Chapter 34: The Darkest Day Of Gray

In this world, he is no longer a human being. He is a sentient object made of stone shaped like a maze. A dungeon labeled by the system as Gray Dungeon. Before he was taken against his will, and brought to this strange fantasy world, he was Gary Gray.

He had been run over by the strange truck that had been chasing both him and Felicia. The only thing that was going through his mind at the time was how afraid he was. Also, the fact that he just wanted to go home, and hide from the danger.

He was not brave, nor was he courageous enough to put his own life on the line to help someone. He felt a bit guilty trying to save himself when they split off back in the alley, but also at the same time, he couldn't stop his body from moving. The fear and drive for survival was too overwhelming.

The collision was painful, but it was short. He just remembered blacking out and suddenly waking up to complete darkness. He could hear water dropping and echoing off the walls as if he was in a dank cave.

When his vision adjusted to the darkness, he discovered that his surroundings were as they sounded. He attempted to move his body, but felt no results. He tried to look around, but found it too difficult trying to just move his neck. He couldn't even feel his neck, nor the rest of his body for that matter.

Confusion and panic began to spread as many negative thoughts flooded his mind, like a dam waiting to burst. Did getting hit by the truck cause him to be paralyzed? Did he go blind from the collision? Where was he, the hospital? He tried to call out to someone in the darkness yet his voice always failed him.

A system notification suddenly appeared in front of him with a message. “Welcome Other Worlder!”

A day had gone by in this dark and miserable place. He was never able to relax for even a moment. He discovered it was impossible to sleep, due to constantly worrying about no one being able to find him. What if he fell asleep when people passed by? He needed to be ready to call out to them! He again attempted to move, but just like before, nothing really happened.

He could hear footsteps approaching from the distance. The hope of being found fleeted quickly when he saw wolves entering the same room as him. Their night vision eyes glowed bright red in the darkness.

They're sharp teeth and claws getting closer to him made him want to scream his lungs out. He could hear the sound of their nails dragging across the floor like knives. He couldn’t stop himself from trembling in fear, anticipating for them to pounce! He wanted to cry so bad, but again he could not move his body nor do anything. He was helpless and alone.

The wolves repetitively roamed around the caves. Occasionally they would get near him and start growling. He was whimpering in his mind as they would start sniffing what he thought was his face.

He really wished someone would hurry up and find him! He had no way of calling for help and had methods of running to safety! How did he end up in this situation?!

A few more days passed with a variety of different monsters coming in, and out of the cave habitually passing by. At one point one of them was a giant spider that had crawled over his face multiple times. The Arachnophobia wailed in his mind as the beast kept moving its legs all over him. It blinded his vision somewhat by creating a web near where his body laid.

It was pure agony. Why couldn't he do anything about this situation?! He prayed in his heart every day for someone to come find him. He would habitually say to himself through every terrifying scenario, “I just want to go home!”

He endured many hardships for about another two weeks. Monsters had come and gone, many of them had fought each other till one of them perished over and over. He was forced to watch it all just shriveled up in the corner as an unwanted spectator.

Terrifying monsters were always getting closer and closer to him. One time, one of them had actually hurt him, and took notice of his presence. Some of his HP had dropped, but it got distracted by another predator trying to take it out.

Again, he prayed in his heart for someone to find him and begged for his one wish. “I just want to go home!”

Aside from fear and the occasional panic attack, all he could think about was how did he get here? He replayed the events of the past in his mind so many times, like a broken record. It was the only activity he had to occupy himself as the days went by.

The only thing that came to mind as the center point of it all, was the fact that Felicia and him were leaving together that day. If they had never left together then that truck would have never taken him out.

Was this all her fault? Did she manage to get to safety, while he continued to suffer like this? Was she even looking for him?

He had lost track of how many days had passed by. He could hear the sound of a thunderstorm going on outside. The thunder sent chills down his spine with each boom. The shuffling of footsteps echoed in the cave from the sound of a humanoid creature. Dripping water from their clothing followed the noise as they made their way through the tunnels.

Once again all the helpless boy could do was tremble in fear, while all hope left his body. Was this monster going to be able to spot him this time? He found himself crying, but silently since he was still unable to move his body in any way.

He continued praying in his mind for someone, anyone, even a goddess, to come save him! The footsteps grew closer and closer. It was followed by a warm orange light. A cloaked figure stepped into view. He could see from the physique it was a girl holding a jar of fireflies. Their warm little glows danced inside the glass.

The rain was dripping from her body as she drew near. She left a trail of water across the room with each step. She held the jar over his head and smiled. He was barely able to make out any details of her face from all the spider web covering his field of vision.

She blew warm air onto his face in order to clear his eyes. The light from the jar of fireflies pierced through the dark veil. “Well…What do we have here? Are you okay? You can still hear me, with that body can't you?”

He tried with all of his might to move his mouth, but all he could do was slightly move his head, or what felt like it. He heard the sound of rocks crumbling from his movements. She frowned at the gesture.

“You must be having a hard time trying to do anything. How did you even end up in a situation like this? Could it be someone else’s doing? There's a lot we need to talk about. Don't worry though…I'll be by your side the entire time. You won’t ever be alone again.”

She started to walk away, taking the first sign of light and hope he hadn’t seen in so long. Desperation along with panic creeped into his throat. The one and only person who could actually see/talk to him was leaving. He couldn't allow this! He put everything he had into his lungs and attempted to force some words out! Only a single word escaped his lips! “Scared!”

She paused for a moment and looked back at him. “Aw, you can relax…I'm not going to abandon you. Taking into account what I'm seeing, and your lack of words. You must be really scared…I can't imagine what you've gone through for who knows how long. Especially being left alone in the dark like this.”

She walked back over to him, put the jar of fireflies near his face and caressed his cheek. “Here, you can have this for a little while. This way, you won't be left alone in the dark. I'm not going to go too far, so take this as a token of trust, okay? I will always leave a little bit of light in your world.”

He felt comfort, warmth and hope wash over his body. This person, his savior, just by existing, and talking to him…He felt saved. He considered her a goddess in his eyes.

She continued speaking to him, but this time in a softer and tender tone. “One day…When you learn to speak…I'd like you to call me by my name…I’d also like to hear your story…”

She pulled her cloak back to fully expose her face, displaying a comforting smile. I am Arret.”