5: Traveler.
Dry roots, as if they hadn't seen water in months or, given what's been witnessed, death. Unable to understand, he only stares at the decaying landscape.
The sound of the dry roots cracking forms the ambience. He crouches to grab one of the roots, but as soon as he touches it, it disintegrates instantly.
"How long does it take for them to dry out like this?"
"At this point, it should be impossible for root structures to be everywhere."
He approaches one of the columns of roots and, when he tries to pull one of them, he notices that, despite being as pale as the others, its resistance is considerably greater. He insists on pulling until he manages to break the root. Unfortunately, he underestimated the durability of the extension, which results in a heavy blow as he falls.
Once on the ground, he feels an extreme urge to continue breaking the column. He gets up and, in a brusque and obsessive manner, starts tearing the roots apart until he reaches the center of the column, where there is a sort of red seed connected to the roots, which he then devours desperately.
After eating the seed, he snaps out of his trance, sits down, and screams at the top of his lungs.
—"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
—I'm so tired of this, how much longer will I keep on like this?!
Since he woke up, the world around him hasn't stopped spinning, and he's powerless to do anything; it's already reaching its limit.
He falls to his knees, letting the tears he'd been holding back fall.
—No more, no more, please!
After what seems like hours, minutes, or days of crying (the truth is that spending so much time in the cave stripped him of any sense of time), he gets up and starts walking, staggering through the labyrinthine caves.
He reaches one of those enormous zones that function as intersections of the cave's pathways, where a monumental pond stands in the middle, toward which he heads.
Once in front of the monumental pond, he dedicates himself to contemplating his own reflection, trying to assimilate his peculiar appearance.
Small body, gray skin, large, dull eyes, a scrawny figure, silver hair. He wouldn't know whether what he sees is a monster or a ghost, not to mention the roots that invade his body in an overwhelmingly intrusive manner.
—What?
While he gazes at himself, the previously inert roots begin to cling to his body in an unsettling way, but by now, concern no longer finds space in his mind.
He kneels, brings his face close to the water, and observes his tired, tense visage, as if he were on the verge of death. As he relaxes, tears fall down his face, yet his expression remains impassive.
With each tear that hits the water, it turns red, the ground transforms its texture from rock to concrete, and it begins to rain heavily. Despite the downpour, he does not avert his gaze from the water. A piercing beep resounds from every corner, yet the tears continue their descent.
In his reflection, a flower bud appears on his forehead, abruptly halting the ramblings of his contemplation. After a while, he decides to pluck it and place it in the water. The bud dries instantly, turning to dust that dissolves in the lake, disappearing into the darkness.
After resigning himself, he gets up and continues walking with an inert expression as he wanders along the long and winding paths. In one of his fleeting moments of awareness, he notices that the walls have small sprouts quite similar to those demonic roots, but they are tiny; if you don't look closely, you wouldn't see them—mere harmless shoots.
—Creepy.
His path continues with no noticeable changes. He trips over a stone on the way, but just before he touches the ground, the roots slow his fall and lift him up. It is at this moment that he realizes that his long journey until now hasn't really been carried by him, but he cannot keep reflecting due to his mental exhaustion.
His consciousness is in an intermittent state. Each time he regains his senses, he only sees stones, dampness, and sticks, with the occasional more spacious area.
—Enough... enough... enough... enough... enough...
"I'm so fed up with this damned cave."
—...
As if in response to his pleas, in one of his intermittent awakenings, he sees a horizon without walls, earth instead of rocky ground. Looking up, there is no ceiling, only a vast sky filled with clouds. Despite the red mist that prevents him from seeing further, he can only feel happiness.
—WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
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