Everything felt silent; no one moved or even said a word. All of the remaining group members stood in shock and disbelief.
The Captain broke the ice by mentioning the current situation they were in, trying to understand what was going on.
"Everything might seem tough, but we need to figure out a way out of here," said the Captain.
Out of nowhere, Drek began trying to give the group some confidence, shouting that they just needed to follow the Captain's instructions and they would be fine. Some of the members felt inspired by Drek's speech, but the same could not be said for everyone. Cora was out of it. She was trembling with terror. Knees on the ground, shaking, muttering negativity.
"We are dead! They are dead!"
Josh went to her, trying to reassure her that they would be fine, but she was so overwhelmed with fear that the reassurance was not effective. Brian went to Cindy to check on her, and she simply smiled at him and said she was fine — but her trembling hands said otherwise.
Drek shouted once more, reassuring everyone that they had the Captain, and they all looked at him for ideas to get them out safely. The Captain felt the weight of their eyes and their need. So he spoke words of encouragement to lift their spirits. He told them they needed to bring their minds together to escape this place. Somehow, they believed him and gained a little hope, which showed how much they trusted him.
On the other hand, the priest was still admiring the being. The being sat on its throne, looking straight ahead, not saying anything, not blinking, not even moving an inch. The priest tried to go closer, but the Captain stopped him, telling him not to go any further. He explained that they did not know anything yet and must be cautious.
The Captain called Brian over so they could analyze everything that had happened.
-
The being asks a question, and the one inside the circle must answer.
-
They must not leave the circle.
-
Failure to answer, or answering incorrectly, means death.
But that was all they had. How the beings appeared, what this room was, and how to get out were all unclear. They both looked at the being, and it was still in the same position; nothing was happening.
Brian suggested they look around; maybe they might find something that could help them escape. The Captain called the group and assigned them into smaller groups to search the area. Maybe they would find something.
Timmy argued that there was nothing there other than the being, but Brian insisted they at least try to look, even if it was just the crafted stories carved into the ground. Anything at this point would be helpful.
The groups were:
-
The Captain with Lucky
-
Drek with Josh and Cora
-
Brian with Cindy and Molly
-
The Priest with Timmy
The group scattered to search the room. The only things around were strange crafted stories carved into the ground, which they did not understand at all.
Molly, while walking with Cindy, started teasing her about liking Brian. Cindy got embarrassed and told her to lower her voice, but Molly, in her bubbly nature, kept pestering her until Cindy became serious and reminded her of the situation they were in. There was no time for childish games. Molly explained she was just trying to lighten the mood, but Cindy was not in the mood at all.
While they continued searching, each group noticed different carvings on the ground, trying to understand what they meant and why they were there. It was all difficult to decrypt.
After about an hour, Cora grew tired and sat down. Josh stayed with her, keeping her company. Drek then called Josh over to the door to try using his decay powers to see if it would break. Josh tried, but it made no difference at all.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
As they walked back, the Captain noticed something and called Lucky over. They saw carved figures kneeling on the ground, praying, all facing toward their right. The Captain and Lucky tried to look in the same direction the figures were facing, but what they saw made no sense to them. It only raised more questions.
At that moment, a scream echoed through the room.
"AHHH!!!"
They turned toward the sound. A glowing circle had formed around Cora.
Brian and the Captain looked at the being, and it was staring directly at Cora.
Let the questioning begin.
Cora was panicking. Everyone yelled at her not to step out of the circle. She stood up, still panicking, not knowing what to do. Josh tried to run toward her, but Brian shouted at him to stop and not go near the circle because they did not know what would happen if he did.
Josh did not listen. Cora was calling his name desperately until Drek pinned Josh to the ground. Josh struggled for a moment, but Drek was stronger and managed to calm him down.
Cora was still shaking uncontrollably. Molly shouted at her to calm down and keep it together. Cora tried her hardest to steady herself, though terror still surrounded her.
When things quieted slightly, the wall behind the being lit up, and a question appeared as before.
NAME THE FOUR LEAST PRAISED GRACES?
NO HAND ROSE FROM THE DARK.
Cora admitted she knew nothing about the Graces and had never heard of them before today. Brian and Cindy tried to decode the phrase. What did "no hand rose from the dark" mean?
As they were still trying to figure it out, Cora began panicking again, begging for help. The group tried to recall the myths told by the elders, but none of them remembered anything about which Graces were praised less.
Lucky says he remembers something his group at home used to tell them, along with the elders. He had forgotten the Graces, but he asked them to name them again so that he could remember what they told him about that type of question. The group named the graces for what they mentioned.
"The Grace Caltoum, Penda, Rushel, Jury, Noelle, Gruago, Federal, Silicone, Gorman, and Lucy."
Lucky finally remembers the stories. He remembers that the least praised grace is the one that had the least powers out of all the graces, and he remembers who the graces were which graces he mentioned to Cora.
"The Grace Caltoum, Lucy, Penda, and Rushel," said Lucky.
Cora was hesitant about what Lucky said. The priest was even impressed by what Lucky knew, which made sense. He got more interested in Lucky and wanted to know more about what he knew about the Graces. As Cora answered the question to the being:
SILENCE...
Nothing was happening in that moment. Everyone was confused. The circle is still there surrounding Cora, and the question is still there on the wall. Until another soldier-like being appeared behind Lucky, holding a battle axe. Everyone began panicking, even Cora screaming that she was dead. But the soldier-like being was not for Cora. Lucky decided to look behind, along with the priest who was next to him. Just as they turned, they didn't even have a second to think. The soldier-like being flashed the weapon directly at Lucky. The slash had created a little impact. The priest had closed his eyes as he opened them, like he was still standing, with his right hand held high. It seems he was trying to block. As the priest looked like he began symmetrically splitting into two, that moment shocked the group, and the soldier-like being began vanishing. Cora panicked, and so was everyone shocked. Brian looked at the question in the phrase, and he realized what the phrase meant. It meant that they shouldn't provide
any assistance at that moment, which they did. All of a sudden, the question disappeared, but the circle around Cora didn't disappear. Cora asked him why, all of a sudden, a new question got crafted on the wall.
NAME THE FOUR MOST PRAISED GRACES?
SILENCE HOLDS THE MOMENT.
As soon as Brian saw the phrase, he shouted for everyone to stay quiet. He pointed at the words and then dragged his finger across his neck, signaling death. Cora disagreed, saying that was not what it meant. She begged them to help her. No one spoke. Drek covered Josh’s mouth to prevent him from saying anything. Cora looked at each of them. They were terrified, but silent. She looked at Molly and Cindy. In their eyes, you can tell they do not want to ignore her, but there was no choice. Cora began saying some regretful things and hateful words to the group out of anger and fear. She finally stopped looking at them and looked straight at the being. She was shaking, but she just answered the question.
"Jury, Silicone," said Cora.
She tries to remember the other graces not mentioned by Lucky.
"Noelle and Federal," answered Cora.
All went silent again. Unfortunately for Cora, the circle turned from blue to red. Cora began panicking; she didn't understand why the circle was red, asking in panic, "Why?" but the group remained silent until the priest answered, "It's wrong." At that moment, Cora knew it was over. She ran out of the red circle, ran as fast as she could to the door. To do what? Neither did she know. Running was all in her mind. A soldier-like being appeared, holding a big war hammer. As Cora was running, the soldier threw the war hammer up high. The hammer spun in the sky, and as it was about to make a second rotation, it caught up to Cora on the ground. Josh saw the moment Cora was being crushed down by the war hammer. The war hammer slid across the floor until it hit the door. When the dust settled, Cora’s blood had splashed onto Josh and Drek. Just like that, Josh screamed his lungs out, everyone standing in shock, and the soldier-like being was vanishing.