He didn't get a chance to read the runes before he was rammed into. He staggered forward, and a frustrated scowl flashed across his face.
'Tch… These bastards are so violent. I'm not lost, just give me a second. Why are they so impatient? Is every single damn one of them like this? Are they excited to go down there or something? This is the second time where I've been rammed into before I could read my runes.
It seemed that it was his turn to climb down, but he didn't care.
He was boiling with anger over their antagonistic actions.
'Gosh, they could be a little more polite about it. I should take more time just to spite them. Feels like I'm at a damned orphanage reunion or something, all those bastards are so bitter. The only difference is that this is a Nightmare. '
'Hmm… I guess that is a nightmare too.'
Shaking his head, he crouched down, slowly lowering his hand to grab the rope reluctantly.
He peeked over the edge and took in the sight of the endless drop below. Past a certain threshold, the visibility dwindled until it was impossible to see.
He finally had a chance to really take in the sight of the tenebrous chasm that his eyes couldn't pierce. A dreadful idea surfaced in his mind.
'What if it really is endless…?'
Now, he was really terrified. After all, he had to climb into that darkness.
"No! That can't be the case. If it was, they wouldn't be climbing down there!'
He took a deep, shaky breath and closed his eyes. It wasn't that he was particularly afraid of heights, but he was tired, hungry, and thirsty, and to climb down into the sea of darkness in his decrepit state…
He couldn't move his legs, fear creeped into his heart as he imagined falling to the ground below. Would this body be left behind until whatever creatures lurked down there tore him apart? Would he be expelled from the Nightmare, with the only trace of him left lying dead strapped to a bed? He didn't know, and it terrified him to think that if he died, he would never find out.
He could tell the people behind him were getting impatient. The tapping of their feet echoed in his mind, the soft whispers of discontent made his heart tighten, and the heavy sighs that hung in the air painted the scene with a growing stroke of irritation that made him feel ill at ease.
His scornful face had softened up in place of a dastardly mix of dread and sorrow. The concoction was swirling, threatening to explode in a burst of emotion. For a moment, he considered throwing his hands into the air in defeat and screaming that he couldn't do it, but he didn't. He knew he couldn't, sure, but there was another feeling growing in his heart that was the real perpetrator of his choice to be logical.
It was an infinitely small part of him that felt willing to do it, a tiny speck that was willing to brave the sea of darkness.
That part of him didn't care if whatever was down there was impossible to overcome with his mundane body.
"Get going already!"
Gripping the rope tightly until it hurt, that finite part of him began to pulse.
'Fine, you miserable wretch.'
He started to descend. Wrapping his legs around the rope, he slowly lowered himself. Taking one hand off the rope, he would bring it down until it was leveled with his waist, and then he would let go with the other and bring that one down as well. He heaved every time his body was lowered, and it didn't take long for him to feel the effect of his method of descent.
Three minutes passed, and his hands burned. Another two, and both of his arms began to shake with pain. Another four, and his legs were beginning to feel strained as well.
His face was suffused with a dark, powerful focus, trying to match the sea that he submerged himself into, but it felt futile.
He was being devoured.
Ten minutes after he had started to climb down, he could no longer see the sky above. The air around him became dark, and he felt like a hand would reach out from the wall behind him and grip him by the throat, squeezing the remaining air out of him.
He wanted to gasp and take in a glorious breath of air, but the air had turned dusty, and the smell of wet rocks started to peek into his nose.
A whirlwind of frigid cold blew past him after he hit the halfway point. Wet droplets of blood trickled down from his nose and onto his clothes.
He was starting to grow unbearably tired. His breathing had become strained and shaky, and he began to taste blood, but he had to keep going. He knew it, because if he didn't keep going, he would fall, and be swallowed into an eternal rest, left for eternity to be digested by the darkness.
'I need to survive. Even if the dangers are impossible to conquer, I have no choice but to try. I can't go out like this. Nope! Not like this. I refuse!'
He pushed his head into the large rope and closed his eyes. It was simply impossible to stop himself from thinking of the pain. His entire body was burning, and there was nothing he could do; He was completely stuck, so to remedy his suffering, he repeated a single phrase in his mind over, and over, and over.
'I have to push forward. I have to push forward. I have to push-'
With great effort, he finally got into a flow that allowed him to proceed smoothly.
The descent took another ten, slow, suffocating minutes, but finally, after what felt like an eternity of miserable strain on his numb, tired body, his feet were finally able to touch the ground.
His hands had terrible rope burns, but he had done it.
He had prevailed.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he collapsed, panting. He crawled away from the rope, groaning in anguish.
Now, he was even more thirsty, and he felt unbearably dizzy. He took off his pack and reached inside, hoping that just maybe, he could find food or water.
He did find a singular, small canteen of water resting in his borrowed bag.
Greedily, he chugged every single ounce of it. The water flowed onto his tongue and he swallowed it with loud, obnoxious gulps.
When he finished, he took a large sigh of relief.
He placed his elbows on the ground, and then steadied his feet, before finally raising himself off the ground triumphantly.
Somewhere along the way, a grin had found its way onto his face, and he let out an involuntary chuckle.
'I really did that, didn't I? I guess working out these past few years really paid off.'
He really had done it. It felt like a tiny feat, to be able to climb down a rope, but he had never strained himself like that before, and he definitely hadn't done it while suffering from three ailments at the same time. He was proud, but he didn't get to praise himself for long.
'Hold on a minute…'
He realized something now that he was down in this canyon; He no longer needed to worry about looking back. In fact, it felt almost like the pressure that was holding him and keeping his eyes forward was now completely gone.
He didn't let himself become entirely complacent, though. It was a Nightmare, after all, and anything could happen. There was no guarantee that the horrifying Sun wouldn't peak over the canyon and bathe the darkness in an all-consuming light.
He couldn't help but gleam at the absence of the looming death though. It felt like a reward to be free of it, even if he only dealt with it for a mere forty minutes, it was probably the worst forty minutes of his life, if one wasn't to consider the strenuous climb he had just partaken in.
He shook his head, and chuckled once more.
'I really had an easy life, didn't I? To think I'd go from calisthenics being my greatest obstacle to a twenty minute rope climb with a constant threat of death. Isn't that something?'
Shivering, he crossed his arms and shook his head.
'Actually, I shouldn't be undermining those workouts, else my treacherous coach decides to climb into this Nightmare and make me drop for twenty.'
Chasing the thoughts of his coach away with a powerful slap to his cheeks, he started to attempt to focus in on his surroundings, when suddenly, he heard a booming voice in the area.
It was strange, the voice was loud, but also quiet.
Focusing on it, he started to catch what it was saying.
"We will split up and move. Make as little sound as possible, we all know well that the accursed Devourer of Hope resides down here. Remember; if it sees you… No, if you see it, there's a more than likely chance that it's already too late".
The voice stopped for a moment, letting that statement linger in the damp, dusty air for a moment before it continued.
"Don't get caught, and make it out alive. When you arrive on the other side, use your rope and climb. These ropes were specifically made to climb out of this canyon, so don't waste it, and you will survive. "
'Surely they would have chosen the most safe place to journey through, right? There's a good chance that I'll have nothing to worry about.'
He was ill informed, sure, but he had come to the conclusion that he wasn't particularly worried about the so-called Devourer of Hope. There was a good chance he wouldn't even run into the creature.
'Surely it can't be that hard to stay quiet, right?'
He wasn't going to be complacent, but he wasn't going to let himself be dissuaded. He was going to use his lack of knowledge on the creature to his advantage, and not let himself be consumed by the fear of the unknown.
'Now that I think about it, there could be other creatures lurking. There was no way to tell just peering off from the edge of the chasm. If this Devourer of Hope is so scary, maybe it chased the larger creatures out of its territory, but there's bound to be something smaller down here, right? It's probably better not to be optimistic about something like that, so yeah, I'm going to move with that thought floating in my mind.'
He paused for a moment.
'Humm- I'll take a look at the runes of the rope before I go.'
More out of curiosity than necessity, he thought about the runes, and they appeared, shimmering and glistening as they formed into existence.
[Memory: Rope of Helios]
[Rank: Dormant]
[Memory type: Utility]
Memory description: [To Adventure, one must always have a way out.]
He knew that this Memory would let him climb out of the canyon when he reached the other side. Though, he was sure that the rope could be used otherwise, so he wasn't going to take it out and risk wasting it. The man had explicitly told them to avoid doing just that, after all.
Picking up his pack and slinging it over his back, he took a long, deep breath and closed his eyes for a minute as he prepared his mind for the challenges ahead.
'Alright. I can do this. I can do this. I'm strong, I'm powerful, I'm ready to face anything that comes my way. I'll escape this damned place alive without running into anything, and then I'll brave the dream realm and escape that too. I won't die, I can't die. I cannot die! Say it again now-'
He spent the next minute or two reassuring himself that everything would be okay. He was pessimistic before, and thought he would die immediately, but he really did see hope in this situation, so he was holding onto it. Even though it was as thin as a string and threatening to snap at any moment, he was going to keep holding onto it until he took his last breath.
Opening his eyes, he looked left and right. It was dark, but he could see a plethora of different paths to take, some wide, some a little more tight. He couldn't see any further than that, though, but he wasn't worried. Rather, he was more annoyed.
'The Spell wants tells me I'm bereft of light. Just look at this stupid place. Gosh, it's hot down here, too. '
He wasn't really surprised that it was warm down here, too. The idea that the Sun in the sky above was powerful enough to shower the dark canyon in warmth wasn't something to be shocked over.
Rather, it was an interesting change of pace. He really would have expected it to be unbearably cold down here.
'I guess I'm lucky, huh?
His pitch black short sleeve shirt and pants were shorter, so he didn't need to worry about freezing. Though, another thought surfaced in his mind.
Scowling, he snorted.
'Who doesn't pack heavier clothing on a long expedition? That's idiotic.'
Surely whoever had packed this bag wasn't actually an idiot, right?
'Well, maybe he knew it'd be warm throughout the entire expedition. That's a possibility, right? Ugh, whatever, let me focus on the task at hand…'
Looking around curiously, he decided to go through one of the more tight spaces. He didn't know what the terrain looked like past it, but he wanted to try to stay as hidden as possible.
He considered the idea that anything that may be down here could be seen in the dark, and whether that was or wasn't the case, there would be no reason for him to not stay hidden.
After making his choice, he was prepared to begin his journey, but was stopped before he could even lift his foot off the ground.
A girl had pulled on his sleeve. She looked like a teenager, but he had a feeling she wasn't. She seemed to be around the age of fourteen, but the way she carried herself wasn't how a fourteen year old would carry herself. She had tears streaming down her face, her grip on his sleeve was tight, and she was whispering under her breath with muffled cries in between each of her words.
"Please… Please don't make me go alone… I'm scared…"
Day didn't respond for a moment, because he was lost in the shock of how a child could even hope to get down that deadly climb alive. He wanted to ask; but the truth was, he didn't really wish to waste too much time on information that would probably be useless.
It's not like there was an invisible barrier stopping any creatures that may be lurking from coming to this part of the canyon.
Though, he couldn't help but feel some pity for the girl.
Throughout his life, he had always been told that it was wise to never trust anything conjured by the Spell, and to always fight for yourself when you were in the depths of a dire Nightmare. If he survived, he would be sure not to forsake that advice, but how could he deny the pleas of a child?
He wasn't a monster, and it made him shiver to even consider such an idea, to leave a child, any child, alone when they are pleading for help.
He would feel bad even if the child was merely lost, but down here in the darkness? He would be evil to leave her.
He didn't care if that was a useless sentiment. Not even in the slightest. He would bring this child along, even if it was just an obstacle created by the spell, he didn't care.
Without thinking twice, he put his hand out and placed it in hers. Her eyes widened in shock, but her demeanor certainly shifted a bit when she realized that he wasn't going to leave her alone.
He had come to the conclusion that she wasn't a fourteen year old girl. The idea had crossed his mind, but taking a closer look at her, it was obvious to see that she was probably just a little tall for her age. It wasn't just how she carried herself, but she also had noticeably soft skin, and a rather plump face.
She had dark, messy hair that ran down to her upper back, and her face was sullied with dust and dirt alike. He could feel that her hand was similar to his, with terrible rope burns littering everything from the tips of her fingers to the bottom of her palm. Her presence was palpable.
She most certainly had to be rather strong to make it down here, so he didn't blame her for growing afraid and wanting company when she finished braving the arduous task of climbing down. She was a child.
Clearing his throat, he whispered to her.
"Let's get going. I want to take as many narrow passages as possible, hopefully that way we can stay hidden. It might be a little slower, but I think it'll work. We may need to brave a few open areas, as I don't wish to steer too far off path, but I'm optimistic about my strategy."
It was a simple one, and many had probably decided to use it already, but he didn't really care.
Sniffling and rubbing her eyes and nose, she nodded, "Okay."
With the little girl in tow, he made his way towards the tiny passage he had picked out a few minutes before.
Squeezing into it; He started to shuffle his way forward. It was quite the tight space.
He wasn't claustrophobic, but he felt a mild sense of discomfort at the sensation of the canteen in his bag being pushed against his back and his lack of free movement with his arms that were painfully pressed palm first into the wall in front of him.
He finally escaped the passage after a few minutes. The little girl was right behind him. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but this was the opposite of what he could have possibly conjured in his mind.
Taking a few steps forward, there was the beginning of a wall to his immediate left. The wall ran rather far before connecting to another wall and creating a ninety degree angle. Running his eyes along the ninety degree angle and down the other wall it led into, he could very vaguely see another small opening, but he could see nothing more. There was a pretty big, open space between his current position and the crevice, so it was a struggle to even see the tiny opening in the first place.
In front of him was another large expanse of space. He couldn't see far enough to get a good idea of what was around it, so he had to weigh his options here.
He considered going to the small opening next, but his issue with that is it was not only to his left but also took him back a bit. He had said it himself, he didn't want to steer too far off track. It was probably worth checking, but if it was just going to take him left, he wasn't going to go down there.
'Alright. I'll go forward.'
Just as he was about to take his first step forward, his skin began to crawl and a chill ran up his spine.
A crash boomed in the air and rolled across the lightless chasm, and a woman's raucous screech followed.
Day's heart exploded out of his chest at the sudden, loud sounds. His eyes widened, and he grasped his chest with a whimper, letting go of the little girl's hand.
He took a deep, sharp breath and stumbled over to the wall to his immediate left. Back first, he rammed into it and slid down onto the floor.
He leaned his head back against the wall of darkness that he was sitting against,
Each gasp of air became shorter. Butterflies flew all around in his stomach.
Day was too lost in his stupor to respond to the girl he had brought along and her soft, pleading cries.
He stared into the nothingness above him. Every few moments, his vision would begin to spin and he would see the darkness above him ripple.
Soon, even nothingness itself began to scare him, so he hugged his knees and buried his face into the space between his thighs.
He didn't know how long passed until he began to calm down, but when he finally did calm down enough to think, he began to sob.
'I can't do this. Who do I think I am? Who the fuck do I think I am? I've never been this hungry before. I'm damned tired. This is too scary, I can't act strong anymore, I can't act strong. '
He said it before, and he would say it again, he wasn't made for this.
How could a middle class boy with no training and no will to fight ever even begin to survive? Even if he did have such a will, that was far from enough to survive in the depths of a Nightmare.
He didn't actually know what "calamitous" monster dwelled down here, and to boot, it was terrifyingly dark, he tried to fight it and make it seem like it was less than it was, but he couldn't lie to himself any longer and try to act like not knowing what was down here was a boon.
He would much rather be terrified of the chance of running into something he knew about than be terrified of running into something that he had no information about besides its name. One of them was a much greater evil.
'God damn it all! Maybe if I knew what the damn creature did I could actually plan around it instead of just looking for crevices to creep through that don't even seem to be in great abundance!'
On top of the emotional turmoil, he was in genuine, gripping pain from how tired and hungry he was, and despite the fact that his water was all gone; He was beginning to grow thirsty once more.
He didn't have a powerful aspect, he didn't have any powerful memories granted to him by a rich clan, and he didn't even have a single semblance of survival skills.
How was he supposed to survive?
Better yet, considering it was so hopeless, why should he even try?
As he wallowed in despair, he let out an occasional grunt of rage or stifled sob. He kept repeating the same question in his mind.
'Why the hell should I even try?'
Then… the answer handed him a small container.