Henry fell in front of the stairs, and begun crawling up as caving rocks crept closer, to him.
"Dammit!"
It was pitch black, and he could barely see in front of him. If he didn't figure out a better way to see soon, he was going to die.
'Come on, Henry, come on!'
He stood up, realizing something.
The spectral eyes allowed him to see more, not as if he were seeing in the dark, but as if he had connected to a wider range of view beyond just the spectrums of light. If Henry could just tap into that, and push it further, he would be able to take in enough information to get up the stairs.
Chosen, were able to move Miasmal energy throughout their body with much effort, however the only time Henry had attempted to, with the artifact, nothing happened.
'It needs to work.'
Henry closed his eyes and focused all his being towards one thing, his eyes. 'Please, come on.' focusing the energy that was being taken in by his body, he visualized it slowly moving through his body to a central point on his eyes.
As Henry put all his will to it, he felt something. A sharp pain in his eyes, as if they were being overloaded. When he opened them, he could see. Near perfectly, he was taking in colors he had never seen before, light that he couldn't have dreamed to perceive prior.
He dashed up the stairs perfectly, reaching each step, making each turn with surgical precision. Behind the roof violently crashed down, several stones flinging into Henry, he felt a rock crash into his arm, immediately he felt excruciating pain, but if he didn't want to die, he needed to keep running.
***
From outside the mausoleum, Henry could be seen crashing out to the ground. Desperately clawing at the ground, pulling himself further. With a crash that almost reminded him of a scream, the mausoleum caved, turning into a pile of marble rubble. Barely missing Henry's legs.
'I-I'm okay.'
Henry threw both his hands in the air, ignoring the pain in his left arm, and cheered.
"I survived! See that, you shitty city! I beat you again!"
His breath was labored, but the adrenaline lifted him. Henry began walking the path back to the castle, his body covered in a thick layer of dust, his skin scratched, and in some places bleeding, but that didn't bother him.… He had just cheated death.
The path was darker than the first time, with his eyes he was able to see fine. However, he felt the power dwindling. He had wasted too much of his energy, and now he was slowly losing what little strength he had.
"Just a bit more."
He continued the path for what felt like hours, the adrenaline had subsided and pain had overtaken his body. Yet, he continued walking, pushing himself.
"A little bit further."
In the distance, he saw a structure shrouded behind large stones.
'This doesn't look like the castle…'
As he made it to the clearing, he went numb.
He was not at the castle, he couldn't even see it nearby. Looking out, he was back in the ruins, of Rakh'el.
The city, he had spent two months in, had come to take its one and only inhabitant. Its queen was dead, and now Henry was the citizen in its decrepit walls, and Rakh'el did not wish to lose its only inhabitant.
Henry closed his fists in rage, his sharp, unkempt nails cutting deep into his hands. Looking up at the two stars in the sky, which had lost a slight bit of their shine, he screamed so loud the city shook. His echo must have crossed miles, felt along each speck of dust, each empty home, each doorless entryway.
His eyes closed, filled with pain. Tears pushed out, dripping onto the familiar stone below.
'I'll just give up.'
"I give up!"
Henry threw his bag on the floor. Its contents scattering across the floor. The cursed book starring up at him, Henry spit on it with a face of disgust. 'The only other person here with me died just to get me this stupid book!' Henry stomped on the book, kicking it yet regardless of what he did, it never seemed to wear.
Huffing, his face red, Henry slowly picked up his belongings, pushing through the pain in his arm.
'No… Just a bit further.'
Henry began to walk, entering the ruins once again. The familiar walls, feeding into itself as if becoming one massive blur of stone, and rot. There was nothing here, not living nor dead. The city was already dead when he had arrived, yet he pretended it could be alive just to push through. Now he knew the truth, Rakh'el once was a beautiful place, with happy people led by a beautiful queen one the people trusted, and one that cared for her city with all her heart. Yet, it had all been taken… in an instant.
There were no monsters in Rakh'el, if there was it would have found him a long time ago. He let out a chuckle. 'Maybe the only monster here, is me.'
The idea passed and he kept walking. As his legs began to wobble and creak, he collapsed, unable to walk any longer.
'Is this the end?'
He looked up at the dead eyes in the sky. Ones that must have looked down on him with such pity, since he had arrived. They must have watched every single person enter this city, and die before ever finding an exit. Just like Henry would.
"You need to live now run!"
The queen's last words echoed in his head, as he lay on the wet floor.
'I need to live, huh.'
Biting deep into his lower lip, Henry grabbed the cracks in the floor, and dragged his body into one of the ruined houses. Its dark interior no longer intimidating him.
Pushing his body to the brink, he pulled a few sticks out, and a thick woven blanket. Creating a small pit with stones, Henry put his last ounce of strength into slamming two stones together, he needed a spark, just one something to get the fire going.
His arms screaming at him in pain, dropping the stones was inevitable, but with his last swing. A single ember fell off into the wool. Desperately, he blew with the full might of his worn lungs, and slowly the fire rose.
"Ha!"
He laughed and immediately coughed. Escaping the mausoleum took all his energy, and the rocks had done a number on his body. It was a miracle he was alive, let alone breathing. The amount of dust in his lungs had to be dangerous.
"Is this entertaining enough?"
He mumbled out, the remark hoping to get the Rotting Fish's attention. Any company would be better than none.
But it did not respond. Henry was truly alone within the ruins of Rakh'el.
Henry felt his left arm, in the center of his forearm was intense swelling, all over he was bruised, but this was different. 'Shit, it's broken.' He had been warned to not push through pain of such intensity by his mentor, yet he did not heed those warnings.
Toppling down, he wretched in pain. His breaths labored, unable to fully satisfy his need for air, the bones in his body aching begging for release. Henry lay beside the fire, squirming with discomfort when he felt his consciousness slipping.
'Dammit, too much… energy…'
The exhaustion cradled him, bringing his body down lower into the sweet comfort, of sleep.
***
"Henry, you can't be falling asleep in class."
A young Henry stared up at his mother, who held a scowling face.
"I'm sorry, mom…"
She sighed and looked at him with worried eyes.
"Have you not been sleeping at night?"
He fiddled with his hands, averting her gaze.
"Henry?"
He caved to the sweet tone of his worried mother.
"It's too scary… I can't fight nightmares like dad."
His mother's face contorted into one of sadness. She embraced Henry tightly.
"I know, sweetie, I know. But you have to be strong, I know how scary the nightmares must be. Why don't you tell me about them."
Henry's mother slowly pulled away and grabbed a notebook, a familiar one, yet Henry couldn't put his finger on it.
"You know, when I was a little girl, grandma made me keep a notebook just like this, and shed make me write all my dreams, said it made you smarter."
She chuckled, making Henry smile.
"Why don't we make this a game, whenever you wake up from a nightmare write it in here? Then, when it's morning, ill read it while you're at school, and ill come up with a way we can fight the nightmare."
She smiled brightly at her boy.
Henry slowly nodded, trying to hide a smile.
"Oh, I see that grin, young man!"
She tackled him, reaching her hands around, tickling the boy.
"Haha! Stop, stop."
She stopped and looked at the boy with soft eyes.
"You know you're still in trouble."
Henry's face dropped.
"What?"
"When you fall asleep in class, you know what you have to do?"
Henry shook his head.
"You have to-"