11 [|Ch.10 Lake Dungeon|]

Italic text like this, are the mc's thoughts that are accessible to everything in his mind.

Normal text like this is the mc describing what he or others are doing, a sort of pseudo-omniscient narrator that is himself.

"Text like this is people talking."

.

Yeah, it's a gloomy dungeon, an expansive and intricate labyrinth that we have been traversing for quite some time now. As we make our way through, an unsettling sight greets us - candy juice splattered across numerous walls. 

Bonnie retrieves what appears to be a sonar device from her satchel. I can't help but marvel at her ability to decipher the workings of such technology, considering she was born long after its decline.

She activates the device, but to our surprise, it fails to yield any results. "Weird..." she mutters, her brows furrowing. Meanwhile, I survey our surroundings, contemplating whether or not to venture out for reconnaissance.

Should I go ahead...?

Almost as if she can read my thoughts, she interrupts my internal debate. "Just go, I'll be fine," she reassures me. I am on the verge of declining her offer when suddenly, the indentations on the walls illuminate, signaling imminent danger.

The lines, now glowing an eerie shade of red, shoot out in squares, attempting to ensnare us within their confines.

"This isn't good," Bonnie remarks, her gaze fixed on me. I nod in agreement, my heart pounding with a mix of anxiety and determination. I quickly notice that the path we had taken to arrive here is already blocked off, leaving us with limited options. Sighing I swiftly transform into my shadow form. "What are you doing?" she asks, clearly taken aback.

"Uh... please don't vomit," I respond, my voice laced with a hint of uncertainty. Without further ado, I envelop her body entirely, mimicking the appearance of a Candyshade in their shade form.

"Also, try not to resist any movements I make," I advise her, preparing for the next step. Together, we sink into the depths of a shadow, embarking on a daring escape while skillfully evading the encroaching walls.

Navigating from one corridor to another, I am accompanied by the other Candyshades, who, though unable to assume shadow form, possess the remarkable ability of biokinesis, allowing them to maneuver through the treacherous terrain.

As time passes, the walls begin to close in at an alarming pace, leaving me with fewer shadows to weave through. More and more candy people behind us are turned to paste.

Yeah those guys are definitely dead.

The intensity of the lights increases, obliterating any trace of shadows in the corridors. However, amidst the chaos, I spot a room up ahead that appears to be unaffected by the encroaching darkness.

Despite being forced back into my physical form, I summon every ounce of determination to transform back into a shadow, even if it means enduring searing pain.

Harnessing the power of my shadowy essence, I swiftly manipulate my incorporeal body and propel Bonnie into the safety of the room. Just as I accomplish this feat, the cubes surrounding me close in, trapping me within their confines.

"Eni!"

As the cubes seal me completely, a stroke of fortune allows the lights to abruptly turn off, granting me a fleeting moment to transform into a shadow once again, narrowly escaping being crushed.

I slither effortlessly through narrow crevices in the walls, eventually finding myself in the secure sanctuary where I had left Bonnie. To my surprise, she is in a state of distress, hyperventilating and pacing anxiously.

Taking advantage of the situation, I silently approach her from behind, causing her to spin around and instinctively wrap her arms around me in a tight embrace.

Realizing her actions, Bonnie hastily tries to release herself from the hug, but I firmly hold her in place. With a playful tone, I taunt her, "Heh... I'm gone for just a moment and you're on the verge of tears."

"Shut up..." she retorts, pushing me away while coughing slightly, her cheeks tinged with a blush.

Cute.

Shaking off these thoughts, we survey our surroundings and realize that the safe room has no visible exits. A sense of unease washes over me, as it becomes clear that the situation is about to take a turn for the worse. All of our accompanying soldiers have perished, and we are left to confront the formidable leader.

Just as this realization dawns upon me, the wall violently ruptures, unleashing a torrent of water that rapidly floods the expansive chamber. We are forcefully swept away by the powerful current, and I notice Bonnie succumbing to unconsciousness.

Frantically swimming towards her, I search for her respirator and hastily secure it onto her face, allowing her to breathe normally once again. My attention is then drawn towards the shattered wall, where I witness a majestic creature emerge from the depths.

It resembles a Sea Drake, with a lengthy cyan body measuring nearly ten meters, four clawed and webbed limbs, an orange-colored exterior, a robust tail, a thick neck adorned with gills and spikes, and a crocodile-like face, accentuated by orange spikes running along its back.

Letting out a deafening roar that reverberates through the water, the creature swiftly propels itself towards us, and I swiftly grab Bonnie and pull myself out of the way using some shadows.

The beast slams into a wall shaking the entire room, Bonnie snaps out of it and looks towards me, we lock eyes and understand its time for a fight. I quickly create a shadow hand and tether her to it so I can move her if she is in danger.

She pulls out a colored shotgun, with multiple dials that probably switch what it can do, of course I know how powerful that thing probably is, whenever I visit her testing range in her lab all I hear are explosions, why do I still worry about her all the time when she can blow holes in mountains?

I have 0 clue, maybe I am possessive. Pushing those thoughts aside I decide to not hold back and get this done as fast as possible, closing my eyes I gather every shadow in the vicinity and form it around us just as the Drakes jaws clam onto it.

Before it can back away I form spikes on the outside of the shield and manage to piece one of its eyes, it recoils in pain and I quickly separate the shield into smaller pieces and from those pieces I create hundreds of shadow tendrils.

The simplest shapes I can make, they take the least amount of energy allowing me to fight longer, I sharpen their ends and send them in a barrage of slashes, Bonnie doing her part cocks her gun and turns the dial all the way to the end and pulls the trigger.

And to be expected she uses the most fitting setting, which sends a black ball right at the Drakes face and upon contact it explodes into a dark ink that blinds it. Allowing my shadow tendrils to attack with less interference. 

.

6 or so chapters left before we get out of the backup chapters I wrote ages ago and get to the newly written stuff with a different writing style, a more casual writing style that fits better with the mc and first person writing and better story progression.

Reading these old chapters back is physically hard for me now and can't wait to get past them lmao.