Just gonna go out and say it, this chapter is a bit spooky, if horror isn't your thing, maybe stop reading..?
It's gonna get progressively scarier as the chapters progress I think… at least for this part of the arc.
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I nervously push the lever back to where it was originally.
And it emits a rattling groan like it's trying to do something, but then it sputters to a stop, and I am left baffled, not only by the shoddy craftsmanship, but also at my own stupidity…
'Boss really isn't beating the dumbass allegations…' cyan remarked in his smarmy ass way.
'This really isn't the right time for this, don't ya fuckin think!? We can berate Black when we're outta here 'Kay?' Red spokeup, making sense for once…
I choose to tune out the rest of the argument and turn my attention to the fact that the orb in my hand started glowing bright purple as soon as I entered the darkness.
I can feel the gaze of the ambient mana's pseudo consciousness but it doesnt feel like it's looking at me, but at the orb in my hands…
But it wasn't approaching, probably due to the light.
But for some reason, I feel like it isn't a good thing that the darkness can't reach me…
My spine tingles as I hear a clinking sound to my left, like, marble hitting stone…
I look outward. And then upward, and upward…
My throat tightens when my gaze finds something that should be impossible.
A about, six foot? Or so porcelain doll.
An Almost entirely featureless ivory doll, joints exposed and impossibly quiet, the only noise it makes as it approaches is the klicking of its measured footsteps… But this doll has one real imperfection. It's face. Has mirrored cracks filling it's surface.
The kind that some one would use for amateur stop motion, or as a mini mannequin.
It walks towards me, never halting, I find myself unable to fight back, unable to run away, or to even try and talk.
All I can do is stand here, breath caught in my throat, as it gets closer…
And closer, and closer, but, just as I am about to close my eyes and finally accept my death, I witness the… thing, turn at the last moment to the wall where the mechanical sounds came from, and just. Stare, at the wall…
But now there is a fucking porcelain doll the size of a mannequin almost right next to me.
It is only my paralyzing fear in this moment that stops me from pissing myself.
But just as the burning in my lungs became too much, I inhale.
The doll's cracked head snaps to me, only emphasized by the purple lights and shadows.
And before my eyes it's head unhinges into something more mandible like.
Yep, the entire head unwrapped in one fluid motion into something practically incomprehensible…
But the red of the flesh is noted by a part of my mind I can't find the possibility to focus on at the moment…
All of this happens in the first second.
In the next, well… things got messy…
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As the thing infront of me revealed the fact that it's entire face is a mouth, full of razor sharp, maybe not porcelain mandables.
It crouches down to my level and tries to snap at my lungs, but the orb is in the way, and it ends up snatching it up, but it seems to get stuck in the things mouth to my fortune.
Finding that I can once again move. I shove my ki into my fist and punch it as hard as I god damn can.
The violet shaded ivory of it's neck gets pummeled into tiny shards. And the thing that should have collapsed to the ground, instead simply jerks and reflexively snaps it's arms out at me, bringing me into a crushing hug…
As the pressure around me begins to increase, I find my hands near both it's leg joints.
As I am slowly crushed, I groan in pain, but from both my hands get expelled my strings, I hastily weave the tiny strings into the 'doll's' leg joints and completely rip both of them off.
Contrary to expectations, the 'doll' does not let go, but instead starts trying to crush me even further…
But with my strings in it's shell, I begin to wreak havoc on it's insides, forcing my strings to sharpen as they writhe, I think I hit it's heart, or at least something very important, as it suddenly jerks, giving one last attempt at crushing me, and even as it dies, locks it's hands together so as to keep me in it's vice like grip, but the strings I have In it's organs quickly find their way to the arm joints of the corpse and dislodge me from the deadly embrace…
The fear in my heart is still present, but the terror gripping my mind is gone.
I take the orb from it's mouth. And wipe off the chunks of flesh sticking to it as I look around to see if there are any other of those puppets…
I don't see any but just in case, i go to the corner and sit there, silent, waiting.
Listening for the sound of porcelain on stone.
But as I do, my nose catches a smell.
And before I can place the aroma beginning to pervade the room, I begin to drool with saliva I am surprised I even have at this point.
I sniff, looking for the food, and land on the doll I killed.
I gulp down the drool. But more quickly takes it's place.
'That thing is kind of like a crab, right? Can't you eat crab raw?' A part of my mind askes
Another side tries to chime in with 'well not real-' but before that part can get very far, my mind goes blank and I feel my body lunge.
- - - -
The discomfort in my mouth is what breaks me of my fugue state.
I find myself hunched over the half eaten corpse of the doll, it's ivory shell stained red, and a very, very upset stomach…
I then notice what brought the pain to my teeth, I am holding it's leg, and on that leg are teeth marks that could only be from my mouth.
The shell is full hairline cracks spreading from the indents.
I throw the leg away half in shock, half in disgust, and curl up into a ball when my stomach sends a wave of pain through my body again.
As the digestion continues unabated and furious. My body quickly gets hot…
I start sweating like mad, veins feeling like they are being infested with fire ants.
The chill in the air suddenly feels more akin to a blessing than a curse.
It takes most of my will power to not start crying from the pain, and the rest to make sure I didn't make a sound…
I would only potentially bring more of those things here if I did that.
Doesn't mean that it isn't hard as hell though.
You would think, that having mana in my system, would dull the pain…
But no apparently I don't get nice things anymore.
What was so bad about the ambient stuff again?
Uhhhghh it does not matter…
What does is getting out of this alive… And in one piece.
Just as I think that, the pain coming from my stomach spikes and a slight whimper escapes my lips…
As I berate myself for my slip up, the distraction of my mind is enough for a sound to escape me at first.
And by the time my ears tune back into reality, there are porcelain legs infront of me.
In one of the worst pains I had ever experienced, I latch onto it's leg with one of my hands, it jerks, but I don't let go as I spread malformed, messy strings flooding from my palm, and they writhe towards the joints of the thing before it has the time to get away.
As the strings, closer to veins slither into the slight gaps in it's ankle joint and begin to make their way deeper, I suddenly find myself thrown into a wall, and, not being able to hold back any more, throw up violently on the floor.
The sound of klinkling footsteps is the only warning I get, I lunge to the side, only barely able to avoid the something in the dark but the sound of stone breaking gives me an idea of what I need to avoid…
I send out my strings and guide them through the darkness in the direction of the noise.
One of them makes contact with something, I wrap it around that thing and send my other strings to bind it, and get to it's deepest points to end this.
But it does, something, my best guess is it did something akin to… the crocodile death spin? and more of my string is dispersed…
'I'm running low on mana, even with the food in my body, I haven't had time to digest…'
With less stuff inside me, and feeling less agony from my organs allows me to think of a better solution.
But there is no time to think of a strategy as the rapid footsteps of the doll meet my ears.
Inhale and close my eyes…
And step to the to the right.
Managing to avoid the thing with the usage of my Ki sensing.
I can 'see' it with this.
'Why didn't we do this before!?' Orange asks,
'It hasn't been turned into combative instinct yet, we only just got a better hold of the ability, remember?' Magenta speaks up.
As they yap on, I fill my fists up with ki and leap at the second doll and try to pierce it all the way through.
Only to find my fist meeting nothing, as the doll bends inhumanly and with my ki sense I can feel it's leg about to send me rocking.
I grab it by it's leg and use it to vault to the side and away from the attack, injuring my arm and hand in the process, but in so doing I accidentally forced it's foot to go faster then intended and it rockets right into it's own chest cavity.
My breathing is labored as I walk back up to it, it's body twitching as it slowly looses life from the wound it inflicted upon itself.
After it has been dealt with, I look around for the orb.
But don't see anything, I look in all directions and realize that it's like I am in a sea of ebony nothing again…
Out of breath from the fight, exaustion mounting, I can't bring myself to care about the lightless expanse.
I stumble towards the wall. And slump down into it, deciding to let myself digest what I still have in my stomach.
And I try to just, lay there.
I've been spent from the all the combat, and the connections, and the discovery that I can just, make mana passively, instead of having to actively absorb it…
Maybe it weakens me, that the very act of actively absorbing it keeps me humble, keeps me from getting complacent…
'That's bullshit and you know it. We stop ourselves from getting complacent by facing the threats around us in any way we can, and when we can't, we take the time to get rest, so our body can repair itself and our mind can analyze the situation. It doesn't make us worse if something that annoys us gets automated. Okay?' Red said sternly.
But the message fell to a mind too full of fog for it to really hit.
Instead, I sluggishly focus my ki outwards, looking for like signs of life.
My ki moves easily past my previous limit. I can't see the walls of this place yet, but I can feel the life signs of anything in range.
No dice…
Or rather, no dolls.
Finding nothing dangerous in vicinity, my body finally looses that last will keeping me vigilant, and I fall to the embrace real sleep.
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Hope you enjoyed!
I was in a mood to make some spooky moments with this one, hope your not too scared of dolls…
Thanks for reading!