Reality or Illusion

Whispered by GM Yurifury...

"Zuq wgah qam n'lyeth." Your throat tightens. You will not survive, the voices whisper against the back of your skull. You try to ignore it, but it grows louder. "Iilth sythn aqev." You are going mad. You slam a fist down on the table.

You look up and see that everyone in the room is staring at you. Voixra holds her gaze the longest. The lady makes a jest about broken scrying tables, and Raven bursts out into a hearty guffaw, but you remain quiet. It fails to go unnoticed. Calculating eyes part briefly to acknowledge Raven before resting on you once more.

The two of you had arrived to the mansion at the same time and made the ascent up to the fifth floor together. As the hours pass, you sense more and more that the hospitality within the mansion is a contrived one...

So you spend no time in dallying as you follow Laceus to the exit. He leads you to a curtained doorway and hands you and Raven each a hearthstone. "Your party will be waiting to meet you on the other side," he explains. But you can hardly wait for the steward to finish speaking.

You yank the curtain back, and without a look behind, step unto the other side.

And then they whisper to you, much louder than ever before.

“En'othk uulg'shuul. Mh'za uulwi skshgn kar.” There is no light after death. Only a place where even shadows fear to go.

You immediately turn to flee, but you’re floating in a sea of stars and planets, of what is and what’s to be. There’s a pang in your stomach as you realize where you are. The Twisting Nether. You suck in your breath.

“Sk'shgn eqnizz hoq.” Your fear drives me, it whispers. “Sk'magg yawifk hoq.” Your suffering strengthens me. You shut your eyes. When you open them, you’re standing on solid ground again. Ruins surround you, but it’s dark out and they’re indistinguishable. With no other choice, you begin walking.

“Sk'shgn eqnizz hoq. Sk'magg yawifk hoq.” The voices repeat. “Sk'shgn eqnizz hoq. Sk'magg yawifk hoq.” The words fill your head until they’re the only words you can hear. Your walk turns into a sprint. “Sk'shgn eqnizz hoq.”

You suddenly see Raven running ahead of you and try to chase after him. He disappears into a nearby ruin and you follow. When you enter, you find him on his knees, covered in blood. You sense something very wrong.

Raven cries out. You try to reach for him, to protect him, but you’re immobilized. You can only watch as the vrykul appears behind Raven, you can only watch as it twists Raven’s neck back and sinks its fangs into his exposed flesh. You can only watch as the blood is drained from his body.

The voices in your head are laughing maniacally at you now. “Al'ksh syq iir awan?” They ask you. Is this real or an illusion? You don’t have an answer. “Al'ksh syq iir awan? Al'ksh syq iir awan? Al'ksh syq iir awan?” The vrykul stands up and faces you, blood dripping down his chin as he laughs at you through red teeth.

“ENOUGH!” You scream. With all your strength, you hurl your shield at the vrykul.

And the illusion shatters.

You open your eyes to find yourself standing beside Raven once more, but the sun is out, and a gentle breeze is passing through the courtyard as the sound of birds chirping fills your ears. You’re back at Bloodcraft Manor. And absolutely dumbstruck.

You hardly even take time to acknowledge the strangers surrounding you as you reel in uncomfortably close to Raven to assess what was reality and what was illusion.