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At World's End Entry 25
“Stop this!” Leah screamed at the top of her lungs causing everyone to pause.All eyes were on her and to be honest, I wondered how she could still speak up considering how dangerous things were about to become.She was about to follow up when Barry cut her off.“That’s enough.”Whew, so you finally decided to mediate. You sure took your time!“Leah… why did you tell us to meditate?”Huh, what kind of question…“Barry, what are you talking about?... You know why.”“I don’t. Two deaths are related to you. You can’t expect me to just overlook that, right?”Wait a minute, what the hell is this guy getting at?Don’t tell me…“Surrender and let us verify for ourselves what you are.”Leah was taken aback as she took a step back.Her eyes were wide open and her chest moved up and down without rhythm .She was definitely scared.“No, wait…”“Stay of this if you don’t want to be considered her accomplice!” Ronald glared at me with bloodshot eyes.What the hell is this?Can’t you guys see what’
At World's End Entry 26
You’d think hearing stories about monsters from your dad for half of your life and then reading about them for the remaining quarter would be enough to prepare for a face to face meeting with one of them.Turns out… Yeah, I was wrong.Standing face to face with what I could only describe as an unspeakable entity… was this what they meant?I found it hard to breath and almost impossible to move.It was like I was constricted by some kind of pressure that kept on mounting by the second.Within, my heart pounded aggressively, almost like it were about to leap out of my chest and if I were being honest… the thought of knocking myself out crossed my mind a few times.Of course the fear of what would happen after kept me from doing so.The creature looked me over… or at least, I think it did.Couldn’t really tell considering it didn’t have eyes in the first place.Ah… there it is. Your humanity is already doing the work for me. Now, let that delicious fear spring forth. Master would surely
At World's End Entry 27
A clacking sound emanated from its legs as they tapped against the cold floor while it’s body wiggled without pause.I felt my skin crawl and nausea welling up within.It was hard to breath. It was difficult to speak.Once again, I experienced crippling fear.Even if I cannot plant thoughts in you… it is a simple task to bring your humanity to the brink of terror.It's stitched mouth turned crooked, like it were smiling but I couldn’t understand what was funny.Even now, you have so many intrusive thoughts…how about I help you?I tried to respond but it didn’t give me a chance.Puchi“Uwaaah!” I felt a sharp pain in my left leg.Clenching my teeth, I look down to find that one of it’s legs had pierced my thigh.“I thought…”That I couldn’t physically harm you?... That was true until I absorbed your friends. Of course, absorbing you would be better than outrightly killing you. Now, how does it feel to bleed?“Ahh!!!”It twisted the leg lodged in my thigh.I shook from the pain that per
At World's End Entry 28
Silence reigned in the room for a bit before the captain spoke up. “Do you remember what happened before you passed out?”“I guess.”“Tell us everything and don’t leave anything out.”I purse my lips before nodding in response.Pausing a few times to catch my breath, I recount everything that I recalled from before I passed out.From waking up in the enclosed space to dying at the hands of a faceless centipede.By the time I was done, both instructors looked at me with varying expressions.Roberts had an incredulous look while Rodgers seemed impressed as he nodded.“The creature you fought is known as the Faceless, a Grade D Otherworldly. It’s recorded abilities include Emotion manipulation and Thought inducement.”What in the world.We were up against a Grade D Otherworldly?“Of course, it was severely weakened considering where you guys were.”“Huh, what do you mean?”Captain Rodgers put up his hand to interrupt Roberts. “Ava and Samson informed me that you were awake despite the Ur
At World's End Entry 29
Two weeks had passed since Thea’s death.I got discharged from the clinic and was awarded 100 achievement points for defeating the Nightmare trial.For context, achievement points was the means used to grade Explorers.To graduate the academy and become a real Explorer, I needed to amass 500 achievement points.Which basically meant that I had to repeat the feat of the first trial four more times.Worst part was if I failed a trial, 50 points was deducted.If you are wondering why it’s half the attained sum, well that’s because the other half goes to acting as recompense for the amount of time the candidate stays in the clinic.Ugh, this is messed up.I knew the academy would be dangerous but… someone died!And it didn’t look like anyone took it as a big deal.In fact, the instructors and candidates went about their daily activities casually.Worst of all, the trials were still ongoing.The fifth batch got sucked in last night and based on what I heard… none of them passed.“What’s on
At World's End Entry 30
Reginald suddenly stepped forward and walked up to me before bowing slightly. “Thank you. If not for your actions, we might have ended up in worse conditions.”I couldn’t refute his words since Roberts had made it clear that clearing the trial saved the candidates.When it came to the Nightmare trials, there were only two outcomes.Passing or failing.If one passed, depending on the order of the trial, then that’s fine.For a solo trial, it was simply a matter of one candidate defeating the trial.A group trial however, it was harder to decide on how each candidate was graded.Depending on their actions and how much contribution they made to the scenario, they were awarded.Of course, this was reliant on the one that beat the trial.If he said it was a solo win and the others were baggage, it would be hard to refute.If he said it was a win for a few and mentioned those that helped, then that would be taken as the basis on which rewards where given.Anyway, passing a trial would mean
At World's End Entry 31
Stigmas were markings given to those that passed the Nightmare trials.According to what Roberts told me a week after I was discharged from the hospital and felt curious about the symbol that was basically a black line around my wrist, the Stigma wasn’t as simple as it looked.For context, I’d have to explain just like he did.So apparently, the Dreamer hunted humans by pulling them into dreams and killing them by sucking their life essence.Which meant that even if you didn’t die immediately in the dream, chances were you’d die due to a prolonged period in the nightmare.Anyway, those that managed to escape the nightmares were most times marked by the Dreamer.This marking came in the form of a tattoo.Depending on the type of nightmare, the tattoo would have a different design.Of course, during that period, the tattoo wasn’t known as a Stigma.Instead, they called it a Curse.Anyone that managed to escape the Nightmare would be cursed by the Dreamer in two ways.One, whatever happe
At World's End Entry 32
Silence.My body felt heavy and I couldn’t breath properly.Did something happen?Ugh, why do I feel so uncomfortable?Suddenly, a certain smell bombarded my nostril.It was a familiar smell since it was the one that hit me the day dad left me.A fire!Opening my eyes, I found myself in an unfamiliar location.It was mostly dark but I could just about make out a few things due to the little flames engulfing a few areas in the room.Of course, I had to close my eyes and open them again to get accustomed to the low light and even then, I ended up squinting.A burned room with shelves piled over each other and debris all over the ground.Looking back, instead of the bed I slept on, it was a slab of broken concrete.Ugh, no wonder I was so uncomfortable.I was laying down on stone.In any case, what’s going on?Where am I?... Wait a minute.Is this a trial?It happened so soon?... This is unexpected.Looking down at my body, instead of my sleeping attire, I wore a leather jacket with jean