LogFAQs > #906242473

Entry 17: Into the Darkness

After working for a solid ten minutes, Valter managed to partially pry open the bottom section of the stone door. His back was uncomfortably planted against the ground, now, and he was straining his legs in order to try and push the door straight up from below. Goetic, the scrawny little Abnormal, unfortunately hadn't been able to help very much.

"Get under there," Valter commanded. "You should be able to fit."

Goetic lowered his body and put his shoulder under the exposed stone door. Together they wedged themselves against the bottom of the door and continued to press it upward into the frame where it was made to disappear as part of the wall.

Valter, they had taken to calling him Abom, had a moment where he needed to adjust his posture and get to his feet. From that point, with his full strength at his disposal, he was able to employ enough power to force the door the rest of the way open without much trouble. He looked at the other man with a satisfied nod.

Goetic was now red faced and sweating. He was breathing heavily while staring down the exposed passage of darkness. "This doesn't look right," Goetic observed through strained breaths. "It shouldn't be -this- dark."

The door gave a satisfying click as Valter mashed it into place. From here it seemed as if the door wasn't going to fall straight down behind them or on top of them. That would be essential toward exploring onward. Though there was a nagging thought in the back of his mind. What would it mean if they needed to quickly close the door? How would they accomplish that?

Before they could gain an answer to that question, Goetic seemed to hear something from below.

"Fighting. I hear the sound of battle," Goetic observed. He looked down the passage and then back the other way. Then, biting his lip as if making a difficult decision, his brightened eyes shined in the dark as he made his resolution. "We must go and help the others."

Valter nodded in agreement. "You'll be faster than I," he said simply. "Go to them. I'll be right behind you." The big man knew in his current state of exhaustion he wouldn't be winning a marathon run to the bottom of the pit, and with his chains weighing him down it was hard to say if his sprinting speed would be faster than Goetic either. But if the blue-haired Abnormal could get there quick enough and make a difference there was no reason for him to wait on Valter.

Goetic took off wordlessly as instructed, leaving the big man alone in the corridor.

Valter stopped to take one last long look at the darkened passage that was laid out before him. There he saw a strange film of colors that moved and shifted, never completely forming, never settling, and not quite there. Yet somehow visible in a way that couldn't be seen. His mouth opened slightly in shock, but he knew he couldn't remain to study this odd display. There were others who needed his help.

"Ah, such a shame," his Mona told him. "You let that Devil escape from us. I would have liked to catch him before The End."

Valter turned his vision back down the other way and began to exit the stone passage and out onto the ledge. He was tired and felt as if he was dragging his entire weight and the weight of the chains more than ever before. He thought to catch a glimpse of Goetic, but the smaller guy had already taken off with such speed that he was no longer visible in the darkness below. That, at least, was a natural darkness.

Then, the hairs on Valter's neck stood up. What did she mean? "... The End?"

A hand shot out from the darkness behind him, the unnatural dark that he had left his back to, and wrapped around the side of his skull. There was a flash of light at the edge of Valter's vision. Then his temple was forcefully slammed into the stone wall.
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~* Now I only see your dull imposter ~*
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