Darkness.

  That was the first thing that Vaan saw when he opened his eyes. And for a split second, he had a surge of panic. But then he realized that it wasn't completely dark.

  Faint blue light kept complete darkness at bay.

  And as Vaan waited, his eyes eventually adjusted, letting him see.

  The blue light was coming from fungi and moss growing along a stone wall.

  And seeing that, Vaan realized that he was in a cave.

  No, not just 'in a cave.' Laying down in a cave.

  Vaan quickly got up and patted himself down. "Where am I...? No, what the heck?"

  His upper torso was bare, his bck shirt ripped to shreds. His pants, a pair of dark jeans, were tattered and riddled with holes.

  "Did I get attacked or something...?" Vaan muttered and frowned. "No, left for dead?"

  It was fortunate that he had a pair of sturdy leather boots so he didn't have to worry about walking around the cave. But other than that... nothing.

  Vaan frowned and swept his gaze around. And then he felt a sharp stab of pain in his head.

  Fshes of memories. Blood. Monsters. Pain, anger, and a surge of countless emotions.

  Vaan doubled over and clutched his head. "What... the hell...?"

  As swift as it came, the pain, memories, and emotions vanished.

  Vaan let out a deep breath and shook his head. "I don't know what's going on... but I need to get out of here first." He murmured and looked around.

  Like he thought before, he was in a cave. Giant stactites covered the ceiling, paired by giant stagmites jutting out from the ground. Altogether, it gave off the impression of the maw of a giant beast.

  Vaan frowned and carefully followed along the edge of the cavern, looking for a way out.

  The faint sound of dripping water echoed from the distance. It wasn't much, but it was at least a direction to go towards.

  Vaan walked towards it, clutching his head with his right hand as he moved.

  Although the pain was gone, along with that strange recollection of events and emotions, there was still a strange pressure present.

  And whenever Vaan tried thinking to deeply about who he was and why he was there... nothing came up. No, something did. Just... pain. Pain and a gnawing feeling of emptiness.

  But whatever the rhyme or reason of his presence in the cave and who he was, the important thing was to get out.

  After all, Vaan was alone. And the longer he stayed in this cave, the more likely he would die alone. So, taking careful steps forward and following the sound of the water droplets, Vaan advanced.

  Silence. The sound of padded footsteps. His own. And then...

  *crunch*

  'What was that?' Vaan blinked and looked down.

  It sounded like a twig. But it couldn't be a twig. This was far underground, after all...

  Confused, Vaan gnced downwards. And then he froze when he saw what made the noise.

  Pure white.

  Directly beneath Vaan's feet, there was a small pool of pure white powder. But that wasn't all.

  It wasn't a twig. It was gnarled and dry, yes. And it was stick shaped... but it wasn't a twig or any sort of wood.

  It was bone. A human femur. Not only that, but one that had been split open with the marrow completely sucked out from it.

  Vaan paled and slowly swept his gaze forward. And then he saw it.

  A set of human bones, gleaming white in the darkness. One that had been picked apart so clean it could have been put on dispy... if not for the fact that it was scattered callously across the cave floor. And there, next to the scattered bones, there was a cracked skull and jawbone, turned upside down as if a morbid chalice. And filled with fluid... of some sort.

  Vaan swallowed, biting down the rising fear and panic.

  Was this why he was there? Was he the next victim of whatever beasts or monsters had devoured that poor soul?

  Vaan didn't know. But he knew for sure that he wasn't going to stick around to find out how that person died. So, doing his best to ignore his pounding heart and twisting stomach, Vaan carefully stepped over the remains, silently offering a prayer for the poor soul. And after that, he continued on his way through the cave.

  For a time, there was silence again. And darkness, only kept at bay by the light from the moss and fungi.

  But as Vaan advanced, the light slowly changed from a pale blue to a sickly shade of green.

  And then the cave opened up even more to reveal a rge cavern. But that wasn't all.

  Vaan froze, terror in his heart.

  Eyes. Over a dozen pairs of them. Ominous yellow orbs paired with gleaming white grins.

  Vaan instinctively took a step back. As he did, he felt a headache as memories of what he was looking at came to mind.

  'Goblins.'

  And not just one. From the sheer number, Vaan could tell that it was a whole squad. Enough to take out a party of rookie adventurers, let alone an unarmed and defenseless man like himself.

  A low and eerie cackling began echoing throughout the cavern.

  Vaan slowly began retreating.

  The cackling spread, turning into an ominous chorus.

  Vaan took another step back. And then there was a loud crunch. His eyes widened and he quickly gnced back to see that he had stepped on one of the bones from earlier.

  Maniacal ughter echoed. As if the snap of the bone was a signal, the eyes surged forward, revealing a small horde of short creatures.

  Like Vaan thought, they were goblins.

  Creatures with rge and beady yellow eyes. Inhuman square bck pupils. Sickly green skin and pointed ears. Ugly faces split with a wicked grin to reveal gleaming white teeth...

  Intense fear froze Vaan's mind. But the same fear forced instincts he didn't know he had to fire.

  A goblin rushed at Vaan, leading the crowd. It lunged, a silver knife gleaming in its hand as its cackled.

  Vaan flicked his foot up, sending a bone at the goblin's face.

  The dry bone struck the goblin's face and exploded into a cloud of white powder. The goblin screamed in rage and clutched at its face.

  Vaan swung his leg, kicking the goblin into the wall.

  The goblin screamed and then went silent with a loud crunch. But at the same time, Vaan felt a burning pain on his leg.

  Vaan lowered it and saw a crimson line, dripping with blood.

  In that brief moment, the goblin must have sshed at Vaan's leg.

  'Run.'

  That brief exchange was enough to determine it. Fighting was impossible.

  Vaan couldn't even register the counterattack from the goblin. So he had to run. But... 'Run where?!'

  The area behind was a dead end. The area ahead was covered in monsters.

  Vaan edged back, his mind racing.

  Breaking through was suicide. Running back was an inevitable death. One that would end up like that adventurer, turned into food for these monsters.

  Vaan slowly retreated, eyeing the other goblins that still hadn't moved. 'What do I-'

  At that time, the goblin Vaan kicked into the wall got back up. Shaking its head, it looked at Vaan with its beady yellow eyes and then pointed its knife.

  Vaan's eyes widened. Just as he was thinking about what he was going to do next...

  "GEHEEEEE!"

  The goblin screeched and lunged forward, the other goblins in fast pursuit.