Kuro: A Land in Eternal Night

Chapter 3.3: The Darkness

He took a closer look at the bodies. It was odd, for there were no actual bodies. No remains, just empty pieces of armor. There was evidence of a great struggle, yes. The armor was just as ragged as his. There were weapons strewn around, edges were chipped, shields were pierced, pounded or scratched. The armor all looked the same, exactly like the one he was wearing.

He quickly scanned the rest of the area. He appeared to be in a circular chamber. The room itself was about 300 feet in diameter. The ceiling was high, but could not have been more than 30 feet above him, made of the same stone he had been standing on. Braziers for the torches lined the walls. He went around and lit a few of them. The light danced around the room illuminating the scene of a great battle. There was a sense of desolation, a melancholy death that hung about the chamber. A great battle was waged, and for all apparent purposes, all traces of life had been wiped out. It was as if the darkness had consumed it, and left in its wake a grim reminder of what had been.

Despair took him as he realized he was the sole survivor of a conflict whose aim he knew not.

"Do not weep. There is no dishonor in slaying a man who has fought honorably. A blade that strikes with purpose wins over the blade with the weaker resolve. There is no shame in defeat, so long as the swordsman has been true to his purpose."

He continued his exploration. It felt forbidden, like trodding on the graves of the dead. There was a sudden sense that he didn't belong in this sea of nonexistent bodies, that he was disrupting the natural harmony of things.

A sudden terror took hold of him. While it was indeed a frightening prospect to be alone, a more dreadful thought was that he wasn't. What great threat had eradicated the life that very obviously populated this chamber? Whatever it was, now was not the time nor the place for contemplation. He needed to find a way out.

The light grew as he went around lighting torches, basking the chamber in a warm, diffuse glow. As he completed the circle, he found himself staring at a great oak door. It was shut, securely bolted to the side of the wall, preventing entrance or egress from the chamber.

Oddly enough, the bolt slid right off with minimal effort, the wood creaking as it moved, groaning from, seemingly, years of non-use, though it was grateful for the movement now. Like his muscles that had atrophied, it remembered its purpose, and was spry in its movement, eager to show the world what it could do.

With the bolt off, it was a small matter to push the great oak door open. It swung outward slowly but surely. When the door was fully open, he found himself staring at the entrance to a great hallway. There were no signs of struggle outside. It was as if the battle that occurred in the circular chamber began and ended inside of it. In the hallway, there was only silence.

And darkness. The torch he he held did little to light the way beyond but a few feet in front of him.