Strangers in a Dark Chamber

Before I lost my consciousness, I remember myself high up in the air, falling straight into a huge worm's mouth as it was about to gobble me up.

Yes. It is I, the Death Goddess. Nowadays though, I am just referred to by the name that had been given to me, Aoi.

Anyway, while I have all the tools I need to end the creature's life at that moment, I have spent so much of my reserves earlier that I can't move my lower body, which made it possible for the worm to turn the tide in its favor.

I was tossed in the air to be eaten up...or so I thought.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the middle of a dark and cold chamber, lying down in a concave nest shaped like a shallow saucer. Baffled, I then inspected my surroundings and to my surprise, found many similar-looking nests scattered all around.

'What are these nests for?' I asked myself. Why am I here, and why that worm didn't kill and ate me when it still had a chance? Ugh, I'm really disappointed.

With those thoughts in mind, I attempted to leave the nest I was in. Although my legs are still numb and my arms aren't strong enough, the sustained rage burning inside me made it possible for me to drag myself out of the thing in such a short time. After all, I am still the Death Goddess—even though my powers aren't the same level as they were, the hate flowing in my veins cannot and will never run out.

Right. I need no other humans to do things for me to live. I can take care of myself.

"...Even so, where in the world am I..."

Looking around, I noticed that the small, white crystals studded on the walls of this chamber each give off a faint light. Their combined luminescence allowed me to see the large tunnels leading to places I have no idea of, all radiating from this single chamber.

Hmm...could it be that this place...

I crawled to the nearest nest I could find, looking to see what's inside it. At this point, my pure white one-piece dress has been already covered in dirt, but I didn't give it much thought as confirming my assumptions are far more important than that. I climbed the nest, and I found...

"...Is...is that...a leg?"

No doubt about it: it is a human leg and a female human's leg at that! Unlike most people who grimace and vomit at the sight of a severed leg still in its early stages of decomposition, I don't have such weakness. Rather, I found it funny that there's something like this in here...

Wait. If this leg is still rotting then that means—

Gugugugugugugugu—

"...This is bad, I need to take cover," I said to myself as I felt vibrations on the ground. Quickly I slid right inside the same nest where I found the leg and lie down with my body curled in a fetal position, pretending to be still unconscious. Even with my eyes closed, I could still determine what going on based on the changes in the flow of life force in the environment.

Not long after that, a huge creature came from one of the tunnels. It's a huge worm, possibly the same worm that almost ate me, coming back from the surface with not just one, but two new victims. The worm dropped the two into a nest not far away from where I am currently hiding, then slithered away through another tunnel to hunt more victims, I think.

'I get it now...so that's how I got in here, huh?' I thought to myself. I assume that this worm doesn't eat its prey immediately, and prefers instead to eat it once it goes back to its nest. I say—I would do the same too if I am also that worm, for what's better to eat your meal than to have it in the comfort of your home.

Also...those two victims, are alive as far as I could tell. Their heartbeats aren't weak, a sign that both of them are still conscious when they get here, but one of them has this weird rhythm going on with his heart...which made me remind of something.

"Is that creature...gone already?"

"Yeah, I think so. Are you alright?"

"Mmm...I only received a few scratches, but overall I am fine and well. Ah—"

"What's wrong?"

"Your forehead...it is bleeding..."

Eh? Those voices have I already heard them somewhere? Curious, I opened my eyes and peeked a little from my hiding nest.

"There, there. Your forehead is all cleaned up."

"Even though you don't have to do it as I can heal my wounds quickly, you still had to use your precious handkerchief to wipe the blood off my face. You should be more concerned for yourself, you know?"

"A-After all, it is my fault that we were almost eaten up by that huge creature. You risked your life to save this pitiful lady, thus I am repaying the life I owe with everything I have..."

WHAAAAATTTT?!?! W-W-Why in the world are those two here? Aren't they supposed to continue on their journey even without me? How did they end up being caught also by the worm?!

From this spot, I could see what those two are doing inside the nest. Both of them are acting like they already erased all their memories of me that quick, especially that person.

So that's how it is, huh?! Despite all the times we've spent together, despite all the struggles we've faced, it all takes a moment for you to there all of it away? Unbelievable! He really is the worst!!!

"B-By 'everything'...even a kiss would do? Just kidding, haha."

"W-Weh?! B-But, um, if that is what you want, then..."

Before I knew it, they were already looking closely at each other, their faces a palm's length away. The lady, mustering her courage, slowly moved her head even closer as she closed her eyes and...—

"...Hmmmmm?! Ah—"

Ah, this is bad—I accidentally leaked out my voice! Damn it, what are they planning to do this time?!

"Wait, did you hear that, Lerish?" that person asked the lady.

"E-Eh?! N-No, I have not heard anything!"

"That's strange. I'm sure I heard something coming from over there."

Before I realized it, I sensed from my hiding place that his heartbeat is slowly getting stronger and stronger, a sign that he's walking towards my position.

Oh no, no, no! He will gonna find me! At my current state, I can't use any more of my powers to create a concealing void around myself, so I'm at the mercy of this man whether he finds me or not.

"There's nothing here and nothing there as well. So the only nest that's left is..."

"—?!"

The moment he's about to look into the nest where I'm at, I—

"Should we use this time to find the way back to the surface instead, Ren?" the lady suggested at the last moment.

"Nn, great idea!" that person agreed, his face only a small portion of it visible from my point of view. He then quickly returned to where the lady is, helping her to stand up.

Woooh, that was close. I can't imagine how smug that person's face will be if he sees me in the state...

"By the way, before we leave, those nests...I haven't looked at them all, but I'm worried that there are worm eggs in some of them. Should we deal with them somehow?"

Eh? What are you saying all of a sudden?! I can tell you, we are the only ones here that are alive!

Confused, the lady replied, "Although I have my reservations about killing wild creatures, especially the young, seeing those piles of bones in some of the nests made me feel sorry for those victims. If I were to permit you to destroy them then I would say yes, do what you want to destroy them all."

"Okay!" That person said happily.

In my hiding place, I started wondering how he will deal with things that doesn't exist at all. I never knew he was this paranoid, even though I lived with him for a very long time.

Woooh...also, is it just me or the air is getting drier in here? Not only that, but the nest when I'm in feels hotter and hotter every second as if I'm being cooked—

UUUWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

"E-EH?! M-Miss Aoi?!!"

I, whose legs are limp until now, unknowingly managed to jump out of the nest that was already covered in flames and landed on the ground face first and my butt raised, probably exposing my panties in the process. Damn it! This is so embarrassing...

Surprised by my sudden appearance, the lady quickly approached me and asked:

"M-Miss Aoi, are you alright...?!"

"...Do I look like I'm alright I'm your eyes?! Of course, I'm not!"

Panicking, she replied, "M-My apologies, I will help you now...Ren, why would you do that? You almost burned Miss Aoi!"

Meanwhile, the person who started the fire doesn't even look sorry for what he did, instead of glancing at me from the side with a smirk on his face.

"So~rry. I thought it was a worm egg. My bad, my bad."

"Ren?!"

Hmph, if this is the game you want then just wait...I will return the favor ten, hundred, no—a thousandfold next time!

-----

When Lerish and I were spat out into this dark chamber below the ground, we expected to see bones of animals and victims that fell prey to that huge worm. Well, there are plenty of them alright, but I didn't expect to find some bratty girl in here as well.

How did we end up here, one might ask. Well, it's no mystery that the worm brought us here. We were caught by one of its mouths, ad swallowed us whole. While inside its mouth I made sure to enclose ourselves in an air pocket large enough to fit the two of us, s that we won't suffocate.

Wait—one correction, before I continue. I said that we were caught, but in reality, it's more than that. How do I say it...Lerish and I didn't put up any resistance when we faced the worm.

Yes, that's right—we intentionally let ourselves be swallowed by the worm. After making sure the carriage and the horses are in a safe spot, both of us presented ourselves in front of the worm, and the rest is history.

But, why? Well, it's because...

"...You encountered a note lying somewhere?"

"Yes, Miss Aoi," Lerish answered, carrying the girl on her back as we traversed one of the tunnels. "The note we found did not provide a way for us to find what we are looking for, but rather an idea on what kind of a place this is."

The note, when I first found it pinned under a fallen crystal pillar while we were continuing on our journey, contained text written in a language I couldn't understand. Fortunately for us, Lerish knew what language it is, and was able to translate it for me.

"This place...is an amalgam of both reality and illusion. The person who wrote the note claimed that there are places here that are real and places that looked and felt too real. He also stated, that only by looking at what the sun cannot reach one could be able to discern the two realms."

"And I—after looking around for that specific place for a few minutes, realized that there's one place that fits that description in this flat and barren land. I looked down, and said to Lerish, 'this is it, we have to go deeper.'"

"...So that's why you let yourselves be caught alone by that worm? I can tell if you're making an elaborate lie or not," the girl refuted the narrative.

"No one's forcing you to believe what we found," I said. "Well, how about you then? How did someone like you end up here?"

Clearing her throat, she replied, "...I-I, I fell in a hole somewhere..."

"Hmm? Then why do your clothes have that fishy smell? Aren't you also swallowed by that worm just like us?"

"...Uwah?! Sniff...sniff...that's not true! Your the one who's smelling fishy here!"

"Diverting the accusation, I see..."

"Haaah. Just as when I thought we could reunite once more..."

Lerish, feeling somewhat tired, couldn't help but sigh as she tried to ease the tension between us.

After a few minutes of walking, we reached another underground chamber. Unlike the last one, this one is dome-shaped, having a diameter about the length of an Olympic-sized pool, and the walls are embedded with large crystals placed in such a way that they form rings around the chamber. On the other side, there is a single tunnel, which connects this place to other chambers.

"This chamber...I have never seen a place such as this before in my life," Lerish muttered with fascination.

"...Well, now you do," the little girl spoke with disinterest.

'Can't you be more of a brat?' I almost said to her. Ugh, she's been like that ever since anyway, nothing much will change even if I told her that.

"...So, how are you going to prove what the note said?"

"I am not sure, Miss Aoi. The author of the note did not provide any evidence to back up his claim, so I am taking what the note said with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, I cannot help but think that is the case, given the circumstances."

"...Tch. That's stupid, I'm telling you."

While Lerish is explaining things to the brat, I started touching one of the crystals nearby. To the touch, it doesn't feel any different to me, other than the fact that it's hella smooth. I tried rubbing it a few times with my palm, and I can already feel the tiny hairs on my hands rise due to the static electricity building up.

"Look, when I place my hand above your head, your hair will rise like this."

"U-Unbelievable! How did you know about this?" Lerish said in excitement.

"Nothing much, I just learned about it as I grew up."

Wanting to try it for herself, Lerish also began rubbing the crystal with her palm. Not too long after that, even the little girl joined in on the party, touching the one slightly above the one we're rubbing.

"Ren, look—the crystal..."

"Nn."

As we kept on rubbing the crystal, the static electricity we are making caused it to glow slightly brighter and quickly return to normal once we stop. All the crystals exhibited the same reaction, proving that this is not an isolated case.

"If there is a way for us to make all of these crystals glow brighter simultaneously and continuously, what do you think will happen afterward?"

"At the very least this place will get brighter; other than that, I'm not sure."

While our attention was fully occupied with the crystals, the earth started to shake again. Knowing the cause of such tremors, we quickly prepared ourselves for another encounter with the worm.

"...So we've met again, you vile creature. This time, one of us has to fall."

While the little girl is trying to provoke the worm, a wild thought came suddenly into my mind. Looking at the worm's size, I couldn't help but feel bewildered at how ridiculous of an idea that is.

Yep, I think I know what we're doing next.