Chapter Text
You walk down the worn and grey hallway, your footsteps echoing off the walls. The buzzing overhead lights flickering. It seems to be getting darker the longer you continue down the path. You wrap your arms around yourself. *I need to stop letting this shitty test of courage get the better of me.* You think to yourself, taking hesitant strides forward. *Who believes in this shit anyway?* You scoff to yourself, you can feel your anxiety rising the longer you stay in this place. How long have you been walking now? Twenty minutes? Or- no.. Two hours? You turn around, the passage behind you is so dim now.. has it been this dark the whole time?
You turn your head back around and face forward quickening your pace, shaking any negative thoughts away. *No. Don’t be ridiculous.* You continue to walk, although your uncertainty increases with every step. “Where the hell is that damn exit..?” You mutter to yourself, turning the corner. Is this the first turn you’ve taken so far? You speed up, breaking into a slight jog. “Does this hallway ever end?” You whisper, turning another corner. As you’re making your way down the hall, you notice a faint light in the distance.
You squint your eyes, attempting to get a better look. Is that a picture- no a word? You can faintly make out the letters. ‘Exit! Watch your step!’ Your eyes widen in shock, a sigh of relief escaping your lips. You break out into a sprint, making your way down the hallway as fast as possible. When you finally reach the door you open it in a hurry, nearly tripping over yourself. Your breath catches in your throat as you stare ahead. *What the hell happened to the floor??* Just as you are about to give up and find another route to the exit you hear a voice behind you.
“Down! Down! Time to go!” The voice cheerfully exclaims. You whip your head around attempting to get a glance of the person.. or thing behind you, but it’s too late. A hard shove knocks you off your feet. You’re already falling. As you fall deeper into the darkness you look up at the doorway. A black shadow stands there, the light behind it acting as a veil. It perfectly conceals the figure’s face. You strain your eyes, attempting to see who or what pushed you. You can barely make out the red eyes and nasty devious smile before the door is gone from your sight entirely. “Goodbye! See you soon!”The voice echoes. Then everything went dark.
You open your eyes slowly. Your vision finally returning. A loud ringing sounds in your ears, followed by a heavy pounding in your head. “Ugh... That’s going to leave a mark.” You mumble, sitting up and rubbing your head in pain. You take a moment to look around, noticing that your surroundings are significantly different now. “A hallway? Where am I?” You stand up and brush off your clothes. It’s eerily quiet here. The walls are worn, and the wallpaper has long since rotted away. A singular red light illuminates the hallway. You groan in pain and rub your back attempting to soothe the pain.
*I need to find a way out of here.. and soon.* You think to yourself as you walk towards the end of the hallway. Suddenly the lights begin to flicker. The entire hallway goes dark. You squint your eyes, attempting to see through the darkness. What is that sound? The sound of shuffling echoes down the hallway. Is that the sound of limbs shuffling against the floor? Your entire body freezes in fear, adrenaline rushing through your veins. Your eyes finally focus on something. Movement. There is something moving towards you. No- something crawling towards you.
You stumble backwards, falling over yourself. Suddenly the creature lunges forward, grasping your shoulders. Is that.. a man? No.. a monster? You take in the creature’s features. It’s long black hair draping over his shoulders. A haunting smile is plastered on it’s face. It’s skin is eerily grey, clearly it’s not capable of being a living being. Your body stiffens in fear. The monster begins mumbling, making some kind of noise. “You okay? Pain?” Hm. A language you don’t understand?
“AHH!” You scream, shoving the creature off you and sprinting as fast as you can in the opposite direction. You fall to the ground, finally out of the hallway. You catch your breath before looking up. Only to freeze out of fear yet again. A hooded figure stands in the middle of the room, it’ face concealed in darkness. The thing doesn’t exactly scream “hostility.” It’s not exactly making an effort to get near you. You look up at the figure, approaching it slowly. “You human?” Its that language again. Is this how they communicate?
“You not understand language?” It mumbles. You tilt your head it confusion. “I can’t understand what you’re saying...” You reply. The creature points at himself and mumbles something in his language. “Me.” It points at you. “You.” *Is he trying to teach me the language?* You think to yourself, looking around the room. One by one he points at all the objects in the room and names them in his language. You nod your head at him with a smile. This was helpful but you can’t stay here forever. You leave the room, waving at the hooded figure.
You close the door behind you, looking around. You have three potential paths to take. A locked door, a room that is blocked off by a small piece of furniture, and another hallway. You tried the locked door with no luck, so the next on your list was the blocked off room. You push the furniture with a loud “Oof!” the furniture falls over. You step inside. There is nothing of interest. A dusty bed and cobwebs. You’re about to turn to walk away when you hear something skitter across the ground. You’re head immediately snaps down to the ground.
Skittering across the ground is a severed fucking hand. You jump about ten feet in the air. You’re about to run away when you hear something shout. “Wait! Wait!” You turn around and look down. Not only is the severed hand waving at you, laying next to it is a severed head to match. “AHH FUCK!!” You scream, covering your face. “You loud! Be quiet!” You hear the head yell. You can pick up on what he means based on the tone he’s using. Should you even be surprised at this point?
You kneel down on the floor next to him, peaking at him through your fingers. The head has an annoyed expression and is grumbling something in his language. “Stupid human.. Loud.” You look down at him and put something to say together. “I’m sorry.. you scared me.” You say softly, praying that your intention got across. “You shocked?” The head replies. “Me stuck! You help? Help!” The head exclaims, rolling around on the ground. “Carry! You carry!” *Does he want me to pick him up?*
*What does it matter? I’m going to be stuck here for a while anyway.* You think to yourself. *I need to call him by something..* “I’m going to call you Mr. Chopped okay?” You pick up the head and give it a nervous smile. The head squirms around in your hands and gives you a confused look, before smiling widely. *Does he like the name?* “Where should I take you?” You ask and hope he understood what you meant. The hand jumps ridiculously high and lands on the head with a thump. It shakes a bit before a finger points down towards the ground, motioning to a dark hole. “Go down! In hole!” The head exclaims. You hesitate but eventually decide to descend into the hole using a rusty ladder. The passageway leads down a set of stairs. “Go! Go! Go!” The head says excitedly.
You step down the stairs, towards the end is a single white door. “Go in door!” The head says as the hand points ahead. You open the door only to be greeted by a tall man with long silver hair. Is that a blindfold he’s wearing? The head immediately squirms around in your grasp, turning to face the man. “Me back! Them carry me! Leave room!” The head begins eagerly explaining something to the tall man. You take the moment to scan your surroundings. It’s a plain room. There is a couch, a table, and some chairs.
The tall man takes the head from you with a nod. “Thank you.” The man says. It’s followed by a long silence. “You no understand language?” The silver-haired man speaks, clearly directed at you. You make a troubled expression and tilt your head. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.” You say, shaking your head. “Them troubled! Troubled!” The head exclaims. The man nods his head in acknowledgement. “I see. Me teach.” The man says, offering you a soft smile as he sits down on the couch. He sets the head down next to him and motions for you to sit down across from him. Oh! He’s going to help you!
You sit down nervously. ”Look. Object.” The silver-haired man says, motioning to four coins in his hand. He places them on the table. “Object here.” He pulls the objects away. “Gone.” You nod your head in recognition. The man smiles and places the coins on the table once again. “Up. Down. Middle. Left. Right.” Lucky you! He’s teaching you directions! You smile at him. “Thank you for helping me.” You thank the silver-haired man. *Ah! That’s perfect. Mr. Silvair.* You stand up and look around the room.
Mr. Silvair teaches you the words for eye, ear, hair, mouth, face, hand, and finger. Along with the words of some facial expressions. You thank them before turning to leave. This was helpful. You leave the room and head back up the stairs. A new passage has opened up! You hurry through the door and turn the corner. *Huh? A dead end?* How unlucky. You are about to turn around and find a new path when you hear shuffling behind you. You freeze, your hold body stiffening in fear. You scan the room, looking for a hiding spot or a weapon.. anything! You take notice of the crowbar laying against the wall. You grab it and duck into an oddly designed crevice in the corner of the room.
The shuffling is getting louder now. You grip the crowbar, your palms sweaty. You bite your lip nervously in anticipation. The thing is in the room now, you back up farther against the far end of the wall. You brace yourself.. but the shuffling stops. You peak your head out, checking to see if the coast is clear. You slow your breathing and prepare to get up when suddenly two hands grip your shoulders. “AHH!!” You scream, reaching for the crowbar and landing a hard *THUNK* on the monster’s head. The monster falls backwards holding a hand to it’s face. “Oouugg..” The monster groans in pain and removes the hand from it’s face. It looks down at you as blood drips from it’s surprisingly human-looking nose. If it weren’t for the long dark hair draping down it’s shoulders and the eerie wide smile spread across it's face of it’s skin, you easily could have mistaken it for a human. “You shock? Sorry..” The monster mumbles as it crawls away. You peak your head up and stand up. The *man’s?* crumpled form is crouched down by the doorway. A sudden pang of guilt pierces your heart. He just looks so… pitiful.
You kneel down behind him and place a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.. Are you okay?” You ask softly. The man quickly turns his head, a wide grin spreading across his face. “You worry me? Problem gone!” The monster exclaims, motioning to his previously bleeding nose. It’s completely healed now, not a hint of the blood that was dripping down his face earlier. You back away with an awkward smile. “Well.. that’s good.” You mumble as you walk towards the exit and leave the room.
As you continue on your way down the hallway that is now drowned in an eerie red glow, you can’t help but notice the shuffling behind you. You turn around and are greeted by the crawling man. Is that grin permanently plastered on his face? You give him a questioning look. ”You seek path?” The monster mumbles. You tilt your head in confusion. “You don’t need to follow me around you know..” You reply. You face forward and continue walking towards the increasingly bright red light. *Shuffle shuffle.* You whip your head around. Well would you look at that. He’s still following you.
“C-can I help you?” You ask with a nervous smile. “Me worry you. Many persons hostile.” *Is he worried about me?* You resume your even steps down the hallway. As you walk you hear something splash beneath your feet. Your body goes rigid in fear at the sight. “Blood?” You mutter, quickening your pace. Just then, you hear footsteps sounding down the opposite side of the hallway. You feel a sudden tug on your skirt. ”Someone come! You should hide! Hide!” The crawling man exclaims, his voice panicked. The tone he is using indicates that he’s serious. Are you in danger?
You open your mouth to speak but you are quickly cut off as he pushes you into a corner. He shields you with his body as he watches the hallway. You hold your breath, instinctively leaning closer to the man to slow the rapid beating of your heart. Your fingers grip at his Yukata. You peak over his shoulder, and you immediately shiver in fear. Is that a man? With an umbrella? His hair is a brilliant red crimson and his hair and clothing compliment it nicely. He would be pretty if it weren’t for the ghostly aura emanating off him. You quickly duck your head down.
After about a minute or two the crawling man looks down at you with a wide smile. ”Them gone. Them elsewhere. Can go out.” He says, motioning to leave the hiding spot. Is he trying to protect you? What a gentleman. You step aside, scanning the hallway for any potential threats. The man crawls after you mumbling something. “You can go. You go there? Go?” He points at the now clear hallway.
“Yes. We go.” You do your best to piece together a sentence in his language and resume walking, turning the corner. *We? Why am I acting as if we are a team..?* You think to yourself as you shake your head. As the path comes to an end you are met with a single silver ladder. This one seems to be in better condition than the one you used previously. ”Path end. You go up?” The monster says, pointing upwards. You nod and repeat his words. “Yes. Go up.” You do your best not to butcher that as you attempt to communicate with him. You are met with a delighted giggle from him as you begin to climb the latter.
Once you arrive at the top you sit down and catch your breath. You pause for a moment, staring at the ledge. “Is he going to follow me?” You whisper, leaning closer to the edge. You’re about to turn around and continue on your way when his head pops up. A delighted giggle escapes his throat. “Me with you!” The man exclaims. If he had a tail it would definitely be wagging right now. You chuckle softly. The monster smiles as you laugh, his head ducking below the ledge again. ”Me
hide!” He says excitedly, before popping his head over the ledge again. ”Me appear! Me not hide!” He exclaims. “Oh.. I see now.” You mutter, taking note of the words he used and their meanings.
*Is he just going to follow me everywhere I go?* You think to yourself as he pulls himself over the ledge. ”You one human. Me worry you. Me go together you.” He says, crawling over next to you. He reaches up and tugs on your skirt. “Can/will? Together?” *He’s kind of like a puppy..* “Mm. Alright. On we go.” You say to yourself with determination. The man giggles excitedly and crawls after you as you advance into the dark.
(Hello!! This is one of my first fics so I apologize if it doesn’t make any sense. I know this chapter is kind of just a rewrite of the game with a few differences so far. I was having a hard time figuring out how to allow the MC to learn the language without rushing it. I’m going to change the story up from here, but I wanted to get some world building done first so that anyone could read it. Thank you for reading! I’ll update soon.)