Darkness danced at his command, like invisible arms, ears, eyes, and nose. He could taste the rocks, smell them, and feel them.
Only now did he realize where he was.
"Inside the biggest cave I've ever been in," he said out loud—but truth be told, this was the first cave he had ever been in, so his comparisons were limited.
Then he heard it: the running stream clashing against stone, its sound a mocking song. "Who would have thought water was so close by… how in the world could I not hear it?" But it was not close; it took him time to reach it.
Once he reached what felt like the shore of a small stream, he plunged his face into the water. The cold, tasteless elixir was like heaven—or like sex—but he had never been to heaven nor had sex, so he relied on what people said in movies.
"Now, with everything in place, how do I get out of this hole?" Louise looked around, which was useless—he still could see nothing. Yet the simple action itself guided the darkness under his command. He felt like a bird flying overhead, looking down even at himself, standing below like an idiot.
He sent his senses into every crevasse, but all were dead ends. So he did what a survival documentary had taught him. "Follow the water and you shall find life," and he did, trailing the path from which the water flowed.
"Documentaries never lie," Louise said when he sensed a large entrance where the water originated. First, he sent the darkness he could control to scan the interior. There, he felt something peculiar—a large statue resting against one of the walls.
Beside the statue was what resembled a door. Butterflies stirred in Louise's stomach—or perhaps it was only the maggots he had eaten. Either way, if he reached that door, perhaps he could leave this dark cave.
Once inside what felt like a small room, it was as if his senses sharpened. Something was wrong, but he could not see what. "According to my senses, nothing should be awry in here—yet what is with these chills, like ants crawling inside my clothes?"
He made his way toward the statue, which, even seated, was absurdly tall. He could not help himself from looking up—and then down.
The water was coming from the statue, he realized as he drew closer. With his hand, he touched it, expecting stone, but it was warm and soft to the touch.
"A body," he gasped, pulling his hand back. "God, what in the world is this thing?"
He could not tell the creature's features—only how tall it was. There was no smell, no taste, and for some reason, he could not touch it with his dark arms.
"Is the water his blood?" Louise guessed as much, wondering how long—and how much blood—this creature must have shed to carve a path wherever it passed. "According to the documentaries, it should take thousands of years… probably more."
He continued inspecting the body closely, examining everything, even inside the clothes—in which case he was grateful the body had a woman's features. He smelled his clothes, grimacing at how bad they were, and cursed the dead woman for being so big.
"The only weird thing I found is how her right hand is curled into a fist. In movies, people normally do that to protect something." So he tried opening it, but the damn thing would not even pretend he was making progress. "Open sesame, abracadabra, arise," but nothing seemed to work.
Until his bright mind had a crazy idea. Putting water in his mouth, he lay on top of the fist and spat the water onto it.
The darkness around him flickered, and the world seemed to tremble. One by one, each finger loosened, revealing the palm—and there, his reward awaited.
"A ring?" His disappointment was immeasurable—just like the ring. It was so wide that the only way Louise could wear it was like a belt. "God has forsaken me."
He tried to lift the ring, but to no avail. "So heavy," he breathed. Sitting in front of it, he waited for something to happen, but nothing did.
Then another crazy idea came to his bright mind. "Hey, voice, are you there? Can you help?"
It had been some time since he last heard the voice. It had helped before, so it was only right it helped now.
[What do you wish, Master Water?]
"Can I take this ring? You know, like in a secret inventory or something," Louise hoped.
[No.]
The answer came quickly. "Dammit."
[But if you wish to carry the Ring of ○○○○○, all you must do is claim it with your name.]
"Is that so? Then I, Louise Barra, command you—um, ring—to become mine." Nothing happened.
"It didn't work."
[Your other name, Master.]
Louise sighed. He had tried to forget the stupidity he had committed, but it seemed it had come back to bite him. "Can I change my name?"
[No.]
"I guessed as much. Then here goes nothing. Ring, I—Water—command you to become mine."
A blinding light shone as he finished speaking, and the ring shrank to fit perfectly around his middle finger.
Like an illusion, images bloomed inside Louise's head—dresses, hills, cloaks, small clothes, jewels, food, and drinks.
"A sword—amazing!" The sword was completely black: hilt, scabbard, and blade alike. The steel was carved with flower-like patterns looping across its surface. As if by instinct, he wished to hold it, and the sword appeared in his hand.
"Light as a feather. It's not that long—more like a short sword, probably made for a woman." He glanced at the body. "Although it's probably still too small."
He took out the clothes that weren't overly girly. Surprisingly, some garments seemed to be made for men, though no smallclothes were included. He washed what he was wearing with the giant woman's blood, then ate while waiting for the clothes to dry.
The food was still hot and the drinks cold, so he feasted and rested, preparing himself to open the door. Gods knew what awaited him outside.
"Anything but a madman."