Chapter 19 – Doors and Putrefaction
The dry click of the Master Key echoed like a sigh of surrender from the old cabin. Cael pushed the door open carefully, feeling the wood groan beneath his fingers.
The game's protagonist watched in silence, sword in hand, but in no hurry.
"You've got a way with doors," he remarked dryly.
Cael offered a sidelong smile.
"When you know where to look for the key, everything gets easier."
The cabin was a mausoleum of dust. Toppled bookshelves, an extinguished fireplace covered in ancient soot, and an empty chest tossed in the corner. But that wasn't what caught their attention—it was the sound. A persistent, muffled dripping coming from the floor.
"Hear that?" Cael pointed.
The knight nodded. Together, they pushed aside an old wardrobe, revealing an iron hatch.
"Of course there'd be something hidden," Cael muttered.
"What do you expect to find?" the knight asked.
Cael shrugged, crouching to unlock the hatch.
"Nothing good. But we're here, aren't we?"
The smell rose up before the lid was even fully open: a damp stench of something rotten, both alive and dead at the same time.
"Sewers," the knight said, emotionless.
Cael coughed and climbed down first, the rusted metal rungs groaning under his armor's weight. The sound of the knight behind him was equally heavy.
Down below, the corridor stretched out in dampness and decay. Dirty water covered their ankles; the mold was dense, like a cursed fog.
For a moment, they walked in silence, on guard.
"Have you ever been here?" Cael asked, testing the waters.
The knight shook his head.
"I don't remember. But it feels... familiar. Like a place I dreamt of."
Cael stopped for a moment, staring at him.
"You dream about this world?"
"Parts of it. Always dark. Always... wrong."
"How poetic. But enough with the cheap philosophy," the System whispered suddenly, coldly. "New mission available: 'Pest Control'. Objective: eliminate the Abyssal Rats infesting the sewers. Reward: 3,000 souls and a mysterious item."
Cael narrowed his eyes.
"...Of course. Rats. There are always rats."
The knight looked at him.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. Just... talking to myself."
He tightened his grip on his sword, staring into the darkness ahead.
Mission or not, they had just opened the door to a place where even the silence seemed rotten.
And now, it was time to clean the sewer.