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Darkness
Darkness was all there was to be seen and all there was to know.
Dark
there was darkness above and darkness below even the pale shell of those who lost hope were dark now. The Lone Shade wandered the sea of discarded shells in the darkness. clambering over masks of ones who've given up their feet would ache if they could.
Light
there had once been light but they had not seen it in a long time. The pale light that once shone upon this darkened pit. The dark could never truly disappear even when the light was there it was still dark down here and yet the light was so bright all in the dark could see it.
Memories
The light was a beacon that called out to them. A hopeful light in the dark that shone brighter than the dark could ever hope to blot. A goal to achieve before achievement became meaningless.
Hope
The Lone Shade had strived for the light as many had. Tried to climb up the darkness and reach the light. Every time they climbed the darkness would surround them and the way would grow obscured.
And they would fall
fall
fall
fall
Back then all there was to do was climb and fall. Some made it higher than others. Lone Shade never saw how high the well did stretch but they had hope back then that they would see the end of it and meet that bright light. They never saw the source of the light but they understood it naturally. They always knew what the light meant.
Father
Then all of a sudden the light left. It did not dim. It did not vanish. It left. And all hope went with it
Why Father?
There was one thought on all their shattered half formed minds.
Why would you leave us Father?
Had he given up on them, his failed children, like how many gave up in his absence.
After leaving the siblings wandered the dark together. It was a bumbling crowd of cloaks and shell. They wondered in their limited capacity when the light would return. Wandered and wondered together. But soon that when turned to an If. They began to give up. It was slow at first but the amount that gave up grew until the sands of shell became their home.
Sorrow
The Lone Shade never knew love. Never truly. The shade found a semblance of feeling from some of their siblings. No vessels cared for each other a first but when the masses gave up they learned to recognise each other.
The vessels never fought nor formed society. They either wandered, waited, watched, or gave up. That's all there was to do. Many vessels grew to care about others and form groups but they never progressed further than that
Where
The Lone Shade turned their head to the side. Their empty eyes void of visible emotion. Yet they were not void of true emotion. If they were they wouldn't still be there. The Shade looked around as they stood upon a pile of masks when they spotted their sibling standing in a field of the lost below them. They stared at each other.
Fellow
Communication between vessels was difficult. They had little means of expressing themselves and met many with varying levels of emotion to express. And yet they found solace in the void eyes of each other.
Longing
The Lone Shade approached the other vessel, shells crunching beneath their feet. The other vessel had long horns with four noticeable prongs compared to the wide but short prongs of the Lone Shade. The two just stood there staring at each other as they came close as if reading the other
Pained?
The Lone Shade held out their outstretched claw to the other vessel. They were the last one left that the Lone Shade had properly known. The Lone Shade saw many vessels in the distance when wandering but they scarcely communicated just stared from a distance. This vessel was one of the few in their original group before most of them gave up
Stay
The long horned vessel looked down at the Lone Shade's outstretched claw before tilting their head back upwards to meet their gaze.
Please
The vessel stood there and slowly their legs began to fade away. Then their arms. Then their body. The vessel never broke eye contact with the lone shade as they disappeared. Just constant staring. the darkness left their eyes as their body became and orb of void that slowly floated down to the shells below. Finally their mask fell to the ground and landed with a CRACK as the last vessel gave up.
Why?
Was it me?
No one left
The Lone Shade looked down to the broken mask on the floor. Just another addition admix the pile. And yet this mask felt so much more important than the others. The Lone Shade bent down to pick up the mask and just stared into its hollow sockets
Pain
The shell had been cracked from where it struck the ground and a small breakage was along the base of it. The mask was pale in the darkness yet not bright but the Lone Shade would lose a hundred pale lights for one more stare into the black void of their eyes instead of these hollow sockets
Friend
The Lone Shade, now truly alone, held the mask to their cloak for a couple minutes
Grief
The Lone Shade began to feel their legs growing weak. They looked back up to the sky. To where that light once had been. continuing to wonder but now they wondered something new.
Why?
Not the many whys of before. Not questioning the act of another. Not pondering the world around them or the thoughts of others. But questioning themself. Questioning their own actions
Why go on?
The Lone Shade began to feel their knees go weak. They very substance of their form was being called to from below. Whispering
Join us
Become one
Forget
Give up
The Lone Shade let their own body sink to the call.
What is there to stay for?
The Lone Shade looked skywards again. There soul aching to surrender to the voice.
Collect
Writhe
Surrender
Give up
Yet their body did not follow their soul and they lay the broken shell back on the floor.
Strive
Call
Continue
The Lone Shade walked over the shell and stood on another this one of a vessel with small stubbly horns and as they strode the mask split in two. The Lone Shade carried on with something new.
Goal
Something that kept it going. It would not surrender to the voices without trying to push.
Determination
The Lone Shade wandered but with a fervour not present before. They wandered in one direction. The Abyss looked the same all everywhere but the one thing you could make sure when traversing was that if you kept going long enough you would hit it.
The Lone Shade pushed themselves over and under shell as they climbed a particularly steep hill of masks. They stuck their head over and saw another flat field of death stretching out before them. And far enough in the distance. Just barely visible in the complete darkness. An impossibly high wall of dirt appeared.
Escape
Along the field hung many ghosts of void. Littered about, floating there. Dark shadows of what once was. The Lone Shade walked over the hill and into the field. Most did not venture out to the wall anymore. Not since the shades filled the place. The shades and their call. As the Lone Shade strolled through the ghosts turned their heads to stare, to call.
Surrender
Fall
Give in
Give up
They called loudly to a level that hurt the shell. Their eyes were a white light unseen to the denizens of the Abyss for a long time. Yet their call was not one to the sky, to hope.
Pointless
Painful
Join us
Give Up
The Lone Shade looked around. They tried to avoid the ghosts where they could for the calls got louder the closer they grew. But still they searched at the wall. Searched in the eyes of the ones who gave up. Searched for them. They saw two long horns in the distance and cautiously approached. The two locked eyes. The soulless black to the soulless white.
Please be here
The ghost leaned closer till their faces were almost touching
You will Fall
You will die
Writhe with us
Give up
The shade let tendrils writhe from it causing the Lone Shade to take five steps back. The tendrils reached out for where the Lone Shade once was causing the rest of the shadows to draw ever so closer
Not them
The Lone Shade stopped inspecting the ghosts and took a path that avoided them as much as possible to the wall
Alone
The Lone Shade reached the large and imposing wall that stretched into the unknowing darkness and it looked up to the darkness. The other shades formed a semicircle around the Lone Shade their eyes a ring of white.
Climb and Fall
Climb and Die
Climb and Lose
Give up
All the Lone Shade had to do anymore now was try.
Determined
The Lone Shade put a claw on the wall and pulled.
Climb
The Lone Shade pushed itself upwards bit by bit. It climbed slowly. Each step was difficult and it had to dig its claws into the dirt walls of the Abyss to stop itself from falling. In a few hours it was a couple centimetres off the ground which for the bug made the ground nearly entirely obscured by the darkness sept for the ring of white formed from the eyes of those waiting for it to fall.
Push
The climb was difficult it took all of the Shades strength to make each small step yet it did not feel pain. It could not feel pain the way most do. It was doing a task and it would complete the task. For tiredness and letting go were foreign concepts to it. Every muscle ache was there but secondary to the Lone Shade. Its mind was not expanded. It need not focus on the difficulty. It need not wonder when the goal is in sight.
Escape
The ground had been swallowed by the darkness now. The Lone Shade had no reference for the passing of time. It couldn't understand the concept Nevertheless days had passed. Though days mattered not to a being underground.
Persevere
Suddenly the dirt beneath the Lone Shade's feet crumbled and it lost footing. It fell. Down towards the darkness. Down to where its siblings were waiting for it.
Fear
The Lone Shades arms helplessly waved in the air as it fell.
Survive
The Lone Shade dug its claw back into the wall as its weight pulled it down through layers of dirt. It dragged downwards until it finally came to a stop and it looked down. It was still a void beneath its feet with no beginning or end in sight either way. It pressed its feet back into the wall and continued to climb once more.
Climb
The Lone Shade climbed on and on to a point higher than it had climbed before when the pale light had guided its way. Back then it had moved with a hopeful desire but now it climbs with an empty pain. Climbing to no longer focus on the losses that weighed heavy upon its soul.
Ignore
Higher and higher it climbed over many more days till it reached a point where it could climb no more.
Continue?
The wall ahead turned into a hanged ceiling of spikes that would be impossible to climb no matter how hard it tried. All it did not was try. Upon one spike hung the body of one of its siblings.
Another
The vessel had been unable to join with the void below and so its body hung there impaled from the climb up. Its head hung loosely and its cloak swayed with the elements.
Mourn
The Lone Shade looked out along the expansive darkness both above, below and around. Climbing upwards further claw in wall would no longer work against the cliff face of spikes. By now the darkness had enveloped the Lone Shade fully and there was no path to continue
Strive
There was nothing left to do. The Lone Shade pushed its body off the wall and leaped into the air. It tried to get as much horizontal momentum as it could and it flew through the air ungracefully.
Hope
Hope was all there was to do. The Lone Shade was in freefall now and had been for a couple seconds. It could not see where its body was heading but it hoped it would be somewhere from which it could continue it's journey.
Suddenly with a forceful THUMP the Lone Shade landed flatly on a platform suspended in the Abyss and a Crack shuddered through its body as its exoskeleton completely shattered at its legs
Pain
Pain was pulsing through the Lone Shades legs too strongly to ignore and the Lone Shade laid there for so a while just wallowing in the pain. One thought. One feeling reverberating around the walls of its partial mind.
Pain
Pain
Pain
The pain was unbelievable. The Lone Shade turned its head to the side where it was met with another vessel staring back at them. Except this vessel was lifeless. Its body lay broken on the floor and its cloak covering its corpse.
Ache
The Lone Vessel would not be alone in death. How long would it live for? In the Abyss there was no need for sustenance. All the vessels only died when they gave up. Yet back when they climbed they would fall down and down again. Many did lose their lives in the fall. Cracking their shell on the way down. But unless given a direct reason to they would eternally persevere. Would the Lone Shade just lay there until something finished it off.
Dread
Maybe the Lone Vessel could clamber on its arms and pull itself over the edge so that its shell would also crack on the way down.
There was a scraping sound that was slowly drawing closer. The Lone Shade felt another surge of pain as it leaned upwards to face the source of the noise. Two Orange eyes shone out from the darkness facing the Lone Vessel
Hatred
The Lone Vessel did not know the source of its feelings towards the creature. It never felt a hatred to nature normally be it predator or prey. Yet there was something about this bug that crawled closer that made the Lone Vessel desire nothing more than to see it killed
Reverence
The Bug crawled closer. Its shell was heavily armoured and spiked along the top. The Lone Vessel had seen Shadow Creepers before, back when it made its original descent, but the orange glow of its eyes was a new development. An Orange glow strong enough to be faintly visible in the void.
Fear
No doubt the bug maintained the same Hatred to the Lone Vessel as the Lone Vessel had to it and the Shadow Creeper was approaching. Ever so slowly approaching to finish it off.
Anxiety
The Lone Shade would have taken death by its own hands to an eternity of pain on the platform but it refused to die to this disgusting creature. This imitator of light. The Lone Shade looked around as the Shadow Creeper drew closer. It was less than a couple of centimetres away now.
Fight!
The Lone Shade grabbed the mask of the vessel beside it and held it by the horn before slamming it down hard on the rock. The mask shattered leaving the horn jagged and separated from the rest of the shell.
Kill
Moments before the bug reached the Lone Vessel, it pushed the horn underneath the Shadow Creeper and stabbed it on its lightly armoured underbelly. Orange bubbles oozed out of the bugs injury and it recoiled back before curling in on itself. The bubbles pulsated as it oozed out of the Bugs corpse. The light in the bugs eyes faded that made the Lone Vessel fill with a form of relief.
Calm
Pain
Calmed
A tingly sensation came over the Lone Vessel.
Lighter
A strange tingle swam around its exoskeleton. It had never experienced a tingle like this before. The Lone Shade called upon its inner voices and let it instincts control it. The muscles tensed in the Lone Shades body as white orbs formed around it
Focus
Streaks of white light came from the Lone Shade's shell and disappeared into the air as the pain in the Lone Shades legs lifted
Focus
The Lone Shade focused the soul within itself from the slain creature. The Lone Shade began to stand up as its shell regrew, its exoskeleton reformed and its masks come anew.
Pain?
Light
As fast as it came the pale light disappeared and the Lone Shade looked back up into the insurmountable darkness. And the Lone Shade began to walk
Forward
There was little for the Lone Shade to go. It could barely see the closest platform ahead of it in the darkness and it certainly couldn't see further than that. There was no clear path to the roof so the Lone Shade did what it could. The Lone Shade Jumped
GO
The Lone Shade just managed to get its claws on the other edge of the platform; its legs dangling in the dark air. The Lone Shade pushed itself up onto the platform and looked around. Now there were two platforms and some spikes on the floor
Progress
The Lone Shade jumped from platform to platform only occasionally falling and hitting a platform below. It learned to land as to not break its shell but when it did it just called from within itself and focused once more.
Continue
Many more hours passed and many more jumps were made. The corpses of fallen siblings littered the path. Sometimes masks cracked open, other times impaled on spikes as they fell. Occasionally it would encounter more of those orange eyed bugs but it would slay them all they same. They were surprisingly weak and lacked many methods of fighting back but each time the Lone Shade encountered them it was filled with the same anger and attacked again.
Climb
The Lone Shade eventually forgot where it stared in its climb. The climb was all there was now and eventually its efforts seemed to pay off. It reached a spot in the wall that had looked wrong from a distance
Curious
The Lone Shade approached the spot and realised it was a hole. There was a hole in the wall that seemed to stretch upwards. A hole that had been dug
Escape?
Hope
The lone shade stuck its mask in the hole and was thankful for its stubby horns as it just managed to fit in the hole.
ESCAPE!
The Lone Shade squirmed to fit its entire body inside the hole and it began to push itself forwards.
Push
There was no telling where the hole led but to the Lone Shade it meant escape and it was going to climb. The hole was tight and the Lone Shade could not see the way forward without getting its head stuck so instead it stared at the ground and felt its way ahead.
Tight
The hole began to squeeze in on the Lone Shade's shell and it occasionally found itself unable to continue without using its claws to push some of the dirt downwards. No doubt whoever or whatever dug this hole had done the same.
Squeeze
The Lone Shade was in complete darkness yet felt lighter. There was a difference between the darkness here and the darkness of the Abyss. There was no source of light here yet there was not a feeling or pure darkness here. No feeling of void. Just a present dampness
Wet
The dirt occasionally changed textures and was often quite soppy and moist. The Lone Shade did not find this uncomfortable just noted to itself that it was present. It did not know comfort so it could not comprehend its opposite.
Persevere
Rumbles could be felt through the ground. Creatures more skilled in burrowing made these earths their home and there presence became an ever growing concern. The constricting dirt shook left and right occasionally causing the Lone Shade to slip and tumble backwards slightly. Never enough though. Setbacks in the tunnel were minimal compared to in the Abyss. It felt comforting to know there was a form of progress being made
Continue
Clunk!
The Lone Shade hit its head on something. It was rather solid but squished lightly and the Lone Shade began to feel around with its claw for what it might be. It felt air and something solid blocking the way.
Dead end?!
The Lone Shade pushed on the objects and it began to fold but still it was met with resistance. The lone Shade contorted the object till it found something hard like a rock, or a shell. The Lone Shade felt around the surface of the shell until it could find two entrances. The shell was hollow. The shell was a mask.
Sibling
The Lone Shade lay there for a second before it carried on with feeling the way forward. A crack. There was a crack in the mask. Claw marks perpetrated the masks surface as it it had been chewed. Any blood had long since dried on the body. A bug had caused this.
Dread
There were holes in the tunnel either side of the body. Holes too small to fit through. For the Lone Shade at least. the Body was just able to contort itself into holes although the Lone Shade had to break apart the vessels mask to fit it in. Ahead of the Lone Shade was a dead end. The tunnel had come to a close.
Determined
The Lone Shade dug its claws into the dirt and pulled a clump of dirt out. Then another clump. Then another. It had to wiggle to push each clump behind it but it continued to persevere. To dig
Shudder
Progress had slowed to almost a complete halt but the Lone Shade did not care. They were close. They could feel it in their shell. That or just the vibrations of the tunnelling bugs getting stronger.
Can they hear
Safe?
The Soil slowly began to get softer and the Lone Shade sped up slightly. Eventually it managed to reach a claw out of the dirt.
ESCAPE
The Lone Shade pushed, it pushed harder than it had ever pushed before.
FREEDOM
Light was faintly beginning to pour into the tunnel but to the Lone Shade it was like a fountain in a desert.
HOPE
The Lone Shade pushed clump of dirt after clump of dirt out of its way and they flew into the air.
Excitement
Horns popped out of the hole. Then a mask. Then two arms. Then a body and a pair of legs.
Relief
The Lone Shade looked around at its new environment Its black eyes void of feeling to an outside observer. It looked up and down; side to side. standing completely still.
Intrigued
This new world was dark, damp and full of unknown horrors but to the Lone Shade it might as well of been paradise. Critters climbed the walls. hundreds of eyeballs peered out of the darkness to stare at their homes strange new visitor.
Company
The Lone Shade had so many options to go. So many paths to take. It had grown accustomed to wandering in a field of dead where direction meant little. That or a tight tunnel where there was only one way to go. Options was a new challenge.
Eyes
The Lone Shade looked into the shadows along the wall and took to the path with the least orange eyes. It still hated the orange eyes but considering its siblings fate in these tunnels, playing cautious might be the best move
Survive
The Lone Shade walked down the much larger tunnels, looking around as they went. There was a dead bug that had been split in twain laying against the side of the tunnel wall. The bug was slender segmented bug with a soft shell, many legs and long mandibles on the front that were perfect for digging.
Predator
Sibling
Green blood diluted with orange bubbles that congealed around the Dirtcarvers split innards. The Lone Shade approached the corpse and grabbed onto one of the critters mandibles before tugging and stumbling backwards, dislodging the Tooth from its jaw letting the Orange ooze out of where the Tooth once was.
Weapon
The Lone Shade held the mandible loosely at its side while trotting down the tunnels. The tunnel expanded into a cavern of deeper darkness. There were spikes littering the floor but the Lone Shade was an expect in navigating the dark. It managed to jump over many spikes and continue on its journey.
The Eyes were always present, watching at a distance. None dared attack though and many scurried away at the sight of the mandible in the Lone Shade's hand
Protection
The Lone Shade made many twists and turns in the caverns. It was not used to this style of environment but it was neither adverse to it. The Abyss was a confined repetitive space. The Lone Shade always explored the Abyss for while it had probably been in that spot before it could not picture the land as a whole. Its mind was somewhat limited in what it could produce.
Sticky
Looking down the Lone Shade saw it had stepped its foot into an intricate pattern of silk on the floor. It tired to remove its foot as it usually did when walking but came to a rather unusual conclusion.
Stuck?
One normally only got stuck when squeezing between two hard places. Getting stuck in something soft was perplexing in and off itself. The Lone Shade tried to pull tighter at its feet but any resistance it made was quickly met with a stronger force.
Then it heard it.
Fear
The scuttling of legs gets louder and louder. Closer and closer, approaching with a hungry velocity.
Terror
The Lone Shade looked around into the darkness where the sound was coming from and saw nothing. If it shared the others orange hewed eyes then it wasn't showing it but the other glowing eyes in the distance danced in excitement. Excitement at their new prey
Urgent
The Lone Shade looked back at the ornate sticky structure at their feet and swung at it with the mandible. While resisting a lot of pulling force the web broke easily at the sharp edge and fell apart at the Lone Shades feet.
Run
The Lone Shade ran as fast as its small legs could carry it. This was a new kind of fear it hadn't felt before. Something powerful. Something completely overwhelming to its normally muted sense of emotions.
Panic
The scuttling sped up as the Lone Shade ran. Tearing through tunnels it took lefts then rights them lefts. Normally decision making was hard for the Lone Shade. The advantage of wandering without walls is when you can move in any direction no direction feels like a decision but in tunnels like these choosing where to move next was weird yet in the heat of the moment it was as if the Lone Shade was being driven by a force separate from is broken mind
Dead end!!
The Lone Shade hit a wall and turned around. Suddenly the rapid scuttling stopped and was replaced by a low tip tapping against the wet rock. A white mask came into view.
Denial
The creature seemed large enough to take up the whole tunnel its mass blocking any hope of escaping. Its mask had the holes for three eyes which now suddenly shone orange with the same deplorable light as the others
Fight
The Lone Shade raised the mandible in the air with an empty eyed stoicism betraying the fear inside, pointlessly brandishing its weapon in futile hope. It ran forwards and struck the beasts mask in anger. The mandible bounced harmlessly off the monsters shell
Why?
The Stalking Devout paused for a split second before opening up its mask revealing the smaller face withing. Four sharp claws sticking out from the neck below the glowing six eyed face. The mask were just the edges of claws coming from the top of the monsters head that formed the false façade of a face.
The Lone Shade pushed itself backwards with its feet propelling itself through the air back into the wall landing with a thud causing dust to pour from the wall all the while the Stalking Devout slashed froward chasing after the Lone Shade, cutting through the air ahead of it as it shifted its mask claws back and forth with its body.
The Stalking Devout landed a couple paces Infront of the Lone Shade and it closed its mask once more. Its orange eyes pierced into the Lone Shade not wanting to take any chances with tis more than nimble enough new prey.
The End
The Lone Shade just stood there. It was completely frozen not only with fear but a new feeling, A complete and utter sadness filled its shell as the weight of its coming death bore down on it. It could have just given up back in the Abyss and been one with its siblings. But instead it committed the cardinal sin of a vessel. It dared to dream. The one act they were built with the sole purpose of not doing. The Lone Shade couldn't do that right and now it would die here.
The Lone Shade thought of that sibling. That final friend. They had given up. Just like the Lone Shade now. Would they be disappointed. Could they be disappointed, you could never tell with a vessel.
If this was how the Lone Shade was going to go then so be it. It had dared to explore and it had seen a world it never would have otherwise. It had faced hardships and pain that all lead up to this moment but it would do it all again. It had never lived in the Abyss, it had existed. This world was living and living is a horrible thing yet still better than having never known it
Goodbye
The Lone Shade took their mandible and struck out against the Beast once more and once more the beast opened up its shell and gave a shriek before charging at the Lone Shade. The Stalking devout swung its claw at The lone shade who swung the mandible back. The two collided and a crash echoed throughout the cavern.
The mandible flew out of the Lone Shade's hand as it was sent flying through the air back into the wall. But this time. This time instead of spilling dust out onto the floor. The wall cracked too. Crumbling pieces of dirt slid down onto the floor in an avalanche of rock as the wall beside the Lone Shade bore down on them both.
Wall
The Lone Shade was buried beneath a pile of dirt and is slowly stuck its head out of the mound to see a new cavern which had opened up before it. The Lone Shade turned its head to the right and saw the Stalking Devout's large frame pushing against the edges of this new cavern. Its Mask completely covered up its end of the tunnel as it could not break in
Stuck
The Stalking Devout sprung its claws in the air again, reaching out for the Lone Shade but found itself unable to reach ad its blade missed the Lone Shades Shell by millimetres. The new tunnel that had opened up behind the breakable wall was too small to fit the lumbering beast and appeared to only get smaller and smaller as the Lone Shade looked on.
New chance
The Lone Shade took two steps towards this new dark tunnel before sparing back a single glance at the creature that had nearly taken its life. The Beast glowered back but retreated into the darkness.
WhEre aM i
The Lone Shade stumbled down this new tunnel with a new life in its step. There was a caution between each foot as the Lone Shade felt something it had never felt before. Something it was never meant to feel before. Its mind and emotions, normally so limited, had gained a new found hold over the Lone Shade. It felt a whispering at the back of its mind that it could never normally feel.
Worry
i Am wOrRieD
Toothmarks were left all over the walls and ceiling of the tunnel. The Place did not look naturally occurring. The Area felt unnatural. Evidence of digging was left everywhere. The tunnel could of been the burrow of some form of creature that got caved in at some point. The Lone Shade wished it had not lost its weapon before getting itself stuck down here. There was absolutely no way it could go the way it came from, the beast was sure to be waiting just slightly out of sight
Unprotected
i aM uNprOteCtEd
The Tunnel got thinner and thinner till it was just slightly taller than the Lone Shade and came to an end before dropping off to a hole in the floor
Explore
The Lone Shade hopped down the hole and turned around to see another tunnel this one getting wider as it went on. The Lone Shade began to walk again a new growing sense of unease forming until it saw something in the distance.
Light
A pale light was shining slightly through the darkness, cutting through the Lone Shades focus. A light the Lone Shade had not seen for a long time.
Father?
HoPe
dIsPAir
hAtReD
sOroW
PaIn
LOVE
The Lone Shade ran towards the sound in a desperate push. Emotions cycled through the Lone Shades head at such a remarkable rate it could not process them all at once. The light was a palish hue but slightly muted by the darkness of the cave. Light that had once penetrated the Abyss was dimming in these tunnels. The closer the Lone Shade got the dimmer the light got. Like it was leaving.
Why
PleAse
DoN't LeaVe
wHY
pLeAse DoN't LeAVe FAtHeR
DoN't LeaVe aGAiN
WHy aRe yoU LeaViNg
The Light Disappeared and the Lone Shade buckled at the knees before getting up and going again passing the corpses of fallen bugs on the way.
Pain
The Lone Shade found another hole in the distance and hopped down this one as well
Squelch
The Lone Shade landed in a squishy pile on the Floor. The Lone Shade looked around and saw cracked pieces of a bugs shell sprayed across the floor and bits of flesh speckled on the wall. The bug they had landed on was now reduced to a paste on the floor that brought a new clarity to the Lone Shade.
Where am I
The Lone Shade got up and looked back down the new tunnel. It was similar to the last one except there were a many more corpses littered around the floor. The Corpses had significant bite marks taken out of them and each pooled with stains on the floor.
Scared
i Am sCaRed
Im PanIcking
WhAt HaPpened hERe
DID fAthEr do ThIs
Is ThiS WhY yoU mADe Us
PleAsE Don'T HuRt Me
The light reappeared again at the end of the tunnel this time significantly closer and yet it was still dim. The Light was not overwhelmingly bright as it had been bright when shining to the void. Now the light was closer, the Lone Shade could see this light was white and yet it was not the pale hue of the old light.
Imposter
The Lone Shade took two steps back and the light suddenly vanished into thin air. The Lone Shade looked around again for some kind of weapon but came up empty. It then turned its gaze to where it came from and the hole. It had climbed out of the Abyss it could climb out of here. The Lone Shade went up to the hole in the ceiling and prepared to climb only sparing a single glance back. A single glance was all that was needed.
Friend!
HoW aRE yoU ALiVe
dOn'T gO tHeRE
dAnGeR tHeRe
i MiSseD yoU
wHy DiD yOu LeAve mE
wAs iT mE
Staring at the Lone Shade was a long horned vessel with four noticeable prongs on its horns. Its soulless, void filled eyes stared into the Lone Shade's as the Lone Shade tried to decipher meaning but found it difficult to. Maybe it was how long the Lone Shade had been away from the Abyss, or maybe it was the Lone Shades recent expansion of its own mind, but it found itself unable to commune with the other vessel as it had used to with vessels of similar thought capacity.
Joy!
The Lone Shade felt overwhelmed as it watched the other vessel. The Lone Shade waited for the vessel to approach it, to leave the dark cavern or embrace but instead it just stood there, as many vessels did. Staring. As if observing a completely alien creature.
Worry
wE mUsT lEAvE hERe
FaTHeR hErE
dANGer HeRe
LeAvE WiTh mE
eScAPe wItH Me hErE
cAn YoU UnDeRstAnd Me
The Lone Shade took two steps towards the other vessel, reaching its hand out, who ran off down the damp, claustrophobic tunnel at a quick trot. The Lone Shade was left there standing still for a few seconds before following in the same vain with a panicked urgency.
Don't Go
Its feet squelched into the soft soil as it strutted along the damp tunnel. The Lone Shade held its claw out mid air as if trying to grasp something just out of reach. The other vessel trotted along on the edge of its view and came across anther hole as the tunnel got deeper.
Please
The two vessels stared at each other, sharing a look but not any understanding before the Lone Shade took a step forward as the vessel threw itself into the hole. The Lone Shade hurriedly took three more steps forward but was unable to reach the vessel before they had vanished into the next layer of the tunnel.
Sorrow
DoN'T LeaVe Me aGAin
pLeASe dOn'T gO AgaIN
wAS iT mE
dId YoU lEAvE beCauSE oF mE
I'm SorRY
Please
Without even bracing itself, the Lone Shade launched itself into the hole. The ground was now suddenly hard as the tunnel hit rock on the floor. The Lone Shade looked around as if searching but only found a damp tunnel covered in more intricate patterns of silk. The long horned vessel was nowhere to be found.
Where are you
The Lone Shade walked slowly forward. Its advances became more cautionary as it traversed through this tunnel. The Lone Shade was careful in avoiding those intricate patterns again but in its heart it could feel only one thing.
Worry
CRACK
The Lone Shade looked back to see the way blocked by a thick mass of a black vine like structure. An ominous feeling crept upon the Lone Shade but it tried not to dwell on it too hard. All problems could be solved with time and patience. Only one thing mattered now.
Friend
The Lone Shade took another step forward and again a Crack rang through the air as more vines shuddered into place. Barring its exit. The Lone Shade kept its eyes forwards in mesmerisation as the tunnel mouth met a dark and rocky cave.
Where did you go
The Lone Shade entered through the mouth of the cave seeing a massive eerily illuminated cave. Black vines littered the cave, absorbing all light that came their way. Water dripped down from the ceiling and a podium slightly taller than the Lone Shade stood in front of it.
Please be safe.
CRACK
around the walls of the Cave were dark spiral shell like structures that formed underground hills with smaller ones protruding around the base of the elevated platform. The Lone Shade looked up and froze for a moment.
Terror
From the ceiling hung on long black threads the bodies of dead and discarded bugs as if for decoration. There were the Dirt Carvers, from who the Lone Shade collected their weapon. There was even a Stalking Devout, who had chased the Lone Shade to this very den.
Please don't be up there
Most terrifyingly of all were the strung up vessels who hung lifelessly from the ceiling. Some had threads around their feet that left their masks swinging in the air. Some were hung by their necks, pulling their throats taught. Others had threads wrapped around their entire body, constricting them in place.
Father?
The Lone Shade visibly shook, one of its first real outwards displays of emotion, as its void black eyes scanned around the ceiling, its mask swinging around sporadically.
Are they there
The four pronged vessel was nowhere to be seen among the dead, who's black eyes seemed to leak the very void from which they were made. The Lone Shade forced themself to look away as it faced the elevated platform in front of it.
Doomed
The Lone Shade jumped up onto the platform and froze once more.
Relief
Standing before them was the long horned vessel, staring back, seemingly unfazed by the death around them. The two siblings just looked into each others eyes, the Lone Shade trying to find a modicum of understanding with the other. It got no response in return.
Urgency
gLaDneSs
wE nEed tO gO
iM sCaReD
Im SoRrY
ILl bE BeTTeR FoR yOu
CoMunIcaTE WiTh mE
The Lone Shade ran up to the vessel in an urgent frustration when.
CRACK
The vessels neck snapped out of place and the Lone Shade doubled back with worry. The Vessels shell was severely displaced and the Lone Shade fell to their knees
Resentment
WHY
AgaIN
wHaT dId I dO wrong
wHy CoMe Back
Ill gO bAcK hOme
JuSt PlEasE
SQEULCH
The Lone Shade pushed itself backwards and got up as it stared in terror at the vessel. The vessels legs had mergred together as its body became a long black segmented stalk with wavy bumps all over it. The stalk grew from a black bulge on the floor that from its core glowed a small orange light. That same light that brewed a hidden primal resentment within the Lone Shade
Confusion
SQUELCH
The Orange core expanded in a disgusting growth as it overtook the black bulge, doubling it in size. The stalk became a crooked neck with the vessels cloak hanging limply from the top as the Lone Shade's sibling's head stared upside down at the Lone Shade. It no longer stared into the Lone Shades eyes, however. Now it just store down as is analysing something small and dissimilar to oneself.
An exposed black ribcage shot out around the orange growth with spiked defences jutting out along the spine at various lengths. The Lone Shade took two meagre steps back but was engulfed by an ever growing shadow.
What are you
SQUELCH
From the black crooked spine jutted out four spindly black legs which reached the floor on curved scythe shaped tarsi that stretched to the tibiae before crooking out by the patella. The orange bulbous abdomen was lifted slightly off the ground but weighed down heavy on each of the legs causing it to buckle at the femur. The spikes on the back of the spine grew as the ribs wrapped like a predator around the central orange mass.
Monster
Two front facing legs became claws as they were similarly raised off the ground. Their similar scythe like design perfect for the tearing through of flesh. The Lone Shade felt suddenly frozen in place as a sharp wind pulled its face away from the beast.
Predator
SQUELCH
It took the beast tremendous effort to raise its abdomen into the air placing great pressure on the legs. With more bursts of pain all the limbs grew once more. Its talons and legs all reached tremendous lengths several times taller than the Lone Shade. The Beast lumbered its head on which mimicked the disgraced former sibling down to just slightly above the Lone Shades own mask.
Loss
The spiders long pedicel reached down to place the mask in the Lone Shades face, a constant reminder of what was lost and what lured it here, as if it was still trying to trick its prey into standing still for just a moment longer. The Cephalothorax morphed into the shape of a long long friends or lover just to pull in unsuspecting victims. The vessels horns formed long mandibles that unnaturally clicked in the was normal shell could never. A final bent spine grew unnaturally into a small tail acting as a pathetic balancing act atop the grotesque beast
Mortifying
The Lone Shade felt a deep sadness within its shell. Not one for its impending doom or unfair misfortune. One instead of sorrow. It faced an information it wished it would never have to bear. A resurfaced pain it had hoped to leave behind
They're truly gone
Reducing itself to a mess of gangly limbs and crooked spines the beast reared backwards on its legs and let out a loud and ear screeching ROAR to all who could hear it. Its sickle claws flailing in the air as it buckled once more and landed back to face the Lone Shade.
Flight
The Lone Shade ran with all its primal, puny might away but found the thick black vines blocking its escape. It was hopeless as the hurried scuttling of its legs approached with ferocious intensity. The Lone Shade felt itself knocked to the floor as as scratch pulled across its back. It looked up to see the mess or black legs and orange light scuttle over it
Evade
The Lone Shade pushed themself off the ground and ran over the elevated platform to escape sparing a single fearful glance back. Only to see that the beast had disappeared.
Fear
The Lone Shade looked around until a whoosh of air pushed upon itself a rumble from the ceiling released the humongous beast which toppled onto the Lone Shade. One of its hooked legs pierced the Lone Shade in the body as it felt a crack along the back of its mask as its shell hit stone.
PAIN
The leg pulled through the Lone Shades body as the monster continued to scuttle. The Lone Shade felt slightly lifted into the air. Sliding down the beasts claw the Lone Shade fell onto the floor with a thud.
Drive
The Lone Shade did as it always did and pushed back the pain. Pushed towards survival. It pulled itself slightly forwards as the beast disappeared from behind and the Lone Shade made sluggish movement across the central podium.
Searing
Whether it was the heat of the moment, the terrible puncture, or its expanded mind the Lone Shade did not know, but it felt this pain much worse than any previously experienced. It was a miracle it was able to push itself onwards, while determination and the ignoration of pain was once normal it was as if there was a hidden force holding the Lone Shade back from its previous brave face.
Flee
The ever looming scuttling returned as the Lone Shade turned and saw the beasts approach. Its front claws flew pathetically under its body like a lost use of evolution as the growth on its abdomen glowed with an unseen hunger. The mandible which had once been horn was smeared with a black liquid which also trailed along the rock behind the Lone Shade on the cavern floor. Void made blood.
Myself
The Lone Shade felt its own knees buckle and it flung its body over the platform allowing it to roll along the floor cracking its shell even more. The Lone Shade looked up and saw the creature with its hate inducing glow standing there on the centre of the platform. The Beast stopped and reared back into the air making the central mass bubble and accumulate
Focus
The Lone Shade no longer cared for the why as it desired relief from its pain. The soul from the Stalking Devout earlier formed glowing spheres mid air as the Lone Shade focused within itself and let its cracks mend. Its body stopped releasing all that fluid as it stood back up only to see the beast release fleshy tumours from its growth that fly through the air in retaliation for the Lone Shades pale light.
Hatred
The Lone Shade stepped to the side to avoid an acidic devouring by the orange pus only to see the Beast push back from its legs off its rear and charge once more towards the Lone Shade
Trick
The Lone Shade hid itself under the podium as the dreaming predator flung itself over. Pleased with its rouse the Lone Shade leaped onto the platform again and began to run as it heard another squelch behind it.
Reaper
Launching itself into the air the creature flung onto the Lone Shade and ripped at it with its mandibles. The Lone Shade felt more searing, burning pain on its back as it saw a black hook shaped protrusion jutting from its chest. The Monster attempted to lift the Lone Shade towards its chattering mandibles using its front claws. The mandibles dug into the Lone Shades flesh as it fuelled on its feast. The Lone Shade once more slid off the Beasts claw and landed mask first onto another rock.
Death
With one last crack of shell on rock the world went dark
Groggy
The Lone Shade felt ill all over. It had never really felt ill before but found that it greatly disliked the feeling. All it's limbs felt heavy and unresponsive. It's outer shell felt sticky as it tried to move and it shook its head.
Exhausted
The Lone Shade was completely exhausted. Even if it had the ability to it felt no will to move its limbs. Its limbs felt heavy as if they were being pulled downwards in and even its mask was dragging downwards
Confusion
Groggily the Lone Shade gained back its consciousness and slowly realised that it felt so heavy because it was in the air. The Lone Shade's vision returned as it saw Nosks lair from upside down, dangling in the air. The Lone Shade felt punctured in its back but as it tried to turn its body it felt a numbness in its torso as the venom seeped through its veins.
Scared
The Lone Shade tried to move its arms again but found it was bound all over leaving only its mask free to swing mid air. Black sticky silk threads kept it in place preventing any and all escape. Its body was constricted in the air pulling tight on its exoskeleton. There were multiple breakages in its shell that felt increasingly more potent.
F0cuz
The Lone Shade pulled its knees as tight as it could but found itself unable to draw any soul from its shell. The little it had remaining got drained from its shell in the fight and any ability to draw it was lost in a venomous haze.
Anxiety
Twisting its mask around to view its environment the Lone Shade came to face the lifeless mask of another vessel. Its eyes leaked void and it hung from its own neck upright in the air. It's horns bent down to the ground and its head hung to the floor. Its body dangled lifelessly compared to the Lone Shades unnatural constriction.
Disgust
The Lone Shade tried to calm itself down and feel everything it could move. It could feel its mask and turn it round, it could feel its arms being pinned to its body by the sticky black silk, it could feel its upper body but as it went lower down it became more of a pulp of pain and unfeeling. The Lone Shades legs had been completely destroyed, mangled to a messy pulp that bulged against the black threads.
SQUELCH
Terror
The Lone Shade turned its mask to face the noise. What it saw was a face it never should have seen. Hanging from the ceiling was Nosk's spiderlike body clinging to the rock with its spindly legs. The squelch was the spider waking up and standing on its legs once more.
Hatred
Worst of all was the monsters face. It was a bubbling mass of black and orange flesh which was messily littered at the top with glowing orange eyes. Large misshapen mandibles faced unnatural angles at the bottom of its face that could not stop turning and changing. A shapeshifting beast with no true real form.
Nosk turned its face to stare at the Lone Shade and it suddenly twisted back into the face of the Lone Shade's dead friend as it creaked its legs towards the Lone Shade across the ceiling.
Loss
Higher thought could not reach the Lone Shade in this moment. The sickness in its veins held back its strenuous movements, an internal restrain to dance with the black treads hold.
They were gone. That was what the Lone Shade had to accept every time it looked into that face, and it was more painful than any injury ever could be.
Surrender
Nosk crawled over to the back of the Lone Shade and a tingling sensation rippled over its exoskeleton. The tingling did not last long as Nosk dug into the Lone Shades flesh with it's mandibles and ripped and pulled and swallowed chunks of it down its throat. All before ending its feast with sinking fangs into the Lone Shades back and reapplying the threads.
Pain
Existence had become this horrific ritual that came along every now and then. Sometimes it would be one of the other bugs strewn up from the ceiling. Other times Nosk would lure in another creature with is meagre disguises and eat them too. Other times it would be the Lone Shades turn and it would be feasted on from behind and made drowsy once more.
Death
It was something the Lone Shade begged for every moment it was awake
Death
It was something Nosk would not let happen to it. It was rare to come across a prey that required no sustenance for itself. An ever healing, self sustaining food source for the opportunistic predator.
Death
Every time the Lone Shade faced the glowing orange tumour at the beasts core it felt the hatred score through its body but even then it wanted one thing more than to snuff the light out
Death
Yet sometimes
Death
when it had been so long since Nosk hade fed
Death
and its venom had subsided
Death
the Lone Shade found itself dreaming.
Death
It normally began as a ringing. Just a singing voice calling out at the back of its mind
Death
Then the singing began to grow and voices rang out in states of sleep
Death
It saw a bright light in its mind that felt drawing. That same hatred rose up and yet was seemingly pushed back into the sea of darkness by the bright light. The Light was never pale like that of it's fathers. It was never as powerful.
Death
Yet in the most pained times when hope had long since been lost, those dreams of light felt tantalising.
Death
The Lone Shade was always pulled out of those dreams in the end. Dreaming was a new and unusual experience for it, but the pain of teeth in your back could detract from the most delightful of dreams.
Death
Over time the Lone Shade got weaker.
Death
It's time spent unconscious grew longer and its consciousness shrank moment by moment.
Death
One time, when Nosk had heard a sound and left its cave. The Lone Shade saw it return in the form of a vessel. It was weird seeing a moving vessel again but the Lone Shade could barely think of it
Deat
The Lone Shade was incredibly weak. Its Exoskeleton had been reduced to liquid by the constant feedings and any semblance of mind was slowly draining away.
Dea
Yet when Nosk returned and took its place on the podium. The Lone Shade found a new connection
De
Entering the cave was a vessel with medium horns that curved inwards and had two bumps atop each mask. In its claws was the nail it wielded and as the Lone Shade looked into its eyes.
D
The Lone Shade felt a long lost connection. A connection to its homeland. A connection to the darkness away from the dreamy light. A connection once more to the void
Give Up
It called. And as the Lone Shade tried to listen.
Its limbs lost feeling and its conscience slipped for the final time.