Descent into Darkness
Ahmed hit the floor like a sack of glowing despair. The cavern echoed with the wet smack of his body, the sound more pathetic than heroic. Blue light radiated from his skin, casting eerie ripples across ancient walls lined with carvings of forgotten figures. The air was damp, filled with the scent of mildew, old stone, and the faint metallic tang of long-buried secrets.
For a long moment, he lay there, face pressed into mud, whispering:
"…end it. Please. Just end it already."
Nana landed on his back with perfect grace, as if gravity itself conspired against him. She gave him a proud pat on the head. "Blue Mama Idiot soft! Good pillow!"
"GET. OFF. ME." He peeled himself up with trembling arms, glaring at her tiny teeth marks glowing across his arm. "I am not your pillow. I am not your Mama. I AM A MAN!"
Nana tilted her head, eyes wide with faux innocence. Then she bit his shoulder. Hard.
Ahmed screamed. "AAAAAAHHHHHHH! WHY IS THIS MY LIFE?!"
From above, Whorina's voice floated down, dripping with laughter. "Because, my sweet, you were chosen. And chosen ones never get to rest. Isn't it beautiful?"
Liuyue's distant voice echoed faintly through the hole. "Observation: subject has not died yet. Probability of death within next five minutes: high."
Tsu-Nan's calm rumble followed. "The true cure awaits below."
Ahmed spat mud, his glow illuminating the cavern. "The true cure is a shovel burying me alive."
But then—something caught his eye.
The Tomb
As he stumbled to his feet, the cavern widened into a chamber that took his breath away. Golden lanterns embedded in the walls flickered to life at the touch of his blue light. The shadows peeled back, revealing wonders that made his jaw drop.
Piles of ancient treasures. Rusted weapons, jeweled crowns, scrolls stacked like monuments. Entire mountains of coins and gemstones glittered in the half-light.
Ahmed's heart stopped. Then it roared back to life with a speed that nearly killed him again.
"…Treasure."
His lips trembled. Tears welled in his eyes. "T-treasure… actual treasure…"
Nana gasped, eyes wide with childlike wonder. "Shiny! Shiny! Mama Shiny!" She dove headfirst into a pile of coins, burying herself like a mole.
Ahmed staggered forward, glowing blue against gold, his laughter rising like a madman's hymn. "After everything! After frogs, wind, enlightenment, bites, poison—THIS IS IT! FINALLY, MY SUFFERING HAS BEEN REWARDED!"
Whorina's whisper purred like silk. "Oh, honey. You know better. Treasure is never what you think it is."
"SHUT UP!" he snapped, waving her away. "NOT THIS TIME! NOT THIS TIME, YOU WICKED HALLUCINATION! THIS IS MY MOMENT!"
He sprinted, tripping over bones and relics, until he spotted it: at the center of the chamber, resting atop a dais, was a chest. Not any chest. The chest.
Beautifully carved, adorned with gems, its surface gleamed like polished obsidian. Upon it lay ancient inscriptions that promised power, destiny, greatness.
Ahmed collapsed before it, weeping. "At last… something good."
The Chest
With shaking hands, he reached forward. The lid creaked open, ancient dust swirling into the air. His glowing skin made the interior shimmer like the heavens themselves.
Inside, resting on a velvet cushion, was a single pill.
Small. Perfect. Glowing faintly, its light pulsed like the heartbeat of the earth.
Ahmed's jaw dropped. "No way…"
He fell back, clutching his face, laughing and crying all at once. "It's real. It's real. It's the legendary cultivation pill. The one they all talk about! The one that makes you ascend in a single breath! The heavens have finally, FINALLY looked at me and said: 'Here, Ahmed. You've suffered enough.'"
Whorina floated above the chest, her smile wide, cruel. "Or… maybe they said: 'Here, Ahmed. Let's make the suffering worse.'"
He ignored her. He had to ignore her. He couldn't let her ruin this. Not when salvation was in his hands.
Nana crawled out of the coin pile, a crown too big for her head wobbling over her eyes. She pointed at the pill and chirped, "Candy!"
Ahmed nearly smacked her. "This is not candy, you little monster! This is the culmination of destiny itself!"
She bit his leg.
"OWWWWW! STOP BITING ME DURING MY HEROIC MOMENTS!"
Liuyue's muffled voice carried from above, though faint. "If subject consumes unknown object, probability of catastrophic side effect: 99.999%."
"Shut up!" Ahmed shouted back at the ceiling. "Let me have this!"
The Delusion
He lifted the pill, cradling it like a newborn. His glowing blue skin reflected against its surface, making it look as if it belonged to him—like it had been waiting for him all along.
His mind filled with fantasies. He saw himself ascending, glowing not blue but gold, tearing through the heavens as a blazing immortal. He saw Whorina silenced forever, forced to bow to his power. He saw Nana calling him "Dada Hero" instead of "Mama Idiot."
He saw a future where he was not cursed.
"Finally," he whispered, voice cracking with emotion. "Finally, I'm going to be free."
Whorina leaned close, her breath cool against his ear. "Oh, honey. You don't get freedom. You get punchlines."
He squeezed his eyes shut, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Not this time. Not this time, you evil voice. This time… it's mine."
He raised the pill to his lips. His whole body trembled with anticipation. His breath came in ragged gasps.
"Do you see this, heavens?!" Ahmed screamed to the cavern ceiling. "I AM NOT YOUR FOOL ANYMORE! THIS IS MY TURN TO WIN!"
Nana latched onto his glowing arm again, biting with joy. "Mama candy! Mama candy!"
"IT'S NOT CANDY!" he roared, shaking her off.
The pill touched his lips. His eyes burned with hope. His soul braced for salvation.
Epilogue Cliffhanger :
Ahmed inhaled deeply, the glowing pill glimmering like salvation between his teeth.
Tears of joy streamed down his blue cheeks as he whispered, voice breaking with triumph:
"This… this is it. My moment. My legend."
And then—he swallowed.
The tomb pulsed with a foreboding light.
Something ancient stirred.
And Ahmed's fate tilted once more toward disaster.
[TO BE CONTINUED....]