<==
(color: red) [thump]
=><=
(color: red) [thump]
==>
(color: red) [thump]
=><=
(color: red) [thump]
<==
(color: red) [thump]
=><=
(color: red) [thump]
==>
(color: red) [thump]
=><=
the sound of pumping blood fills the air. it pumps through the walls, walls that you can't see. it's dark, and hot, and loud. the [[thumping->Thump2]] is loud.=><=
each and every [[thump->Thump]] gets (color:red)[louder]. it's hard to focus on anything besides the [[thumping->Thump]]. the [[heat->embers]] isn't (color:black)[yet] a distraction, the [[darkness->it's an ocean]] prevents visual stimulation, and the [[slime->its wet]] surrounding you makes it hard to move anything but your head.=><=
(color:orange)[fire], stoked from somewhere deep in this [[thumping->Thump]] prison, seems to (color:orange)[heat] the air. it makes everything humid and uncomfortable, especially the [[slime->its wet]] you're stuck in. it's hard to focus on anything, but at least it doesn't seem to be getting [[hotter->corona]].=><=
amongst other things, the (color:black)[darkness] surrounds you. ignoring all of [[thumping->Thump]] (or at least, ignoring it to the best of your ability), it makes focusing on the (color:black)[darkness] easier ever so slightly.
the (color:black)[darkness] is pitch black and humid from all of the [[heat->embers]]. it surrounds you like a swaddling blanket. like the depths of the ocean, it seems like the (color:black)[darkness] is all that's there. your vision swims and you [[think->fish out of water]] you see something, but maybe your eyes just //want// to see something.=><=
suddenly, it gets (color:orange)[hotter]. how ironic.
the (color:orange)[heat] seems to be coming from all around, (color:orange)[radiating] from around you, back to you. like the [[thumping->Thump]] in the air, the (color:orange)[heat] becomes omnipresent. where is all of it coming from? you [[squint->the sun]] into the darkness.=><=
(css: "font-size: 300%;")[Don't Stare]
you hear a loud rumble from up above. your eyes instantly unfocus from the (color:black)[darkness] as you look upwards to search for the source of the sound.
(color:orange)[searing] light (color:orange)[burns] at your retinas. you are unable to look away for a few moments, and when you do, you find yourself [[blind->burnt out]].=><=
it's almost impossible to tune out the [[thumping->Thump]], but you futilely squint into the (color:black)[darkness]. it doesn't appear to be anything aside from the uniform (color:black)[black]. so, perhaps then, you were wrong. or right, in the sense that you were imagining things. the human mind wasn't made for a lack of sight. you're a fish out of water here.
and then you see it again, a movement in the otherwise unbreakable (color:black) [darkness]. you [[react->see me then]] quickly this time, and snap your eyes towards the movement.=><=
you can no longer (color:black)[see]. or (color:orange)[fe](color:green)[el].
but you can hear.
and you hear an insistent [[thumping->Thump?]] =><=
(css: "font-size: 300%;")[Too Cold]
the shape you spotted is spherical and yet (color:green)[liquid], with writhing (color:green)[tentacles] that pull it far too quickly across the inky ocean of darkness you have found yourself surrounded by. before you can get a better look at it-
(color:orange)[heat] flares. it's intense, far more that you're prepared for. the (color:orange)[temperature] rises quickly, and sweat runs in rivulets down every part of you at the sudden (color:orange)[heat] flash. your head begins to hurt from the sustained (color:orange)[heat], and something gooey runs down your cheeks. you find yourself [[blind->burnt out]] =><=
some kind of (color:green)[viscous] substance coats you, surrounding you and making it impossible to move more than a bit at a time. every [[thump->Thump]] causes the substance to [[shake->downward spiral]] and shudder like a massive bowl of (color:green)[gelatin]. you don't think you're actually moving anywhere in this [[darkness->it's an ocean]], however.=><=
you notice that sometimes, corresponding with a [[thump->Thump]] the lurching (color:green)[fluid] seems to shift downwards slightly. it's more of a feeling than anything else, though it does inspire a bit of vertigo within you. you (color:green)[slosh] around a bit.
another [[thump->Thump]] causes the (color:green)[sludge] around you to [[quake->drainage]].=><=
the (color:green)[goop] encasing you begins vibrating. that doesn't seem right.
as if on cue, a massive sound, like water being dropped into a glass, fills the air, louder than anything you've ever heard. it's loud enough that it almost distracts you from the [[thumping->Thump]]. the (color:green)[slime] around you suddenly begins to
p
u
l
l
and you [[fall->and i cant get up]]=><=
(css: "font-size: 300%;")[Begone]
your impact with what can only be the ground is softened by the (color:green)[sludge] encompassing you. still, the breath leaves your lungs at the impact, and your grunt fills the air.
that's when you realize you can see. a formless, shifting shape out in the (color:black)[darkness], slightly lighter than your (color:black)[obsidian] surroundings. it raises a newly formed limb, and the (color:green)[slime] begins moving again. you open your mouth to call out to the figure, but then the (color:green)[goop] is surrounding your head. it flows into your nose and mouth and throat, and you can't breathe. but, more importantly, it gets into your eyes and sends stinging lances of pain through the sensitive flesh. you find yourself [[blind->burnt out]].=><=
the thumping is quiet, unlike at the beginning. the damage done to your eyes makes your head spin, and your body aches.
you feel something begin to crawl over your shoulders, something not solid. like a snake, the liquid thing slowly spirals up your neck and towards your eye sockets. and that's when you realize something. the thing is beating like a heart, pulsing against your flesh. you can do nothing as it inches up your face, coiling around your nose and slithering over your ears. it finally reaches your eye sockets, and then...
then...
then...
nothing. the thing remains coiled around you, beating and pulsing and twitching. and yet it remains [[still->not yet]]=><=
(css: "font-size: 25%;")[sorry about that]
an almost imperceptible voice fills your ears, and you try to crane your neck towards it. the thing coiled around you tightens its grip, keeping your head locked in place.
(css: "font-size: 25%;")[i need you to hold still]
you feel a sense of numbness spread across your face like a mask, sinking into your skin. you no longer feel the thing coiled around your head, though it leaves your shoulders, no longer draped like a scarf over you. something cool settles over your exposed skin, and you feel... as refreshed as you can in a situation like this.
(css: "font-size: 25%;")[there we go]
the voice says again.
(css: "font-size: 25%;")[now back to the beginning with you. just stick to listening, and everything will be okay.]
and then you hear it [[again->Thump]].