When eyes are useless

Prisons usually have several things in common with one another. They're dark, unpleasant, difficult to escape, and oftentimes drag their detained into insanity. Mental prison is fairly similar, hence the term. Ori sat in his own now, seeing nothing but strange fading pictures on a pitch-black background as the incredible forces of water under pressure battered his already weakened body, flinging him about like leaves in a hurricane. He knew that he wasn't awake, and yet nothing he did would shake him out of the trance that was blocking any attempts he made at movement. With nothing else to do, he thought about the terrible things that could happen to him any moment now as the shivers ran down his spine like ghosts. Needless to say, it wasn't an enjoyable experience.

After a few minutes of that sad existence, Ori was ripped from his catatonic state as his ears awoke with a terrible stabbing sensation. The water had cleared away and been replaced by cold, rushing air, beating his ears with tiny pinprick needles. The feeling quickly spread throughout his body, first with his chest, then his legs, and finally his tail. At first he was unsure of why the water had left him, but with his eyes open and his faint bluish light illuminating the cascading water next to him, he began to scream and flail. He was falling! His cries were quickly drowned by even more water, slamming into his belly with a loud clap and rushing the air out of his lungs with even more pain. Defeated, he sank to the bottom, rendered motionless by the laws of physics. After an unknowable amount of time at the bottom of the water, he recovered enough to sit up. Almost immediately, he began to cough violently, an odd experience when done underwater, and it felt as though his stomach was trying to empty itself. To prevent vomiting he clenched his fist slightly and placed it on his mouth. It would be a mistake to throw away his only source of energy right now.

Ori had almost forgotten what still water felt like after suction forces from earlier, and he was grateful for the freedom of movement it granted him. Most specifically, he was grateful for the ability to swim for the surface and leave the terrible thing behind. Although he could breathe underwater, he still gasped upon surfacing; real air was much nicer to breathe. It was wet and fresh, cool and clean, and a welcome present for his exhausted lungs. He had taken breathing for granted before this new adventure, and it felt great to smell the oxygen in the air, filled with the fragrances of wet stones and water vapor. It was nice to smell anything at all again, because while his nose may have been functional underwater, his sense of smell only worked above the shoreline.

The feeling of relaxation didn't last long, instead being replaced by a growing feeling of unnerving dread as Ori realized that he was trapped down here. One look at the waterfall was enough to know that escape through it would be impossible, not to mention the experience of being flung about earlier pushing that conclusion even harder. It looked creepy in the soft light reflecting off of the splashing drops. Anxiety began to build within the spirit. All he wanted to do was go home, and it was so very far away now. Exploring the abyss wasn't just a typical mistake, it was the worst blunder he had ever made. How should he hope to get out now? Was there even a way out? Why even did he come down here in the first place? The silence of the cave provided many questions and no answers. There was nobody to help him now.

The feeling of dread continued to build, until Ori could hold it back no longer. He couldn't withstand the fierce consequences of his initially benign actions and tears began to flow down his glowing cheeks. At first, he tried to resist the urge to cry and instead keep focused, but his melting heart overwhelmed him with strong emotions manifesting themselves as a flood from his eyes. All his attempts at keeping his focus were put down mercilessly, and he sank to the ground and covered his face with his paws. He was all alone, so completely lost within the dank caves.

Eventually, his feelings began to subside. It took several attempts, but he was able to recover from his breakdown and wipe his eyes clean. The water in his fur began to evaporate into the cold air, further cooling his wet arms. His shivering breath echoed off the walls of the cave, being the only sound other than the splashing water behind him. Hoping against hope, he looked around for anything that might help him decide on what to do, but the cave offered nothing of the sort. Only blackness awaited him ahead. How was he going to find a way out if he couldn't even see? Maybe it would be better to stay near the waterfall, where he was safe. Maybe something terrible waited for him in the darkness!

Calm. He had to stay calm, avoid the negative thoughts flowing relentlessly through his head. They were nothing but clouds; he had to remember that. Just a painting for him to look at, consider its meaning, and then loose interest in as something new came along. Ignore them, yes, that was what he had to do. Finally claiming a fragment of courage to call his own, he adjusted his strength to focus on his other senses if sight would be useless to him. He held out his right arm to allow his light to stretch out as far as possible and allow him to use what little sight the cave allowed. It may not have helped much, but it gave him a source of safety to confide in. Slowly, he began to put one hoof in front of the other, and repeat. All that he heard now was the distinct and constant rumble of the waterfall, accompanied by the drops of water dripping from the walls and the occasional thud of a falling stone.

Lacking from that bank of sounds was any hint of something lurking in the darkness. The sounds of the cave were soothing, and he began to calm down enough to hold a steady posture. His steps increased in speed until he reached normal walking speed. Even though he was literally tapping through the dark, he couldn't find any reason to be afraid. His paranoid glances for signs of danger stopped, and his head focused towards his invisible destination. He had found a way into the cave, and so he would find a way out.

…

He couldn't tell when it started, but a very quiet whisper had been bothering him for a while now. It slowly got louder and clearer, until it wasn't just an indeterminate whisper anymore, but a whole group of voices blathering on in a language Ori didn't understand. They became more sinister and came from more directions as he moved forward, eventually coming from every possible direction. Maybe he wasn't quite as alone down here as he originally thought.

Suddenly, a thundering step began to bounce off the walls in a fast, aggressive rhythm. It was moving directly toward him! He couldn't see the creature making the noise, but it got closer with every passing second. It was enough to draw the poor spirits terrified scream as the crashing reached a crescendo when the most loathsome, disturbing face of the most despicable form of creature he had ever seen appeared. Only a fraction of a second after its appearance did it open its horrible mouth and lunge toward his face, and… passed right through him?

"What…," Ori stammered, "what was that?" He began to shiver uncontrollably again, the almost unbearable fear from before reaching new heights as it drove its ice-cold fangs into his back. The horrifying whispers became shouts of anger that hammered through his skull. His heart began to beat faster, pumping his blood through his body in a way he was all too familiar with. He could actually hear the distinct noises the flowing liquid made as it shot through his throat. Now he was regretting leaving the waterfall at all, but he had made his bed. He had to continue on this terrible path, the choice was not his to make anymore.

Still though, if it was a fight the path wanted, it was a fight it would get. Quickly, he summoned his blade in paws and assumed his usual fighting stance, or at least as closely as he could while his legs shook frantically in anxiety. "C… c… come out! Where… where are you?" Again, the voices replied in a language he didn't understand. Was it even a real language? The sounds came from all around him, and he began to swing his weapon aimlessly in hopes of hitting something in the unknown darkness. Unfortunately for him, he made the worst mistake he could have possibly made while flailing about. He turned around.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Directly behind him, on the path he had just traveled seconds ago lay a massive rock wall, blocking any hopes he still had of returning the way he came. With small, timid steps, he closed the distance between him and the wall, and he poked it with the tip of his sword.

The wall shattered into thousands of tiny, razor-sharp splinters, all flying directly toward the terrified spirit. Ori screamed in terror and tripped backwards, falling onto his back and sure of his imminent laceration. Yet, as he braced for the pain, he felt nothing. Nothing, no rock, no deadly splinters, not a single piece of anything from the explosion that definitely should have killed him caused any pain at all. Ori's fright only heightened when he realized, "That… wasn't real!"

As if the ghosts weren't enough already, now he couldn't even tell reality from illusion down here in this black hell. Was the whole thing even real, or was his mind just sadistically torturing him until he broke? "Please stop! None of you are real!" he whimpered as tears blinded him even further. None of the voices stopped at his accusation, their tones still increasing in volume and anger to a level not normally possible without special unnatural circumstances, which unfortunately was how the ghosts could be described perfectly. Ori's blade vanished as his focus died completely, unable to muster the strength to keep his light in balance. Now he was on the verge of crying again.

"Please…," he begged, "just leave me alone." His emotional state died completely, and he curled on the ground, pulling his tail in while shivering in terror. "Father… where are you now?" He was pulling at all the straws here, but he was most likely too far away from the force of the Spirit Tree to receive help. Whatever the reason, he didn't get an answer. "I'm… so alone." The last of his strength faded as the cursed whispers ate through his brain like acid, slowly destroying what remained of his mind.

Even in the pure blackness of the cave, he still saw things. Deep in the shadows lurked thousands of spiders, all waiting for their prey to finally give up the last of his will to live. They were getting tired of their game, however, and with a very slow pace they crept closer to end it. Ori no longer had even the strength to scream, all he could do was watch as the revolting creatures crawled along his face, their long legs itching terribly.

Suddenly, the scene changed. He lay on a soft meadow the color of juicy green herbs as the grass nestled his fur. He watched from afar as his mother Naru played with other spirit children that he had never seen. They laughed and jumped through the field together, simply enjoying themselves. The scene changed again, replacing the children with a single child in the blink of an eye. The child looked oddly familiar, as if it were a younger version of himself. Together with Naru, they built something. A bridge?

A soft, warm light shattered his illusions and drew him back to reality. It gently moved closer to the ball of shivering spirit, making a very quiet beat with its wings as it did so. Slowly, his fear melted away as the ghostly terrors dissipated. He sat up from his curled position, watching his rescuer close the distance. As it came nearer, Ori's sight became clearer, and the new entrant's body became more defined. It was a firefly.

Ori wasn't sure whether to trust such a miraculous turn of events. Was the firefly as fake as everything else here, or was there really a savior in this horrible cave? There was only one way to find out, and he hesitantly reached out to touch the insect. "Are you… real?" he asked the firefly. He braced for the magical shards to appear any moment now, but the firefly didn't burst. Finally, he made contact with the wings of the potential apparition, and ensured its authenticity with a tingle on his finger. The firefly was real, he was saved! Astounded by the rapid changes in his luck over the course of only one day, Ori barely noticed the other change in his environment. The voices, the whispering, the spiders. They were all gone, scattered like mist to the wind. The miasma that clouded his mind followed with them, clearing his thoughts enough to grasp more complex topics again. His light began to shine brightly once again, his ecstatic face a beam to cut through the darkness once more. His words wielded even more power, and he couldn't contain his gratitude. "Thank you, thank you, thank you little friend! I don't know what would have befallen me if you hadn't shown up."

If the firefly was capable of feeling emotion, it didn't show it. However, its light was far more attuned to lighting caves than Ori's was, and illuminated almost five whole steps of ground for Ori to watch, far more than his measly one. Plus, even if it hovered like an automaton, the company it provided was greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, while the firefly's presence was an advantage in that it let him see farther, that didn't mean everything it revealed was necessarily good. Unpleasant silhouettes of monsters resembling a cross between a bat and a spider lined the ceiling; thousands of them covering the black stones like a blanket. Most disturbingly, however, was how all of them were turned towards him, frozen still like statues guarding a crypt.

It was quiet, but the dark energy coming from these silent sentinels resonated throughout every fiber of Ori's body. He felt that all too familiar tingling in his belly, rummaging though his insides like it was. He summoned his blade forth once more and prepared for an attack. Nothing moved, but the tension in the room built further as both sides waited for the other to make a move.

The monsters moved first. Their bodies contorted in a disgusting way, with their heads sinking into their bodies. It was as if they had all woken up simultaneously, as if they weren't before. Ori braced for impact, expecting one of the creatures to launch themselves at him any moment now. Seconds passed in an unpleasant silence before, all of a sudden, a group of the bat spiders closest to the spirit began to fire large glowing projectiles at him. The projectiles were slow, so Ori had no problems dodging side to side to avoid the pain that they would probably cause on a hit. The little firefly simply hovered, not a participant in this fight.

With that first volley, the monsters invigorated the rest with a rallying cry of dark energy bursts. Thousands of the fiends began to fire at him, their projectiles barely missing him and covering the floor in a deadly purple aura. While their attack may have been ineffective, the suppressing aspect of their fire prevented Ori from landing a hit. They were too high to reach with his sword, and jumping into the crowd would only end the fight faster. Why hadn't he bothered with ranged weaponry? It would have been useful to have, at the very least, a mild projectile attack at his disposal. Better yet, why hadn't he taken Aria with him? She could have made short work of the creatures with her bow. Ori diverted a small deal of focus to ponder his own poor decisions, and that was all it took for a single projectile to strike him on his right leg, shooting a burning pain throughout his entire body. He wasn't going to withstand another shot like that, he needed to escape now! But as soon as he reached his decision, he tripped and fell. Something was pinning his right leg to the ground, it felt like he had almost torn it off! Turning to remedy the problem, his breath stopped. Encasing his leg was a sticky net holding it down with a mighty force. The evil monsters were trying to catch him!

This was no time for distractions! He had to act quickly. He shortened his blade into a knife and cut through the net. With his leg free, he began to run for his life. The firefly followed him calmly, the stellar opposite of Ori's hurried, adrenaline-filled manner. His brain went into autopilot, guiding him through the shortest path through the tunnel. He didn't even feel his hooves connecting with the ground anymore, everything that wasn't a projectile was phased out, unimportant. The creatures were everywhere, awaiting their victim's passing along their path of death.

Unfortunately for him, his chosen path of escape was filled with obstacles, and he could barely see. A rock there that caused him to stumble as he jumped it at the last second, a puddle here that almost tripped him, a patch of smooth stone that he slid over wildly. His breath came in ragged gasps as his lungs pumped the cold air of the cave in. His exhausted muscles ached from working overtime the whole day without rest. The adrenaline coursing through his veins masked all of these distractions and more, reducing them to a simple drop in an ocean of fear. The only real concern he had was when two of the creatures actually did launch themselves at him, landing right in front of him to block his path. He didn't even stop running as he slashed at them with his sword, bisecting them instantly. Not content with leaving the spirit alive, the cave threw larger obstacles in his path, namely giant boulders that blocked the entire bottom half of the cave off. Not a problem for such a mobile creature as himself, Ori kicked off the floor, jumping off rock after rock in order to reach the top. As he pushed off the final rock, his left hoof slipped on the wet stone and he tumbled from the small mountain, landing hard on the floor with a cry.

One of the projectiles took advantage of the situation, aimed directly at his face. He got up like lightning and swung his sword with all the force he could muster, slicing the ball in half before it could reach him. He tried his best to climb the boulders again, but his hooves simply weren't made for the soaked stone, and slipped away with every step he tried to take. It was pointless.

Panic crawled along his spine with a shiver. If he couldn't climb the rocks, where was he supposed to go? Small whimpers of horror began to go hand in hand with his shallow breaths. There had to be another way!

His eyes darted around, looking for anything he might use to escape. Wait, was that—"There!" he shouted. A small opening lay between the rocks. He had completely overlooked it in his panic, and it was just big enough to fit him!

Not a second to waste, he squeezed through the opening, his little tail getting in just as another projectile collided with the entrance, sealing it with thick threads of sticky net. The cacophony of sound outside was cut off, and he was gifted a few seconds of calm silence to recover from the intense chase as he crawled through the rocks. The race wasn't over yet, however, and his chasers were still searching for him, even though they couldn't reach him currently. Soon enough, they would find another way like he did, so he had to keep moving.

The tight crevice widened out in front of him, leading the way out of the rock forest. He squeezed through to a small ledge a single boulder's height above the floor of the cave. He dropped down and continued running, stealth not even being a mere consideration. As soon as he did so, the monsters realized that their prey was vulnerable again and charged him with tremendous speed, shooting their projectiles all the while. His options dwindling yet again, he soon noticed his journey was going to end one way or another very soon. The soft light of the firefly wasn't showing any ground in front of him. Once again, there was an abyss!

With one look behind him, his choice was made for him. His chasers still followed him with fervent hunger, refusing to rest until they caught him. He was theirs for the taking, their meal, their prey. There was no hope of remaining on this level of the caverns alive, so he took a leap of faith into the unknown black.

What a terrible idea! There was no limit on what could be down there waiting for him. Deadly spikes, hungry predators, it could be anything!

All those possibilities rushed through his head as he screamed the whole way down. The fall felt like forever, though in reality it only took a couple seconds. He landed with a loud splash in ice-cold water, the best possible outcome he could have hoped for. He sank deeper down, but the pool wasn't too deep, and he was able to watch the surface above him. His chasers had no such luck, though. They weren't able to swim and follow him, and their projectiles didn't pierce the water. With an aggravated screech, they sat defeated for a short while, and soon left him completely alone in the silence. Finally, he was safe.

He closed his eyes, letting his fear and stress leech off into the water. He had never felt so alive before, nothing from before today even compared. A thought ran through his head as he thought over his situation. "Everything wants to catch and eat me… why?" He thought he knew the answer. Could it be because he was so small that every creature decided he was fair game? It was kind of insulting. After all, he wasn't helpless; he could defend himself if need be. What really was driven home though was just how valuable the hard training Kiri had put them through was. It really had been worth all the effort. Not to mention the great training he gave himself when he taught himself how to breathe underwater. "I wonder if every spirit can learn how," he thought. Time was no longer of the essence, and he used it to calm himself down to a more rational state again. He felt the constant, but calming rumble of water flowing through his long ears, the cold hugging him tight, and his own breath and heartbeat slowing to more reasonable levels.

After his calming session with the water, he was able to think clearly again. It was time to swim up to the surface and look around for a path forward. His only friend down here was already there waiting for him. The water did cling to his fur after he stepped out, but he violently shook himself to get most of the water out. The firefly calmly waited for the spirit to dry, ever silent, and prepared for the next step.

Now that he wasn't in any danger, he could carefully observe the walls to find a path forward. He made a confused face as he did this, as they were surrounded by tall stony walls from virtually all ends, and the cold water numbing his senses gave him a kind of ethereal feel, like he wasn't really there. He voiced his thoughts aloud to the firefly, "How should we continue?" At this, the firefly seemed as if it had discovered something. Curious how it did that, with it being basically motionless and all. Its light illuminated a few charred wooden sticks, blackened with ash. "Hey, you found something!" he said in euphoria. It was somewhere to start at least. "At least we aren't alone down here." Ori glanced around the fire pit, looking for anything that might have revealed where its creator went. His eyes widened in excitement as he saw a book lying in the sand. It was made of a strange material he couldn't even begin to explain. Certainly, however, he knew that only a Gorlek could create something like this. Unlike most books, the book in front of him didn't even have a cover. It wasn't even closed completely, it simply laid flat on the ground with its pages facing down. There was only one thing that could have meant. "The person who last had this must've been in a hurry," Ori stated. "I wonder what it's about…"

Carefully, as to not damage the book, he flipped the book over to see the pages. It was written from a first-person perspective. Some of the pages were missing, but what remained was more than enough for Ori to be able to tell that the author was writing about their own experiences.

It was a journal.