“What splendor! Rejoice, for the angel of death sways to a dance the likes of us will never see again in our pitiful mortal lives.” - Extract from a long-forgotten poem.
I take long strides with my stalking legs and keep a swiveling gaze. The shadows dance and welcome me trying to draw my eyes. Long years of experience pay them no heed especially since I am in my element. The first levels are always the easiest since there is less life energy around. It does no good to be to tense but neither is it wise to let my guard down. I keep my arms at ready by my side even though I currently hold no weapon.
Tens of meters later I encounter a split path. “Nothing at all so far? What are you playing at Keeper…” It is unusual to come to a path decision without at least some kind of a guardian. Even the weakest top level should have a twisted beast! Especially for such a supposedly old Spike. It will do no good to mull over these issues to much, it may be a trick for the mind. Nodding to myself, it is best to be safe. “Twisted you may be, but you are still mine to wield fiercely. Peirce into this realm my Wrath!”
The edges of my mind dim for but a moment. A spell circle briefly flashes red from the glove on my right hand and out emerges Wrath in his full glory. A midnight sword with veins of ruby blood and a hilt of majestic bone. My partner. “Hey buddy, time to work again.” Wrath’s veins pulse once in excitement mirroring my own silver glint of the eyes. I turn right and speed up hoping to draw beasts from hiding by showing them my back. It worked! Grinning I pivot and swing high, my sword splitting the beast who silently leapt from the shadows of a dying tree in two halves. “Gotcha!”
Humming, I take a step closer to the twitching carcass and inspect it, “A shadow panther hmm?” No wonder I hadn’t encountered any twisted yet. This is a beast of opportunity that stalks its prey. Prodding its body, I wonder how many more of its kind might be nearby. “Oh well, not that it matters.”
Spikes steal the life around them and incorporate it into themselves. Twisting the life in the process to suit its own needs and quirks. The upper levels usually have low levels of that life force since they like to keep it near the core and thus only weaker twisted can survive. When clearing a level, you are allowed a small amount of rest and a drop of life force to replenish some of what you use. It is generally not worth even using life force at all in the upper levels though since I can just force my way through with brute strength normally.
Stolen novel; please report.
After clearing a level, the Spike only has to replenish if it was full cleared. Otherwise it’ll just let it naturally recuperate. Additional rewards can be obtained for full clearing based on the difficulty. Naturally there is no reason for me to bother clearing the top levels. Now knowing this floor’s creature base, I skip forward no longer worrying. Within this realm of shadows I can sense movement around me for a few meters in all directions.
Maybe the other twisted saw me smite down their companion, because after a brief 100 meters I’ve reached the end of this floor. Nothing but an unending sky of moonlight and this small path flanked by dying trees. There was not even a second attempt on my life. “How utterly boring. Isn’t that right Wrath?” Wrath pulses in concurrent. Double wooden doors stand in my way and I lightly tap a finger against the knocker. A brief current of life force passes from me to the door and back. The two halves of the door swing inward and torches light leaping from one to the next until they start to wind down a stone staircase.
An empty stone room besides the single offering bowl sitting atop an equally grey and unimpressive short stone pillar. Exactly what I was expecting. Minimal effort for a first level. Got to start somewhere though. I step forth and touch the tip of my finger to the smallest hint of a green droplet at the bottom of the offering bowl. It is so small it does not even emit a smidgen of light. I blink once when my finger connects. The tiniest of sharpness travels through my body to my mind. It Is hard to explain this feeling unless you get a real jolt of it.
As the droplet disappears the wood doors behind me rumble close. No reason to stay here so I should just move on. Briskly I walk down the stairs and onto the next level. Much like the first, the next three levels quickly go by. Another path of moonlit dead trees with some minor twisted bats, then some type of fox, and a boorish monkey that was quite rude. It even dared to throw some shade at me!
“Quite the sneaky Keeper though.” I can tell its trying to get me to relax. Such an amateur trick won’t work on me however. I’ve been through my fair share of spikes, of course I’ve never completed one before. Such a thing is reserved only for the best of the best. It gets way to hard the deeper you go. An old memory surfaces that I quickly shove as deep down into my personal abyss as possible. My heart twinges painfully for a second. Got to steer firmly away from those thoughts. I grimace then clear my mind.
I push open the slightly higher quality oaken doors at the bottom of the stone stairs of the fourth floor. What greets me is a nice change of pace. Instead of a single path and dead trees I now have the option between three paths and sickly yellow trees with grass! The light also seems to have turned more towards twilight casting longer shadows over the land. I can already tell this is going to be a blast. No more warm up levels.
