Ch. 8 Tomb of The Undead King Pt. 2

As Orion made his way through the tomb, he found himself encountering one obstacle after the next. It seemed as though the entire structure had been designed as a gauntlet of death, a maze of unspeakable horrors waiting for the unwary adventurer.

So far, Orion had managed to dodge the dangers lurking within the tomb. It was easy with Qece continuing her scan, though she grew quite irritable.

"OOOOOOOO!" Qece yelled, her voice sounding exhausted as she plopped down in her projection, looking at Orion with pleading eyes. "Can't we take a break? This scan is so annoying," She complained as Orion entered another room filled with traps.

"What can I say Qece, I'm a perfectionist, once I start something I can't stop until it's done," He said with a shrug, enjoying tormenting the AI.

"Maybe if you were a perfectionist about school instead you wouldn't be such a jackass," Qece retorted, looking up and seeing Orion smiling as he dodged a flurry of crossbow bolts.

"Sounds like you're projecting," He answered, throwing a silver disk at the walls, exploding them with a simple command. 

"I just think you could do for some sunlight, you're starting to look pale ma-" Qece's voice shut off as she was talking. Mute mode Orion liked to call it, was a function he purposely made for her.

"Hey Qece, I've been meaning to ask, what happened to your twin?" He said, looking at a row of multicolored levers at the end of the room. With no door in sight, he had to guess they were the only way out.

"You mean Sarah? She..." Qece got quiet, this time not because of mute mode. "I'm not sure, I assumed she'd return to her home chip with Aria's death, but she's nowhere here in your data chip."

Orion nodded. The mysteries grew by the second, and his questions grew with them. Why had one AI returned yet the other was nowhere to be found? If he figured that out, perhaps clues to what happened with Aria Evergreen and his brother could be found.

"So what do you think Qece? The same colored levers should be pulled to reach the next room. Or opposites?" Orion asked, looking at the ten levers with curiosity.

"Who knows, it's too random and there's no information on the internet about this place..."

Orion nodded, shrugging as he tapped his chest, a bubble forming around him as his eyes glowed. He moved his hand down, pulling all the levers at the same time and...

Nothing happened.

Orion let out a breath, surprising Qece. "Were you anxious O?" She asked in her teasing voice.

"Maybe a bit..." He whispered as the middle of the wall split open perfectly between the ten levers, slowly opening like an advanced doorway.

Jack, or his manifestation in Orion's mind, stood next to the levers, keeping his distance as his face was stone cold, saw the doorway, looking at it angrily. "Be careful with your steps Orion."

"Where are you Jack? You seem to know everything that's going on."

"Not here... That's for you to figure out. I can't interfere anymore than this. Just be prepared for some disgusting things... Because from here on out you're in the true tomb..."

The wall revealed a staircase. It was dark, but not the same as before. Even Orion's night mode he'd built into his eyes couldn't pierce the darkness. It was like it was tangible.

"I see..." He said, looking back and seeing Jack had disappeared once again. "Wish me luck I guess."

Orion stepped into the doorway, on the second stair the wall closed hard, the vibration humming under Orion's feet.

"This place is strange. I couldn't hear the door shut even though it was right behind me..." Orion said quietly, an eery feeling creeping into his body as he continued down the long staircase...

Meanwhile, Zephyr had reached the entrance, sweaty and annoyed that Orion wasn't there to greet him.

"God, I should have known a 17-year-old boy wouldn't be able to resist exploring on his own," Zephyr cursed, throwing down his sack and ripping off his jacket, revealing the perfectly sculpted body of a seasoned adventurer. 

Zephyr rushed into the cave, running even faster. 'I can't let him reach old world!'

...

Orion wasn't one to feel sick. He'd never been sick a day in his life. But as he descended those dark steps into the abyss, his stomach churned.

"What is this?" He thought aloud, unable to feel any of his augments anymore, his rune tattoos dark and dormant.

"Weird," Orion muttered, his body feeling cold. He'd never been cold before, he never felt much of anything before.

Orion followed Jack's instructions, carefully walking down the steps.

"Something about this place is messing with me," Orion thought as he stumbled a bit. He felt something was tugging at his shirt, it was like a child pulling it as he walked. He shook his head, shrugging the strange feeling off as he continued his descent.

It wasn't long until his stomach growled, as loud as if he hadn't eaten for days. His throat felt dry and scratchy, and his eyelids were drooping with a need for sleep.

These were all sensations Orion had never felt, hunger, drowsiness, pain. It was all new to him, and he hated it.

"You sssshould sstop," A voice said right into Orion's ear, hundreds of red dots piercing through the darkness.

Claws tore into Orion's back, searing hot pain bursting through his body.

As he turned, his reflexes a million times slower than they had ever been, he felt thin long claws stab into his back, ripping at his flesh like a dog rips at dirt, digging deep into the center.

Orion's body felt hot as he stumbled down the dark steps, tripping and falling the rest of the way until he reached the bottom, bleeding out and trying to breath.

The light came back, and hundreds of the Zom's from earlier looked at him from all sides, frothing at the mouth, their eyes red and their skin a variation of bright colors.

'Is this… How I die?' Orion thought to himself as they dragged him down the hallway…

After what felt like hours, he was thrown down in the center of a dark room. It was a relief that this was normal darkness, and not the solid state of the shadows in the steps.

"So you're the one who's been blowing up my tomb?" A young sounding voice said in front of him. 

If Orion had any feeling left in his body, he'd look at the man talking to him, but since his body had clearly gone into shock, he stayed still and just listened.

"I don't appreciate you destroying my home, got anything to say for yourself young sorcerer?"

Orion cringed, forcing his body to move and finally setting eyes on captor.

"F… Fu… Fuck you," he forced out, his teeth chattering.

He couldn't quite see the man speaking to him, but he could tell he was pissed.

His pain seared again, as if the wounds were being freshly cut into him. He didn't scream, but he really wanted too.

"This is why I hate humans, they destroy everything and try and make me out to be the bad guy. Like all these guys…" 

The Zom's groaned, hundreds of them in unison, making Orion more uncomfortable than he already was.

The pain subsided slowly, and he found the strength to talk. 

"So are you the undead king?" He asked, trying to communicate with his systems and failing miserably.

"That's one of my names yes, but I've had many names. The once and future king, Arthur, The prince of power, but that one is my favorite, The Undead King."

"King Arthur? You mean like the children's book? I think old society had movies about him, but that's impossible, since you're a myth."

"What is a myth if not a story based on the truth?" The Undead King asked, waving his hand, the pain searing into Orion once again.

"You're very cocky boy, I control your pain, and I can cease it and enhance it however I please."

Orion wasn't able to talk again, realizing the truth of the matter, he'd only been able to because of this supposed King Arthur.

"So..." Orion said a few minutes later when the pain subsided. "Let's say you are the mythical king Arthur... Care to lift this darkness?" Oion asked, still frustrated his systems were offline.

He'd grown to rely on those augments he'd put in himself, without them he felt... Normal.

"Uhh... Yes sure..." Arthur said nervously.

Orion's heart sped up, uneasiness was something he could work with, he'd been making people uneasy since he was born.

"What's wrong? You ugly?" He asked, smiling as he heard the stuttering voice of The King. It was thrilling, Orion suddenly felt as if he had all the power.

"You should shut the hell up," The King said, his voice shaking. "If this were an execution, your parents would be begging for mercy on your behalf."

The smile on Orion's face only grew. "Alright then."

Orion managed to stand, stretching as he looked in the direction of the king.

"I think I figured it out, your power I mean."

The darkness let up, revealing the king sitting on his throne, his figure deformed. He had blond hair and piercing green eyes, but his skin was the color of mud, and half of his face had decayed, revealing bone underneath the discolored skin.

"All it is... Is magic," Orion finished, his eyes glowing as he spread his arms, the darkness fully dispersing as The king looked angry, and a little scared.

"Time for some fun..."