Endless Night

Stepping beyond the gates of what The Operator had come to know as his only sanctuary in the nightmarish world he had found himself in brought upon a deep dread. The feeling reminded him of leaving home for the first time, only much worse. The crackling of the torches at the gate slowly faded behind him as the sound of his shoes ground pebbles into the dirt. Keeping his shield close, he waved his torch in a slow arc around his path. Soon the light of the gate faded completely and he felt truly alone. Shadows of branches and trunks cast about gave the already foreboding forest even more eerie. The shadows bounced and flicked, moving with him from tree to tree. He couldn't shake the feeling of something waiting around every tree. "I have to stay positive.." he told himself as thoughts of failure and a horrifying death crept into his mind. The Operator tried filling his thoughts with positive notions, yet the doubt and fear slowly overwhelmed that effort. He tried to clear his mind and at least be calm however even this he found to be difficult. "Who can stay calm in a hellish place such as this..I miss my world.." He thought to himself. "My..world…?" Try as he might, he found it impossible to remember many details of his world. "Who am I..?"

The revelation that The Operator was completely losing himself and where he had come from scared him. After walking for what felt like hours he decided he would rest underneath a tree, and try to meditate on who he was. Using the shields sharpened tip he dug a small hole and embedded the torch in the ground beside him. Pulling his knees to his chest he set the shield in-front of him and closed his eyes. The Operator began trying to find his own memories by digging through the murky waters of his own mind. His memories had been smothered by the images and darkness brought on by the gem implanted in his arm. Slowly he worked back through his memories like a tape on rewind. He thought it best to try this method as he couldn't recall any specific moment at all. Slowly, however, his memories did begin to come in to focus. He began remembering what the place he had come from looked like. He remembered the statue he broke in to, and the eerie silence around the mauled animals outside. He remembered where he made camp at, and being instructed to go. Try as he might he could not recall before that moment, however he felt it was a good start to his attempts. "Maybe if I keep working at it I can remember who I am..I'm fortunate I had that pistol with me, or I wouldn't have remembered what a gun was!" He thought to himself. He continued to practice walking back through his memories as far as he could, but found the numb of sleep began to creep over him and his memories turned to dreams. The dreams began twisting back towards the nightmarish world he found himself stuck in, and as such, he woke in another cold sweat. The mixing sounds of birds faded as his reality of creeping silence in a dark and lonely forest set in.

Rising from his crouched resting spot, The Operator stretched his limbs out. Time flowed strangely in this ever-night wasteland, and thus he was unsure how long he rested. He felt relieved no creatures had stumbled upon him ,and that his journey had been quiet so far. Remaining hopeful he slashed the tree bark to remind himself of where he rested. "May as well leave my mark on this world while I'm here." He said before walking away from the tree, who's weakened bark easily fell away with his strike. The soft thud traveled only a short distance before being smothered in the trees. Taking a deep breath he began his trek down the overgrown path. Like an explorer in a jungle The Operator found himself sweating as he cut away the vines, branches, and grasses that obscured his vision of the path. The vegetation had wilted, but not it had not died. Despite the ease in which the obstructions fell The Operator found he was making little progress. It seemed as though the path had been abandoned for a long time, and not even the monsters had pressed the plants into the ground.

"This world really is dead, isn't it?" The Operator mumbled to himself as he lifted the edge of wilting grass with his blade. The thick black fluid was visible in the veins of the grass, dyeing most of the plant a similar color. The Operator frowned at his observation. "Even the plants aren't safe from this shit.."He said as jerked his swords to cut the grass he was inspecting. "It's a wonder how those sheep herders ever survived out here..and for as long as they have too.." The Operator thought to himself. "How have the grown food? The whole process would be beyond tedious…" He sighed and looked to the crystal embedded in his arm. "I'm not sure if I would call it fortunate..but atleast I haven't had to eat since I arrived here." The Operator ran him fingers over the crystal slowly, the jagged edges felt as though they would shred his skin. It felt as real as the rest of him did. He thought of the Monk again, shuddering. "I wonder if that bastards looking for me out there…" He thought to himself looking off into the distance. "I hope so.." Gripping his sword he cut away at the branches and plants with more fervor, "because when we meet again, I'll make sure he regrets ever bringing me to this hell-hole!" A rage was building up inside of him, and he began picking up speed as he imagined every swing bringing an end to the cryptid who stole him from his world. The crystals in his arm began melding together as his rage fueled swings scattered foliage around him. The process was slow, and only a few of the smaller scattered gems had become slightly larger as they absorbed each other. It wasn't until after The Operators rage had eased and his energy drained that he noticed this change in himself.

The shifting stopped as his final swing landed his blade in the earth, and being unable to easily remove it was all it took to bring him to a halt. Panting and leaning on a tree, he focused on the crystal to see if it would do anything more. When it didn't The Operator slumped against a tree and buried his head in his knees, resting the shield in-front of him like before he closed his eyes.."I miss the sun..I miss home.." The rage born was dying, replaced by a seething depression which burned its way through his veins. The weight of his situation returned and hopelessness set in once more. The Operator knew if he were to survive this world he would have to get stronger, not just physically but also mentally. "It's hard to find the light in a world of endless night…"