When I saw this, I wanted to scream, to cry out, to let the fear in my chest erupt into something tangible, but what use would it be? I had long expected something like this from a Soulsborne novel. Panic would serve no purpose here.
Celia stood beside me, her eyes wide as they drank in the sight of the blood river winding through the desolate land. Her shoulders trembled beneath the faint light of the statues' glowing eyes. I placed a hand on her slender shoulder, the weight of my touch drawing her gaze to me. Her wide eyes, glossy with fear.
"We'll make it out," I said firmly, my voice steady despite the unease gripping my own chest.
She swallowed hard, exhaling shakily before nodding. "Where do we go from here?"
"Forward," I said, my gaze shifting to the snake statues that loomed like ancient sentinels over the river. "Beyond the statues. Maybe we'll find other survivors."
And so, we moved forward, our footsteps squelching against the muddy ground. It was sticky, sucking at our soles with each step, but it was better than the alternative, plunging into the viscous, crimson tide beside us. The river churned sluggishly, its surface a nightmarish mosaic of black streaks and red foam.
I found my eyes drawn upward to the enormous snake statues. Their coiled forms arched gracefully across the river, their carved scales so detailed they seemed to ripple with life under the dim, shifting sky. Their eyes glowed faintly, an eerie orange light that seemed to pierce through me whenever I stared too long. A cold shiver crept up my spine, and I forced myself to look straight ahead.
We walked for what felt like an eternity. The mud grew heavier with every step, clinging to my legs, dragging me down. My throat was dry, parched from the oppressive air that seemed to sap every ounce of moisture from my body. The faint metallic tang of the blood river lingered in my nose, a constant reminder of where we were.
"How far do you think the end of this path is?" Celia asked, her voice faint with exhaustion.
I glanced at her. Her face was pale, her steps faltering. "Maybe another hour or two," I said, trying to keep the tone light.
But she didn't seem to hear me. Her eyes were unfocused, her body swaying precariously close to the river's edge.
"Celia!" I lunged forward just in time to catch her as her legs gave out. Her weight collapsed into my arms, her head lolling against my chest.
"Look at you," I muttered, my voice low and strained as I crouched to lift her onto my back. "Being all lazy, huh? When you wake up, I'm definitely teasing you for this."
Her unconsciousness was my only answer.
I trudged on, the weight of her body a new strain on my already weary muscles. My boots sank deeper into the mud with every step, and my breath came in ragged gasps. Time became meaningless, each moment blending into the next.
The landscape never changed,njust the same endless expanse of mud and blood, the same oppressive sky pressing down on me. My earlier joke about another hour felt like a cruel irony now.
"Never making that kind of joke again," I muttered to myself, a hollow laugh escaping my lips.
Then, in the distance, a faint light pierced the gloom. My heart leapt.
As I drew closer, the light grew stronger, revealing the shapes of tents pitched along the riverbank. Shadows moved between them....
people, unmistakably human, though their armor gleamed dully in the sickly light. Knights, by the look of it.
I stumbled forward, my legs barely holding me upright. The knights noticed me, their movements cautious as they approached, weapons ready but not drawn.
"Who goes there?" one of them called out, his voice firm but wary.
I tried to smile, but my vision blurred, the world around me tilting. Gently, I lowered Celia onto the ground beside me.
"Help..." I croaked, my voice barely audible.
The knights exchanged glances, their voices muffled and distant in my ears.
"They're survivors."
"Take them in."
That was the last thing I heard before the darkness took me.