3 What Lies Beneath (2/2)
Obviously, he didn't know what these 'Shadows' were, but he was sure he was going to find it out soon.
.
.
.
Nothing! Absolutely nothing!
It's been more than 2 hours since he started his search and he didn't even manage to take a glimpse of that cat. And from her obvious lack of presence, Amelia must have got lost too.
”f.u.c.k...” He grunted in annoyance.
He laid down on the gra.s.s, closing his eyes to recover a bit of his stamina.
d.a.m.n, the uselessness of my low stats is finally showing itself.
He was now regretting not having ever partaken in physical activities. If he had done so, he wouldn't be so tired.
He slowly opened his eyes when he heard someone approaching him. He turned his head around and met Amelia's happy but anxious gaze.
”I found him!” She exclaimed excitedly.
He gave her a puzzled look seeing that the cat wasn't with her.
”Yeah? But where is him?” He asked.
”I need your help! I can't reach for him!” She said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him with her.
He just didn't have enough energy to resist, so he let himself be pulled and followed her as they got further away from the district they were just in.
...
After a 10 minutes long walk, they were in front of a hut. It was made of iron, and most of its parts were rusted. The entrance was slightly ajar, and the lack of light inside it made it impossible to see what was inside.
He went ahead of her, and remembering that it was still a dangerous situation, trodded carefully inside, leaving Amelia waiting outside.
The wooden floor creaked as he stepped upon it, and a large number of cobwebs were hindering his path.
After a while, he finally saw what he's been looking for the past 2 hours.
The cat was on top of a sideboard, even though it wasn't that high, Amelia's short-sized body couldn't reach it.
He lengthened his arms and picked him up, only to put it down afterward, and watched as the cat made its way out.
”Mr.Puffles!” He heard her.
And then...
[ Quest: What Lurks in the Dark?. Completed! ]
[ Your actions have saved the life of a cat and spared his owner of many tears. ]
[ Reward: 5 Attribute points
100 System points. ]
[ Alert: Requirements met. The feature 'Shop' has been unlocked. ]
Finally...
He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. He looked forward to what the shop had to offer.
His smile though vanished a second later, when the temperature in the room dropped drastically.
Why...
His face stiffened, as he tried to hold back the s.h.i.+ver that went through his spine only to stop at the back of his neck making his hair standing on its ends.
Why?
His beating heart echoed its cries in his ears, his feet froze cold inhibiting him from moving.
The door suddenly closed by itself, preventing the only source of light from reaching inside.
He gulped hard, almost like the lump of saliva on his throat didn't want to go down. He tried to stop his trembling hands but it was futile...
His own body was no longer his to control, like it surrendered itself to someone... or something.
Why!?
Almost instinctively he turned his head around, the movement was made with difficulty, yet he managed to complete it nonetheless.
And then he felt it...
He heard it...
He saw it...
Something so out of this world, but that fitted his name very well.
A Shadow...
”Well... h.e.l.lo there, dear guest.” A distorted and demonic-like chuckle rang out through the room, its sound reverberating multiple times.
He tried not to look, but his head moved on its own, bringing his eyes to meet the voice owner's ones.
They were two humongous glowing green orbs. The power within them was so powerful that by just standing there he felt like going crazy.
He forced to close his eyes but to no avail, he was constrained to stare at this creature, if it could even be called that.
Its body was an amalgamation of black fog and a green energy-like aura swirling around it.
He tried to move his limbs but they seemed to be petrified. His struggle was like the last fight before his eventual demise.
At that thought, his breathing became erratic. He didn't want to die...
He tried to calm his emotions down, but its presence had an influence so strong on him that brought out his survival instincts, unleas.h.i.+ng an explosion of fear inside himself.
The creature seemed to be amused by his fright but knew that it was normal. In fact, he was rather surprised that he didn't faint yet like many others did.
Still, he had something to do.
”Let's have a good chat, shall we?” It proposed, though it sounded more like an order.
He looked terrified for a moment and wanted to protest, to do something...
But in the end...
He was at its mercy...
The black fog started spinning around him, swallowing him inside the floor.
With no way to resist, he disappeared from the place, and along with him the Shadow.
After all, he had no power...
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