
He shakes his head and begins walking down the hallway again, wondering how messed up the minds of their friends are to have conjured up something so grotesque.
Eventually, he finds that the vein that he is following seems to mysteriously vanish not far ahead of him. Rohan walks with a faster pace towards the end of the vein, shocked and anxious that he would lose his trail, even though he believed it'd lead him to the larger branch that could help him escape.
As he jogs towards the branch, he notices that it doesn't only stop, but it seems to embed itself into the floor, as though digging a tunnel inside. The floor doesn't seem easy to dig through, at least without the help of special equipment that Rohan couldn't create, and so he isn't sure how he'd enter.
He slows himself down as he approaches the end of the vein, already beginning to try thinking of alternative solutions since it seems that he's arriving at a dead end. If only he could create something, anything, he could just fly out of the building and up to the brain himself. This would've been so easy if he could just use his abilities, but even now nothing happens when he tries.
As Rohan steps towards the very end of the vein, he suddenly sees a hole appear in the ground at the edge of the vein. He jumps back in mortal fear, terrified of falling again. He stays back and stares at the newly opened hole in the ground, which seems to be rectangular, and touches the right wall.
His eyebrow raises as he looks down at the hole, and tilts his head in an attempt to look at it from another angle. The more he tilts his head, the more the hole seems to resemble a door as though it's into the ground, but as Rohan remembers, he's standing on the wall which would mean the door would still be on the wall like any other.
He sighs in relief to realize that the hole is then likely just a door, even though from such an odd perspective it doesn't seem that way. He slowly and carefully approaches the door, realizing that if there were another long hall, it might mean he'd have to drop. It wouldn't be a pleasant drop, and so he makes sure to cautiously approach it, crouching with his hand close to the ground so he doesn't accidentally fall.
Rohan walks to the edge of the door and peers down, finding himself staring down what appears to be a room, which is slightly more relieving since it isn't too far of a drop. He also notices platforms below, which seem to be large square panels attached close to each other.
He tries to peer farther up to see that the platform seems to end, and inside seems to be a small box of sorts composed of panels creating walls. He isn't sure what's inside the box, for it's something he's curious to look at.
He analyzes the size of the panels from his distance, estimating that they should only be about ten feet away from the door. It isn't exactly a hop, however it's something he can deal with, even if he found himself with a fear of heights now that he lacks any landing devices like his suit provided.
Still, knowing that he has to continue on, Rohan takes a deep breath. He then grabs the edge of the doorway with his left hand, trying to minimize his fall as much as possible, and he throws himself over the hole.
He hangs over the door, gripping the edge with his hand. He looks down at the panels, beginning to worry that the weight of his landing may damage the platforms, which could become problematic. He looks around the room to get a better sense of where he is, seeing that the whole room seems to be full of these platforms, which all have openings leading into lower spaces that appear to be boxes. The room seems to be quite long too, however it's hard to tell how wide or deep it is due to the platforms, since judging by the boxes below it's likely far deeper than he can tell from above.
The whole room seems silent as well, as though there's nobody inside. He's unsure if there would even be people though, or if they'd be real, seeing how the world he's in isn't real.
Rohan looks down to try finding the vein he's following, to which he finds that it seems to attach onto the wall beside him, which runs down the room around the panels.
In fact, as Rohan dangles off of the door, he tilts his head to look at the room differently, and finds that it seems to resemble an office room, with the panels appearing to create cubicles.
Before he can continue staring, he hears the whooshing sound of the door closing. His eyes widen and he looks up, seeing the door seeming to close, even with his hands still in the doorway. He tries to let go of the door's edge, but the door closes too quickly, and the silver material forms through where his hand is.
Rohan begins falling once again, his left arm extended out as he was still holding onto the edge. He stares with wide eyes as he sees blood coming from where his fingers are, floating down with him as he descends down into the room.
Rohan falls on the platform below him, his back slamming against the panel without the protection of the cape. He groans in pain, and a few drops of blood fall on his green jacket.
He immediately sits up, and inspects his left hand. His eyes shoot wide open and he gasps to immediately discover that his four fingers have been sliced off, leaving only the very beginnings of them with blood running down his palm.
His jaw is left open as he feels the immense pain, with only his thumb left on his hand. He covers the top of the remaining fingers with his right hand, rocking back and forth silently as he grits his teeth to try absorbing the pain.
He looks forward to view the wall, or what is technically the floor, and the vein that runs along it and past Rohan's right side.
He takes a deep breath, and puts his right hand on the platform to help push himself up and to his feet. He stands up and covers his left hand again, trying to stop the cold air from getting on his wound, as it only seems to sting more.
Rohan looks at the path of the vein, and he begins walking beside it, following it down the panels. He quickly approaches one of the missing panels leading into the box, and he stops to try inspecting the interior.
As he squats down and peeks inside, to which he finds what appears to be a table attached to the wall, with one of the walls not being the panels but instead being what seems to be a dark gray carpet inside the box. In front of the table is a hovering chair, which seems to also come off of the wall, without anyone sitting on it.
Rohan lets out a soft sigh, confirming to himself that he's in some sort of office room with cubicles. He stands up straight again, and looks over to the panel beyond the opening. He looks at the hole left by the absent panel, and takes a deep breath, knowing he has to make the jump, or he'd be stuck inside the box.
Rohan gets a running start, taking two steps before leaping off of the edge of the last platform. He leaps over the space, and lands on the platform at the other side.
He lets out the breath in a relieved sigh, having been able to cross the short jump, which isn't much but he still is weary of making any wrong moves after witnessing the prices of such mistakes.
He turns to the vein to see that it seems to take a turn past several more platforms. He continues walking to the end of the platforms, and looks to the left to see what seems to be a short hall that cuts in through the cubicle section, like an ally.
He views the vein run down the alley, which to him is a drop, which already begins to give him anxiety. Furthermore, at the end of the drop is a window, which allows him to once again see the city and the dark void beyond that seemingly has no end.
He winces in anxiety, as while he knows that the window is there, and even though he can see through it's likely still made of the solid silver exterior just with a projection screen to create the illusion, he's still worried about somehow crashing through and falling out of the building.
However, the drop seems necessary to follow the vein, which runs down to the end of the alley, and then turns again down to what seems to be around the block of cubicles.
Rohan observes the panels along the alley, creating the parallel walls with space before the next wall, which would likely be the ceiling. He notices that there are more entrances to individual cubicle spaces along the alley, which have more spaces between panels. Each panel doesn't seem very thick either, being enough for him to grab his fingers around it.
He turns to his left hand to see the remains of his fingers, not exactly feeling confident about trying to grip onto something again. However, the panels shouldn't close in on him, and now he'd make sure to move with more urgency to avoid another possible slice.
If he does use the panels, he could slow his fall significantly, so when he does end up landing on the window it wouldn't be hard. While he'd rather not, especially as he worries that it could just be a gaping hole if it weren't for the lack of wind entering the room from it, he doesn't find himself with many alternatives.
With the decision made in mind, Rohan carefully grabs onto the edge of the panel with his right hand, gripping it with his fingers. He looks down the drop, and takes a deep breath, bracing himself for the worst.
He then lets go of the corner, and begins falling down the alley. He approaches the first opening into a cubicle, to which he grabs onto the edge of the next panel past the opening to stop himself. He tightens his arms to hold his body up, his eyes still down the hole, analyzing the next opening.
He drops himself again, and once more he catches himself on the panel past the next opening. He looks to see one more opening left, which seems to lead to one more panel, and then no more left, which is also very close to the window.
Rohan lets go of the panel, and he falls down the hole. He times himself before grabbing onto the last panel, breathing heavily and rapidly as he feels his heart racing.
He looks down at the window, able to just barely see the surface of the material, proving to himself that it is indeed a surface he can step on. The surface is also very close to him as he hangs off of the panel, just barely being below his foot.
He softly lets go of the panel, and drops onto the window. He holds his arms out as he tries to balance himself, letting out a deep sigh.
Rohan then slowly looks down below, and at the drop below him, as he stares at the rotated city below with no bottom.
His eyes widen as he feels the anxiety from the height he's at, seeing the distant buildings sticking off of the surface wall, unsure of if he could survive another drop especially without the suit, even though the first was lucky as well.
He raises his head back up, trying not to think about such fears too much. He looks down the room, and turns to see the wall beside him to his left. He finds the vein that runs down the room and towards the far side ahead of him, to which he sees another door, as the vein enters through the wall. The wall is slightly raised for him since he's at the edge of the real floor, but he can tell that he'd likely be able to easily jump through it.
With now just a flat straight surface to walk on, Rohan begins walking over the transparent window, as though he's walking over the air. He follows the vein towards the door, ready to continue on with the journey to find the larger branch.
He takes a deep breath and stretches his arms, hoping that he would be able to keep the rest of his body intact, as he still feels the pain from his lost fingers, which leaves his left hand coated red.
Although, as he approaches the end of the room, he's surprised to hear a yawn above him. He immediately stops upon the sudden sound that sends shivers down his spine, and he looks up towards the source of the sound.
He looks up to an opening to one of the cubicles, where the yawn seems to come from, as though there is indeed someone in the office. Rohan tilts his head in confusion, wondering if maybe he was just hearing things.
He begins walking forwards again to continue on with his destination, however he's stopped when he yet again hears a sound, this time being a deep sigh coming from the cubicle. He looks back up, knowing now that there has to be someone up there.
While he isn't sure who it is, his instincts tell him to find out from the urging curiosity. Also, knowing that someone is with him gives him hope of an ally or companion, as the absence of everyone leaves him cold and alone.
He approaches below the opening of the cubicle, and looks up at the opening, seeing the panels beside it. He notices that he could grab onto the edges of the panel, and likely throw himself up into the cubicle, as even with one hand he should have the strength after all the time working out for air hockey.
Rohan bends his knees, and he leaps up as high as he can. He then grabs onto the cubicle with his right fingers, able to have made contact, to which he smiles in relief.
He then summons his strength to his right arm, and pulls his body up, throwing himself into the cubicle. He enters inside, and rolls onto the inner platform inside, having landed perfectly.
Rohan enters the cubicle, and he turns to the table and chair, surprised to see that there indeed seems to be someone. He tilts his head to surprise to see that it seems to be an older man, likely in his forties, sitting at the chair while typing on a holographic keyboard, with holographic screens ahead of him.
The man seems to be working, his fingers on the holographic keyboard as he's typing something. He wears a formal black suit, with a blazer, white shirt, and black pants. He seems to have short gray hair, with an apparent bald spot at the back of his head, a sign of aging and maturity. He's of an average height and build, and just seems to be focused on his work.
As Rohan stares at the man, he seems to find that the man vaguely reminds him of his father, however not quite. The certain shapes of the man's face are similar, as well as the bald spot at the back of the head, but besides that the man seems different. If anything, he almost seems like what Rohan would look like as an older man, however he finds it as more of a coincidence.
With the small notice off to the side, Rohan softly greets him, "Hello sir, uh, can you help me?"
However, the man continues typing, not seeming to have heard Rohan the first time he spoke. His head stays facing the screen, with his face not clear from the angle Rohan is at.
Rohan lets out a cough to clear his throat, realizing that he needs to speak louder. He exclaims loudly with a carried voice, "Hello sir, can you please help me?"
The man immediately stops typing, as he seems to have heard him. His hands freeze at once, his arms staying still as for a moment, he stares at the screen.
Suddenly, the man's head turns towards Rohan, his body staying straight facing the desk. The man exposes his face to Rohan, which seems to be horrifically normal, as the man appears to be missing eyes, with exposed bleeding eye sockets. His face is also incredibly wrinkly even though he didn't seem as old, with pieces of dead skin seeming to be coming off his face as though melting off him. Patches of white and red skin show from the peeled skin, and his jaw is hung wide open to reveal him missing all his teeth.
Before Rohan can move, frozen in utter fear, the man instantly gets out of his chair, and walks to Rohan, walking on the wall in front of him. The man stands right in front of Rohan, looking straight at Rohan with blood running down his sockets like tears. He tilts his head as he stares at Rohan, and he speaks in an extremely weary and exhausted voice, as though he is a senior on the brink of the end of his life. Yet, his voice sounds vaguely similar to Rohan, as though he is indeed like him, but far older and drained. He asks, "What do you...need help with….? Is there...something else...you want me to do? I finished...all of the files...in the project. What more...do you want...from me?"
Rohan stares with wide petrified eyes, as the man is uncomfortably close to him. He slowly responds with goosebumps on his arms, "Uh...I...nothing...I was just asking for...uh…."
The man slowly moves his hands up, revealing them to be extremely wrinkly and pale, with ripped skin on his palm and fingers. His hands are also very bony, as while he seemed in his forties, his hands seem to be of someone more close to eighty years old.
He moves his hands towards Rohan before grabbing Rohan's face, gripping onto it and seeming to be pulling on it, which terrifies him far more.
He slowly states in his fatigued voice, "I did everything...you wanted from me. What else...do I have to do…? When does...my shift end? I've been here...for so long...when does…my shift end? When can I...go home? When does it end? When does it end? When does it end? When does it end?"
Rohan screams with half of his mouth covered by the old hands of the man. Fearful and confused, realizing that this man was no ally, he was something far worse. Without any idea of what to do, Rohan closes his right fist, having to fight the man off.
He stares at the man's decrepit face, his jaw still hanging open right in front of him. Desperate to free himself, Rohan throws his fist straight through the mouth, and he feels the old skin on the inside of the mouth break open from his fist.
Rohan's eyes widen in shock as he feels his fist break through every layer of the man's head, and end up coming out of the other end, his right hand now covered in blood yet not his own.
The man stops moving his hands, and he lets out a slow gasp of air for the last time. He then slowly begins falling backwards, his eyes continuing to bleed more as if he's crying in his final moments.
The man falls against the wall, and he lays on the ground, with blood pouring down the wall from behind him. A massive hole resides past his open jaw, with his broken tongue visible on the bottom of the mouth.
Rohan shakes his head, wincing as he feels himself get sick in the stomach. He turns away, and looks down at the panel below him. He wipes his right hand on the platform, wiping the guts off of his hand.
He didn't expect for the punch to penetrate his whole head, especially killing him, as all he was trying to do was defend himself. But even then, it seemed like the man was so fragile that the one punch was enough to end his life.
Rohan runs back to the opening in the cubicle, trying to escape the nightmarish scene. He grabs the edge of the panel with his bloodied right hand, and throws himself off of the box.
He drops down onto the floor, and begins running towards the door, just wanting to find the exit and get out of this horrible world. Even then he wasn't sure if he'd ever move past what he just witnessed, the pain from the man he just ended.
Even if it wasn't real, it felt horrible, it felt disgusting. He didn't want to be here, he wanted to be anywhere but here.
Rohan reaches the other side of the room, where the pink vein enters the small space above him. As he approaches the far wall, a door opens up, sticking out and above him. However, it's still low enough for him to be able to jump over, which he intends to do without spending too much time inside, not wanting to repeat what happened last time.
Rohan increases his speed as he gets closer to the door, seeing a freedom from this one room, but also the rest of the hell that lies beyond, knowing he'd still have to face more horrors on the other side of the door.
Rohan takes a deep breath, just hoping that by the end, he'd make it back home. He hopes that he could return back to his real life, back to Orial and back to the world he was born in. He wishes he could wake up, but even when he blinks, nothing happens. Even though he knows he's in a dream, he can't find a way to make it end.
He can't find a way to make the nightmare end.
Desperately clinging on hope of finding an eventual resolution to this nightmare, Rohan leaps towards the door. He dives straight through the doorway, not spending a second putting his hands on the edge. He holds his hands out as he dives into the darkness ahead, not knowing what or who he'd see.
All he knows is that the night is far from over, and so is the mission. There's still far more for him to have to explore before he can find his exit.
Even though he doesn't want to know what else awaits him, he perseveres anyways, because more than anything else, he doesn't want to remain in this purgatory forever.
Even if he has to suffer far more and worse to escape it, nothing could be worse than losing his freedom to live.