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VOL 1 - Darkening ~ Chapter 2-2 Cortexial Caverns

  Some sort of mysterious power miraculously saved Avi's life. But where did it come from? Is she hiding anything? The three, blissfully unaware of the secrets that lay within, hiked towards the cave, hoping to find the artifact swiftly.

  "It looks pretty damp in there…" Rei said, looking inside the entrance of the cave. Old structures were visible, and goop was dripping from the ceiling. Small ponds of orange water were flowing about the cavern. "Let's go," Keo said, entering the cave. "It smells in here… real bad." Avi could smell the environment. It did indeed smell awful.

  The more the group walked in the cave, the more it opened and became darker. "Does anybody have a light?" Rei asked. Keo pulled out a candle from his pouch and lit it. "This will have to do, " he said. It works!" Avi responded. The three went deeper into the cave, with the torch guiding them.

  The inner part of the cave was incredibly moist, and the walls were covered in viscous goop. Keo felt the wall. "Why are you touching that!?" Rei was confused. "Hold on… I can feel something behind here. You two, clean up this wall." "Sure, whatever…" Avi and Rei began to clean off the wall with their bare hands. Avi purposely only used her palms, as her fingerless gloves covered them.

  "So… what is that anyway…?" Rei and the group finished wiping the wall. "It looks like… neural pathways?" Keo said. Several bumpy lines could be seen traveling across the newly revealed wall. "Is this some kind of map?" Avi asked. "It could be," Keo said back to her.

  "Well then… that means this cave is shaped like the interior of a brain… yuck…" Avi said. "Why be grossed out about something that's inside you…?" Keo said back to her. "Quiet!!" Avi was disgusted. Keo looked at the map on the wall, and looked at it like a maze. Most paths seemed to lead to dead ends, while one longer path seemed to lead to …something else. "It's just some sort of marking…" Keo said. "Still, that looks like our destination. Let's go," Rei said, getting a move on.

  "Hey, Keo, what are you scribbling?" Asked Avi. Keo seemed to be copying the map on the wall as they traveled. "I'd rather not get lost here, so I'm keeping track of where we came from." "Oh, Ok! Great!" Avi said to Keo. The tunnel was dark, damp, and narrow. A putrid smell filled the area. “O…oowwww My head…” Rei felt a sharp pain in his head for a couple of seconds. "You ok?" Keo asked. "Yeah… just keep a lookout, I feel like we're not alone…"

  The corridor grew ever moister. The group kept slipping and sliding around. Luckily, the cramped walls kept them from falling. "Hey, did you hear something?" Rei asked. What sounded like squishy footsteps could be heard from behind. Rei looked back. He saw nothing. “Lets uhh… go a little faster…” The group began walking quickly.

  Soon enough, the footsteps grew louder and louder. Eventually, an unknown entity showed itself—a creature with a pill-shaped body, stubby legs, feet, and hands. Its head was not transparent, but its veins were very bulgy. Blood could be seen pulsating throughout its body. It followed Rei's group but did not attack.

  "That… thing… is he dangerous?" Avi asked. "I think it lives here, and we're in its way. Let's keep walking. We're probably both trying to get out of here," Keo said. Rei and Avi ran ahead in fear as Keo sped up behind them. The pulsating creature kept waddling in the same direction.

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  The group reached an opening in the cave and entered it. They quickly hid to ensure they weren't seen when the creature exited the cave. "Owie! My h-head!!" Whined Avi, in pain. Before she knew it, the creature stood behind her, perfectly still. Whenever the beast pulsated, Avi felt pain in her head. The creature walked over to Rei. The same thing happened to him. Same for Keo, too. All three of them had a headache now.

  "I-I think that's just a safety mechanism… I'm sure it means no harm!" Keo was confused, but still hopeful that the creature wasn't dangerous. The three kept moving. "I feel like my head is five steps behind me! O-ow…” Rei became lightheaded. The creature could be seen stalking them. "Uhh… you sure this isn't how they, y'know, subdue their prey, before they… eat them?" Avi asked. "You're right. All I can say is. Run."

  The group ran from the creature as it opened its mouth and started shooting balls of goop. "I'm not your meal!!! How many things are going to try to eat me!!" Avi yelled. "Quiet, Avi! It's trying to eat us, too! Just RUN!" Keo responded. Rei, Avi, and Keo jumped and dodged attacks from the enemy. They could visibly see an exit from the cave, and a green light could be seen from the other side. They passed through and found themselves in a different kind of cavern.

  A spine-like structure could be seen sticking out of the wall. Part of it collapsed, blocking the way the group entered the room. Screeching could be heard from the other side. Several eyes lit up all across the room. "Uh… I think we found its family… and they're all hungry… did we come at a bad time?" Rei readied his weapon. Keo drew his bow, and Avi grabbed her sword. "I really don't wanna have to kill these guys, as they are a part of the environment, but… If we die here, the world would end… Let's just try to injure and stun them, without killing them. I'll look for a way out, you two fight. Said Keo. He ran off and started looking for a way out.

  Rei and Avi started attacking the creatures, making sure not to hit them with the sharp part of their blades. "Alright!! Get these guys out of my way," Avi spun her sword in circles, smiling, while Rei fended off several enemies. As the creatures became injured, more appeared. "That one… looks bigger…," said a fearful Avi. The larger creature signaled the smaller ones to flee and charged Rei and Avi. "AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" They yelled. "Over here! I found a way out!" Keo found a way out of the den. Rei and Avi ran towards the newly found exit, with the large enemy in pursuit.

  “Ha… hah….. so…. Exhausted….” Rei was almost out of energy. "Just a little further!!" Avi cried. Keo went through the exit and waved his arm in his general direction. Rei followed behind him. Avi slipped and fell near the exit. "N-No!" Avi looked back and saw the vicious, ravenous creature. She quickly got up and ran through the exit. "GetitawayGetitaway!!!!!!" She yelled, kicking the wall, causing a large amount of debris to fall on the creature's head. This also blocked the exit.

  The creature could be heard falling and hitting the ground on the other side of the blockade. "I think we made it… and there's the exit… we did it!!" Rei walked outside and was greeted by pink and purple grass with an orange undertone. Keo and Avi followed behind. “Uh… look behind... you…” Said Avi. The blockade started to be destroyed. The group watched in anticipation, expecting the creature to emerge. Instead, a large, dark ball emerged through the crack and attacked Rei. "Gah! Hold this thing off!" Avi tried to attack it. No effect. Keo shot some arrows at it. No effect. Rei swung his sword at it, and it flew away. "That seemed to do the trick. But what about the other guy?"

  The creature from inside the cave was nowhere to be seen. "Looks like it went back inside the cavern, phew. But… now we must watch out for this… ball thing." Rei said. "This enemy's color looks similar to that of the Shardonaurs. I had a feeling Ardonous would be trying to stop us." Keo said. Rei looked ahead at the open fields and said, "No time to lose. If that thing shows up, we'll show it who's boss." The group walked through the colorful fields, hoping to find more clues. They knew they were going in the right direction.

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