A narrow passageway, that seemed to absorb the light emitted by our torches slithered downwards, into a warmer and damper part of the Dungeon. As reluctant as I was to admit it, this was getting somewhat thrilling, in a fun way.

As I tried my best to keep pace with Cain, using the walls or Etienne’s hand for support in places that were too slippery or steep, I allowed myself to imagine that I was on a real adventure, and not a make-belief one.

“Wow.” Cain exclaimed, as he suddenly came to a stop.

As I caught up to him, I had the same reaction. And soon afterwards, Etienne echoed our exclamations.

The three of us stood at the entrance of a cavernous room, where exposed rock and crystal had weathered over time under the relentless flow of the water that slowly streamed from an invisible source high up in the ceiling. Bioluminescent moss and vines covered the walls of cavern in irregular patches, and seemed to feed on the light of our torches the exact same way the walls of the hallway we’d left behind had.

While I stood there in awe, I felt Etienne reach out for my hand, before leaning over and whispering:

“Quite romantic, isn’t it?”

“And very high budget as well, it seems.” I replied. I had intended that as a joke, but as the words left my mouth, their weight suddenly sunk in, and a seed of doubt sprouted within me. I wanted to share those doubts with my entourage, but what came out of my mouth instead was, “Cain no! Don’t touch that slimy rock!”

While Etienne and I had been staring at the scenery, Cain snatched my torch, and went on exploring further in. He’d climbed onto a mount of stone that laid in the centre of the cavern, and was about to pick up a large, moss-covered pebble that laid on top. From this distance, the only thing that made that pebble special was the fact that it was located in the exact centre of the ‘room’, right under the main source of water that dripped form the ceiling. It was very likely some puzzle, but also looked like it might stain.

“Alright.” Cain replied, as he leaped of the mount or rocks. “But know that if this is an essential-”

Mind Stop

Effects of Beelzebul's touch negated.

Reaction time*4

Cain froze in place, while I hastily pulled out the gun I’d been given out of the pocked I had somehow managed to shove it into, and aimed it at the pile of rocks behind Cain. But the thing had not moved, and a glanced around in confusion, before my eyes locked with Cain’s. His expression mimicked mine, and it seemed that attack had not affected him either, (no doubt as a side effect of him having that exact skill at a higher level, as it often was with those things), which only left –

I spun around and gasped. Etienne was hovering a few centimetres off the ground, as his eyes, and slightly agape mouth shone with energy, as sparks and arcs of electricity ran over and through his body.

I called out his name, but no sound came out of my mouth. It was as if it too was absorbed by the walls. Not knowing what to do, and not wanting to touch him in case I too would get electrocuted, I spun to face Cain, hoping that he would know what to do.

A tiny voice at the back of my head still tried to convince me that this was all part of the show; that Etienne was faking it, and that the System notification had been caused by some sort of magic item to make it all seem more believable. Cain looked like he still fully believed that, as he carried on talking, with an annoyed expression, while gesturing between towards the stone, and then towards me.

I tapped my ear, and shook my head. I couldn’t hear him, and I briefly wondered why he hadn’t realised that he couldn’t hear himself either. Or perhaps that was just me? But Etienne’s situation was more pressing.

The energy that ran through his body had made itself more sparce, as if it was depleting itself. I shoved the gun back in my pocket, and with a deep and silenced sigh grabbed him by the shoulders, and yanked him down.

The distance between his feet and the ground has been tiny, if not negligible, but as soon as the soles of his shoes hit the ground, it was a if he short-circuited, for lack of a better explanation. The energy that shone through his eyes became exponentially brighter, and when I tried to shield my own eyes, I realised that I could not move my arms. It was the strangest sensation, as I didn’t feel any pain, and hardly any discomfort, and wasn’t losing any luck either.

It ended as quickly as it had begun. Etienne regained control of his own body, and pulled away, grasping at his heart. I put a hand over his back and asked if he was okay, but once again, no sound came through. I could feel his irregular breathing; the type of breathing that sound have been loud enough to hear.

Ḭ̷̳̹͔̞̦̥̲͖̤̪̩͂̎͛͑͌͆̔͆̕̕͠͝ ̴̢̢̗̣͈̪͈̹͑̎̆̄̓̔̋̇̈́͐̚͘̕f̴̡̠͇̖͚̖̂̔͑̀ͅe̴̡̧̞̱̝̻͇̪̦͍̞̣̯͈͓̾̒͒̅̈́́̐̓̏̓̚̚ä̵̖̮͇̟̪́̈̑̆̔͗͗̃̽̈́͘s̸͓̝̮͎͇̥̞͐̔͒͒̂̓̎͂̓͌̊͗̊̚͠ͅṫ̷̬̺̪̥͖͎̥̗̲̟͈͔̈́̓͛͐͘ ̸̢̧̢̞̪͓̪͒̉̅͋͋ͅͅõ̸̮̯̩̩̦̓̓̐̏ǹ̵̢̛̫͉̻̻̪̪̹͇̀̾͒͆̏͊͝͠ ̵̢̱̪͔͓̣͓̭̣̮͆͂͂̀̉͌͑̒̊̎́͊ÿ̷̪̥̲́͋̓̾̈́͛̑̿̓͗̉o̸̢̪͍̗͚͙̺̼̰̦̞̱͑̑̀̌́̎̕u̵̧̧̹̟̬̤͈͙̘̜̦̘̣̱̞͗̈́͛̆̂̋ṟ̸͔͕͕̏̆̍̑̃̿͐̾ͅ ̵̛̩̥̱̰̩̬̺͌̀͌͂f̸̡̙̙̦̩̿̓̾̎̔̈́̇͠͝͝e̸̡̲̤͆̍̍a̵̞͓̣͎͖̽͂̑̋͜ŗ̸̖͓̱͔̭̺̻͖̹̬̳̭̯̑̔̃

Mind Stop

Effects of Fear negated.

Reaction time *2

̵̧̤̘͎̦̻̊̅̍̌̋ͅi̵̛͔̖̓́̆̄̓͠ ̷̢̧̢̛͇̟̺̿̇̎͆̄̈́͋͌͋̚͜s̵̨̺̘̜̩̣̍͑̏̅̏̔̔̔̇̉ͅh̴̨̨̳̝̪̹̹̮̽͠ä̸̳̱̤̠̖͚̟̩̫͋l̴͉͓̺̪̭̀̋͒͐͊̓̑̃̄̅l̴̘̭̜̫̔̎̉͐̃͐̔̚͝͝ ̶̥̈́̚͠d̵̢̟͍̮̳̹͉̗̥͉͆̓ȩ̶̧̙͉͚͓͖̓͂̀͒́̃̾̏͝v̴͎̲̈́̏̈́̊̾̎̑͠͝ơ̶̢̝̠̳̥̟̫̄͊̃̊̿͒ǔ̶̜͇̳̟͊́̅̽̽̚̕r̶̡̫͊̔̅̆́͘̕̚ͅ ̵̧̛̖͚̲̺͖̺̭̐̔̎͂̒͋̆̄̕y̶̙̥͓̬̟̼̟̮͖̫̟̑̄͗ọ̸̢͚̏̉́̈́̂́̓̚ủ̸̺̗͙͍͍̞͈̫̌̐̄̓̋̑̈,̸͎̽ ̴̢̗̩̞̲̮͓̣̼͖̺̈̈́̀̓̿̆̉́͂ȁ̷̯̥͉͋͊͆͊͐̀̔n̶̨̢͙͔͎̤̏̿ͅd̶̨̠͖͒̈́̋ ̷̨̡̬̫̲̲̠̪̒ͅf̸͙̺̹͈̹͇͉̐̍̆́̑͛́͝e̸͎̖͙͙̎̃́͗̉̃̀̊̓͂a̵͇͋ͅs̷͖̩͈̻̯̟̩̮̼̓͂̐͗̋̓t̶̢̡͓̳̟̹̿̀̃ ̷̥̝͉̜̎͆̈́́͗͋̚u̴̼͙͙̼̺͚͊̆̃̃̓̃̓̌̂͂͘p̴̱̙̒̑̅̎̄̈́͛͗͒̌̑o̷̧͕̗͔͊̈́̉̃̑̋̓̂ͅn̷̹̠̠͈̟̰͉̙͓̑̋͜͝ ̸̥̟͚̘̰̳̬̖̩͖̞͒̎̓̈̎̔̌̀̈́̚͝ỳ̸̡̛̗̥͙͚͍ͅö̷̲̗̬́̃͂u̷͉̥̻͕̞̎͂͗̌̈́̒̀̎̌r̴̳͕̼̱͂́́ ̵͍̼̙̪̼̏̊͘d̸̢̥͕̲̖̤̤̤̤̪̥͐̆͒͋̆̒͗̔ė̸̯͚̇c̶̡̛̳̼̪̹̓̃͐̓͗̀̌̒̌̎ą̶̢̦̳̟̺͎͇̪̹̅̑̔̑͒͠y̴͚̟͉̝͋̈͋͛̐͜͝͠i̶̧̛̳̫̟̩̙̊̓͛͂̿͊̽̀͑n̶̛̤̘͗̒͊͘ĝ̶̫̹̍̈́̃̿͊̈́̀͌̒͂ ̶͇͔̽ŝ̵͈̜̙͑̈́̏͂̀̄̐̈́͘ͅo̵̡̩̰̟̩͛̅̆͜ű̴̧͓̱̹̯̹̝̖͇͙̳͋͗͐̍́̆͝l̸̥̿̍̈́̎̚̚s̴̢̧̅̑̓̀͒̋̍̓͝ͅ.̶̢̛̖̱͎͙̻̓̓̂̿̓̈́̅́̐̄͐͑̈͘ ̷̡̠̮͓̤̦̼͙͖̭̥̠̲͙͊̈́͋̅̈̄͒̈́͒̽̕M̶̢̤̟͎̬̬͇̱̲͓̥̿͒̈́ͅͅá̶͕͙̻͖̱̃́͆̑y̵̤̪̏̀̍̾͊̑̇̀̓̐̅̈͠ ̷͇̺̝̜̹̩̰̂͊̓̈̌͐̾̾͂t̶̛̟͚̓̂̎͑͂̀͊͝͝ŕ̸̡̡̳̪͚̼̻̖̳͔̗̪̽͑̎̀̇̍ų̸̠̟̱͎͚̘̘̻̇͗͌̅͌t̵̜̲̙͕̳̱͑͊̍̅͒͐͘͝͠ͅḩ̵͓͓̝̟̦͎͈̳͐̊̃̓̐̕̕͝ͅ ̴̥̺̹̳͙̱̭̖̻͚̋̈́̄̆͊̌̍͐͒b̵̝̹̀͗̿́ë̸̘͇̫͙̙̙́̓͒̑̐̃̑̈͆͛̊̄͆͠ ̶̢̢̞̦̬̭̠̫̮̝̀͗̔̔̂̑͒̑͘y̴̙̥͛̿̑͋̃͆̊͌̈́͛͝͠ơ̶̛̦̰̼͚̪̟̆͑̐͂̄͐̎̓̇͒͆̕̕ṵ̷̢̢̨̻̝̰̓̿̉̔͂̋͂̎̃͒̈́̑ṛ̷̡̧̧͕͎̖̳͔̩̭͉̝̀͗͜ͅ ̷̰̦̱̐̏̈́̈́ǒ̶̡͉̬̰͖̹͕͕̹̣̻̤̱͂̄͗͋̽̃͗̑̀ͅn̵͎̜̰̲̈́̀̀̌͑̅̆͑̀̽̇̓͂̇͝ļ̶̛̺̦̠̫̔̉̆͋̇̌̑̋͘y̴̨̢͎͎͔̝̯̲̠͎͉̱͓̝̓̃͆̃͑͋̎̅̽͛͠ ̶̡̨̢̙͕̮̱̩̜̓̔͗͊̇̾̈̽̀̽̈́̕s̸̨̨̛̺̼̩̺̞̫̰̰̯͇͚͑́͒̔̇͂̆̌̕̚͜ͅạ̵̢͎̩̞͔͖̝̙͕̀̑̀̅͊̚͝ĺ̴̙̦̱͛v̸̨̢̛͈̲̦͚͈͈̼͙̠̭̳̈́̌́͋ą̴̡̞̬̱͇̲̼̹͖̰͓̾t̷̯̠̼̔̀̋̌̈́̾̈́̈͒i̶̢̘̤͙͎̼̹̙̲͎̠͎̦͚̯͆̓̎̀́̋̾͛͘̕ŏ̸̫͇̪̤̩͜͜ͅn̶̡̹̹̖͎̘̱̝̠̣̋̎̈́̄̃̿̄̌̒͆̃

Skill or no skill, that System notification was still terrifying.

“Did you see that?”

“Are you alright?”

Cain and Etienne (respectively) called out almost simultaneously.

“Yes, I saw that, and the two psychic attacks before as well.” I replied, talking more to Cain than the man next to me, as the kid had a very misplaced smile on his face. It seemed he still though this was all part of the dungeon, which I now had no doubts was not the case. “Did you not witness what just happened?!”

“Oh,” He waved his hand, “You grownups played pretend. It was fun. Let’s go now.” He gestured again.

“Cain,” Etienne straightened up, as he spoke, “we weren’t playing pretend. Laura almost got killed by that monster, we need to get out of here. I don’t know if this is part of the game or not, but it’s getting a little too real for my liking.”

“Etienne.” I cut him off. “There was no monster. You were the one who got affected by that attack, since I have a counter skill and Cain- you know what, never mind. You’re right, let’s get our asses out of – Cain!”

I didn’t even have the time to finish my sentence, as the kid had already ran off.

“Cain!” I called after him again. But instead of a response, all I got was the dimming light of my torch that he’d snatched disappearing further down a passageway that had definitely not been there before.

“We need to go after him.” Etienne said, in a tone that ever so slightly failed to be decisive.

I nodded, and took his hand. I didn’t know what was going on, and I wasn’t even entirely sure sticking together was the right thing to do, considering the strangeness of this whole situation, but I saw no other option, and I would have been lying to myself had I said that I wasn’t a fair bit worried about Cain.