Following a dirt trail, Abraham wiped his brow of sweat and observed his surroundings.
Almost there now… this shit better be worth it..
The forest had given way to an open grassland, and in the distance, sitting like a forgotten relic, stood what looked like a stone temple. Its structure was wide with steps leading up to a mouth-like archway flanked by crumbling statues. Moss clung to every edge, and cracks ran through the foundation like veins.
He strained his eyes. "This place looks like it hasn't seen a person in at least a hundred years," he muttered.
Abraham looked around again for another moment. "I am not going in there unarmed," he whispered to himself.
With that, a runic panel flickered into existence before him. Abraham reached inside and pulled out a rusty knife, its edge dull but familiar in his grip.
That's better. Feel safer already!
He moved toward the temple, catching sight of words etched into the stone floor nearby, glowing faintly in an old runic script.
Good thing I can read this stuff. Let's see… Abraham squinted slightly and read: Temple of Anouk. Huh. Never heard of Anouk. Is that like… a food?
Walking past the runes, Abraham approached the massive stone doors. "This is gonna be a workout, isn't it?" he muttered under his breath.
Planting both hands on the stone, he pushed with all his might, though, in truth, Abraham wasn't exactly a powerhouse.
Suddenly, the doors flung open, sending Abraham flying forward and landing face-first into the cold stone.
Ouch. Fuck, that hurt.
He stood back up with a groan, rubbing his nose.
Let's hope that doesn't bruise…
In the center of the room stood an altar. Atop it sat a single chalice, filled with a yellow-gold liquid that shimmered faintly in the light.
Cautiously, Abraham stepped closer.
He was just about to pick it up when suddenly, he heard a rock on the ground move.
With a sudden burst of energy, he turned around, and his heart dropped.
At the door, he saw a four-legged dog of sorts. It had the shape of a dog, but wrong. All wrong. Its skull was bare, bleached bone with hollow eye sockets that somehow stared straight at him. Its body was covered in a matte black, yet thick fur coat, as if it were covered in shadows.
They held a silent, frozen stare.
Fuck. I might piss myself.
The dog-thing suddenly pounced at Abraham, which he dodged just barely. A small cut was on his cheek as he quite literally jumped and sent himself flying to dodge.
The creature snarled, teeth bared.
Without hesitation, it pounced again—but Abraham's hand shot out, his rusty knife catching the beast's arm.
A deep, gaping wound opened, and the creature yelped in pain.
Fueled by adrenaline, Abraham charged at it while screaming. With all the energy he could muster, he rammed into it, sending it flying atop of the altar.
The creature's open wound oozed blood on top of the altar, causing faint cracks within it to glow a faint red.
The creature pounced off the table and bit into Abraham's shoulder while shaking him violently. It then suddenly slammed Abraham into the Altar, knocking over the chalice and spilling the yellow-gold liquid, which mixed with the blood.
The altar began to glow in a brighter red color.
Abraham's blood mixed in with this as he lay there briefly stunned.
Fuck. I can't move..
The creature pounced on top of him again, atop the altar.
"Not like this," Abraham growled through gritted teeth.
The dog-thing opened its mouth, preparing to kill off the poor soul below it.
But then—
A flash. The altar erupted in brilliant light, searing white and violent. Abraham threw up his arm instinctively, and the creature recoiled, both blinded.
The light vanished as suddenly as it came.
Abraham blinked, his vision returning, and what he saw froze his blood.
The altar had returned to its original state
The blood was gone.
The chalice stood upright, undisturbed.
Just as it had been when he first walked in.
The dog-thing also seemed to have recovered from its momentary blindness and shook its head.
Abraham quickly plunged his knife deep into its chest, causing it to let out a vicious howl.
He kicked it off of him, with what little strength he had left, and he crawled towards the chalice on the other side of the altar.
The dog-thing thrashed around the floor, screaming in agony from the pain.
He grabbed the chalice and, without even thinking, he drank from it.
Could use some sa—
He was cut off by a sudden, excruciating pain coming from his organs.
His body began sweating profusely as if he were on fire, and his eyes reddened with tears of blood streaming down his face.
His frail body convulsed, forcing him to roll up. He couldn't even scream — as if his body had already accepted death.
But then, as suddenly as the pain appeared, it disappeared, giving Abraham a chance to breathe.
The dog-thing was still going crazy on the floor from the wound in its heart.
He gasped, dragging in a shuddering breath, his chest heaving.
Holy fuck. What… just happened.
He coughed.
He looked over his body and felt… different. Stronger, even.
He looked at both of his hands and observed his veins. They appeared to faintly glow, just as the altar did before.
He jumped off of the altar and approached the squirming dog.and stomped on its head, crushing it entirely.
The dog twitched once more before finally dying completely. Abraham removed the knife from its chest and dismissed it.
"Huh. Would you look at that. I guess this was treasure in a way… I'm still gonna kill that bartender but at least this was somewhat rewarding."
He opened up the panel again and looked at his stats.
[Name: Abraham]
[Age: 20]
[Rank: Dormant]
[Attribute: Combat]
[Pulse: 21]
[Traits: —]
[Titles: —]
[Equipment: Rusty Knife]
Well I'll be damned. Didn't expect to get a combat attribute. Let's inspect.
[Attribute Type: Combat]
[Description: "An ancient force born of blood, light, and war, dormant until awakened by pain and will. A silent power that grants strength to those chosen by fate."]
"I'm starting to like this," he said with a grin forming, "Maybe I won't kill that bartender."