Fragmented Echoes. Chapter 1: Undeground Hell

Act 1: Questionable goal. Part 2: Rise to madness

Darkness is all around me and I am drowning in it. I can't see or feel anything... only hear distant, familiar voices. I don't understand them... and I don't want to. Why would I do that? There is no point trying to listen to echoes of the past. It's only the voices of the dead and those cursed to die slowly, locked deep in the underground. Maybe it's better to embrace the darkness and leave this ugly world of pain... to join the ranks of those who stand on the other side. Come to think of it, that doesn't sound that bad.

Hm, I see something...yes, I can see the light above me. Something suddenly stops this descent and grabs me, starting to pull me back.... All voices cried out in despair but one... one unknown to me. I can hear it more clearly every second. It's repeating itself... calling my name...calling for me to wake....up, wake...up...wake up. Wake up!

"Wake Up, Octoling!"

A blinding light and the sound of a lightning strike brought me back to consciousness. I was in pink, inky goo, pieces of my backpack floating around me. I looked up. There's a giant hole in the ceiling. I look around. I am in the middle of some kind of service room, and there are no possible sources from where that ink could've come from. I think I get it, I broke my backpack from falling, and the ink inside it saved my live...how convenient. But here's a question: what was that in - traitors hall? Those undead bodies, my acting...how the hell did I even end up here? And where the hell am I? I need to get out of- what the?!

Someone grabbed me by the tentacles and pulled my head out of the ink!

"Who the fu...oh, hi?" I'm stunned and surprised to see a real, normal, living human! I'm not alone here, yay! But that does not counter the fact that he pulled me out like some kind of fish!

He asking a quite straight question: "Finished lying in this pink piss puddle?"

How do I suppose to react to this? "Uh...maybe? I am - uhh - I'm quite surprised to see a normal living human in this shithole." I make a little pause, trying to find a good question to ask.

"Do you happen to know what's happening here? I mean, people are missing, strange shit is happening here.."

He negatively shakes his head in response. "Nope, but since you can talk, unlike the other anime fanboys - sons of bitches - I'll interrogate you, like the good gentleman I am."

"Wait-wait. What? Interrogating? Me? Why? W-h. Wait... Anime boy? WHAT?!" A minute has not even passed and my amount of questions already have been doubled!

He just smiled."He-he-he, that look on your face - priceless. Nah, I'm joking. But, you really do look like one of the anime boys I saw earlier... well, almost like the others"

I wave my hands in confusion. "Okay. Wait - you said others?"

He nods "Yep! You look like an elf in a BDSM suit with makeup around your eyes and hentai on your head. But unlike the others, you can talk and don't look like a low-budget walking dead on vacation."

Ok. Confusion - lvl up. Seriously. Who is this man? Why is he here...nah, that's a terrible questions. I should have been happy for seeing at least someone more or less adequate and alive...What did he said again? I look almost like the others...and the way he describe it. Thinking out loud:

"Do I really look that ugly?"

He nod with a smile. "On the bright side, you can't possibly be uglier than my mother!" He laughs for a moment there. "Oh, good one. What? Don't give me that look, get up! I am getting out of here. With or without your confused octo face." He stopped holding my tentacle - hair and went on his way, out of the room