Heart pounding in my eardrums.
Sweat trickling down my brow.
Ragged breathing as my lungs gasp for air.
Cold crimson fog blasting against my face.
A contradictory warmth enveloping my cold face from a lack of oxygen.
My feet rapidly hitting the blood-soaked stone pathway as I fled for my life.
The soreness from lactic acids building up in my legs.
The feeling of impending doom encroaching my mind.
And the sound of a long, winding chain rattling against stone from within the depths of the crimson fog behind me.
I sensed all of it.
I was present and aware of every single detail in my body and surroundings.
There were no ambient sounds, no music like in the movies. Just my body fighting for its life, the indifferent stone pathway beneath me, and the rattling sound of metal dragging across stone.
I ran and ran and ran, past the crumbled pens and fountains, waiting for the ruins to greet me.
Each step I took stretched on for seemingly hours with the sound of dragging, rattling chains omnipresent in each moment.
In reality, it had only been a couple of minutes.
Eventually, the ruins of houses came into view through the crimson fog. I dashed into one of the crumbled ruins and ducked behind a pillar. A strong aching permeated my legs, and my chest fell heavily as I gasped for air. I had just sprinted here at full speed.
I clutched my sides and stared down at the ground. Stained blood sat at my feet.
'Perfect!'
I slashed my arm open along the wrist, and a mass of fresh blood poured onto the rubble beneath me.
This was my only shot at survival for now.
I used [Blood Dive].
My body turned ethereal as I merged with the crimson beneath me and entered the familiar space reminiscent of an ocean of blood. I observed my surroundings with anticipation.
The chains continuously dragged down the stone pathway, inching closer to me. They rattled and seemed to move slowly; however, no matter how fast I ran, the chains had remained ever-present behind me.
I was being cornered slowly and patiently. I was being toyed with.
But that was okay. It gave me a chance to survive.
My instincts screamed that fighting wasn't an option, and escape seemed impossible. I had to come up with a plan, but what plan was there to come up with? I had no time to prepare, and all I had to go off was the System's warning to survive. I hope that there's a time limit, otherwise the System would've probably just told me to die.
Soon, the metallic dragging was outside the ruins where I was hiding. I felt my breath get caught in my throat.
The best I could do to stall for time was either aimlessly run around or hope [Blood Dive] would save me. I had already covered a fair amount of distance and could keep going for a little while, but my stamina wasn't infinite, and since the chains could freely keep up with me, the former didn't seem like a good option. I chose the latter and prayed it would save my ass like usual.
It seemed it would for a moment as the chains were about to pass me by.
Then the rattling stopped.
There was a moment of pause before the chains continued their endless melody, now seemingly filled with renewed vigour.
Slowly looming towards me.
It knew where I was.
Even with [Blood Dive] concealing me, it could detect me. I had to make a run for it.
Before I could leap out of my puddle, the wall of crimson near the front of the ruins shifted. I had no time to react as something rapidly flew through the air towards me. A ball of iron crashed into my puddle, shooting me out of my hiding spot.
I felt my heart drop, and all air seemingly left my body.
For the first time, [Blood Dive] couldn't protect me.
I felt the already creeping fear solidify itself in my mind. This just confirmed that this thing was far stronger than me or the youths.
As I flew through the air, I felt an unfamiliar pain shoot through my being. The usually unnoticeable Essence within me fell into chaos and began wracking against my insides like a stormy sea. Each tide sent an ethereal pain through my entire being, nearly making me faint.
I landed a moment later and clutched my stomach. I felt like falling over from the agony piercing my very existence, but I couldn't.
There was no time to hesitate. I quickly stood up and peered towards my chaser.
Through the freshly opened gap within the crimson fog caused by its attack, I managed to catch a glimpse of it.
A humanoid figure wearing a stygian cloak draped in chains hid within the fog. Rows of stained, black, bloody bandages wrapped around its face were peering into my soul. I couldn't see anymore.
The dispersed crimson fog quickly reformed its previous veil of concealment.
Not much information to go off of. I turned around and leapt out of the ruins before the pile of chains could unleash another attack on me.
Pain coursed through every cell of my being as I landed back onto the stone pathway and continued running. I had no time to dwell on the pain or what it was. I had come up with a plan.
It was more like a desperate leap of faith, but I had no choice.
'It's better than nothing.'
A rumble went through my feet as the chained ball smashed into the pathway, sending dozens of rock shards flying at my back. I stumbled for a moment, almost crashing into the ground. A wave of adrenaline shot through me as I firmly planted one of my feet in front of me and continued sprinting without diving into the rows of stone beneath me.
Rows of decrepit ruins flew past me as the sound of the chained reaper peacefully dragging its chains continued echoing behind me. Icy crimson flew against my face as if trying to slow me down with its resistance.
I did not falter.
A twitching sensation began to invade my leg muscles, and my breath grew short as I bolted down the streets of the deserted settlement. My body was growing tired, but my mind remained sharp. This was the moment all progress was made, so I knew I could keep going. Even if my body felt like it was about to collapse, my mind couldn't. I had to keep pushing myself no matter what.
Soon, I left the blood-soaked stone pathway behind me and entered the forest of blood once again. Soft scarlet soil welcomed me under my feet once again. I was getting closer to my objective.
I could also feel myself begin to slow.
Several trees crashed behind me. The chained reaper was catching up to me.
It was still roughly 15 meters behind me.
No matter how long my mind could keep going, my body would break first.
The rattling of chains against the stone pathway shifted to a lengthy dragging through the scarlet soil.
I dodged through the maze of crimson pillars, carefully scanning each Bloodtree. I had at least one annoying trick up my sleeve. Soon, I found it.
I swiftly swung out my claws as I passed by one of the Bloodtrees. Soft flesh parted under my claws. I didn't look back, but I knew that in a couple of seconds, a familiar maw would shoot up and greet the chained reaper chasing me.
For a brief moment, the rattling stopped. Several heavy thuds sounded as three fleshy objects splattered across the crimson soil. The chains continued tilling through the soil in my tracks at an increased rate.
I was already swinging out my claw at the next Gore Mountain. The chains stopped once again, followed by several thuds.
It was working.
I was slowly putting distance between us.
20 meters.
I fell into a rhythm of slashing at the Bloodtrees and the chains stopping.
25 meters.
I slowly began circling back towards the settlement.
30 meters.
I felt it would be the best place for my last stand.
27 meters.
Aches and soreness permeated my muscles. Lack of oxygen made my vision turn into a blur. Time was ticking.
25 meters.
There wasn't a single thought left in me.
They were useless now.
21 meters.
I either escape or I don't, simple.
Only pure instinct remained.
Trees began violently crashing to the ground at an alarming rate behind me. Plumes of scarlet soil flew at me from all directions, making the crimson hue enveloping me become even deeper and more clouded. I almost crashed into a Bloodtree due to the poor visibility.
19 meters.
I could feel my body begin to fail on me when I heard it.
[Time limit fulfilled]
[30 minutes survived within the Forest of Forsaken Souls]
Like the voice of an angel, the System spoke. I felt a glimmer of hope ignite within me.
[Please head to the exit within the center of Fleshrot Crossroads]
That was the settlement.
I knew it.
I had already been moving back towards it, so I saw the treeline thinning as I swiftly approached the bundle of ruins once again.
10 meters
Swiftly rattling chains echoed behind me as more than a dozen trees fell down at once.
My feet planted back onto the stone pathway as I saw a glimmering shine from within the fog. Where Raxon's house had previously been, a bright light drifted through the impenetrable crimson fog.
This was it.
The final spurt.
I mustered up my final bit of strength as I dashed through the village.
8 meters.
No pain remained from the earlier attack. I had already grown used to it.
I felt the muscles within my legs tear, yet refusing to send me to the ground.
All the air left my lungs, yet I couldn't even feel it.
No sounds reached my eardrums, as if I were in a vacuum within space.
4 meters.
I could only see the blur of a shining light before me as I approached it through the fog.
I was only a couple of steps away now.
As I pushed past all my limits, making my body slowly crumble, a final thud sounded behind me. A moment later, my world was turned upside down as I flew through the air towards the light.
1 meter.
Seeing behind me now, from within the illuminated crimson fog, I spotted the chained figure's face once more, almost breathing down my neck.
It was standing there, completely still.
From up close, I could tell it was smiling beneath the dark bandages.
My eyes grew wide after a second.
The bright light revealed a part of the chained reaper. The thick crimson fog wouldn't reveal anything below its face, strangely.
A twisting, towering outline stretched from the robed figure's back, coiling into the sky before curving back down. The fleshy outline spread outwards as it neared the top. Five sharp tips sprouted from the singular twisting outline, forming the shape of a disfigured claw.
The extra limb was unmoving, completely motionless.
I realized within an instant.
This thing wasn't taking me seriously the entire time.
Of course, it was just playing with me.
I stared straight at the figure draped in chains as I felt a wry smile grace my lips.
It didn't matter.
I survived.
A moment later, a blissful sensation enveloped my body as I crashed into the cluster of light. I could no longer see the crimson fog, the chained reaper or the ruined village. Only the feeling of warmth wrapping itself around me remained as I aimlessly floated in the unfamiliar, brightly lit space.
I had escaped.
I was too tired to think beyond that.
It had been a hell of a day, and this warmth was inviting me to have a nap.
I closed my eyes as I fell into the soft embrace of the all-encompassing, warm light.