He kept an eye out for any other survivors and even called out a few times, but found no one. Either he was the only survivor in this area, or the only one at all. He didn’t like imagining either scenario. As he closed in on the area where Puffy’s tank was supposed to be, he began slowing down. He considered whether he even wanted to look in that room, but quickly quashed that feeling. Turning the corner into the room, he looked at where Puffy’s tank was the last time he was there.
The tank was destroyed, and empty. There was nothing on the ground but broken glass and water.
Arthur knew that this was the most likely scenario, but it didn’t hurt any less. The screen was still to the side of his head, its blue glare taunting him.
However, any and every species in your universe that dies at Level 1 will be recycled by the System.
Arthur balled his fists as his eyes misted over once again. He turned around, knowing that he needed to leave. As if on queue, a section of the roof to his right collapsed, releasing a gout of dust as water poured from the new fissure. Arthur was about to take that moment to leave, but something in the water that poured out caught his eye. There was something fishlike flopping in the water, and as Arthur focused on it, he could tell it was getting bigger. Before Arthur could react, it suddenly exploded in size. Bone-like appendages burst from its body, with some splitting after emerging, tearing the fish’s flesh. The fish’s body continued to convulse and warp until eventually it came out looking like a fish spider with 4 legs and macabre skeletal arms formed from split bone. The fingers of its new splintered arms were jagged and sharp, clearly made for tearing. It’s bloody, whited out eyes were lifeless, and it stood with uncertainty as if coming from a newborn.
Arthur stared in shock and frozen fear. As it stumbled towards him, he backed away, terror gripping his heart like ice.
Undersea Abomination
Level: 2
The screen popped up next to the creature’s head, like his was. This screen was dark red while the text was yellow and bobbed about with the abominations stumbling. Arthur was rooted to the spot, unable to believe what he was seeing. Was this what the System meant by “recycling”? Was this grotesque monstrosity the fate of everyone who dies at Level 1? Questions, fear, and disgust fused to become a mire that threatened to swallow him whole before the monster did. As he backed away, he stumbled again as if he and the monster had shared the same anatomy. It drew closer and Arthur finally snapped, letting out a terrified shout and running like the monster was the incarnation of death itself.
Arthur turned a corner hard and sprinted down the hallway. As he went, he saw more and more of the same monsters taking shape in puddles of water, ripping and cracking as he passed. The rhythmic crunching of glass and his panicked wheezing muffled the gurgling roars that surrounded him as he passed. As his stamina flagged, he noticed his saving grace; a janitor’s closet that survived the rumble. He renewed his avid sprint as his salvation grew closer by the moment.
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When Arthur tripped, it was his own fault. His shoes were top of the line non-slips and were relatively new besides. Quality doesn’t account for ineptitude, however, as Arthur’s foot hit a thick piece of glass. He stumbled and couldn’t regain his balance, crashing to the jagged glass covered floor. The result was as if he’d plunged into a pit full of nails pointed up, and he let out an exhausted yelp as his arms covered his face just in time. The skin on his arms tore even worse than his clothes were from digging through concrete and rebar, blood seeping from his many cuts. Some still held pieces of glass in them, but he didn’t have time to do anything but ignore it.
The gurgling growls behind him grew louder as he struggled to get on his feet, more glass digging into his hands as he attempted to push himself up. His legs were less torn up on account of his jeans covering them, but his light t-shirt offered no such accommodation. His originally plain white tee that was covered first in dust, grime and odd smelling water now also had Arthur’s spattered blood added to the befoulment. It was already torn, and now it sported even more cuts as Arthur stumbled up and began running again unevenly. His breath came in gasping wheezes, and the sounds behind him were closer than ever, as though directly behind him.
Finally, he reached the door, which he threw open and slammed behind him in an exhausted panic. The gurgled growls behind the door were fierce, but he felt no pressure against the door as he held it closed with his back against it. He had no energy to contemplate why the monsters didn’t touch the door, but he didn’t need to.
You’ve entered a [Secure Sector]
In this area, you will be safe from monster attacks
Attacking others in a [Secure Sector] will result in varying penalties in accordance with frequency of breach of conduct
Arthur looked at the screen with half-lidded eyes, sinking to the floor as he struggled to catch his breath. The screen sunk with him before joining the other screen just barely out of his peripheral view. He was unsure how much time passed as his breathing slowly became less labored. His many wounds on his arms ached as he slowly opened his eyes to survey the room he was in.
He was struck by the strangeness immediately. It was certainly a janitor’s closet… or at least it had been at one point. There was much more space than there was supposed to be, with many cleaning products and tools strewn around the room. It was as though the tremors had thrown them about, but it did more than that. The walls were just piled up rubble, as though the room had been demolished and then cleared out to the edges. Broken shelves and racks were part of the rubble acting as walls, but the roof was completely intact. There was a glowing orb in the middle of the room, whose light somehow reached every edge. The orb seemed to emit a warmth and radiated a feeling of safety.
Arthur shifted his weight into a proper sitting up position. His arms still ached, but at least most of the wounds had stopped bleeding. He began picking the glass out of his arms, being careful not to tear his skin even further. After he finished, he wasn’t even sure if he’d gotten them all.
Arthur wrapped his arms around his legs, shivering violently. His teeth chattered with his shaking, though it wasn’t because he was cold. The orb in the middle of the room rejected even the memory of cold nights. It was the fear that shook him to his core, the confusion of the entire situation he faced. He had just come face to face with eldritch horrors, face to face with death itself. The monsters that were chasing him had clearly been fish or other water creatures that had been the occupants of the tanks before the tremors. He’d noticed, though, that even the tanks that should’ve withstood those same tremors also burst as if explosions had been set off inside them.
That would contribute to the thought that these tremors were far more than they let on, as the room he was currently in was almost irrefutable proof of that same concept. The monsters chasing him in the halls only hammered home the point that was now forming in Arthur’s head.
This was very real, and this was not a game. The “System”, and whatever it was, had changed the fundamental realities of his world, and in so doing, turned it into a horror show. The earthquake had something to do with the System conquering his world, and the aftermath was this nightmare. Arthur thought of his parents and knew he’d need to find them. Lifting his head from his legs, he had only one objective for now. To get out of this hellhole alive and see them again.