Tap! Tap!
The cavern's rocky ceiling cracked. A tiny pebble fell down and landed on the stone ground. The cavern was filled with the rhythmic sound of tapping. When the rocks landed on the ground, the sound reappeared, and it kept repeating.
From the narrow crevices, a shimmer of light appeared.
Crack!
The yellow crystals hanging from the ceiling cracked. A yellowish light escaped from the cracks in the crystals. The light was released into the cavern. Then, the light faded away, and the yellow crystal dimmed down.
Soon, the yellow crystal was yellow no more. The crystal's interior became brown and musky.
The only light source was coming from the crevices. They became bigger and released more light into the cavern. Soon, the light was bright enough to envelop the whole rocky environment.
At the bottom of the cavern. There was a raised platform. It was around three meters away from the stone ground. There was two flight of stairs leading to the top of the platform. It was like an arena, built for a battle.
There was someone sitting on the platform. The shimmer of light revealed his shadowed face. He had jet-black hair made from the darkness. The eyelids fluttered, revealing the eyes. They were dark.
It seemed like there was a whirlpool of darkness in the depths of his eyes. He seemed to be around 18s in age with a beautiful face. He was draped in dark robes, covering his seemingly pale and frail body.
His skin was withering away, and his face stayed the same for some reason. His beautiful face had no change. However, the rest of his body was skinny, pale, and sickly.
His mouth curved upward. A peal of dark laughter seeped through his mouth, ''Kakakaka… He is here… Inferior me!''
…
''Whew…'' Isaac knelt on the ground. He pulled a paper from his pocket and used it to wipe his sweat. The paper was soon soaked, and the scribbles on it became unreadable.
He didn't care and threw the paper away.
He stood up and dusted off his clothes. While doing so, his hands trembled. The adrenaline rush wasn't over yet. It was like he could still feel Wraith's toes touching him.
Isaac shuddered just from the thought. Soon, he was in good enough condition to resume the dungeon.
Tap! Tap!
While walking, the notification emerged from thin air.
[Congratulations, Player Wraith!]
[Test of Courage Completed!]
[2/3]
''Whew… Only one remaining.'' Isaac's eyes turned firm. He accelerated his pace and soon reached the end of the path.
He stepped out of the path and entered a spacious cavern. The shimmer of sunlight covered his figure.
Isaac was rather surprised to see the sunlight. They were, after all, underground.
At a distance, he could see the platform. Isaac's eyebrow rose, wondering what the next test could be.
Then, a notification appeared.
[Last Test!]
[Test of Yourself!]
''Test of… Yourself?''
[The Test shall begin once you step on top of the platform]
[Good Luck, Player Wraith!]
Isaac shrugged. He wasn't sure what the test was about, but he was confident enough to clear it. It wasn't blind confidence, but he had a few theories about the upcoming trial.
It could test how much he knows about himself. Isaac was confident of completing the test if that was the case. However, there was a higher chance that it meant something else.
Isaac reached the steps. He stepped forth and walked up the stairs. Soon, he reached the top.
Once his feet touched the platform. The notifications emerged.
[Last Test Begins!]
Bang!
A bullet swished through the air and scratched Isaac's cheek out of nowhere before continuing to fly further away.
Isaac's body froze out of shock. He shakily touched his bleeding cheek. He moved the tip of his finger in front of his face and saw it soaked in blue blood.
''Kakakaka!'' A laughter resounded in the cavern. Isaac felt like he had suddenly entered a pit of hell. Instead of being warm, it was freezing. His toes became stiff, and his cold fingers couldn't be moved.
The dark-haired youth stood up slowly. His grin reached his ears. On his back, a gun draped in dark clothing was strapped in.
He unstrapped the gun and moved it in front of him. The gun seemed like it was made from the darkness. It was entirely shrouded in some kind of black smudge. While the dark-haired youth touched the weapon. Veins in color black protruded. They went from his hand to the neck.
He looked rather sickly, like someone who was about to die.
''Grah!'' A puff of dark smoke left his mouth. His crooked teeth started decaying. However, his beautiful face was still unaffected. Even while his whole body was breaking apart, his face stayed intact.
''Isaac!'' His hoarse scream rang in Isaac's ears.
Isaac whipped his head toward the direction of the scream. He was shocked to hear someone calling out his name. When he finally saw the figure, he was speechless!
Even though the dark-haired youth looked like someone about to die, his face was identical to him.
''W-Who?''
The dark-haired youth opened his mouth and laughed, ''Kakakaka. My name is Dark Isaac, and I am the superior version of you!''
''Superior version?'' Isaac took a step back. The words rang in his mind.
Dark Isaac spread his arms and shouted till the ceiling quaked, ''I am the true Isaac. This is what you should be, and not the pathetic weakling!''
Isaac's shocked face had a significant change. His eyelids lowered, and his mouth closed. He extended his hand forward, and The Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle popped out of nowhere and landed on his hand.
Dark Isaac grinned, ''Oh… Are you sure you want to fight me? If you think I am you. You are mistaken. I am not you— I am better than you!''
''Sorry, I can't care less.'' Isaac placed his finger on the trigger. Extended the gun and rested his cheek on the stock.
When the barrel's aim was locked in Dark Isaac's face, he asked, ''Tell me, if you are me. What will be my next move?''
Dark Isaac grinned and glanced above him, where the ceiling was about to collapse, ''So predictable...''
BANG!
