Eternal Darkness - The Story - Chapter 2 (Eternal Darkness)

The following story is based on Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. All characters, with the exception of two are from the game by Silicon Knights and Nintendo. The characters Richard Cale and Yvette Cale are characters from my own stories.

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Eternal Darkness - The Story

Chapter 2: Watching The Chosen One (Audio)

Pious Augustus stood with his two best soldiers. They had just fought a battle with some of the soldiers of the land known as Persia. When he was sent on this mission, his emperor had told him to retrieve a powerful icon. He had been told the Persians would do anything to protect it. It had been a fierce battle moments ago, but his men were victorious. He looked at them and said, “Tell the troops the battle was well fought, and to be ready for the next battle. Let them rest, for they will need their strength. Also, make sure they have enough water, and keep their spirits high. The desert is a cruel beast.”

The first soldier nodded and said, “At once, Centurion Augustus. Again I must compliment you on your battle plan. Our enemies did not have a chance at victory.” He watched as the soldier saluted him and then went back to the troops.

The second soldier then turned to him and said, “Centurion, do you honestly believe this item we seek truly exists?”

He looked at the soldier and said, “I have no doubt the item exists. Look at how fierce our battle was. Our enemies seek to keep us from finding it. As for now, have the men rest, and in the morning, we shall continue our emperor’s quest.” He watched as the soldier saluted him and then left.

Pious was now alone to think about the whole situation. He hoped they would find the item soon. The desert was far more dangerous than the enemy troops. He knew many men would eventually fall to the might of the desert. He looked up and said, “Jupiter, give me a sign that the item we seek is near.”

He was almost startled as he heard a voice call out his name. “Pious....Pious Augustus.” It sounded feminine, and he feared it was a Siren. He also felt the powerful pull of the voice and went in the direction of the voice.

Eventually, he approached a strange circle of stones. As he looked at them, he saw strange symbols carved into them. Something about them made him think that they emanated power. He heard another voice, this time masculine, say “Pious....Pious Augustus.” He knew then that this was what he sought. If he could find the item, he and his men could go home.

He entered the ring of stones, and soon power from the ring zapped him. He felt what appeared to be Jupiter’s thunderbolt go through his body. The pain was more than he felt he could handle, and he hoped it would end soon. He then noticed the desert was disappearing from sight, but was being replaced with the sight of a temple with an eerie dark light. When he could move, he stepped forward and wondered if he was dead and in Pluto’s realm. He turned to look around. He had seen a figure while he entered into the temple, for lack of a better way of describing. He looked for the figure, and thought it was an minion of Pluto’s. As he looked around the room, he figured he wasn’t dead, but Death was present where ever he was.

He then looked at the floor, and saw a strange purple etching. It was similar to the ones he saw on the stone pillars, and wondered if it was related to the others. However, now was not the time to wonder. He remembered his men were in the desert. He needed to find a way to get to them, with the item, if it was indeed here. The only way to go was down a ladder that was in the center of the room.

Pious carefully descended into the next level, and looked down a long hallway. As he started down the hall, he saw a strange stone block at the end of the hall. He also saw corpses littering the hall. He was not the first to come through these halls. He wondered what fell the others in the hall, but was surprised when he saw his answer. The one corpse stood, as if willed by Pluto himself. He pulled out his Gladius and started down the hall, as the corpse did the same. As he got halfway down the hall, the corpse was joined by two others. He did not fear them. He was armed, and they were not. He beheaded them, and chopped off their rotten limbs, causing them to fall. With those three dispatched, he proceeded to the end of the hall, and picked up the block. On it was one of the etchings from the pillars, however this one was blood red. As he held it, something made him think of strength.

He opened the door at the end of the hall, and entered a small room with two more walking corpses. He also noticed another block on a small table. He destroyed the corpses that approached him, and then picked up the odd stone. This one had another symbol on it, the color green this time. As he looked at it, he thought he heard voices talking. The second he looked for them, the voices stopped. He looked around, and saw two doors. He went to the door he hadn’t entered the room from. Before he opened the door, he said, “Jupiter, give me strength to endure whatever evil forces are at work.”

He entered the next room, and was attacked by more corpses. He saw a block in the corner of the room, which had to be what they were guarding. These corpse fell to his blade like all the others. He then went to the block and picked it up. This was like all the others, except it had a ghostly blue etching on it. He also noticed a ladder going down. It was his only way out, and he climbed down it.

When he reached the floor, Pious heard a corpse approach him. He turned, and swung his Gladius, dispatching the corpse quickly. He walked to a fork, and saw and metal gate to his left, and another door to his right. He headed for the door to his right, and hoped he would figure out a way to open the gate.

As he opened the door, he saw a huge room. It was the largest he had seen in the whole place. He also heard the shuffling of corpses heading towards him. That was bad, since the part of the room he was in was very small. He needed to get out of there, and into the big room. He ran as fast as he could past the corpses, swinging at them as he entered the large room. He destroyed three of them, and came to a stop in the huge room. That stop was all the fourth corpse need as he felt it grab him and bit into his shoulder. He broke free and quickly decapitated it. Once it was no longer a threat, he looked around at the room. On the walls he saw the same four symbols he had seen earlier, and small square shaped holes under them. He looked again at the blocks he had. He put them with the matching symbols, but still one was missing. He looked at the center of the room and found it. It had the odd purple symbol he saw earlier. He placed it in the hole that was left and was amazed that all the symbols now glowed. He also heard the sound of the iron gate opening. He knew where he had to go.

Pious ran out of the huge room, and straight toward the way that had been blocked by the gate. As he entered the room, one thing drew his attention. A statue that looked like him was in the center, and literally blocked his movement. As he approached it, he heard a voice say, “Pious, prove your worth to us. Destroy the obstacle in your path, and you will find what you seek.” It sounded like the gods themselves wanted him to succeed. He lifted his Gladius and swung it hard, destroying the statue’s head. He then noticed a door behind it open a bit. He destroyed both arms, and the door was almost open. He brought the Gladius down one more time, and as the statue fell apart, he saw the door open fully. He had proved himself worthy. He was close to the item he was meant to find.

As he headed through the door, he said, “I have proven myself. Show me the way.” He then saw a round part of the next room’s wall was glowing. He also noticed three more corpses walking towards him. He looked at them and shouted, “Whatever you things are, you shall not stop me.” He cut them to pieces with a speed he never knew he had before. When they we eliminated, he walked over to the round part of the wall and pushed it. Soon he heard three pillars rise in the center of the room. He knew what to expect. He stepped into the center of the pillars and again he saw his surroundings change. He also saw the figure again. Whatever that figure was, it would not stop him, especially now that he saw the item he sought. However he was surprised when he saw three items instead of one. Now he wondered which one he should grab as he approached them. He also wondered about the odd mist in the room.

Richard had been following Pious from the second he saw him. He figured this was the figure the chapter of the book was about. He even wondered if Pious had somehow seen him. However, now it was dangerous. In the room were three artifacts, one a red claw, the second a blue veil-like thing, and the last looked like a green warped angel. He saw now that Pious was reaching for the green one. He had a feeling that all were evil. He remembered the diagrams he saw at the Roivas estate. He had to stop Pious from grabbing that artifact. He went to run forward and stop Pious, but he felt a wave of fatigue. It was one of his attacks, what he called a ‘blink’.

He blinked his eyes until his head cleared. When he looked at Pious, Pious was grabbing the red claw. Rich saw the power start to surge from the claw. Richard started to run forward again and shouted, “No!!!” It was too late. He saw the power consume Pious and ducked down as the Gladius flew through the air, shattering the blue veil, and crashed to the floor down the hall. Richard looked at the sword and saw it now glowed a bluish color.

He wondered if it was fate that the Gladius had become that way, but he didn’t have time to ponder it. He heard Pious move, and he turned to look at the figure. Pious had changed. His body looked like it had rotted away. He was almost skeletal. The figure looked at him and said, “You are too late, fool. You can no longer stop me from claiming the power of Chattur’gha. You shall fall to my master, as will all humanity.” Richard saw the red bolt of power leave Pious and he saw the end coming, but just as the bolt reached him, everything faded out, and he saw the room in the mansion start to appear around him. He thanked God that he somehow survived that ordeal.