takutomaruki | Gritty nudges (Reply)

Somewhere deep within mementos...

Path of Da'at: Level 1

Maruki exhaled sharply as the last Shadow dissolved into black mist, its metallic cries echoing faintly before fading into silence. He had started to grow quite used to the vast emptiness of this labyrinth, hell sometimes even its darkness that shrouded down the edges and threatened to swallow him whole. Azathoth’s tentacles hovered protectively around him, their glowing tips pulsating with a rhythmic light, as though catching their breath alongside him. The glossy floor beneath was cracked from the earlier battle, and faint wisps of smoke rose where his nuclear blasts had left scorch marks.

“...Finally,” he muttered, brushing sweat from his brow. His body ached, a dull throb radiating through his limbs from the strain of combat. He hovered briefly, suspended by Azathoth’s coiling tentacles, before letting his feet touch the ground.

Maruki hesitated, his gaze flicking between the strange, pristine room and the jagged, shadowy chaos of the path before him. It was soo...so different. The walls were painted in white, black and blue- similar to the appendages dancing at the tip of Azathoth's tentacles.

His breaths evened out as he carefully reached into his bag and the inner pockets of his white coat , taking stock of his supplies. A nearly-empty water bottle. A handful of medical patches. His mind wandered briefly—he wasn’t even sure how long he’d been down here. Days? Hours? Time felt meaningless this deep in the labyrinth or...a half built lab.

Azathoth, sensing his exhaustion, lowered its tentacles to him. The tips glowed faintly as they brushed against his side, and he felt a small pulse of energy as they began mending his injuries.

“Thanks,” Maruki murmured, his voice softer now. The tentacles responded with a slight writhing motion, their movements less aggressive now that the immediate threat was gone.

As the faint warmth of regeneration coursed through him, Maruki couldn’t help but feel the strange weight of this specific level ahead. He frowned, his fingers tightening around the strap of his bag.

“This place... why does it feel so—”

He stopped. His body tensed.

There it was again.

A faint prickle at the edge of his awareness. Something that sent the back of his hair standing up in fright. Like a pair of unseen eyes boring into the back of his neck. Slowly, Maruki turned, scanning the shattered battlefield he had left in his trail. The broken ground and dissolving remnants of Shadows were still. Silent.

Yet something was there.

“...I know you’re watching me,” Maruki said aloud, his voice steady despite the faint tremor in his chest. Azathoth responded instinctively, its tendrils rising around him like a defensive cocoon.

Maruki’s eyes narrowed. “If you’re trying to intimidate me, you’re wasting your time.”

He took a step forward, his movements slow and deliberate. His voice dropped and echoed

“Show yourself. If you are not a shadow I won't cause you any trouble.”

Azathoth’s tentacles lashed out into the air behind him, striking the ground with enough force to crack the pristine surface. The sound echoed unnaturally, almost as if swallowed by the room itself.

A distinct ringing flickered in Maruki's eardrums, the STRIKE from the tentacles now coming back like echolocation. If someone were following him, he would sense the disturbance in the waves. He's too used to sneak attacks now.

The prickle of awareness deepened, sharpening into something tangible. Something that crawled along the edges of his senses and made him brace for whatever was to come next.

Maruki took another step, his gaze locked ahead as his hand hovered near his side, ready to command Azathoth into action.