2 Chapter 1: A night in the lands of nightmares [1]

*Bam*

'Those shits...' – I already knew that I'm weak, but in the last minutes I was further proven to be because whatever was behind those doors kept ramming itself in the door, and I was almost thrown away a few times already.

*Shriek*

*Neigh*

*Horn*

*Bam*

'Is this thing going to break?' – I have been focused solely on holding the door shut so I don't know if the door is cracking, but so far it doesn't show any signs of it, at least as far as my small knowledge about doors goes.

I suddenly heard a whisper in my ears.

"What do yo-*Bam*-u mean?" – I manage to utter while still struggling with the door.

'Time of grace?' – This doesn't sound good.

*Ding dong*

Then, that same high-pitched doorbell sound was heard again, and following it was a message that appeared in my always pitch-black vision.

[Tonight's time of grace has come to an end.]

[Players, prepare yourselves.]

Then, I felt my body freeze.

The sounds all around stopped.

The smells I could sniff also vanished without a trace.

I could feel the faint "auras" disperse faster than smoke in a hurricane.

And then, something appeared in my vision.

Two black dice with 20 faces.

Instead of numbers, there were red glowing drawings on the faces.

And the most noticeable thing was probably that I could feel an extremely sinister aura coming from them.

The aura is so strong, and thick that it is almost palpable, and it is even greater than the feeling of death that I could feel just a few seconds ago.

*Gulp*

With a gulp, I helplessly observe as the dice start to tremble.

And then, it shoots up.

[The Dice have been thrown.]

I watched as the dice suffered from gravity and fell on whatever worked as a floor before bouncing.

*Tack*

With low muffled sounds, I watch with an increasingly high heartbeat as the dice bounce again and start to lose momentum.

*Tack*

Holding my breathing, the dice bounce one last time.

*Tack*

And slowly comes to a stop.

*Ding dong*

The doorbell-like chime sounded again, and once again, it brought forth a sense of dread.

[Tonight's play and rules have been decided.]

Then, a black window with red markings on it appeared in my vision. To say that the thing is ominous would be an understatement.

[Play: Tag, you're it!

Rules:

1- The game will end when the bell rings for the 3rd time;

2- The players must run away from the nightbornes, who will be playing as "it";

3- Hiding is prohibited;

4- If someone stays for more than 5 minutes in the same spot, it will be considered as hiding;

5- The "it" can't be killed during the game, so the only option is for the player to run;

6- The "House Rules" are disabled while the game is ongoing;

7- The monsters will receive a boost in power, however, they can be killed. The more monsters killed, the better the final score;

8- The "it" will sometimes get stunned for a couple of seconds and thus be unable to move. If the player manages to get out of the "its" field of view or detection, then the "it" won't chase the player;

9- The players are bound by fate to the "it". Even if they hide and manage to run away, they will inevitably and unavoidably find another "it", however, it is possible to not get caught by them.

Remember, bad children must be punished, so follow the rules for us all to have a fun and wholesome game.]

[May the Night be long.]

*Chime of bell*

Then as if a lie, the sound of bells echoed again and the dice vanished from my "vision".

'What?' – What was that?

However, as if to mock me, the sinister feeling I felt before returned.

'!!!'

My head became slightly lighter.

My ears seemed to filter out every single sound as I seemed to enter a void, no sounds could be heard.

My throat contracted and expanded as if to gulp, but there was no such thing.

My hair started to stand on end, one by one, slowly raising from my arms until my nape.

My heartbeat sped up and I could feel my blood heating up.

I could feel as if I was moving slowly yet normally.

Death.

Death is coming.

<Run.>

<Now.>

I immediately jumped away from the door and turned around.

*Tack*

*Roar*

A roar, one strange, it didn't seem to belong to an animal or a monster. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just gives off a strange feeling.

When I landed on my wooden prostheses, I didn't bother stopping and immediately jumped toward where I could feel a breeze coming from, most likely a window.

*Crash*

I heard the door being sent flying and crashing on the side, followed by that strange feeling increasing.

<Don't stop.>

'I wouldn't.'

*Shatter*

I jumped through the window and shattered the glass, but that was the last of my worries.

*Tack*

I don't know where to go.

"Where to?" – I asked briefly, hoping the helper would give me useful info.

<Don't stop running.>

*Roar*

A chill runs up my spine as I felt that thing coming closer.

*Tack*

Feeling a light chilly breeze on the hairs on my nape, I rolled aside instead of trying to run.

And that proved to be the right decision.

*Fush*

A gust of wind followed by something passed where my head was a second ago.

*Crash*

By the sound of it, that thing collided with a wall, and said wall was most likely quite weak as I heard the following sounds of it coming down. It must have been made of bricks.

However, what the wall was made of or how strong was the monster was the last of my concerns as I was already running to the side and away from where that thing had crashed on.

*Thump*

My heart started to beat faster, I felt my chest tighten, and my breath hitch as I wasn't breathing as much air as I needed while running.

I would soon run out of breath and I wasn't even that far from that thing.

'You've gotta be kidding me.' – I want to cry.

<Jump.>

The paper whispered again and this time, I didn't waste time considering its words and just followed suit.

*Tack*

Putting one of my prostheses on the ground, I put strength on the leg and jumped the highest I could.

Right as I was leaving the ground, something inside me blared alarms in my head. It said that there was danger behind me.

*Fush*

I again felt something passing just where I was.

However, this time, I felt that same thing inside me alerting me to get out of where I was.

The only problem is that I'm mid-air.

Following what I believe is my instinct, I thrust my hips forward, bend my upper body back, and fold my legs by bending my knees.

*Swooosh*

I felt something just graze my hair while cutting the air.

*Thud*

A dull sound let me know that it was most likely a heavy object that was thrown at me.

However, I still didn't stop as my life depends on me running away.

*Tack*

I once again started to run away.

However, barely a few seconds after I did it, I noticed two crucial things.

First, my prostheses don't allow me to maneuver that much, so I couldn't even make zig-zag motions unless I wanted to sacrifice my overall speed.

And second, it seems that the adrenaline or the seriousness of the situation made me forget it, but I'm still lethargic.

My body feels heavy.

I don't have any idea of how I even pulled off the stunt earlier of doing a backflip midair.

But that is that.

'Where… Where…?' – I kept searching, sniffing, focusing my hearing, trying everything I could to find a lead of somewhere I could go.

Then, I heard something different.

The sound of flowing water.

It was low and a slow sound.

However, it came from below.

'Water? No, a sewer?' – Judging by the fact that it is from somewhere below me, it must be a sewer.

"Is there a manhole close?" – I asked the paper while I once again felt my hair starting to stand on end.

I hurriedly threw myself aside.

*Swoosh*

*Crack*

"GAH-!" – A short scream left my mouth and I was instantly tossed into the air. My body felt lighter, my head slightly dizzy, but a small sense of freedom surged inside me.

*Crash*

Just to be smashed when I fell to the ground and rolled aside.

A groan left my mouth as I tried to get up just to feel a piercing pain in my chest.

My head also felt lighter and my thoughts were all over the place.

'Did… I break something?' – From the pain I'm feeling, this must be the case.

*Roar*

The closeness of the eerie roar reminded me once again of my perilous situation.

<Right. 3 meters.>

The paper whispered in my ears, making me briefly confused before I understood its meaning.

Turning to my right, I could feel a stronger bad smell coming from there.

'If I could get there, my chances of surviving might increase.' – I immediately started to crawl my way there as I couldn't get up yet without feeling that piercing pain.

However, even if I didn't get up, the pain was still there.

I bit down my lower lip to prevent myself from letting out another sound and endured the increasing pain in my chest.

'Come on…' – I grabbed a mouthful of grass while pulling myself toward the manhole.

It took barely a few seconds, however, I noticed that the monster was slow. It hadn't caught me yet despite its earlier agility.

As I kept crawling toward the manhole, a realization suddenly came to me.

[8- The "it" will sometimes get stunned for a couple of seconds and thus be unable to move. If the player manages to get out of the "its" field of view or detection, then the "it" won't chase the player.]

And considering that the monster has shown no signs of coming after me…

'Did it get stunned?' – I could feel faint traces of that sinister aura, but that thing was still out of my current range.

I didn't risk my luck and kept crawling.

A second later, my hands touched a cold metal surface on the ground.

'This is it.' – I moved my hands before I found where I could grab.

Then came the worst part.

Getting a manhole cover out of the way while having possibly broken bones in my rib cage.

"Gah…" – A small groan inevitably escaped my lips as I kept trying to get that thing out of the way.

The good news is that I'm doing some progress.

The bad news is that my progress is going at a snail's pace.

'Come on…' – I gritted my teeth and kept pulling it out.

*Growl*

A low growl and a slight shift in the faint traces of that sinister aura immediately alerted me that if that thing didn't wake up already, it is going to, and very soon.

"Heave-ho!" – I whispered to myself, I finally managed to pull the manhole's cover out.

The bad smell got even worse and now, it was strong, strong enough that I could feel a small burning sensation at the innermost part of my nose.

I nearly fell to the ground while holding that thing in my hands due to how heavy it is.

However, I had no time to complain as that thing was going to come for me.

First, I put the manhole's cover on the ground and halfway to completely cover the hole.

Then, I moved my legs forward and did some stepping motions to determine if I could feel any ladder in the manhole.

And as expected, there was.

I sat on the ground with both legs going inside the manhole and started to put it on the iron ladders that were stuck on the walls. Then, I carefully tried to maintain my balance just to not slip and entered the hole enough for my whole body to be inside, next, I put my back on the wall while maintaining my balance and started to slide the manhole's cover to its original position.

This part is tricky as I could slip and simply fall in, and that would be bad with my wounds.

*Growl*

This time, the growl was louder, and it was enough for me to notice that I was already out of time.

I quickly hastened my pace and slid faster.

With the sound of a heavy metal object grinding against the ground, I pulled my hand with more strength before moving my arms out of the way, so I won't get injured.

*Thud*

With a heavy thud, the manhole's cover was put back into place.

*Roar*

And just in time.

The roar outside confirmed that that thing was now indeed free.

*Thump*

The bad smell of excrement, rotten water, and filth flooded my nose and I resisted the urge to gag.

My heart pounded against my chest loud enough for me to hear, however, this also brought a sharp pain in my chest due to the early injury.

<Don't scream.>

The warning made me hold back a sigh at the obviousness of such advice.

Instead of remaining here, near the danger, I decided to slowly and silently go down to the sewers.

*Tack*

With a wobbly footing, I grabbed tight on the ladder with my hands and tried to not slip due to my not-so-great prostheses to climb the ladder.

After almost a minute, several almost slip-ups, and me wanting to break those prostheses of mine, I finally manage to land on the ground.

*Water running*

The sound of water running and coupled with the bad smell welcomed me and confirmed that this is a functional sewer, most likely.

"Is here safe?" – I whispered while supporting myself with a hand on the wall.

'"For now", huh.' – This is seriously bad. There is also that rule of not hiding… I will need to find somewhere else to go.

"Can I rest for a bit?" – I haven't felt anything dangerous aside from the scent of death in here, however, the whole city or wherever I am seems to have that scent.

<Yes. 1 minute at most.>

Hearing the short time, I hold back the urge to groan but limit myself to just slid my back down the wall and sit.

*Sigh*

A sigh escapes my lips as I turn my face upward, being welcome to the view of my always-black vision.

'What is happening?' – I woke up less than half an hour ago, was told I had to survive, and already nearly died.

And I still don't even know what is happening or who I am.

In an abrupt urge, I focus on my messed-up memories to see if I can find anything useful.

A park.

Children running.

The blue sky.

The space tore apart.

Monsters.

Tall buildings.

Magic…

I scratched my head in annoyance.

'There is nothing useful.' – Everything is mixed to the point that I have a hard time discerning where one memory beings and where it ends.

Also, the fact that none of them provoke a sense of belonging in me isn't helping.

'Something useful… I guess magic?' – I remember seeing a few things that looked like magic or some flashy superpowers in my memories.

'If I'm not mistaken… Profile.' – Right after I thought, a screen popped up in my vision.

------------------------------

Name: Klaux Williams (von Kryzchk)

Gender: Male Age: 28 years (mentally)

Height: 1,57 m Weight: 45 kg

Race: Lycanthrope Existential Level: 1

Titles: Shattered; ???; Dice's Darling; Sleepy-head.

-------------------------

[Strength]: 1

[Dexterity]: 1

[Constitution]: 1

[Wisdom]: 1

[Agility]: 1

[Luck]: ?

-------------------------

[Talents]: Lazy Mind / Polar Star / Internal Clock / Instinct

-------------------------

[Blessings]: Dice / The Three Things to Enjoy Life [Singularity-derived]

------------------------

[Mystical Arts]:

Clothes – Fashion

Healing – Rest

---------------------------

[Singularity]: The Three Things to Enjoy Life – Lvl 0

-----------------------------

[Techniques]: CQC (Lvl 1) / Track (Lvl 1) / Acrobatics (Lvl 2)

----------------------------

'If I'm talking about magic or something similar, then the closest guess would be [Mystical Arts], I believe. Either this or [Singularity].' – However, judging by the name, it is most likely the former.

Now, here comes the problem.

How do I use this?

My ears twitched at the familiar whisper that woke me up from my daze and I felt a few hairs on my arm stand on end.

'Something is coming, huh.' – I think there is still a considerable distance since I'm not feeling any danger for now.

However, I don't want to test my luck.

I supported myself on the wall and rose from the ground.

*Sniff*

"Guh!"

With two sniffs, I already wanted to puke due to the bad smell around me, but I held back.

'From the left.' – I can sense a faint eerie smell coming from the left. I don't quite know how to define it in words, but I just feel a pit in my stomach and a cold sensation too, whatever that smell is, it can't be good.

Turning to my right, I proceed to walk alongside the wall at a pace that is not too fast and not too slow.

Breathing in small amounts to avoid inhaling more of this rotten air, I kept walking while noticing no signs of danger or anything in this tunnel.

'I guess it will take some time.' – I briefly mused before turning to my left, where I could feel the aura of that piece of paper.

"Can you explain to me what are [Mystical Arts], the ones mentioned in my profile?" – I asked, not too hopefully.

Surprisingly, the thing gave me an actual answer.

Hearing the brief explanation confirmed my previous guess.

'Following this logic, I have affinities for… Healing and… Clothes?' – The last one seems weird, but anyway, I will have to make do with what I have.

If I'm able to use magic, no, mystical arts, then I should be able to improve my condition with my healing affinity.

"How do I use mystical arts?" – I felt a piercing pain in my chest again. Seems like I got a bit excited.

<Train.>

And that was it. That was all the paper answered my question with.

"…"

<…>

*Water running*

Seriously?

I know I had a legit reason to ask, but I'm feeling stupid for even asking.

*Sigh*

This time I couldn't hold back and sighed in exasperation.

'I'll have to find on my own then.' – Although the answer wasn't to my liking, it is a beginning, I guess.

After some seconds of musing about this problem, I got an idea and tried to check my memories to see if there was one where I used or saw someone using those mystical arts.

However, I soon found out that I had none of it.

The closest I had was of someone making their palm glow and that was it. The rest were just "stray" mystical arts that were shot from somewhere.

'This is harder than I thought.' – At least I have my affinities, so I'm not starting from the absolute zero.

As I kept walking and felt my stomach churn from the smell of excrement and waste, I soon felt a few of my hairs stand on end again.

*Sniff*

From behind and left.

'At least two.' – I concluded as I could feel the faint traces of that eerie aura from the monster that chased me before I entered the sewers.

"Is there any place I can go to get out of this sewer?" – I asked in a low tone while increasing my pace, despite the pain that was getting worse.

<20 meters ahead. Ladder.>

I nodded and kept walking.

One thing I noticed is that sometimes this paper answers my question with few words or broken sentences, and other times it answers me with a complete answer.

I don't know if it has some meaning, but I guess it's something to keep in mind just in case.

'15…'

'10…' – I was around 10 meters away from the place where the ladder was supposed to be when a sudden chill ran down my spine.

*Growl*

*Shriek*

'Goddamnit.' – I increased my pace again, but this time, I couldn't go much faster since the pain in my chest was becoming too much for me to bear while walking.

*Huff*

'5...' – Now, I could feel those things' presence, even the atmosphere took a sudden turn and I noticed that the air got slightly colder, and a sense of dread could be felt all around if one paid attention.

"Guh-!" – A sudden bolt of sharp pain cut through my chest and my steps faltered. The suddenness of this was such that I couldn't help letting out a small groan of pain.

I stopped momentarily and exhaled.

*Exhale*

*Inhale*

And after taking in some air, I bolted forward.

*Roar*

*Shriek*

Those things must have felt my presence because I could feel even more hairs on my body standing on end, as well as the dread increasing with each passing second.

'2…'

*Roar*

'1…'

*Shriek*

The hand that was on the wall suddenly felt something with a rusty, cold, and metallic feeling.

'Here!' – I grabbed it and confirmed that it was indeed the ladder.

Then, I started climbing as if my life depended on it.

*Tack*

*Roar*

This time, the roar was close, too close in fact. That thing must be 10 meters away from me at most.

I kept climbing the ladder and a few seconds later, I arrived where I wanted.

*Clang*

'Ugh… Goddamnit.' – I hit my head on the manhole's cover.

*Shriek*

My surprise instantly faded away when I heard that sound and I started pushing the cover out of my way.

I don't know if it's because I had a better position to push it, but the cover moved relatively smoothly.

As I pushed it out of my way, I felt something at the bottom of the ladder.

'Shit!' – I immediately jumped out of the manhole.

As I exited the sewers, the bad smell was still present, but now, the cold and gloomy air made itself more prominent, and I finally could breathe without gagging.

However, nothing of this was on my mind now.

I immediately shot up to my feet and found the manhole's cover, then I started to push it back to its place.

*Roar*

*Shriek*

Hearing the now even closer sounds, I put more strength on it and managed to place it back.

*Thud*

A low heavy thud sound echoed, meaning that the cover was back in its place.

And right on time.

*Bam*

*Roar*

Those things started to bang on the cover.

"This thing isn't going to hold, is it?"

<No.>

"Guessed so." – I started to sniff around and focused on my hearing to observe if I could find somewhere to go.

However, luck wasn't on my side, there was nothing to distinguish a better place around me.

And at this time, I heard an unexpected sound.

*Ring*

I stopped what I was doing and turned to where I just heard the sound.

*Ring*

It clearly didn't match the seriousness of the situation, but I could almost picture myself blankly facing the direction from where I just heard a telephone ringing.

"Is that…?" – I started but didn't need to finish.

I closed my mouth and just went that way. If the paper used this many words, then it must have something there and I was going to get out of here anyway.

As I walked in hurried steps, I put a hand on my upper body and tried to not mind the pain that wasn't showing any signs of diminishing any time soon.

*Ring*

As I kept walking, the noises coming from the manhole slowly got farther and farther away, until I couldn't hear them anymore.

It was then that I noticed that this telephone was farther than I initially thought. It was at least more than 100 meters away from the manhole.

'Is my hearing this good?' – I thought while I kept walking.

Also, my nose picked new scents.

The scent of grass, moss, dust, wet dirt, and something else that I couldn't identify.

*Ring*

With another ring, my attention was brought back to find the telephone.

I could make out that it was around 5 meters ahead of me, and it was above my height, so maybe it was on an elevated ground?

I kept walking toward the sound while keeping one arm stretched forward, to avoid crashing headfirst into a wall.

I stopped moving and went a bit to the right, when I felt that this was enough, I started walking again.

*Howl*

A howl echoed in the distance.

It was far from where I'm, but I still got chills from it.

'Marvelous.' – I sarcastically thought to myself before I found the stairs.

*Tack*

Slowly walking, I soon found myself at the end of the stairs and where I guess to be some sort of balcony or something resembling one.

*Ring*

The ringing, now louder, was right beside me.

I turned to my left and stretched my hand, touching a cold wooden rectangle with metal details.

*Ring*

I heard it louder and even felt a vibration coursing through my arm. Yeah, this is the thing for sure.

I moved my other hand and after a bit of searching, I noticed that this is a public telephone.

I eventually found the hook and took it off before putting it near my ears.

"Hello again, Mr. Klaux. I see you're having fun." – Before I could even say anything, the unmistakable genderless and eerie voice of the Guide sounded from the telephone's hook.

I pursed my lips upon hearing its words.

'Where in the world do I look like I'm having fun?' – However, I swallowed those words, this isn't important.

"Yes, very much. So much that I might die from it." – My voice came out very plainly, clearly convening my sarcasm and enthusiasm at the Guide's words.

"Glad you like it." – I could almost picture it grinning at me. – "Now, now, I don't think you have much time, so I'll be brief. I wasn't going to mention it for now, but since the plan of hiding in the clinic went down the drain, and you found it, I will just say it. On the right side of this public telephone, you'll find a mailbox. It belongs to... a "cousin" of mine. You won't se-, meet him, but he is very useful, at the right price even more so." – Hearing its words I held the hook with my shoulder and used my hands to try to find the box.

And it didn't take long for me to find the small mailbox.

"You can find a small gem in the shape of a diamond on the top of the mailbox, rub it and you will understand how this thing works."

*Howl*

I heard another distant howl and decided to hurry up.

Using my hands, I found the mentioned gem and rubbed it.

Right when I rubbed it, another screen appeared in my vision, similar to the one my profile appears in.

-------------

(1) Mail

-------------

It was a simple and short screen with nothing else.

'Is this it?' – I somehow expected something… more? I don't know how to put it into words. Maybe I've been just exposed to more absurd things this night alone, so this much isn't that "different".

Anyway, I thought about this mail and something happened.

*Ding*

*Thud*

A short ding followed by a low thud from inside the mailbox happened after I thought about the mail.

"You just "opened" your mail. Put your hand inside the mailbox and pull it out, and you will retrieve your "mail" or "package", you can call it whatever you wish." – The Guide explained my doubts before I could even ask.

Following its instructions, I searched through the mailbox and found an opening on the front side.

Then, I put my hand in there and immediately felt a weird sensation.

It felt like there were no "walls". The mailbox didn't have something like walls since I moved my hands freely but hit nothing, as if the space was bigger than what my arm could reach, however, the mailbox is small, so there's no logical way that this is possible.

After moving my hand around for a bit, I touched something cold and metallic, it also had a wooden feeling in some places.

I grabbed it and pulled it outside the mailbox.

*Ding*

------------------

Package successfully claimed.

------------------

(0) Mail.

------------------

Then, the screens vanished since I removed my other hand from the gem on the top of the mailbox. My attention focused on the item in my hand.

After I retrieved it from the mailbox, I could feel it better, and a quick inspection already give away what it is.

A handgun.

"…"

"Do you like your gift?" – The Guide broke the silence and reminded me that I was still on a call.

Taking in a deep breath, I moved my hands around the handgun, or a hand cannon, since the size is more on the medium one to be a simple handgun.

After finding the chamber, I tried a few things and found out how to open it.

Putting my fingers on the chamber, I slid them, passing the holes where the bullets go in.

'8.' – This gun came with 8 bullets and nothing else.

I took another deep breath.

"Yes, I like it very much. After all, which blind man wouldn't like a gun to use?" – I found myself spitting words drenched in sarcasm at the Guide.

"It seems like you're getting used to it, huh. Well, that's good. Now then, you have a night to survive, Mr. Klaux. I wish you a good night. May your night be one with a beautiful moon."

"Wai-" – I wanted to ask about the mystical arts, but I was too late.

"Tu…tu…tu…tu…" – The Guide hung up before I could ask.

*Sigh*

Sighing, I put the hook back in place.

I already learned that the Guide wouldn't give me everything I wish, even if it is vital to my survival.

*Howl*

Another distant howl echoed.

And it was followed by distant bloody screams.

"Well, shit."

'This night is going to be a long one…'

--------------------------

A/N: Hello there, I hope you're having a wonderful day!

So, what did you guys think about the chapter?

Comment what you thought about this chapter. If you liked it or not, I want to read your opinions and interact more with you guys.

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Especially, comment what you think about the POV. Do you all prefer a narrative in 3rd person or in 1st person like this chapter? By the way, comment your opinions on reading the POV of a blind character. This will help me in understanding if you like this kind of descriptive narrative or prefer one that only pick some details from the surroundings instead of the one I used.

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