For a while, Haruto's vision was swallowed by an impregnable darkness. Strangely, it felt… nostalgic.
Once again, the power of sight had been stolen from him. Although not visibly, he tried to grit his teeth in annoyance.
Soon enough, his vision began to clear, and his eyes adjusted to the familiar pale, dull light provided by a cluster of logs brought together and licked slowly by a small flame.
Ting!
[You have discovered the Hollow Spire]
Haruto's breath hitched.
'Eh?'
'Where am I?'
The pale light was nearly enough to see the four faces ahead of him and in front of the fire, like he was.
The fire cast shadows over their faces. But it was just enough to know what they looked like. They all surrounded the fire — including Haruto.
As far as gender was concerned, all three were men. Well, except the one directly opposite him. He had pale blonde hair, short hands, short legs, short body, slightly oversized head that made his grey eyes look ghostly and uninviting.
A dwarf! Haruto concluded. He'd only found them in ancient mythologies, even in two worlds. They were that much sparse. What's more was how strange the creatures were.
Their motto: the smallest things survived the biggest explosions. Well, might not be, since it was written by a human and not an actual dwarf, Lannister was it not?.
To the left and right of the fire were two creatures. They had to be creatures, since they didn't look normal at all. Their ears were so pointed, deep grey eyes but with normal human features. The one to his right was almost sunburned and with a grotesquely structured face, like a sculpture.
Haruto scowled.
'Eww, what a sight'
Well, he had a pretty nice body, like one who worked out all the time.
The one to his left was rather gentle. He was actually a gentleman, he looked like someone from a royal home. His gold armour that looked as deceptive as to be crafted by a god, shining bright with the soft glow of the licking woods. His white hair, ocean blue eyes and white cape. He even had a helmet, a gold one on the floor to his left, and a long, one-handed sword on his hilt. Sheathed. He looked like a knight from a diva's dreams.
However, he just stared blankly into the fire. His gaze, unwavering and almost hollow, he said nothing. Not that anybody did.
Then there was silence, so much silence. It loomed like a dead weight on thin hope. It was eerie and almost tainted with terror, only the sound of fire licking wood could be heard.
And around them? It was darkness. Thick darkness. Worse than when he had his line of sight taken, truth to be told, he'd prefer that.
What was inside the darkness? Haruto flinched at the question. He felt really uneasy.
What kind of quest is this? Or was the system playing a joke on him?.
After uneasiness gnawed on him for a while, Haruto, feeling disturbed and puzzled, was the first to speak. In a hoarse voice, he said:
"So we just sit here and do nothing?"
Something about his voice did not seem right, was it the fact that his vocal cords were not responding naturally. Or the fact that what he said sounded a bit tiny and delicate…maybe funny to his hearing? Whichever, he couldn't care less right now, the damn premise was too harrowing to care about that.
The dwarf was the first to speak, he blinked a few times before shifting and staring into the darkness behind him, as if expecting something. Then, he continued to stare at the fire, then he said:
"That is the first thing you have said in a few days, creature from the north"
His voice was deep and pleasant, very manly. Completely betraying his small stature. He had a smooth and fluent British accent.
'Creature from the north? What the hell was that?'
Wait a minute…creature? Don't tell me…Haruto gulped and slowly directed his gaze to his legs. He was greeted by the sight of long, slender and beautiful legs any man would drool at, a flat belly and supple breasts, he didn't even have a cover for it like normal women would, even so, they stood firmly, like a house on solid rock. He was wearing a long tunic, tied with a belt at his belly.
Haruto froze.
'What kind of situation is this?!'
Cursing under his breath, Haruto tried to move his hands. He wanted to touch his hair and at least have sensory details of how he looked.
Haruto's fingers hitched, or tried to. The nerves didn't fire the same way. The angles were all wrong. He felt like a puppet trying to control another puppet, strings entangled in invisible knots, he tried to move his legs too but ended up falling limply by the fire, almost destroying the set up.
The dwarf frowned.
"What is wrong with you? Creature of the north"
Haruto cursed under the breath and lied:
"It's nothing, just the cold"
But, he knew exactly what was wrong with him. Unlike his first transmigration, where his soul was moved into a different body with its initial memories, this was different. He did not have the memories of the former owner of this body at all! Making him completely oblivious to how to move it. After all, slight changes in the body's structure could make one suddenly immobile. What's more, transmigrating into a damn different gender?!.
Groaning lightly and with all the strength he could muster, Haruto struggled to get into a sitting position again. Then, he or rather, she heaved a delicate sigh.
The dwarf, showing no doubt about the lie, continued to stare at the fire, shifted and said:
"A bad thing it is, the cold. Especially in winter"
The dwarf smiled wryly, then touched the pouch slung around his neck and looked at Haruto.
"What's your name, creature of the north?"
Haruto relaxed ever so lightly and replied in a hoarse voice:
"Haruto"
The dwarf's expression changed, he had a disgusting look on his face. As if to say "Ugh! What an ugly name". After a while, the dwarf thought and said:
"How's about I call you Harry? A rather unpleasant name for a female it is, but that should do"
Haruto wanted to curse out loudly.
'I'm a boy you imp!'
But, he thought little of it and just nodded slightly.
The dwarf smiled and continued:
"Say Harry, would you like to visit the Lord of the Spire? Because we've run out of damn meat!"
Haruto could feel the frustration in the dwarf's voice.
"...if we remain here, either the horrors of the black water kill us or the horrors of the spire or the damn water or spire itself! You and me, dead without any dignity. Yours would be the most tragic, so they say…creatures from the north, descendants of gods ruled by the unrivaled lord Asyrius and one dies, killed by the horrors of a lowly spire"
Haruto raised his face, the shadows flickered over them.
"The water?"
The dwarf pointed behind him and as far as sight was concerned, the moment Haruto tried to look, he found something moving in the darkness, reflecting rays when there was no light.
Haruto shuddered and gulped.
Then suddenly, the knight moved, his armour making a few rattling noises. Then he opened his mouth, and said silently, almost inaudibly:
"The Lord of the spire knows no mercy"
The dwarf's anger seemed to multiply the moment he heard the statement.
"Damn you! You're a disgrace as far as elves are concerned. Sayest them not thee are higher creatures blessed by the universe with mana? Why cower? You could kill the damn Spire Lord for all I care! And if you won't, I'll do it myself!"
The handsome elf was silent for a while, the pale rays of the fire, shimmering in his eyes, then he said:
"You won't even reach his knees. Besides, I was defeated. How could I possibly hold the sword again? I'd best die here than escape"
The dwarf spat and turned to Haruto or rather…Harry and said:
"What do you want to do, creature of the north?"
Thinking for a moment, Haruto twitched and looked behind him.
He had forgotten, wasn't he here for a goal? He had forgotten for a moment there. The quest details, they had been to rid an island of undead creatures and kill the boss. Was that the lord of the spire? Or was it the sea? From what the dwarf had said, the damn sea could be a horror too.
Harry gritted his teeth and tried to call up the system interface, like he always did.
However, his next revelation shocked him. Instead of the usual blue screen, a pitch black screen shimmered into existence, barring a few pieces of white text on it.
[ Name: Haruto
Race: Human(creature from the north)
Rank: -
Vanquished foes: 0
Description: A worthless human, Forced to cower away from her country men because of fear
Goal: Kill the spire lord
Arsenal: -]
Haruto stared at the panel, a horrific expression written on his face.
'Who the hell are you calling worthless?!'
'What happened to the system?'
Wasn't everything beyond his understanding anymore? What the hell was a rank too?
He then looked at the dwarf, who had patiently waited for his answer.
"Where is the Spire Lord?"
The dwarf pointed straight at him.
"Exactly north, behind the chitin walls. We should be there in seven days if there are no hindrances"
Haruto frowned.
"And if there are hindrances?"
The dwarf lowered his head.
"Only the dead gods can tell. The horrors contained by the spire are no joke"
Haruto looked away.
"And why should I trust you?"
The dwarf looked down.
"I'm but a lowly dwarf. Should I inconvenience you at all in any manner. All it would take is one strike"
Not having any other choice, Haruto lowered his head slightly and said:
"Alright, I will go with you"
The dwarf smiled and turned to the ugly creature.
"What about you, gargoyle?"
As far as words went, the ugly creature said nothing but a slight nod.
Then, there was silence again, the fire made loud licking noises. And the darkness seemed to grow darker and more eerie.
Everyone except the gargoyle and the elf looked behind occasionally, to be sure they were safe. Well, the truth was they were not. The place was harrowing and unexpecting, so the short creature said.
Left with no other thing to do, The dwarf picked the leftover sticks and arranged the fire together. Small orange sparks rose to the air as he did so.
Suddenly, the dwarf stopped, and looked behind Haruto. It was unexpected, his reaction turned sour and he screamed a sentence.
"Damn it! How did that damn thing get here? Put the lights out! Now!!!"
Haruto was not sure who did it, but the darkness suddenly consumed them. All of them.
Shadows moved in the darkness, dark and dangerous.
Then, all hell broke loose.