As Lucien descended the dimly lit stairwell, the damp air of the underground cave wrapped around him like a shroud. His hand brushed against the cold stone wall until it found the unused torch, its wooden surface rough against his fingertips. With a flicker of his wrist, he ignited the torch, and a warm, golden flame sprang to life, casting dancing shadows that played along the jagged rock face.
"Why there's a need for my great-grandfather to build this secret underground cave under my mansion, just what he's hiding in here..?" Lucien mused aloud, his voice echoing within the stone confines, reverberating his thoughts of intrigue and uncertainty. The flickering light illuminated his face, revealing the mixture of wonder and anxiety coursing through him.
Reaching the bottom, he stepped onto the uneven ground, the texture of the earth beneath his feet shifting subtly, as if it held the whispers of long-forgotten tales. Once Lucien stepped on the uneven floor, a large, wooden, old door was in front of Lucien. It had a circular knob, and iron bars supporting the door itself as both of them are filled with rust.
"This is it.. now let's see what my great-grandfather is hiding from the other side of this door..." Lucien's voice is filled with uncertainty, anxiety, and curiosity.
Lucien pushed the door open, although the door itself was quite hard to push open because of the rust and the size, he still managed to open the door.
Once opened, what stumbles upon him is a research lab that hasn't been used for many centuries. The Table is full of dust and spider webs, the containers and the rack are also filled with dust and spider webs, but filled with an unknown liquid that Lucien wasn't familiar with
"So my Great-grandfather was an alchemist.. that's strange. Considering that there's no need for such an alchemy room under an Underground cave, is my Great-grandfather a crazy man who just happens to find crazy stuff and began experimenting on it?" Lucien's tone was filled with mockery towards his great-grandfather's alchemy room.
Suddenly, out of the blue, once Lucien lit up the whole room with fire thanks to the torches around, a giant biography of a creature was illuminated hanging on the wall in front of him. Every part of the body is detailed down even the tiniest bit. Lucien was amazed beyond words that his Great-grandfather was researching the said creature.
"Well, I guess I will take my words back. Damn, my Great-grandfather is a damn genius. Oh, I hope I'm as intelligent as you someday." Lucien's face and tone are filled with jealousy and amazement at the same time.
Suddenly, in the darkness of the other room, glass tubes fall down without any explanation. Things are falling down very quickly, glass shattering everywhere, and Lucien begins to be wary that there might be someone or something else in the room besides him. To defend his self, Lucien grabbed a broken shard of glass and held it tight within his palm, acting as a blade.
Lucien was listening, it's a creature. He can't exactly imagine what creature it is, but from what he hears, it has multiple legs like a spider, and it's crawling faster than most spiders he has known.
Suddenly, the creature revealed itself in front of him. It's the same creature that his Great-grandfather studied for centuries.
The creature was a nightmare made manifest. Its eight obsidian legs supported a tower of pulsating flesh, a grotesque parody of life. A pale whip snaked out, tasting the air, promising silent death. It was an abomination, a thing of shadows and fear.
Lucien's face is filled with dread and despair once he's in contact with the creature in front of him. It's faster, agile, and small, like the size of a human palm, making it hard for him to stab and eliminate.
"What kind of creature is even that..?! There's no such creature that exists like that in any books everywhere or even mentioned!.." Lucien's voice is filled with desperation, fear and shock. He tried to stab the creature using the shard of glass he's holding but the creature is more faster, agile than him
Out of the blue, the creature latched itself and flung itself towards Lucien's body, with its small yet sharp and canine teeth, it bit Lucien's chest which caused him to scream in extreme pain. Once it sucked itself inside Lucien's body, he went unconscious for hours.
Once Lucien awakened, the bite mark and wound were completely healed without any prior reason or explanation. But in front of him is a floating, holographic thing with black and white hues
[Welcome, Player!]
----Chapter 2 ends----