章 103: Unknown Ritual
In the woods, near Helgarde.
An old shrine emerged like a ghostly presence, its crumbling stones covered in vines that had grown thick and tangled over centuries. The air grew colder and the unease was palpable.
A tall, cloaked figure strode through the dense foliage, his steps firm and deliberate. In his grasp, he held a set of chains attached to two struggling individuals, their eyes wide with fear and their mouths gagged to muffle any pleas for mercy. The man's hood cast a deep shadow over his features, obscuring any hint of emotion or identity.
The silence was unnerving, the forest held its breath as if waiting for an unspoken signal to unleash its hidden dangers.
The shrine was a small, square building with a single, arched entrance that yawned like a hungry maw. The door was a heavy slab of wood, scarred by age and the claw marks of an unknown creature.
With a firm push, it swung open with a mournful groan, revealing a room that was both quiet and eerie. The air was still and cold, the only sound the occasional drip of water from a leak in the ceiling. The floor was a mosaic of cracked and broken stones, forming a pattern that had long since lost its meaning.
The air inside the shrine was thick with the smell of mold and decay, the remnants of countless candles that had burned for lost souls over the centuries
The space was small, with only a handful of benches arranged before an altar that had been defaced by time and the elements. The walls were lined with niches, each one containing the remains of those who had sought refuge here, their bones picked clean by the forest's scavengers. At the center of the room, a staircase descended into the earth, the darkness below as absolute as the void.
The covered man pushed the first individual towards the stairs, the chains clanking ominously with each step. The prisoner's eyes grew wider still as they took in the sight before them.
The staircase was steep and narrow, the stone steps worn smooth by the passage of countless feet that had trodden down into the darkness. The second individual, a young woman with bruises marring her fair skin, struggled against the man's grip, her eyes darting around the room in a desperate search for escape.
The old shrine groaned and creaked around them, as if protesting their disturbance of the ancient slumber that had settled within its walls. The man's hand was like iron around her arm, unyielding as he pushed her forward. She stumbled, her breath coming in ragged gasps through the gag.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the corridor was indeed narrow, the stones cold and slick with the moisture that seeped from the earth. The air grew heavier, thick with the scent of ancient incense and a faint, metallic tang that suggested something darker. The only light was from a flickering torch set in a wall sconce, casting shadows that danced and twisted like living things along the corridor's length.
The covered man released the restraints on both of them, his movements were quick and practiced. With a quick jerk, he removed the gags and the woman gasped for air, her eyes watering. "Please... Please let me go," she croaked, but he silenced her with a stern look.
"You go first." He said to the first man, his voice cold as the stone beneath their feet.
The man looked at him with wide eyes, his fear palpable. He took a tentative step forward. The woman watched, her own fear rising like a crescendo within her. She knew what was to come, had seen it in the man's eyes, and she knew it would not be good.
As he set foot in the room, the man's body twitched and he froze, his eyes rolling back in his head. The woman's breath caught in her throat, she braced herself against the cold stone wall and watched as the man's body began to convulse. His limbs trembled uncontrollably, his mouth worked silently as if he was trying to formulate words that were stuck in his throat.
And then it happened. A scream so piercing, so raw, it seemed to shake the very foundations of the ancient shrine. The sound was like the howl of a thousand tortured souls, echoing off the cold stone walls and reverberating through the corridor. The woman's eyes widened in horror as she realized that the scream was coming from the man in front of her.
He fell silent after a few seconds, his body hitting the ground with a sickening thud. For a moment, it looked as though he had simply fainted, a victim of his own fear. But then the blood began to flow. It spurted from his eyes, his nose, his mouth, and even his ears. His body twitched and wriggled like a worm on a hook, his limbs contorting in impossible angles as the crimson tide soaked into the earth beneath him.
The woman's eyes were glued to the gruesome sight, her own fear now a living, breathing entity within her. Her mind screamed at her to run, to flee the horror before her, but her legs had turned to lead. The man's body grew still, his lifeless form now a crimson canvas of agony.
The covered man sighed, his voice sounding rough in the humid air. "You see," he began, in the tone of a teacher addressing a particularly slow pupil, "he was not a suitable vessel. His fear was too great, his spirit too weak to absorb the essence."
He stepped closer, his hand on the small of her back, pushing her towards the room. "Your turn," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. The woman's legs felt like they were made of water, threatening to give out at any moment. But she knew she had to keep moving. If she stopped, she'd be lost.
As soon as she entered, the air grew thick and oppressive, like a heavy blanket thrown over her head. Her eyes began to burn and she couldn't breathe. She stumbled, gagging, trying to get away from the suffocating feeling that was rapidly enveloping her. The walls closed in, the room seeming to shrink around her, the torchlight playing tricks on her vision.
The covered man watched her, his eyes gleaming with a dark amusement. He knew what was happening. "Breathe deep," he instructed, his voice echoing around the chamber. "Embrace the fear, let it fill you."
But the woman could only choke on the thick, cloying air. Her lungs burned, her heart raced in her chest like a wild animal desperate to escape a hunter's snare. The walls grew closer, the floor seeming to drop away beneath her, and the world spun into a kaleidoscope of shadow and torchlight. Her vision swam, and she could feel the panic rising within her, threatening to consume her entirely.
With a final, desperate effort, she fell to her knees, her eyes squeezed shut as if that could somehow block out the horror that was unfolding around her. Her chest heaved, her breaths coming in short, painful gasps.
But in the next moment, she felt a sudden warmth spread through her body, like a gentle embrace from a long-lost lover. It grew stronger, more intense, until it was an inferno that seemed to consume her from the inside out. Her eyes flew open and she screamed, her voice joining the cacophony of the man's earlier.
Her chest felt as though it was being torn apart from the inside, her ribs stretching and cracking like dry twigs in a fiery grip.
Her body convulsed, her back arching so far it looked as though it would snap. Her limbs flailed wildly, sending dust and debris flying through the stale air.
Her scream grew louder, a symphony of pain and despair that seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth. And then, with a wet, tearing sound, her body began to distort, her skin stretching taut over her swelling muscles, her bones cracking like the branches of a tree in a storm. Her eyes bulged from their sockets, the whites stained red with burst vessels, as she looked upon the cloaked figure with a mix of terror and rage.
The explosion was sudden and brutal, a burst of power that sent the walls of the shrine trembling. Her body was no more than a mass of blood and viscera, scattered in a gruesome pattern across the floor and walls. The force of the explosion extinguished the torches, leaving the chamber in darkness, the only illumination coming from the fading embers of her torn clothing.
The covered man backed away, his red eyes shining in the darkness like those of a predator. He had not expected such a violent reaction from the girl, but there was no room for surprise in his expression. Only a sigh of resignation escaped his lips. "You're pretty picky, you know that?" he mumbled to the empty room, his voice echoing on the damp stone.
A huge eye emerged from the darkness of the room and fixed him with an ancient stare that seemed to pierce his soul. The iris is a striking green-blue color with a mesmerizing texture that resembles a mixture of cracks and fine lines. The silhouette of a figure can be seen in the center of the eye, which contrasted with the lighter hues of the iris. The sclera is riddled with dark fissures, giving the eye a slightly eerie but intriguing appearance.
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