Eternal Darkness - The Story - Chapter 4 (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 4: Poor Little Dancing Girl. (Audio)

Ellia sat on the floor of the temple as she read the book her master gave her. Ever since she entered her master’s service, she had been blessed with talent. When her master had seen that talent, he encouraged her, and even taught her to read. Her master was one of the more powerful people in her town. Every day, he came to the temple. She never understood why, but it was one of the best times she had to read. In fact, she always read the same book. She even felt as if she could hear her master’s voice as she read it. She was reading the part where the Ancient, which had to be a great and powerful being, was being entombed. She was so involved in her reading, she could have sworn she heard her master uttering the spell which sealed the Ancient’s fate. Her master had a commanding voice. As she finished the book, she closed it and said, “I wish that something that fantastic could happen to me.”

She was surprised when she heard the stone door of the temple closing. She quickly got up and ran towards the door, but she was too late. She was sealed in the temple. She started to wonder why she accompanied her master to the temple. He had said he had to speak with the temple priests. Now, she was worried if he was alright. He had told her she might need her short sword, and she pulled it out. Now she needed to find either her master, or a way out.

Ellia looked around the entry room of the temple. She had never been beyond this room in the temple. In fact, she never even looked it over, but now she had to. As she ventured into the room, she noticed a strange pattern on the floor. It was a triangular design, with three strange markings in it. Plus, in the middle of the triangle was another strange marking. Her attention was then drawn to the multi-armed deity in the room. As far as she knew, that was who the temple was for. The only odd thing was the necklace around the deity’s neck did not seem right. She could sense some sort of power emanating from the necklace, but it seemed wrong, especially for a fertility deity. She removed the necklace, and soon she heard a rumbling. She turned to see the northern wall sealing up. She thought about replacing the necklace, but something told her not to. She then noticed the way to the south was clear.

As she entered the room, she gasped in fright. On the floor were dead bodies. What made it worse was that those bodies had to have been there a while. The temple had be defiled with the corpses of the dead. She wondered where the temple guards were. She could not believe they would allow that to happen. It was the very opposite of what the temple was for. The corpses even littered the floor mural of the setting sun. She shook her head in disbelief. She also wondered how the guards and temple attendants missed it. The candle display for the setting sun was obviously still maintained. She also noticed nothing that could help her in this room. She decided to head deeper into the temple.

As she entered the hall, she heard a strange sound with her first step. She stopped just as a blade came out of the wall. She gasped and said aloud, “Why would they need traps in a temple? Are they hiding something?” She also looked down where she stepped and saw that the place she stepped was a different color than the rest of the floor. Now all she had to do was watch where she stepped, and avoid the traps she had activated. Being a dancing girl helped her, since her speed and agility got her by the traps, and kept her from setting off other traps. When she reached the end of the hall, she looked back down the hall. She hoped that those traps were the worst she’d have to encounter.

When she entered the next room, she heard a stone slab slide down, sealing her in the room. She wasn’t sure what caused the slab to slide down. However, the next thing she heard was the movement, and she turned and gasped in fright at what she saw. A corpse had gotten up and now looked at her. Internally, she questioned if this was really happening. However, as the creature neared her, she knew she had to fight it. She quickly swung her sword, and as fast as she could, she destroyed the creature. When it fell to the floor, she quickly chopped it up. When that was done, she felt things were back to normal. She then looked over at the door and saw the slab rise up. She then noticed the northern door in the room was still sealed, and had the same design on it she saw in the main room. She also noticed the floors image was of the noon day sun. She looked over at the candles in the room, and noticed they didn’t match. She quickly put out the candle on the right, and she heard the northern slab lower, but not enough to get through. She turned to head back the way she came, when she saw the bronze necklace. She smiled, because it was just what she needed. She picked it up, and headed back through the trap filled corridor.

When she had carefully reached the sunset room, she was startled to see the corpses that littered the room were now rising to greet her. The last room only had one, but this room had about four. She quickly sprung into action, making sure the room looked normal, and hacking all the dead bodies to pieces. At least she didn’t have to worry about any of those unnatural things following her.

She returned to the main room, and looked at both sealed doors. She knew that placing the necklace on the statue would open the northern door, but she hoped it would open the door out of the temple. She still hadn’t seen her master, but she hoped he had gotten out. She walked over to the statue and placed the necklace on the statue. Soon she heard a rumbling. She looked back at the way out, but the wall didn’t move. The path to the north had opened, and that was the way she had to go.

As she passed into the room, she was thankful to find it was empty. However, she did notice the images on the floor. As she looked at them, she looked over at the candle display, and said, “This room is to the dawn. The others were midday, and sunset. I wonder if the room on the end of the next hall is for the night.” She gave the room another look, and then ventured to the west.

The next room was a long hall, and she noticed, before she ventured any further that it was another trap hall. This time, she was going to be more careful than last time. She carefully made her way down the long hall, avoiding all the trap triggers. Now that she knew what to look for, she knew what to avoid. Luckily, this hall had all those trap triggers along the side of the hall. Before she entered the next room, she was determined to be ready for whatever was waiting for her. There had been a walking corpse in the same room on the other side, so she would be ready for the next one.

She slowly entered the room, and soon she heard the stone door lowering. She saw the creature even before it turned to face her. This was her chance. She quickly ran up to it, and cut off it’s head. Without its head, its actions were limited. She smiled as she then cut the corpse to bits. With her finishing blow, she heard the door open. However, her attention was on the floor. A picture of the night sky was on the floor, and she knew the candles lit didn’t represent that. The only way that could be represented was to put out all the candles. As she did that, she saw the other door fully open. She was sure that the door in the noon room did the same, but she knew that her only hope of leaving the temple was down that now unsealed hall. She knew which way she had to go. She only hoped there were not monsters or traps down that hall.

Ellia entered the unsealed hall, and treaded carefully past all the trap tiles. She wasn’t about to die to a trap after fighting off the walking corpses. Every time she saw one, she felt as if her mind was slipping away. She even thought she was looking at another person, in strange garb and carrying a strange sword. She pushed that thought out of her head as she discovered halfway down the hall, a blowgun. She knew most blow guns had poison darts. However, she did wonder if that poison would work on the creatures that now lurked in the temple. However, if they were a distance away, it would be good to have a weapon that could take them out before they got near. She also hoped that by picking it up, she’d open another path out of the temple. She walked over to it, and picked up the blowgun. When she had it in hand, she felt the floor give way.

It felt like she was falling for a long time, and soon she hit the ground. She was lucky she survived the fall, however, her sword had not. She saw it in pieces at her side. It was not a weapon she wanted to lose, especially when she saw two corpses approaching one of the temple guards. It seemed to her that this guard did not have a weapon to defend himself. She knew what she had to do. She had to save the guard, and hoped he would show her a way out. She readied the blowgun, and fired it at the two advancing creatures. Almost instantly, the creatures turned to attack her, but she kept them moving. She also noticed that the creatures acted as if they were hurt, even though she hadn’t fired any more darts. It had to be the poison. Using her dancing skills, she kept out of the creatures’ reach. Soon, she saw them fall to the poison. As they laid there, she shot one more dart into each one, just to be sure they were dead. It also made her feel better. She then walked over to the guard, and said, “Are you alright?”

She watched as he nodded and said, “Thank you. I saw that your sword had broken. I can repair it for you, for it will serve you better than the blowgun you now carry.”

She wanted to refuse the offer, but she knew he was right. She needed her sword back. She handed it to the temple guard and said, “Thank you. Can you also tell me how to get out of here. I don’t know if my master is still here or if he has left.”

She saw him shake his head, and soon she heard three strange words come from his mouth. She then saw a purplish lightning arc from the ground to her sword. Soon, it was in one piece, as if it never broke in the first place. She took the sword back, and then heard the guard say, “I cannot leave my post, but if I see others, I’ll tell them to find you and get you out of here. We do not allow anyone into the lowest level of the temple, however your help has earned you much respect. Be careful, little one.” She nodded and then headed down the hall, in search of a way out, and also avoiding the obvious trap tiles.

As she entered the next room, she saw a huge picture of a skeletal man talking to her people outside a temple. In fact it looked like the temple she was in, but she didn’t dwell on the picture, because creatures that were in the room started to head towards her. Now that she had her short sword back, she knew she could handle them quickly. In no time, she had all the creatures destroyed. Before she moved to the other door in the room, she noticed a large slot, like it was part of a lever of some sorts. All it needed was a lever to work it.

She then headed into the next hall. Again it was another trap filled hall, and some were almost impossible to avoid. The triggers lasted the whole length of the hall, and caused darts to fire, and walls to open and close. She managed to get by all of those, although the wall trap almost snagged her outfit. Luckily, that was all, and she didn’t lose anything.

As she emerged in the next room, she saw an odd sight. There were two types of creatures there, and the majority of the ones were attacking the lone one. She watched as the creatures paid no attention to her, and rushed to be slaughtered by the lone one. She made sure she stood in the doorway until the only one left was the lone one. Once she saw that, she rushed down and attacked it. She was pleased she had taken it down, but was surprised that different versions of that creature existed. In fact, she had seen almost four different types of the same creature. She then noticed the picture on the wall of the room. It looked exactly like the last scene she read in the book. It scared her. Was the book real? Did the temple people know what was going to happen? She then glanced at the door to the north, and hoped it lead out of the temple, because she was getting scared to be here.

As she walked down the hall she entered, she saw a larger room ahead. However, when she entered it, she saw why it was so large. Almost consuming the entire chamber was a huge thing. It was more hideous that the creature she’d seen walking around. She also saw huge pillars actually setting in it, and it was then she realized it. This was the thing the temple was built for. As she approached it, she heard two guards enter. Just as they went to warn her, she saw two purplish tentacles lash out and grab them. She heard their screams of pain, but was more startled when she heard a voice say, “So, you are reduced to feeding on flesh and bone. How the mighty has fallen. You will surely fester for millennia to come.” She turned to see who was speaking, and was almost horrified. The one who spoke looked like some of the creatures she had seen, but wore armor and carried a staff that looked like bone.

However, she felt even more scared when it looked at her and said, “You had best leave, or you will find yourself as food for the Dead God.” As it spoke, she thought she heard her master’s voice. Part of her wanted to back away from the thing, but she watched as it left the same way it had entered. It was the only way out. She didn’t know what she should do. However, before she could decide, Ellia felt a shock hit her back and she collapsed to the floor.

Richard Cale watched as the guard approached the now fallen dancing girl. All this time, he had been out of phase with this time, but he saw everything that had happened to her. This was only the latest, as the guard approached her and said, “You are one of the chosen many, flesh and blood.” He then realized the guard wasn’t speaking, but the thing in the room. He listened as the ‘guard’ continued. “It is your destiny to fight the Eternal Darkness. I give you a gift in return for an obligation. The gift is your life, sweet dancer. The obligation is this.” Soon Richard saw the ‘guard’ was now holding a heart. It looked like a real human heart. He then heard the ‘guard’ say, “This is one of Mantorok’s hearts. The Essence of the Corpse God. Guard it well from those who would use it’s power to take what little light still exists in your world.”

Richard watched then as the guard started to walk away, but then saw him look back, and said, “Only the guardians of light can handle the power it wields. Guard her well.” Richard realized what the guard was saying as he walked around what he was sure was Mantorok. He then turned to face the girl as she screamed. He saw the heart of Mantorok get sucked into her body. He then ran over to the girl, and prayed she was alright.

When he was almost on her, he saw her look at him, and step back, asking, “Who are you? Are you one of his things?” He knew what she meant, but he was also surprised at her speech, unless it was part of the Tome’s dark magic.

He stopped and said, “I know this may be hard to believe, but I’m here to help you. It’s hard to explain, but a book called the Tome of Eternal Darkness brought me here.”

He heard her gasp, and she then pulled out the same book, saying, “You mean, the book my mas....” He watched as she stopped in mid-sentence and said, “The book that monster gave me. They sounded so alike, they had to be the same person. What is he?”

Richard stepped close to her and said, “He was a man from many years ago. He found a dark artifact, and the power it held took over him. He’s not a man anymore, but we need to make sure he doesn’t get that heart. Any clue on how to get out of here?”

He watched as she looked back at the statue and said, “That bar might fit in the lever slot I saw earlier. By the way, my name is Ellia. I hope you have a weapon, because those things are everywhere.”

Richard pulled out his sword as he went to pick up the lever and said, “I know. My name is Richard, and I’ll keep you safe until we get you out of here.” However, he had a feeling she would not leave the temple. “Now, let’s head back to the room you found the slot.” He saw her nod, and soon they were off.

It took them some time, taking care of remaining zombies, for lack of a better word for them, and headed right to the room. The traps were more difficult for him to avoid, but he managed. When they reached the room, he realized that the reliefs they had seen were only part of the story. Mantorok appeared to know this day was coming. It made Rich wonder if the day was planned. As he looked, he heard Ellia say, “Here is the slot. Just put the bar in there. I hope it opens the path out of here.”

He did so, and soon, he heard a door open, but it was back the way they had come. He looked over at Ellia and said, “We have to go back to Mantorok’s chamber. I think the door out is back there.”

As he lead the way back there, he heard Ellia ask, “Do you know a lot about that thing? I thought this temple was for a fertility god.”

Richard said, “All I know for now is that Mantorok imprisoned three others long ago. It is one of them that Pious is helping. In fact, by the reliefs, Pious had been the one who caused Mantorok to start dying.” By this time, they had entered Mantorok’s chamber, and they headed around the main part of the Ancient.

As they headed for the back door, they looked at the Ancient and he heard Ellia say, “If we are the chosen ones, why can’t we stop that thing?”

By this time, they headed through the door into the dark shadows of a hall. Richard just said, “I think you guarding the heart is your part of it.” When they neared the end, he saw the room appeared to be a dead end. He just said, “Ellia, I’ll check here for a hidden door.” He stepped into the shadows, but he then heard her gasp.

He turned, but stayed in the shadows as he saw Pious appear, with two guards, but something seemed wrong about them. He heard Pious say, “You should have fled when you had the chance. Where is the Essence of Mantorok?” He knew Ellia wouldn’t tell, especially as the hissing guards grabbed her. He then saw ‘blue’ lightning arc from the bonestaff Pious had as he said, “Then succumb to the horrors of Oblivion.”

As the lightning killed her, he heard her say, “Bring help. Bring someone to save me.” Richard knew what she meant, and started to run out of the room.

He then heard Pious shout, “Stop him. He’s escaped three times already. I want him dead.” Richard head a loud splat, but kept running. He didn’t want to know what was following him, but he felt himself stop moving as he saw the scene change. Alexandra had reached the end of the chapter, and soon, he’d be back in the present.