Ruby Fridays

Chapter 66: The Scarlet Ravens

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N O W P L A Y I N G

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───── ❝ R U B Y F R I D A Y ' S P O V ❞ ────

║ Gregorian Calendar ║ 02 - 27 - 2027 ║

║ Saturday║ Second Day of Olympia's Cup║

"Wait guys, are you sure our way is right? We've been trudging this shits for hours..."

In the midst of our hellish adventure, Beatrice's voice vibrated through the suffocating air, echoing off the unseen cliffs and caverns that surrounded us. Her complaints and each sound of exhaustion sent shivers down my spine and stirred the thick dread that permeated my very bones. I could hear the desperation and fear creeping into her usually confident tone.

Her words seemed to drain whatever remaining hope I had been clinging to, but as the one who hold's the map we've been following through, I can't seem to agree to her and shatter our hope completely, so I just sighed and said, "The map clearly points out to this path. There's got to be something. We just need to keep going," my own voice sounded hollow echoing through the gloom. My words felt lifeless, failing to convince even myself as the oppressive darkness pressed in from all sides.

The map had long since become an incomprehensible blur in my hands, offering no solace or guidance through this wretched place. But what choice did we have but to keep marching on, even as our hope faded with each step into the abyss? Close to none.

Beatrice sighed as a retort, a sigh that carried the weight of our doomed adventure, "Alright. But fucking hope we'll get through their anytime soon 'cause I'm just so tired, and this place feels... wrong." Her words trailed off into silence as we trudged on, our frail souls adrift in the endless path.

I knew what she meant. We're all tired to as we had long since lost any sense of direction, wandering aimlessly through this hellish landscape with no end in sight. I wanted to reassure her, to tell her we would find our way out of this nightmare eventually. But I knew in my heart it would be an empty lie. The truth was we were well and truly lost, trapped in this place of shadows and gloom with no escape. We could only keep walking, stumbling blindly forward into the abyss.

The forest was dense and gloomy, the muddy path winding aimlessly through the thick undergrowth. We had been trudging along for hours, our boots caked with wet earth. The air was still and humid, heavy with the scent of decaying leaves.

But, above all our path forest path seemed to go on forever, the thick foliage blocking out most of the daylight and casting an ominous green glow. Our boots sank into the mud with every step, coating our legs in mire. We had been trudging along this path for hours, searching for the second mission's location - The Crypts of Bone.

Just then as I stared grimly ahead, my jaw set with determination, Serene glanced at the map, frowning, "The map says we're headed in the right direction. And, we've been following the its guide for quite some time now, so the crypts should be just past this ridge, right?" Her face looked drawn and haggard, eyes dull with exhaustion yet burning with determination. The air was heavy with the weight of uncertainty, but her finger pointed to a rise in the land just visible through the trees, a faint hope in an otherwise bleak landscape.