BXBX NOVEL Chapter 56: Paths and Sound
CREAK!
CREAK!
The sound of the vault door's gears turning reverberated through the space behind it, akin to the interior of a cave.
CLICK!
After finally unlocking the vault door, he grasped the handle firmly. With a steady pull, he gradually swung it open wider until it was fully open, revealing another corridor .
The scent of death immediately filled his nostrils, and through his undead vision, he could see a black-red aura emanating from the inside.
It was condensed, a sight that would normally signal danger.
However, for some inexplicable reason, he felt drawn to this aura. It defied logic, but his instinct urged him forward.
'What is this thing?' Raising his hands, he felt the red dark aura enveloping him, akin to a rejuvenating breeze.
While it might look dangerous, for a creature like him, it seemed to have a positive influence.
If just this amount of energy could elicit such a response, whatever was generating it promised to be extremely advantageous for him.
"I know that this aura is be good for me, but..." He glanced at the dark corridor, and the feeling of danger intensified. It wasn't enough to make him flee, but it did cast doubt in his mind.
The walls and floor of this place were different from outside. They were made of pure cement, and as he knocked on them, he could tell they were very thick. He had a feeling that whatever was inside this place was not meant to leave its confines.
'Am I an idiot or something? Why would I walk inside this place?' he asked himself. Sometimes, he felt being a monster made him either too brave or an idiot.
'This isn't worth it,' he sighed, turning away. He came to the realization that entering an unfamiliar place was a dumb idea.
[Ding]
[System detected condensed negative energy. If absorbed, the host would gain massive EXP and skill points.]
'No gain, no pain, right?'he chuckled wryly after reading the word "Massive" . The temptation was just too strong to ignore.
He pressed on walking further, the negative aura growing stronger with each step.
Suddenly, a strange feeling welled up from within him.
However, he did not react. He just stood there quietly, and prepare himself.
As he stands there in the darkness, the faint echoes of footsteps draw nearer.
He raised his hands and unleashed his ability, "Claw Bullet"
SWOOOSH
SWOOOSH
SWOOOSH
Five projectiles made of his own sharpened bones pierced the air as he tried to hit what ever was in front of him.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
With a sharp clangs, his attack hits the wall, the sound echoing down the corridor.
He pauses, listening intently, and realizes the distance was much farther than expected.
'There's nothing?' Confusion clouds his mind as he wonders where the sound of footsteps could have originated from.
Could it be an echo, or is there something else lurking in the shadows, playing tricks on his senses?
With his undead eyes, he could see clearly. And, the corridor wasn't too wide, so there was no way he would miss if something approached.
"Fuck this," he grumbled, steeling his will.
He continued to move until he reached the end. To his right, he saw another path and turned that way. There, he found another set of stairs leading downward.
After walking for a couple more minutes, he realized there was another turn, this time curving both right to left.
Both paths emitted the same amount of negative aura, making it impossible to discern which one to take.
SLASH!
He made a mark on the path just in case, then chose the right one, simply because it was to the right.
Another five minutes passed, and he was greeted by two more different paths.
But this time, Reign clicked his tongue in annoyance. He lifted up his hands and touch the same mark he had created before.
'You gotta be kidding me,' he gritted his teeth in frustration. He had fallen for the oldest trick in the book: the looping corridor.
The looping corridor was like the most overused trope in horror movies, like a bad joke that just keeps repeating itself.
***
Outside
"That monster is taking forever," George grumbled, his patience wearing thin.
He had already gulped down two cans of coffee, and Reign was still nowhere to be seen.
Glancing at the time, he realized it had been an hour already since he left.
"WOOOF WOOOF WOOOF!" Wick started barking, and jolted him from his thoughts.
"Are you hungry?" he asked, offering it some jerky, thinking it might be hungry. But instead of eating, it continued to bark.
"WOOOF WOOOF WOOOF!"
George squinted his eyes, trying to decipher what the dog wanted.
"Do you need to pee?" he asked.
"WOOOF WOOOF WOOOF!" Wick answered.
Hearing this, George opened the door of the truck. But before it was fully open, Wick jumped out and bolted away.
"Get back here!" George yelled, attempting to catch Wick, but the dog was faster than any normal canine. In just a matter of minutes, it had vanished into the distance.
"Reign will kill me," George sighed, feeling weak in the knees.
***
Back to the Looping Corridor.
Reign continued to backtrack his way, but no matter which direction he tried, he ended up in the same place. Next, he attempted walking to the left, but it proved just as futile.
'Don't tell me I'll be trapped here forever,' Reign sighed, sitting on the floor. He had no ability or skill that could help him solve his current issue.
It would have been better if the thing playing tricks on him showed itself, but right now, even the sound of footsteps had vanished.
"WOOOF WOOOF WOOOF!" Out of nowhere, Reign heard a familiar sound. He recognized it to be Wick's barking, and it was coming from his right.
"WICK!" Reign screamed and dashed towards the source of the sound.
As he followed Wick's bark, he noticed that the corridor didn't send him back in a loop.
Instead, it continued as a straight line. Encouraged by this unexpected turn of events, he pressed on, his hope renewed.
With Wick leading the way, he felt confident that he would eventually find his way out of the mysterious labyrinth.
Finally, he emerged into a small clearing, where he found Wick standing proudly, wagging his tail happily .
Relief flooded through Reign as he knelt down and embraced his faithful friend.
"You little troublemaker," Reign chuckled, ruffling Wick's fur . "You just saved me!"
But as he looked around, he realized that this wasn't just any ordinary clearing. Strange symbols and text adorned the walls, etched into the stone like some kind of doodle .
He leaned in closer, squinting to make out the texts of scratches that formed what appeared to be words.
"This Hospital is hell"
"The doctors are killing the patient"
"We are not crazy"
"Please help us"
"They take out our brains"
Reign read the text aloud.