Chapitre 14: Who are you?
"I knew it. You can't handle it." The woman teased him mockingly.
Kaden wheezed. As his vomit splattered on the fleshy staircase, the cavern seemed to pulsate with malicious delight. The laughter grew louder, mocking his weakened state.
"Look at you, pathetic and weak. You're nothing but a quivering mess. Human beings are-" Before the voice could continue, Kaden had unexpectedly once again started climbing!
"What the hell are you blathering about?" He wiped his mouth with an irritated expression on his face as he was really at his limit. "This place fucking stinks. Can't you open a window or two?"
Kaden was not joking. He was enduring an excruciating torment at the moment, consumed by misery and engulfed in the mire of his surroundings.
The repugnant stench clawed at his senses, a noxious symphony of decay and putrefaction that threatened to overpower him at every turn.
Each breath he drew felt like an assault, an unwelcome intrusion that sent waves of nausea crashing through his being.
However, for some reason the woman suddenly seemed to be annoyed. The relentless voice, once again manifesting its malevolence, mocked him with a venomous tone.
"You dare to belittle this trial, little worm."
Kaden's brow furrowed in confusion. Where the fuck was he belittling? This place was really difficult to handle!
The voice, sensing his disbelief, continued its narrative, infused with a cruel blend of amusement and solemnity.
"The despair in the air, the anguished cries of lost souls, they belong to those who came before you, men who dared to face this trial."
The scenery surrounding him, composed of flesh and bones, spoke volumes of the countless lives that had succumbed to its grip.
The voice, draped in eerie amusement, responded, revealing the grim truth.
"Indeed, many have ventured here, lured by promises of wealth, power, or redemption. But few have emerged victorious. Most have succumbed to the trials, devoured by the pervasive darkness that permeates this place."
Kaden nodded. This was going to be difficult. He needed to be ready.
"Can you tell me where I am?" He asked the woman.
A pregnant silence hung in the air as if the voice deliberated whether to indulge his inquiries. Finally, with a twisted blend of amusement and disdain, it deigned to respond.
"This place, dear worm, is a manifestation of despair and suffering. It exists to test the weak, to separate the deserving from the unworthy. It is your final destination, where you shall become one with the fleshy masses adorning these stairs."
"Listen to the voices. Feel the pain," the voice urged.
Kaden listened.
"Feel the anguish and bloodlust choking you," the voice taunted.
Kaden nodded. The stench was indeed choking him.
"With every step you take, this world will attempt to consume you. Kneel before the insurmountable pressure that weighs upon you," the voice proclaimed.
The stench was indeed pressing him down. "So it will be more difficult to climb further up? It would get stinkier?" Kaden asked, even though he couldn't possibly imagine a place more stinky than this.
But it turned out to be true.
The air grew heavier, the stench more oppressive, and the voice's taunts more relentless as he climbed higher.
Concentration became increasingly difficult.
But Kaden was hellbent on getting through this. His face showed sheer determination as he continued running up the stairs. The voice also continued taunting him.
Things continued this way for a few minutes when suddenly the voice paused. "Hmmm?"
Kaden wondered what had happened. Why did the woman suddenly become silent? Was something going to attack him?
"You are right. It is getting more difficult." He shouted out nervously.
When he still did not get any response in return, he felt a shiver run down his spine and he started running up the stairs, which still seemed endless.
"What now?" Kaden gingerly looked around while continuing to run up.
This was a trial, after all, and considering the setup, he would be an idiot not to expect more difficult challenges. It couldn't be simply running up the stairs, right?
Was some monster horde going to assault him?
Perhaps some demons or strong elites or even boss monsters?
He looked left and right as he continued to jog up. However, to his surprise, nothing of that sort happened.
Hmmm. Kaden frowned.
He kept going on, and soon the endless stairs also seemed to give up. He could feel that he was getting closer and closer to the top.
"What the hell is going on?"
Meanwhile…
As Kaden ascended the stairs, the owner of the voice observed his progress with disbelief and astonishment.
From the depths of the shadows, a woman, her seductive figure capable of seducing any man alive, gasped in shock.
By now, she had witnessed countless souls attempt this treacherous trial, yet this one was by far the most shocking.
"What... what is this?" She whispered in awe, her voice laced with a mix of astonishment and uncertainty.
She really hated human beings.
She had expected this human being to buckle down and collapse a long time ago, but instead, she found herself witnessing the seemingly effortless ascent of a mere worm.
"How can this be?" she pondered, her voice filled with a blend of curiosity and trepidation.
She had spent eons in these shadows, observing the trials and tribulations of those who dared to enter this forsaken place.
And yet, none had managed to traverse the stairs so easily?
"Who are you?" she trembled, her voluptous chest rising up and down slowly.
"How could you have such high mental strength? A human being shouldn't be capable of something like this! Your species is weak and ignorant, doomed to become slaves to the powerful lords!"
And yet...
She watched and watched and watched as finally Kaden actually reached the very top of the stairs!
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone