Time did not feel right for some reason. I thought I was falling for a long time. Yet it felt like I had just fallen, and now, opening my eyes, I am lying on the floor.
It seemed instantaneous.
Looking up at what seemed like a dark, foggy black sky, it all felt like an elaborate dream.
Am I dreaming? Did they drug me? But it feels so real. Why would I dream up something like this?
I pick myself up only to see a scene that I did not expect in front of me.
The same damn well that I had seen hours ago, as I had started this journey.
"Fuck!" I scream as I grab onto the edges of the bricks of the well. I grip it as the irregular edges dig deep into the palm of my hands.
It hurts.
It can't be a dream... right?
Then I realise something. I do not feel tired and hungry, as I did when I was walking through the long road. The blood on my clothes is still wet.
It then hit me.
This is really a game.
It was like a save point. When I threw the coin into the well, it saved this point. So, if I were to fail or die, I would return to the last save point.
"Are you kidding me? Seriously? A game? I am in a game?" I grip my hair as I look around.
Nothing had changed. It was the same dark, murky place. I laughed at the absolute comedy of the situation I was in.
I spent years of my life playing games, and now I have somehow ended up in one. Stuck in this place, not knowing how to get out.
I think back, trying to recollect my memories of how I ended up here. The room I was in was at the start, the corridors and the symbols everywhere.
"It can't be. There is no way that this is possible! This can't be the actual game 'The Abyss'." I look around and think back to the start of the game from years ago. Many things had changed; there were no save points like this. No path to take, no coin, no well.
"Wait..." I thought back to the save screen of the game itself. Having seen it hundreds of times at the very back of the splash art, blurred and faded. There was always an image of the well at the very back, along with different structures in the save screen.
I let out a laugh.
I can't keep on sitting down like this. This will get me nowhere.
The paths were right ahead. I just needed to make the right decision.
I chose the path to the furthest left this time. Yet again, the path led me on for hours of walking. I was expecting another fall to my death when, suddenly, I started to feel my skin itch more fiercely.
It's not the same sensation as the dry blood, but I try to ignore it and keep on moving. It's becoming too much to bear as I look at my body. My skin looked like it was melting, bleeding everywhere, and the pain grew more intense. The fresh blood overlaps the dry.
Next thing I know, my body starts to feel like it is on fire, and the itching is not enough to resolve the issue. The pain from it makes me pass out.
Again, I open my eyes to find myself in front of the well.
I don't stop this time and keep going forward. I make my third choice and keep walking ahead.
This time, the path was different. The further I walked, the clearer it got. The foggy atmosphere began to clear as the surroundings came into view.
"Are you kidding me?" The surroundings start to change to the same long, dark, black corridor I had walked through multiple times. "Is this a failure again?"
A door appears in front of me, and I stand before it.
This was different. This time, I have been given a door instead of death.
Stepping through the door, the scene changed. It's dark as I hear the door slam behind me. Then I hear 4 other doors slam. Standing still, uncertain about what was going on. The darkness makes everything invisible, then a shot of light. Five spotlights were lit, and in each was a person, with me being in one of them.
As if it were all just a dream, I am cleaned up. All traces of the bloody scene were now gone, and I stood there clean, unscathed by the torture I had been put through.
"What the hell?" One of the girls screams, "I did your stupid maze shit, now let me out, I have had enough! I will give you whatever you want, just let me go!" She screams at the top of her lungs.
I stand silent and observe the situation. Though I was as lost as the girl screaming, I did not want to act out without getting more information.
Another girl stands in the spotlight next to her; she seems to be quiet, unlike the frantic and enraged girl. She had a worried look on her face.
She seems to be smarter than the other girl. I think to myself.
The other two were men. One of them appeared to be a muscular man who showed little concern and seemed to be expecting to be in this type of position. In contrast, the other guy seems unbothered by the whole situation.
The girl then starts to look towards the 4 other people, "Are you guys in on this. I swear to god when I get out of here, I will get you guys. Fuck. Do you know who I am?" She yells at the top of her lungs.
The muscular guy rolls his eyes, "Does it look like we put you here. Unless you are blind, we are in the same situation as you. Don't you know what this is?" He grins in excitement.
"How the fuck should I know? Dammit, I have a big event tomorrow, what am I supposed to do now?" She starts to bite her nails.
I watch them all silently.
If this is really the game, what part is this? I don't remember this part. I recall having to confront my fears before making my way to the main game. There was no save point, unlike the well, but according to my knowledge, it appears to be a function exclusive to Extreme Hard Mode. Does this mean this is the hidden difficulty level?
I scoff at this epiphany.
Before the women could reprimand me for laughing, the whole area lit up, and in the middle stood a large, shapeless, cloaked figure.
The five of us were standing on pillars with no path on any sides, stranded.
"Children of the Abyss, I thank you for answering my call and gathering within this tower.
The Abyss births both virtue and corruption, life and decay. The lost souls and those who chose to walk the path of the Abyss are all bound by its rules.
Yet among those souls who pledged themselves have broken these very laws.
Children, you have gathered to purge these parasites.
The Flase Kings and their minions.
Succeed in these tasks, and you shall be rewarded. May the Abyss favour your soul."
We were all stunned as we watched this abnormal figure speak before us. Even the muscular guy who seemed to know what was going on was shocked.
"What the hell are you? I don't know what you are playing at, but send me back. Do you know who I am? I have people searching for me! I am supposed to be in a live event tomorrow! I am a famous streamer with over 500 thousand followers!"
The muscular man rolls his eyes. "Don't you understand where this is?"
What he said piqued my attention.
"Where is this place?" The girl screams, stomping her foot on the floor.
"Do you remember the famous streamer that vanished a few years back. The top streamer, called Kairos?" He grinned.
I shot my eyes wide open. Kairos.
That was my online persona. The name I used for my streams and my games.
"What does that have to do with this?" The girl was getting restless.
"Well, there are a lot of us who followed this. I used to be one of his followers... The fact is that he vanished right after finishing the game 'The Abyss'. Then, after two more players who finished after him vanished. After four people had vanished, I decided to test the theory. I thought, What is there to lose?" He threw his arms out in excitement, "I was right! We were right! The players who finished the game were brought into the game in real life! This is the game 'The Abyss'!"
The girl gasped as she covered her mouth, sheer terror in her eyes. "No... that.... that can't be?"
They fell onto the floor, unable to grasp the situation, "No no no no no! No! I thought it was just some crazy, creepy pasta! What the hell? For 4? I heard there were only two who vanished..."
"No, it was definitely four. Maybe you heard an old story. It's evolved a lot." The man replied.
While hearing what he had to say, I was trying to process this new information on my own.
He definitely said a few years... but it was just yesterday. So it's all over the news, and they still haven't found us? What the hell is going on?
I then see the man across me, the one who was acting like nothing really mattered, staring right at me.
He smiles and mouths, 'Found you.'.