Skyler and Elijah entered the secret passage without hesitation.
The passage was clearly small and long, but the view around them was not clear. Because it was dark, far too dark. Elijah shone the torch down, illuminating a stone stairway leading down.
"Oh, who would've thought that this passage would take us down?" Elijah said with a self-deprecating chuckle.
Skyler clutched her necklace. "So… we were meant to be heading down to the ground floor."
"Who knows where they'll lead. Come on, we can't wait any longer."
Elijah turned his back on Skyler and began walking down the stairs, wagging his bushy tail. Skyler frowned and followed him cautiously. The stairs were freezing and steep, and Skyler did nothing but tiptoe down them.
As she was going down, she seemed to not feel her feet at all. It was probably due to the fact that, as time went by, her feet became numb. Resigned, Skyler continued down the steps with her knees shaking.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go defeat the devil. In beast form we hold no one, and we will eradicate any evil that stands in our way." Elijah hummed happily.
His crooning voice echoed deeply and then resonated in Skyler's eardrums. He seemed to be in good spirits albeit he was on his way to face a danger more hostile than the monsters he had faced so far.
"So, do you like the song I'm singing?" Elijah asked.
"Mhm… ah yes, I really like it. Is it a song from your tribe?"
"Yes. My father used it to sing it to me all the time when I was little. It's a very popular song in the Lannister Territory, it drives away evil."
"Ah… I see."
The exchange of words between Skyler and Elijah momentarily distracted them from the gloomy secret passage, though, Skyler's exchanges were rather awkward.
In the midst of that conversation, they continued down the narrow stairway, but nothing changed. The stairs seemed endless, although they would occasionally turn left to go down, the stairs seemed to have no end.
"Um, I hope we don't run into any monsters. I wouldn't want us to end up in their lair." Skyler muttered.
Elijah turned his head to Skyler. "That is what I'm concerned about."
Laying her right hand on the wall every now and then, Skyler looked down trembling as Elijah expressed a similar opinion.
They continued down the path, and soon ten minutes had already passed. With no one and nothing around, their anxiety and impatience continued to grow.
Of course, not having threats show up was the best situation for them for now, but the eerie silence could not be of any help in wiping out the bad sensation regarding this place—It was much like being detached from the entire world.
"Ugh how boring, this staircase seems to never end, damn. I want them to end." Elijah grumbled, looking straight ahead.
"At l-least we c-can breathe a sigh without being attacked."
"Wait a minute, what if this passage was actually a trap set by the Cursed Beast to ambush us? That would be quite funny."
"T-that is not even a-amusing. It's rather s-s-scary." Skyler murmured.
In fact, it would not be surprising if that happened. Anything could happen in the central tower, even its destruction. Whatever this secret passage was connected to, it would not be a worthy surprise.
Elijah tilted his head. "Mhh, despite everything, this theory shouldn't be ruled out at all. But luckily I'm ready to expect anything from these Trials."
"I desired what he said was false. Too bad he might be right, maybe this will be my last moment of life. But.. what am I even thinking?" Skyler thought, feeling a lump in her throat.
"But it seems I was wrong about this theory. Luckily I'd say. Watch and observe." Elijah exclaimed, swinging his tail.
The lack of progress was leading Skyler in a state of paranoia and pessimism, but Elijah's words were bringing her into the covenant of reasoning. At the end of the explanation, he urged Skyler to look ahead, her having stopped.
Following his torch, Skyler narrowed her eyes and looked forward. Then, she finally peered at the end of the long and exhausting staircase. Nevertheless, something caught her and Elijah's attention. While they barely glimpsed an underground quarry, beneath their feet was a sea of fine grains of sand.
The underground quarry was surrounded by endless sand, yet just as Skyler and Elijah took a few steps forward, they laid their eyes on that.
"But… what is… all this?..." Elijah muttered in amazement.
Skyler was stunned. Her mouth was open and her eyes were wide open. Elijah on the other hand had a frown on his face as he gritted his teeth in distress. Despite their different expressions, they both looked at that, frozen in place.
Below them, yellowish bones, skulls and skeletal parts were completely scattered in the sand. The first intuition would be that the bones could belong to the monsters that roam the tower, but analyzing them carefully, they reached a disconcerting truth. And as soon as they macrably realized it.
"—Ah? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Skyler screamed.
The thin, battered bones scattered here and there were actually human bones!
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East Mennork, 04:30 pm.
Evelyn Throne stared intently at the pentagram on the floor that she had drawn with her own blood.
Being a fanatic of mysticism, and an influential noble of the Republic of Steatha, she had no difficulty gaining information regarding the world of Daredevils, especially since her parents kept grimoires with them.
Of course, becoming a Daredevil was not very common these days since grimoires were rare to find, especially in the Northern Continent. But, being a noble, she was lucky to have parents who were already Daredevils. And this naturally allowed her to take one of the grimoires and prepare the ritual in her laboratory without her uncles' knowledge.
As hostile tension reigned in the laboratory, Evelyn's heart raced. A mix of emotions was growing inside her as though they were enveloping her. While glancing at Agnes, she could feel a sort of sharp burning sensation on her right arm, and as she peered at her arm, she could look with displeasure at the long clean cut that was bleeding.
"What is happening shall remain a secret between us." Evelyn glanced at Agnes who had a sorrowful look.
Her body trembled, terror overwhelming her as she breathed heavily. In the depths of her mind, she was aware of the risk she was taking and the consequences if she failed, yet she could–must not allow it to come to pass.
Her uncles, her servants, and the noble aristocrats were to remain unaware of her decision.
Agnes took a step forward, her lips trembling, "I shall keep the secret, but my mistress, are you really sure you want to become a Daredevil? You could risk your life, and that shall cause suffering not only to your family, but to the entire country."
Evelyn knew this very well. On the other hand, being a noble aristocrat belonging to the Great Families that collaborated with the prosperity of the country, and which existed since the times of the New Testament Century, she was aware of what consequences it would bring if she died.
"Agnes, thee don't have to worry at all. I know I'm risking a lot, I dare say, but I've made the decision." Evelyn placed her hand gently on Agnes' shoulder, "I don't care what might happen to me, if it helps me to see them again… I'm ready for anything."
Inside her mind, an image of her surrounded in a pool of blood in a room dimly lit by the crimson moon grew vivid. It was an image that, as sad and painful as it was, she would never forget for any reason in the world.
"Forgive me if I was impertinent to you." Agnes looked away, her voice filled with bitterness as her body trembled.
"Don't apologize, I should rather apologize for dragging thou into my problems." Evelyn's voice was soft–like a golden bell as she looked at her maidservant, "Agnes, if I die during the Trial, please tell my uncles that I did it all on my own. I do not want to cause thou any more problems than necessary."
"I… I… I would not be capable of such a gesture, my mistress." Agnes looked away with a melancholy expression.
Evelyn then took her hand off Agnes' shoulder and picked up a box of matches that were on the table next to her. She lit the candle that was on the table, and taking it, she walked towards the circular pentagram of blood on the floor where it had six lit candles.
She placed the last candle on the bloody floor, and sat down in the center of the pentagram, taking the grimoire that was there.
The tension was crushing her mercilessly, leaving her with no way out. It was as though she was carrying huge baggage of responsibility, guilt, and expectations from her family and nobles behind her.
She swallowed hard, as if she wanted to completely destroy the perfect image people had of her. She wanted to see them again, she wanted to see the people she loved so much who had left her alone.
Just then, she saw Agnes faintly curve the corners of her lips as though to reassure her.
"Sorry uncles, I hope thou shall forgive me if thee find out one day." A thought ran through Evelyn's mind as she opened the grimoire.
Flipping through the pages with trembling fingers, she came across three sentences in row written in ancient Creria.
Evelyn took a deep breath and pronounced. "In the name of the Doom World, I am willing to risk my humanity for power! In the name of the Doom World, I am willing to risk my humanity for power! In the name of the Doom World, I am willing to risk my humanity for power!"
Whilst repeating the phrase three times, a gust of wind formed from the grimoire as the great pentagram was glowing greenish, its fluorescent color began to glow brightly. The flames of the candles turned black and they were growing noticeably larger.
She tried to raise her hand but couldn't, she tried to move her legs but it was difficult for her to move even her foot. Her strength was fading, her knees collapsed into the floor. Unable to hold up her body, she sprawled onto the floor.
"My mistress, my mistress-!!"
Looking at Agnes' worried face as she kept shouting, Evelyn understood what was happening to her.
Fading, fading, her consciousness was fading.
The world around her was darkening, and then it disappeared completely along with her.
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Evelyn's eyelids slowly opened, her consciousness was awakening.
Shaking her head, she slowly looked at her surroundings as she rose to her feet. With a shaky body and poor foothold, she got up comically. Beneath her feet was a sprawling, jagged grass.
As her consciousness returned completely, Evelyn could determine that she was in a completely different world. The view around her was clear, bathed in twilight as the sky was orange, akin to a sunset.
"Beautiful… it's the first time I have seen a place like this…" Evelyn was amazed.
While she looked ahead in dumbfoundment, she came across something that stunned her even more. In front of her, a temple stood majestically. Its colossal columns and walls were cut black marble, with mesmerizing reliefs decorating the stygian pediment.
In front of the small stone steps below her stood a statue that made her blood run cold.
The statue was about four metres tall and was surrounded from underneath by snakes and worms. It depicted a beautiful woman with buxom features and a delicate face. She had long hair, and her right arm held a mighty spear that inspired disquiet.
She wore a classic layered dress that was not overly complex, and her lower arms were wrapped in feathers. Evelyn could see that at the bottom of the statue's head were floating skulls that gave her the look of a dark goddess.
"But is she the Snake Empress of the Underworld?" Evelyn wondered to herself.
Her brain struggled to process her words, and her eyes were fixed on the statue, as if it had somehow hypnotized her. Unable to control her body, she climbed the small steps towards the statue. Her body moved on its own, and her mind was blank.
Closing the distance, while her eyes were still fixed on the statue, Evelyn touched one of the snakes underneath. And at that moment, blazing greenish-black flames quickly surrounded not only the statue, but the entire temple.
"Flames? What is happening?" Evelyn checked her surroundings.
At the same time, the eyes of the statue and the snakes lit up with black flames, as if they wanted to punish her for having desecrated a sacred place.
Just as her brain was processing what was happening around her, Evelyn's eyelids grew heavy and her body collapsed abruptly on the ground. While her consciousness slowly faded away, she could barely make out a few snakes that glared at her, hissing and showing off their sharp teeth.
"I'm scared… I'm–" Evelyn trailed off.
She could not finish what she was saying, and just as a tear rolled down on her face, her consciousness was drowned in darkness.
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In the wink of an eye, after she blinked, Evelyn did not know where she was. Breathing a stunned sigh, she found herself lying on a cold floor.
Her mind was dizzy, and her body was heavy and trembled weakly. She faintly looked around, trying to figure out where she was. She then realized that the place was engulfed by a greenish-black fog. It seemed like she was in a space between dream and reality.
The floor cooled in her back as she tried to stand, but she could not as though something was holding her against her will.
"Where am I? What is happening?" Panic was rising within Evelyn as she struggled to move.
She felt something was wrong, and casting her eyes downward, the realization of her suspicions petrified her like a statue.
Her body, with soft features and medium breasts, was chained to the ground without any clothes!
She tried to squirm with all her might, but no matter how many times she tried, her arms, her legs and her entire body refused to obey her commands.
"Get me… get me out of here right now! Help! Someone help me!!" Evelyn yelled out.
She felt something slimy and wet crawl up her right arm. A chill ran down her spine as her brown eyes moved to her right arm.
Evelyn laid her eyes on that and, "Ah… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah–!!"
Her body shivered. Terror was rising within her as she continued to scream at the top of her lungs. She laid her eyes on that and screamed. A gray worm about five centimetres long was crawling Evelyn's pale right arm!
Suffocated from the sheer agony, the worm continued to crawl to her soft arm as she continued to wriggle and scream for help with all the strength she had in her body. She felt cold on every part of her naked body, the suffocating tremor bringing a moment of clarity to her mind as she searched for a possible way out, but what she saw was only horrible.
A mass of worms piled on top of each other were crawling towards her from all directions. It was as if they were waiting for nothing more than to crawl on her. Evelyn could do nothing but predict what would happen to her.
I understand, I am doomed, the worms will rub on me. They will violate me, rub on me, violate me, rub on me, violate me!
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah–!!" Evelyn screamed.
Comprehension, melancholy and disgust drove her to scream heartbreakingly. Evelyn saw the slimy gray worms crawling into every limb of her body, the sound of the squirming worms she heard gave her shivers as she felt the slime in her smooth skin.
There was nothing she could do, she could only witness the tragic end of a miserable person being violated.
She felt something viscous on her thighs as the only source of light that illuminated the infinite space was slowly fading away at the hands of the worms.
The darkness was reigning supreme, even if she squirmed, even if she screamed, even if she prayed for this to end, no one would save her as the worms were upon her. Her mind was twisted with disgust, her body convulsed, her mouth was open as though she had surrendered to her fate as she was abused from head to toe.
Instantly, her consciousness went somewhere very far away, and when it seemed that all this was about to end, she felt something creep over her open mouth, and the creeping slime brought her back to consciousness.
She tried to scream, but felt something clog and crawl in her vocal cords. As a tear fell from her disfigured face, she finally realized what was happening to her.
Violated, violated, violated, she was being violated!
As she felt a force invading her rectum, she realized the worms were violating her from inside. Her stomach swelled, tears continued to flow from her face as her body was engulfed by crawling maggots.
While she let out a voiceless scream and the sensation of being alive as a mass of worms shredded her from within, two large blood-red eyes emerged above her, the look of those eyes made her tremble in terror as she heard a hiss from her blocked eardrums.
"Welcome to the first Trial, brave human. Are you physically strong enough to renounce your humanity and wield the powers that befall death? Are you mentally strong enough to not succumb to madness and your subconscious? This is the Trial bestowed upon you."
Just as Evelyn processed what she understood, her body stopped.
The end was near.
At that moment, above her, seven circles that looked like stars rose stellarly, and a circle of the seven was gleaming brightly.
Evelyn could not take it anymore. She was abused both from the inside and the outside, her eyes dilated, her organs felt like they were out of place; Her naked body was like a chaotic mess.
Whilst her lifeless body convulsed from the parasites that were abusing her, she thought back to the day her parents were lying on the carpet in a dark room covered in a pool of blood.
"This is my end." Evelyn though
Skyler, her best friend and the one friend she cared about more than anyone else, would be sad. Her uncles would scold her, and Agnes would blame herself for what happened. With a sense of frustration tearing her, Evelyn embraced the end that was coming as the red eyes were getting close to her, opening wide its long thin tongue and its two sharp teeth.
In the infinite greenish place, while the figure that looked like a snake's eyes pounced on her, the end rushed upon Evelyn Throne.