A mindless, broken "thing" lies there on the ground. It had been saved, but the damage had already been done. It's lost sense of all concepts, it doesn't even know how to hold itself together. It's spilling, spilling out onto the floor around it. But it knows that if it continues to spill, it would meet its end. Perhaps death would be far more merciful, its soul knew the experiences before, what led to this and what's likely to happen in the future…
Yet, It's attempting to stitch itself back together.
Having survived something that should have shattered its mind...
Who was it?
Something that should have broken its soul completely.
What was that "things" name...
It wanted to break, it wanted to shatter, to spill out onto the pavement and become one with whatever was around it. No longer being confined to the flesh prison it was trapped in, no longer being in the world that had given it so much pain...
But it couldn't...
"◾◾◾◾e◾◾, please get up."
Something in its soul remembered. It could not die, it could not rest, there was a reason it could not die. No matter what...
So it molded and mended, and was stitching itself back together...
Stitching itself back together, stitching itself back together, stitching itself back together, and slowly it started to remember, it stitched itself back together, stitched itself back together, stitched itself back together, stitching itself, stitching itself, stitching itself, stitching itself, stitching itself and something formed in its mind…
It couldn't remember, it was so close but couldn't fill in the gap. If it has been reaching out that thing would be just out of reach.
◾◾◾◾…
The reason for all of his struggles… the reason he came here, the reason he's currently going through hell, the reason he will continue to go through hell, the reason he's even alive , his only reason to continue to live…
◾◾◾◾, ◾◾◾◾, ◾◾◾a
Stitching itself back together, stitching itself back together, stitching itself back together and it started to remember more and more.
◾r◾a, ◾r◾a, ◾ria…
Aria…
He uttered the name he finally remembered
"A...ria"
Yes… a name he remembered before his own
He thought it was over, and perhaps if he simply let go it would've been. But it wasn't, and because of that he could not die, the hell was not over and he knew that, as the unbearable pain began to flood his brain and thoughts he knew it was only the beginning...
But that pain... With that unbearable pain very subtilty he was comforted by it...
Because if everything around him turned out to be lies, pain would be the one thing that remains true. The one thing that proves that he is alive. And because he is alive. He must continue to struggle forward…
So it continued to mold and mend and stitch itself back together…
But something new was growing inside him… something subtilty aligning itself with the stitches he was forming…
…
"Ugh"
He was finally conscious but still steadily adjusting to reality
"Ah, shit."
My head feels like shit, but my body doesn't feel too bad. I wonder why?
I look over to see Aiden still lying on the floor… I go over to check his pulse to make sure he's okay.
Still breathing, okay good. I look over his body and notice that his body doesn't look too bad either. Weird. As I look over him I notice and empty vile near his body.
Huh?
I look back to the place I was laying and there was another empty vial…
Did he use the potions to save both of us? Holy shit good thinking Aiden. How the hell did you do that while under that much pain? Or could he have woken up before me? The reminants in the vile where I was lying has a darker tint. God damn it, did that selfless bastard use the stronger one on me.
He sighs, but let's out a subtile smile
I'll have to keep an eye on him, people will definitely take advantage of his kindness. Alright, let's try and find a way out of here.
"So we're looking for a piece to play right."
I hear a voice speak out to me. I turn to it so see my beloved wife standing there.
"Hah, I'm going insane"
"You were doing this before you know."
"Yeah but, that was a coping mechanism. Right now you're just here."
"Oh wow, so you want me to go away?"
"Sigh, not… necessarily. It does make me happy seeing you."
She shoots me a soft playful smile, I could tell she was teasing me but. It became a habit to tell her the truth after she says something like that.
"Then let's get looking."
…
A piece of music, a piece of music. We've been looking and looking but there's none at all. However, at least I won't have to sort through multiple different pieces finding the right one, since we haven't found any at all that leads me to believe there's just one piece that we have to find.
…
Finally found it…
"Nice job, I definitely helped you."
"Of course you did."
I open it to see the spreadsheet. It's a piece I've never heard before. Makes sense given how old this place probably is.
Wait.
Why is there a piano here? Weren't they created in the 1700s? I wonder what explains that. I don't have time to theorize. I've been here longer than I'd like to be. I flip through the spreadsheet and notice that some of them have symbols under them.
Hm…
I look back to the sealed door and see that those symbols match. Well that was pretty simple, the hardest thing was finding the book. It seems like they should be in the order the symbols are written on the door.
Alright, let's do this.
I walk over to the piano once again and take a seat…
I sit there for a moment after I place the spreadsheet on the holder…
Unconsciously he begins to wickedly smile
"Oh no, I know that look. You're gonna do something not smart."
"If this is mere entertainment, or some sort of trial, or whatever this might be. It's obvious that something is watching, whether it be the gods or the dungeon itself."
He places his hands on the piano, as his smile continues to grow. You'd mistake him for being insane, perhaps at this moment he is. But this is more than just a mindless act of insanity, this is his revenge.
"I won't just play what I'm told. I'm gonna play the whole score."
Dunnnnn
His fingers start moving as the piano sings. The dissonant melody of the piece rips through air like a carnivore in chase of its prey. The seer eeriness In its own right it's enchanting, had he had an audience they'd all be entranced by his playing, while also being in fear of what comes next… None is putting all of his emotion, all of his hatred into his playing. Whispers and murmurs once again begin to fill his head, as if singing along to the sound of the piano. Instead of suppressing the insanity that's currently invading his brain, he's embracing it.
Aria… hehehehe, do you see me?
His wicked smile would give those watching chills. He embraces the madness yet he's not letting himself lose complete control. The only thing currently keeping him sane is Aria. Because she's watching he can't lose control…
Hahahehehe
"if you're listening, if you're watching. I'm sure you know what I'm doing. Maybe this is making you even more entertained. I wonder if anyone else has done anything like this. No matter what, I'll survive in the end… I'll get her back… not matter what, not matter what, no matter what!"
Delusions start to fill his eyesight, as his mind plummets further. His emotions are amplifying, intensifying and mixing together almost ready to explode as he loses more of himself, but as he smiled and laughed out into supposed nothingness. It could've been just another delusion, but none could feel something smiling and laughing back at him, but not doing anything. As if accepting this act of defiance as a challenge. A playmate that could rival anything should it grow strong enough.
What's the use of killing something before it fully blossoms? There's no fun in that…
The world itself begins to lose its pigmentation, he looks to his wife. The only color in this blank world. And he looks down at his hands… dripping black blood as he smashed his fingers into the keys… and he laughs out again
"No matter what, no matter who stands in my way. Should it be gods, or the abyss itself. I will paint every last one of you completely black!"
The score comes to an end, and none grounds himself back to reality once more…
"Hey, you're okay, you did a good job. That was some performance. I've always loved hearing you play."
"Hehe thanks."
The mental fatigue was already setting in, but as felt the touch of Aria, and continued grounding himself the world regained it's color, the delusions began to fade, and the whispers grew silent. The seals on the door begin glowing, as the door opens up.
Looks like we did it, I guess the piano itself was what was making me insane. It started happening just like before. I was so close to losing myself. That was… objectively stupid and risky
Something else begins to change as well, the space around them is completely different… and None's heart stopped beating for a moment
Huh?
The in shape, pristine condition was replaced. Everything looked damaged, dusty, ready to collapse, everything except the bookshelves and the books themselves. But the most terrifying part…
Those unholy disfigured things… dozens of them, too many to count, some wandering aimlessly. Some slowly making their way to different floors. Some standing, some just laying on the ground but not noticing either None or Aiden... And as None looks back at the piano and to those monsters, a sudden realization hits him hard.
These things, the things on the surface… these things. They're probably people. People who've lost themselves to the insanity of the abyss… if I lost myself too…
I would've been just like these people…
I've thought about it before but… fuck…
The things that he's been killing were once human. The sudden realization of that possibly begins to crush him, but he knows he doesn't have time to worry about that, so he tries to push it to the back of his mind, but to no avail.
Let's… just go. Aiden is still unconscious, if we can stairwa-
As soon as he finishes his thought Aiden begins to wake up, before he can fully come to his senses, None puts his hand over his mouth and whispers to him.
"It's None, don't talk too loud."
Aiden looks confused at first, but quickly comes to his senses. He talks in a quiet voice.
"Are these all-"
"They're people, they were more than likely people. For some reason they're not attacking, I don't know why. But I just wanted you to know, the things we've been killing were probably once human."
Aiden doesn't say anything. He doesn't look shocked either, just pained. It doesn't feel like an obscure assumption to make. Just one that most people would probably hope to not be true.
"Let's go."
Aiden follows my lead as we, both of us in silence as we step towards the door.
Step, step, one more step
…
They stepped out onto the ground once more, their steps echoed out to the air around them.
"This is new. A cave?"
There was only one way forward but the cave is massive, and the darkness ahead of us is darker than black.
We plunge forward into the darkness once more
Step, step, one more step