LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 9: Another Human.
I fell through the sky at a terrifying speed, the wind howling in my ears.
Whoosh!!
Whisssh!!
Despite the sheer terror of the moment,
Ba-dump!
A faint, defiant smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
I wouldn't die- I knew that much.
At least, I hoped.
But, the certainty of severe Injury loomed, gnawing at the edges of my mind.
Ba-dump!
My heart thumped even faster.
My body twisted slightly in the air, the cold, biting wind tearing at my skin.
Seven feet.
"Huff-Hah."
I exhaled sharply, bracing for the inevitable impact.
Dread coiled around my chest, tightening and pooling around me.
But, I shoved it down.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
Ba-dump!
Clenching my teeth.
I curled into a makeshift ball, a futile attempt to lessen the blow.
This is going to hurt.
Whoosh!
Badly.
Ba-dump!
But, I've survived worse.
I repeated those words like a mantra, a fragile shield against the storm of fear hammering at my resolve. Horrifying thoughts slammed into the walls of my mind, each one more brutal than the last.
And then-
Crash!
Agonizing pain exploded through my body as I hit the earth with a bone-shattering thud. My body tumbled violently, ricocheting off walls and jagged debris.
Flesh tore.
Puchi!
Bones snapped.
Crack!
Blood painted the ground in a macabre trail as my vision blurred with each collision.
I coughed, the metallic tang of blood flooding my mouth. The world flickered, teetering between a suffocating black void and a blinding white haze.
Stay awake.
Stay alive.
Not here.
"Huff- Huff."
Not now.
Ba-dump!
Not like this.
I bit down hard in my lip until I tasted blood, a desperate act to keep the encroaching darkness at bay. My body finally came to a halt, slamming through a dark, crumbling door and skidding to a stop on the cold, dark floor.
"Hu-ah."
I was alive.
Barely.
Blood poured from gaping wounds, pooling beneath me. Every nerve screamed in agony, the pain so intense it felt like my very soul was being ripped apart.
It hurt.
"Ukh-Ah!"
Hellishly so.
And I begged for it to stop.
"Agh-ukh!"
But it didn't.
The icy grasp of death loomed closer, wrapping around me like a suffocating shroud.
But I wasn't willing.
Not yet.
I dug my fingers into the cobblestones beneath me, nails splintering as I clawed at the ground. Each ragged breath sent fresh wave of pain rippling through me, yet I fought against the pull of unconsciousness.
"Huff."
I've come too far to die here.
Ba-dump!
I won't start over.
I can't.
Tears mingled with blood, streaming down my face as despair sank its teeth into my soul.
Why?
"Huff -Agh!"
Why do I have to start over?
Ba-dump!
Why is life so cruel.
The darkness crept in, relentless and unyielding. Every grasp for air was met with blood-filled coughs, each one chipping away the fragile thread keeping me tethered to life.
My body screamed in agony, my soul teetering on the brink of death. And for a moment, it all seemed so pointless.
The endless cycle of death, the torment, the suffering - I would still come back to go through them once again, over and over until I broke down completely.
Tears came freely now as the endless darkness swallowed me whole.
And then-
***
.
.
.
Gasp!
My chest heaved as I jolted awake, a piercing, icy blue light blazing from my eyes. Memories of my countless deaths flooded in, each one more horrific than the last.
The pain was unbearable.
The dread, suffocating.
I clutched my head,
"Aargh!"
Desperate to block out the torment.
But it was relentless, unyielding and I was tired.
Tired of everything
Tired of the scars from the never-ending cycles of death,
Tired of the unending torments.
I am tired of them all.
Tears flowed freely as sobs wracked my body. I wanted to scream, to curse the heavens, but all that escaped were broken cries.
"Uk-hu-ah."
Through the haze of agony, a flicker of something stirred within me.
Hope.
It burned faintly, defying the crushing despair.
I latched onto it,
Letting it pull me back to the present.
"Hah-."
My surroundings came into focus, and I staggered to my feet, heart pounding in my chest.
Ba-dump!
This wasn't the haunted house I remembered.
Ba-dump!
The shattered door behind me,
Ba-dump!
Everything surrounding me was different.
Terribly different.
Fear.
Ba-dump!
It slowly crept in.
Gnawing at the edges of my mind.
In this cursed land, hope was a dangerous thing- a harbringer of greater despair- I knew that much.
Is this real?
Ba-dump!
Or is it just another cruel illusion?
A bitter laugh escaped my lips, raw and broken.
"Ha-ha-haha."
My sanity slipped through my fingers like sand in an unclenched fist.
And then,
Crash!
A defeaning crash shattered my spiraling thoughts.
Ba-dump!
My heart leaped to my throat as I dove behind a crumbling wall, peering cautiously through a crack.
What I saw froze me in place.
Ba-dump!
.
.
.
The skin.
The face.
I-t...it was a human!
The figure fought against a towering abomination- its grotesque form sculpted straight out of one's worst nightmare. The old man wieleded a strange dadk light, his movements precise and fluid.
For the first time in what felt like eternity, tears of relief welled in my eyes.
I wasn't alone.
Tok-
I bolted towards the battlefield, adrenaline coursing through my veins. Hope surged within me- a chance to escape this wretched place, maybe.
But by the time I reached him, the battle was over.
The old man severed the creature's head with a blur of motion, blood spraying across the ground as the creature collapsed onto the floor with a loud crash.
I crouched behind a ruined wall, gasping for breath, heart pounding against my ribs as I watched the dead carcass in awe.
Soon, my eyes shifted towards the old man who collapsed to his knees, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Instinct almost took over me as i surged forth to help the old man, but logic held me back. No doubt, the old man's battle with the dead supernatural creature would have alarmed other powerful monstrosities within the depth of this cursed land.
The old man might survive an onslaught from various supernatural creatures, but the same couldn't be said for me.
Just as various chaotic thoughts slammed onto the walls of my mind, and as i debated on my next move.
A soft, yet icy cold voice sliced through the air:
"You can come out kid."
I froze.
Ba-dump!
My heartbeat accelerating.
Yet i knew there was no use hiding.
I knew i had no choice but to come out of hiding.
My heart pounded in my chest.
Ba-dump!
Ba-dump!
And with clenched hands and hardened resolve, i stepped out of the shadows, as i slowly walked towards the old man. Knowing full well that my fate now lies in the hands of the fragile, old man before me.