Chapter 50: Imprints of the Departed

I smiled thankfully towards Aaron, our new addition to the team. He'd used his amazing weapon, the Blade, to smash down yet another gate of bones. I don't think we would have gotten to where we are so quickly without him. He was, truly, a gate's worst nightmare.

This floor was having a very negative effect on me; I felt like I was going to drop dead at any moment. I felt sick even looking at the walls. We were getting closer to the bowels of this floor. Only ten minutes ago we battled a phalanx of skeletons with Aaron's help, and we'd only just escaped from several zombies. These creatures were stronger then ever before- what were we going to encounter next?!

In front of us there was a pretty long corridor, with a door staring at us from the distance, I moaned. I was already so exhausted I struggled to move, let alone jog to keep up with the others, who looked equally tired. In the end, my tired feet screamed no more. I collapsed on the cold, hard ground. The others went back, concern deep in their eyes.

"I think it is about time we all had a rest," Sin admitted, sitting down cross-legged. I sighed, and dived in my bag for yet another meat sandwich. I was feeling very depressed, and I felt that the floor was having this effect on me. Even the air I breathed seemed to suck happiness, optimism, and life out of me. My heart sunk even deeper when I saw there was no meat sandwiches left.

"We're almost there," Sin said. "If I remember correctly from my previous encounters on this floor, we only have a few corridors and open spaces before we get to the cradle of life." That was my only beacon of hope here-the cradle of life. There, I had access to the safe world above. There, I could access several rewards beyond my wildest dreams.

That thought lit up my heart, and I jumped up, ready for more hiking. Everyone rested for another five minutes, and we set off.

There was something that was bothering and worrying me-I kept hearing whispering from a strange source. I kept seeing flickers of darkness from the corner of my eye. Every time we smashed down a gate, I half-expected some zombie or demon to pop up and slaughter us mercilessly. I was a higher level, but that didn't mean I could beat anything.

Another thing I noticed was even the lighting seemed to be taking the theme of the floor. On the first floor, there were torches attached to black, metal rusty brackets. On the second floor, single candles were put into the walls, and even they looked starved. On the third floor, an ominous green glow illuminated the place, coming from the walls. On this floor, the only light was coming from the eyes of the skulls, giving the entire place an awful creepy red glow.

We turned a corner, and Ilookgood99 stood there. He smiled at us.

"So, you've made it," he said conversationally. "This floor is pretty hard, but it'll get harder. I saw Master Samuel ahead, and he seems pretty angry. Mainiac97, infinite darkness, thing on your back, dazzling end, etc, etc, but I still stand by what I said before-beware the man of brown and green. Oh, by the way, watch the shadows," he said, and before I could retort, he was gone.

As we continued, I thought about what he had said, very confused. I wish he would stop being so cryptic. Why did he know? What was he trying to tell me? What did it all mean? I understood what he meant by the thing on my back, because I'd felt it at least fifty times before, but what was this darkness that he talked of? It could be a trick, or a joke, but it didn't seem that way to me-the look his eyes gave me was a look of truth and understanding. Who was this man of brown and green? Also, what was the 'dazzling end'? All these questions, and more, zoomed around my head like runaway hares.

We smashed down another reluctant gate, and we were in a clearing. Like very other clearing we'd encountered, this one had skeletons all over the floor. All of a sudden, something tripped me over. Everyone then went on full alert-they all took out weapons.

I jumped up, and got Silverlight at the ready. I heard more whispering. Then, suddenly, flickers of darkness went everywhere. A massive black hand shot from the ground, and scooped Amy11 up. Amy11 let out a piercing shriek. A black, slightly see-through chain fell from the roof of the cave, and Amy11 was wrapped in it, left dangling from the ceiling. Then, black, transparent spikes came up from the ground. Our shadows disappeared. I understood what Ilookgood99 meant now-watch your shadows. I gulped, holding onto Silverlight tighter as if it was my life.

"Amy!" I cried, unshed tears stinging my eyes. "Don't worry, I will save you!" A distant cackle made me jump out of my skin. I noticed black figures come from the walls in droves. I looked at them closely.

They were human figures standing there. They were completely black, but slightly transparent. They looked like extremely evil ghosts. Here were at least twenty surrounding us. They were in their early level 100s. I could hear moaning sounds coming from their bodies. Sin gasped.

"Shades!" he screamed. I didn't like the sound of the word. "They're very evil spirits that haunt the earth," he explained to the rest of us nonplussed people. "They're like ghosts, but a lot more advanced-dead, but not quite gone. They are imprints of the departed." I shuddered, and tears began to fall freely down my cheeks-these terrifying creatures, which pumped fear into my heart, were dangling Amy11 above shady spikes! I couldn't comprehend my situation.

The biggest one, most probably the chief, who was level 190, stepped up to me. Its feet made no sound whatsoever on the ground.

"Humans," it croaked. "You must join us…..we cannot allow humans leave our presences…..join…" I backed off. I swung Silverlight into his chest. A small white mark was made, and he lost three hit points. The white mark disappeared.

"Are you possessed by Master Samuel?" I asked, shaking. The head shade laughed, or did a sound that sounded like laughing.

"Humans cannot possess our kind….we are free….to roam the earth..." he replied in the same croaky whisper. "You must now die….." They all approached us.

"Crumble of the undead!" Osrie1 roared. Nothing happened. He stared into his bag, and slapped his head. "Damn! I'm out of chaos runes!" My heart sunk even deeper, if possible, at this news. The only thing that possibly could have helped us beat these shades was gone. Pop.

We tried, and failed, to fight. Even Aaron's Blade didn't cause good damage to them! They continued towards us, desperately trying to choke us to death. Their touch was like touching an ice sculpture. They were too strong. I shuddered at the thought of what they would be like if they were possessed. I saw no escape to the hopeless situation. Amy1 was still hanging from the chain, being lowered very slowly to the spikes below….

I felt a vibrating in my pocket-it was vaguely familiar. It was the skull half. This time, though, there was something bigger vibrating in my bag. Like what happened last time, I felt some strange anger building up inside me. I felt so angry, I was sure lava and steam was pouring from my ears. Energy filled every single pore in my body, and I felt so powerful. Silverlight started to glow in my hand. I punched a nearby shade, letting off some of my new rage. It was taking over my body, and clouding my mind with wicked thoughts. All that mattered to me right now was ripping apart these shades, and saving Amy11.

A gaping hole, glowing white, burst from the shade. It stumbled back, and started to scream with pain. A blinding white light surrounded him, and when it cleared, he was gone.

I swung Silverlight around, and several shades had their bodies ripped apart by rage. A new power had overtaken me. I watched at the head shade moaned in what sounded like anger, and, with a wave of his hand, the chain binding Amy11 disappeared.

Fear flooded my body, nearly drowning out my anger. I ran forward with all my might, and jumped up. Just as a screaming Amy11 was about to hit the large spikes, I grabbed her around the waist, and rolled the other side. She lay on the floor, gasping for breath. I stepped towards the head shade. It laughed at me-hard, wheezy chuckles. I snarled with rage. I punched it in the face. It stumbled back.

"You irksome bug! How dare you!" it ranted, running forward. My rage pumped inside my chest, strengthening me. I slammed my fist into it again. It lost quite a few hit points. Roaring with rage, I grabbed Silverlight, and swung it towards the shade. A massive, white, glowing mark spread from its shoulder to its waist. It moaned with agony. The other shades ran towards me, howling.

"No!" the chief croaked, and the others backed off. I geld Silverlight above its head, staring coldly. "Please! I crave composition! Leave us be!" I smiled nastily towards him.

"I don't think so," I whispered, and slammed Silverlight through its body. It screeched, and light burst from every pore of its body. With a final scream, it collapsed into itself, transforming into nothing.

In my angry state, the others were easy. A few waves of Silverlight and a punch in the right place, and the shades were gone. All that remained were black robes (Sin identified them as shade robes, robes which give you an ominous, shadowy effect and make you slightly transparent), piled together. I picked up a top and a bottom, and the others picked up sets at their own will. I put mine in my bag.

I calmed down. The skull half and the skull staff had a very negative effect on me. They seemed to channel my rage and tripled my strength. I was scared of myself-I was turning into a monster! There was a small part of my brain that openly accepted the newfound, partially evil strength.

I walked towards Amy11, smiling warmly but she stepped back, fear in her eyes. I stopped, and compunction reared its ugly head. Tears sprung to the corners of my eyes.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. Amy11 approached me, smiling.

"Don't worry," she purred. "I don't care."

Feeling highly embarrassed, guilt still weighing down my mind like an unmoveable rock, we continued through the sepulchre of death, prepared for what we would encounter.

Meanwhile….

Clayguy7, Creator and Capablanca sat by the cradle of life, tied together with rope and cotton wool in their mouths. Three men stood behind them, smiling unpleasantly, their faces clouded by shadow. Three horses grazed in a corner, malice in their eyes.

"Well, what do we have here?" a voice gasped from the darkness from the other side of the room. "Intruders? We'll wait for the others to come, and then we'll strike….."