Shadowbane

The ivory monster girl waved at me as the doors closed. It felt a little awkward considering where I was, but I waved back at her anyway. She was the only thing down here not hostile so far, and she helped me quite a bit. So there's no reason I can't be cordial with her. I really wouldn't want to fight her though... Her aura was quite terrifying, and it kind of reminded me of that armored monster that kept attacking us above ground.

With my aura reapplied, I walked around the building and looked at the two bridges behind it. Hmm... The exit on the left leads to a long tunnel, and the exit on the right leads to another set of stairs going down. For now, I should try and clear everything on this floor before going further down into the abyss. Also, I really don't want to go down there, so hopefully I can find something up here instead...

I ran over the bridge and straight through the tunnel which turned out to be much smaller than I expected. It ended in a single storage room, but if there was anything here before, it was all gone now. Was it meant to store food? I see large chests here and there though... I don't think people store food in those. I feel like they're designed for valuables or trade goods, not food.

I sighed and returned to the 'Museum'. Unwilling as I was, I forced myself over the other bridge and immediately began descending the steps once I reached them. The deeper I went, the more I could feel the terrifying aura of this place stifling my every step. But despite the overwhelming aura crushing me, I kept moving forward while cursing this place in my head.

These stairs never end... Just how far down is the next level?

I kept walking at a normal pace for fear that I may run into something. The tunnel was barely big enough to fit three people side by side, so if a monster appeared, then I may not have much time to respond, as the stairs kept twisting in random directions, which only allowed me to see on average fifteen yards ahead of me.

Finally...

The stairs ended in a two hundred yard descent, and I could see a bright light coming out of the exit. Odds are I'm about to lose my aura. I've been fortunate up until this point, but this was bound to happen I suppose. The halo wasn't damaged by light in my soul realm, but I'm a little hesitant to run around an unknown area with it on considering what the repercussions will be.

I reached the bottom, but surprisingly, the light didn't hurt me. Actually, should it be all that surprising...? After all, whatever I am is from this place. So it makes sense that the creatures of the abyss wouldn't be harmed by any light produced down here.

I walked forward a little but quickly stopped in my tracks. Is this outside...? It can't be. Except it feels like I'm outside, or in an area that mimics the outside. The fog has also changed, it's now a yellow-orangish tint. And strangely enough, the ground is made of sand...

I could hear something in front of me, but I couldn't quite make out what it was. I jogged forward while keeping watch around me. I can't sense anything down here. The aura from this fog is overbearing, it's all I can feel damnit.

A monster the size of a Tengu Lord appeared through the fog. It was wearing a long tanned hooded cloak, but its face was in full view. Pitch black like the abyss, with a single white dot zipping back and forth as the monster looked through the piles of assorted goods around him. Its left hand was abnormally long and it ended in a scythe-like weapon, so it used its right hand to pick through everything in front of him.

At first, I thought he had nothing from the torso down, but then I saw the fleshy tentacles writhing around the ground. They extended far to the left where they were poking through what looked like a portal. After a little bit they'd return and throw whatever they found into the ever-growing pile in front of the monster. For his part, he was sorting it all but I couldn't find a rhyme or reason to any of it. There was furniture, bodies of monsters and humans, jewelry, gold, and I even saw a large weapon that I swore I had seen before.

That gun must be from the Elven continent. The creatures of the abyss have reach there? I recall no such monsters, but my family did try and shield me from anything that would be considered bad for a child. They were really upset with my Uncle when they caught him watching the news next to me. Thanks to him, I knew what machines looked like, and I had nightmares for weeks afterward.

The 'Collector', placed the gun next to a large pile of cotton, a bunch of scraps of wood, and several mummified corpses.

... Seriously, if there's a logic to these piles, then I don't see it. Regardless, I want that gun.

I snuck toward the pile and picked the gun up, and as soon as I did, the white eye on the collector's head quickly turned toward me. I removed my aura and was about to reapply it to myself and the gun when the collector's eye looked elsewhere. After that he began picking through the assorted junk in front of him again. That was... Surprising. Perhaps he's fine with me taking the gun?

I ran back the way I came until I was far away from the collector. Once I knew I was safe, I checked to make sure the gun even worked. Hmm, so this is an energy gun... I've never actually held one before, nor do I know anything about them outside of the fact that they need power cores.

It took a bit but I eventually figured out how to turn it on. The cracked display still worked, but the numbers were a tad hard to read. However, I could read the power number, and it was at seventeen percent. Better than nothing. I'll take it.

I aimed the gun at a large rock and pulled the trigger. The gun merely shook for a second instead of firing, so I tried again, but the result was the same. I began to wonder if it was broken until I decided to try something different. I held the trigger down and the gun began to shake more and more until it finally fired out a large blue ray at the rock, completely obliterating it. I hadn't expected it to be that big of a blast so I checked the power, and sadly, it read ten percent.

S-Seven percent already gone... So I only have one more shot?! Ugh, it couldn't be helped though. I know nothing about this gun so testing it in my soul realm would have meant nothing... Oh well, at least now I can test it in there.

And that's exactly what I did. I turned invisible and entered my soul realm for a few minutes, blasting different Xerath mounds into pieces. I won't know how strong this is against the monsters until I hit one of them, but at least I know how to use and aim it now.

I exited my soul realm and ran past the collector. For nearly ten minutes I saw nothing else, but eventually, I came upon an abomination inside a deep yellow lake. The creature was entirely black with several golden eyes on different parts of its body. Saying it has a body feels like a stretch though... It's just a mass of writhing tentacles.

Finding nothing of interest outside of the creature, I continued my sprint through the barren environment. The next thing I came upon was something that looked like an outside auditorium, except it was built down into the sand. Large statues of two gods adorned the area, and I recognized them thanks to the murals. They depicted the god who ruled over souls and the god who created life with those souls.

I walked down the auditorium's steps a little, but not enough to disturb its occupants. Whether they were dead or alive I didn't know or care, but there were a hundred Crotia on all fours in the same full-body prayer pose. They were all looking at an illustration placed on a wall of sand in the back of the auditorium. It showed the god collecting souls and sending them to the god of creation who would create new life with them.

Yet again, finding nothing that could help us escape Veca, I ran forward, leaving the auditorium behind. Almost an hour after running along a mountain I came upon a hole, and inside of it was a massive set of stairs going up. Holy shit, even the Tengu Lord could easily fit in here... This must be how anything large traversed between this area and the city.

I stared at the stairs, unsure of what to do next.

... It would be nice to know where this leads to, that way the Tengu could come with us. The ninjas did say that they found different holes in the surface that monsters were exiting through, so if the Tengu Lord can fit through one of those, then that means he could not only enter the city, but also come down here, and he's already proven how invaluable he is in combat. Plus, I don't want to leave him behind after he came to our aid.

I turned around and ran back into the desert. It'll be easy to return here, and I really want to find something of value before I return to the others. Otherwise, we'll just be blindly running around looking for clues, and even the Tengu will have his limits. Who knows how many abominations there are like that creature I saw in the lake.

It could have been twenty hours, or maybe eighty, it was hard to tell down here, but I was currently resting against the wall of a lone home surrounded by nothing.

I can hear something from my left, and I will check it out, but I doubt it'll be anything related to my mission.

Two vultures landed nearby and began drinking from a small pond near the home.

This place is honestly amazing, but the average... No, everyone would consider this place a nightmare to traverse or live in. I kind of love it here though. I've long since adapted to the aura, so once the fear dissipated, I was able to see this place for what it really is. A desolate landscape full of wonders. I didn't think I'd like deserts, but apparently I do.

I stood up and ran in the direction of the sound. A few minutes later a massive black building came into view. Yet another aesthetic I don't recognize... Like I said, this place is full of wonders.

I descended the black stone steps into a tunnel. The walls were adorned with idols, and I recognized a few of them. These are depicting some of the minor gods. The one that made me sick, the one with eyes all over his head, and a few others that were described in the book after those two. Is this a collective temple created to worship these four gods?

I reached the end of the tunnel and found myself in a large chamber full of benches. I looked at the creatures sitting on the benches in shock. For the first time yet, I found myself in a room with living beings that didn't look like they were zombies. The room is filled with ancient Crotians and those aliens. They're all well-dressed and clearly healthy-looking. This is so bizarre... I figured they were all dead, especially since I found nothing but corpses of theirs down here, but apparently, some of them had survived. And they all look a little different... I assume it's because they've been living in this place for ages.

They're all facing the wall on the left side, which has four intricately designed sculptures sitting in front of it. That family portrait I found was nothing compared to what these worshippers were looking at. There were four sculptures that were so well done they look looked they were alive. I didn't see images of the two minor gods on the right, but the two on the left are in the same pose they were in the book's illustration of them.

There were statues of random monsters in the room too. They were also impressive, but they were rather ordinary compared to the sculptures.

Several casters entered the room from an entrance near the sculptures while I was watching the procession from the back of the room. They stayed near the front of the room though, so I was well out of their detection range.

"𝕬⃤ 𝖑⃤ 𝖑⃤  𝖆⃤ 𝖘⃤  𝖔⃤ 𝖓⃤ 𝖊⃤ .⃤  𝖂⃤ 𝖊⃤  𝖌⃤ 𝖎⃤ 𝖛⃤ 𝖊⃤ .⃤  𝖂⃤ 𝖊⃤  𝖕⃤ 𝖗⃤ 𝖆⃤ 𝖞⃤ .⃤  𝕿⃤ 𝖍⃤ 𝖊⃤  𝖙⃤ 𝖎⃤ 𝖒⃤ 𝖊⃤  𝖍⃤ 𝖆⃤ 𝖘⃤  𝖈⃤ 𝖔⃤ 𝖒⃤ 𝖊⃤ .⃤  𝖂⃤ 𝖊⃤  𝖓⃤ 𝖔⃤ 𝖜⃤  𝖇⃤ 𝖗⃤ 𝖎⃤ 𝖓⃤ 𝖌⃤  𝖙⃤ 𝖍⃤ 𝖊⃤ 𝖒⃤  𝖇⃤ 𝖆⃤ 𝖈⃤ 𝖐⃤  𝖙⃤ 𝖔⃤  𝖙⃤ 𝖍⃤ 𝖊⃤  𝖑⃤ 𝖆⃤ 𝖓⃤ 𝖉⃤  𝖔⃤ 𝖋⃤  𝖎⃤ 𝖒⃤ 𝖕⃤ 𝖚⃤ 𝖗⃤ 𝖎⃤ 𝖙⃤ 𝖎⃤ 𝖊⃤ 𝖘⃤ ,⃤  𝖘⃤ 𝖔⃤  𝖙⃤ 𝖍⃤ 𝖆⃤ 𝖙⃤  𝖙⃤ 𝖍⃤ 𝖊⃤ 𝖞⃤  𝖒⃤ 𝖆⃤ 𝖞⃤  𝖌⃤ 𝖚⃤ 𝖎⃤ 𝖉⃤ 𝖊⃤  𝖚⃤ 𝖘⃤  𝖙⃤ 𝖔⃤ 𝖜⃤ 𝖆⃤ 𝖗⃤ 𝖉⃤  𝖙⃤ 𝖍⃤ 𝖊⃤  𝖕⃤ 𝖗⃤ 𝖔⃤ 𝖒⃤ 𝖎⃤ 𝖘⃤ 𝖊⃤ 𝖉⃤  𝖑⃤ 𝖆⃤ 𝖓⃤ 𝖉⃤ !⃤"

Ahh, I think I know what is happening now that I know of my origins... Because of what I am, my soul can interpret their language on some level, so it's attempting to translate it, but the result is me hearing their real voice on top of a half-assed translated version, making it all the more impossible to understand them.

Both the casters and the audience clap their hands in front of them at the same time. Hmm... They're all humming now and I can feel their auras coalescing together, but what are they casting? It's not an obvious group spell like when Jasper was casting that mini-fireball.

The humming grew louder and louder as the aura in the room grew ever stronger. I backed up into the tunnel behind me, preparing to run in case this went south, but it wasn't the only reason I was backing away. Something terrible was approaching from below, but I didn't know what it was. Wait... Are those sculptures moving? They kind of look like they are, but...

Any remaining doubt I had was wiped away when the wooden god of change began to move his entire body. Soon after that the other three gods began to move as well. The second the last god came alive, he and the three casters all whipped their heads in my direction. That's when I noticed the similarities between the casters and the god. Shit, are they creations of his?! The awakening of his splinter must have empowered them, allowing them to sense me.

"𝔡a҉𝔯k҉𝔫e҉𝔰s҉?" One caster said, pointing at me while motioning to another caster who was tilting his head at me.

I immediately turned around and bolted. I removed my aura and activated the halo so my speed was nearly three times as fast. I ran through one room after another looking for a hallway that led to the left or right, but there continued to be no such side paths.

At last a large hall appeared before me with paths to the left and right, but something else I saw in the room took my attention for a moment. There was a Demon, but it was dead no matter how I looked at it. And yet, despite its rotting flesh and bones sticking out everywhere, it was moving around channeling mana into several different Demon portals. As I looked around the room, I noticed that it was filled with the dried husks of Demons. Are these the Demons from above...? Then the one opening portals is the leader that commanded the digsite, right?

As I neared the right side hallway I spotted several hunchbacked Demon corpses piled on top of one another. I quickly ran over and ripped their pouches from their sides before running into the hallway. At the speed I was going it didn't take me long to reach the outside, but...

The god of change's splinter was waiting for me outside. He looked me up and down, his face slowly changing to the joyous version of himself I saw in his illustrations. I stuck the pouches to my armor and aimed the gun at him. He had begun to walk at me with his arms spread out as if welcoming me, but once I aimed the gun at him he looked at it and rubbed his chin. As the gun began to shake something about it must have interested him, because he opened his arms wide again, but this time he had a sickeningly gleeful look on his face.

The gun discharged, firing a blast of energy at his chest. In the split second between the gun firing and the blast hitting him, I saw all the joy disappear from his face as he quickly attempted to dodge. He was able to move enough to dodge a fatal blow to his entire torso, but his left arm and a large chunk of his torso on that side were gone. Confusion was the only emotion on his face as he reached over with his right arm and touched the missing parts of himself in disbelief. However, that confusion was short-lived. A look akin to pure ecstasy took over as he stared at my gun.

Right... This fucker loves change and altering living beings. I bet the Elven lands would be heaven for him.

Now that the gun was empty and I had no hopes of finding another power core I tossed the gun at him and ran past him. He made no attempt to stop me, as he was far more interested in his new toy. I glanced back only once and saw two things. The god of change's left side was already regrowing, and three casters were exiting the temple. They were all coming straight for me of course.

Seeing that, I pivoted toward the home I was resting at previously. The casters were able to keep up with me but they couldn't attack, as they were using a spell to float and speed themselves up. Looks like escaping them through running is impossible. This is good to know for when we all come down here together as a group.

I reached the home and ran around it toward the cellar doors nearby. I quickly opened them and jumped into the cellar before closing the doors again. Odds are they can sense me, but I checked this cellar earlier. It leads to a long tunnel heading in the direction I need to go. So if they find me and decide to 'Siege' this cellar, then good luck assholes. I'll just flee through the tunnel and collapse it behind me when I reach the other end.

Outside the cellar I could both hear and sense the casters as they swapped to an offensive spell. Soon after that I heard the house exploding. They attacked the house...? I thought I'd be easier to sense with my veil gone, but maybe it's not as extreme as I thought? Either way, I want to try and kill these fuckers before I leave. That'll make for three fewer casters to deal with for later.

The sound of sand and rubble collapsing could still be heard as I felt the closest caster move in this direction. Once he was near the cellar doors I bursted through them and grabbed his head with both hands. A short squeal escaped the creature as I crushed his head. The other two casters began to cast two ethereal spheres. As usual, once they were finished channeling, the spheres came at me in a zig-zag pattern, but when they both turned to hit me from both sides, I dashed forward with the dead caster still in my hands. This resulted in the spheres coming close to one another as they pivoted to chase after me.

I immediately whipped the dead caster into both of the spheres. As the spheres exploded I turned and dashed at the caster on the right. Between my speed and the boost the explosion gave me, I managed to grab his ankle before he had finished casting his ethereal barrier. I picked him up and whipped him into the other caster. That caster had managed to summon his barrier, but I apparently had thrown his ally hard enough destroy it, as the barrier exploded, resulting in the caster flying back in my direction. I raised my right foot high into the air, heel out toward the approaching caster. Once he had reached me, I stomped toward the ground, connecting the caster's head with my heel on the way. His head exploded into a pile of viscera as I smashed it into the sand.

The last caster went back to his floaty speed spell in an attempt to flee, but yet again I picked up the caster at my feet and threw him at the fucker trying to run. He tried to avoid his oncoming ally, but the speed at which I threw him was too much. The dead caster smashed into his ally, knocking him straight onto his ass, causing him to slide backward along the sand for a bit. By the time he was able to move again, I was already on top of him, crushing his head just like I did to his friends.

Something smashed into me and exploded before I had time to relish my victory. I flew into the cellar door, flipping over it and down the steps in the process. Groggily I looked at my body and saw that I had lost several of my fingers and other parts of my body were completely exposed as well, including my core. I had only seen it for a split second, but the fog had completely parted between here and the temple, and on the other end I saw the god of the casters. That fucker must have hit me with something... Shit, I'm struggling to move. My halo spell obviously deactivated after taking a hit of that caliber, so the rebound is tearing into me on top of whatever damage he just did...

It took me longer than I had liked, but I managed to stand up. Once I was up, I ran into the tunnel, all the while keeping my eyes behind me. Just as I was about to lose sight of the cellar entrance, something big blocked the light coming in from outside. It descended the steps and immediately I knew it wasn't a god, but it was still powerful enough to kill me in my current state. I pushed forward as hard as I could, running until I came upon another cellar. This one also had a tunnel leading somewhere else, but I chose to escape to the surface instead.

I exited the cellar and found myself next to a couple of ruined homes. They were all abandoned of course, but I didn't feel safe hiding here regardless. My veil had returned enough to turn invisible, so that's exactly what I did as I ran past one of the homes until I reached a part with several large rocks. I dug as fast as I could between them, which was difficult with low mana and only a few fingers, but I eventually dug up enough that would allow me to bury myself in the sand. I didn't bother creating a mesh this time, as it was unnecessary. I sat down in the small hole and did my best to bury myself before placing a medium-sized rock over the hole.

It wasn't long before I heard something stomping around above me. I didn't know how close it was, but it didn't matter, as any noise was going to feel too close with how injured I was right now. Several hours went by as footsteps came and went until I eventually heard nothing but the shifting of the sand. I think the fact that I have practically no mana left is a major reason I'm still alive. Even those casters would have a hard time finding me when I have no aura to detect.

I entered a deep meditation, spending many hours healing my body one part at a time. I'll be back soon enough guys, just hang on a bit more. Thanks to that Demon general, I think I know how we're going to get out of here. But at the same time it's problematic knowing that the Demon is a puppet creating portals for the creatures down here...