Isaac's mouth went dry. All he could hear was a rhythmic thumping in his ears. The colossal stone stood right in front of him. It moved its head strangely. Its stone neck creaked as its head turned left to right. Slowly. Like it was searching. Isaac stood like a mannequin, and looked even closer at the Labyrinth Beast.
Its smooth alabaster body was white, like a perfect chiseled work of art. However its stone joints looked stiff. When Isaac looked closer, there was a thick layer of sediment on them.
Isaac pressed his body against the cold stone wall. He took a slow measured step backwards, flinching as his foot touched the ground. The stone beast didn't move.
The dead serpent eyes slowly revealed the creature section by section. At first, it was its massive claw. Then the cracked white stone that ran along its body. It stood on four powerful legs that looked more like large pillars of ivory. There was also the sediment gathered between the joints of its body. And its eyes.
Isaac's own narrowed slightly.
There was something wrong with them. He couldn't make it out.
The stone beast suddenly stopped moving which made Isaac's heart jump out of his chest.
The silence passed painfully.
The creature tilted its head slightly. It was… Listening. The blonde youth felt his breathing grow shallow. It wasn't looking at him at all.
Isaac slowly pressed himself against the cold wall behind him. He didn't even realize it until he felt the pain of a sharp piece of rock digging into his back.
'Can it hear my heartbeat?'
The absurd thought crossed his mind so suddenly that he nearly laughed. Nearly.
Instead Isaac slowly swallowed.
The creature's massive head twitched which made Isaac instantly stop breathing. The stone beast remained motionless for a long moment.
The moment felt like it was stretching on endlessly. Isaac felt his cold sweat run down his neck. The stone beast's empty gaze passed him again. He should've been dead. But not once did it focus on him. Isaac's eyes widened.
'…Blind.'
The realization settled over him like a tide. The statue was blind. Isaac stared silently at the monstrous thing towering above him.
For some reason, that realization didn't comfort him at all. Isaac didn't believe it would be so easy to escape this Labyrinth Beast.
No. Nothing was ever that easy.
The stone beast suddenly shifted its weight and a thud shook the Eternal Tomb again. Dust rained from above Isaac. He flinched and covered his head.
The statue's head immediately snapped toward him. Fast. Way too fast.
Isaac felt his stomach twist. The statue beast leaned downward. Its massive body groaned with the sound of grinding stone. Isaac could now see countless cracks running along the smooth white surface of its face. The creature lowered its head until it was directly in front of him. Isaac completely froze. His breathing stopped too. He could see the same sediment gathered on its eyes. Its bumpy sockets dimly reflected the crimson glow back at him.
Then Isaac heard a grinding sound.
It was a soft sound that echoed through the empty stone hall. He heard the same sound as when the stone beast appeared.
Isaac stared at the creature in horror. The creature's jaw shifted sideways against itself.
There was a sharp sound that followed. The noise spread across the walls of the Eternal Tomb. The blonde youth could hear the echo bouncing around the stone hall. The creature stood silently. Listening.
And then its empty face stopped directly in front of him.
Isaac's blood ran as cold as ice.
No.
The statue didn't realize yet.
Isaac gripped the snake tighter. His fingers slipped.
The killer serpent's body thumped against the ground. The reaction was instantaneous.
The stone beast lunged forwards.
Isaac didn't even see it move. One moment the stone beast was standing in front of him.
And in the next moment it was gone. And the entire Eternal Tomb trembled.
He heard the wall behind him explode. Stone fragments slashed open his face.
And then it came again. Isaac threw himself aside. Another explosion rocked the tomb.
The impact hurled Isaac across the tunnel and pain exploded in his shoulder. He stifled his own scream as he bit his own lower lip, drops of blood falling to his chin.
The dead serpent slipped from his hands and rolled away into the darkness.
The crimson glow grew faint. And then darkness consumed everything.
Isaac's heart pounded in his chest. There were also the throbbing waves of pain in his shoulder now.
Somewhere further behind was the same clicking noise again. The stone beast was searching for him.
Isaac's mind flooded with instinctual panic and fear.
The Eternal Tomb shook hard again. Isaac pulled himself up, supporting his hurt arm as he ran away.
Without the killer serpent, he was running in complete darkness. He had to rely on his foggy memory of the maze's layout.
His body felt sluggish and heavy.
He breathed in quiet gasps. Even breathing too hard might lead the stone beast right towards him.
He hit a wall particularly hard with his shoulder, another vile wave of pain begging him to stop.
But he didn't. Even as the thunderous tremors got closer. He ran.
Isaac felt it get warmer and humid. That was when his foot caught something.
A vine.
He fell over, rolling onto his back. He gasped for air in gulps, his chest rising and falling desperately.
The Eternal Tomb shook again. And again.
Until the sound was in front of him.
Isaac wanted to cry for help.
He wanted to scream.
All that escaped was laughter.
"...You have to be kidding."
The low grinding echoed through the hall.
"No…"
His voice cracked.
"No, no…"
The tunnel rocked again.
Isaac laughed again. This time bitterly.
He couldn't stop.
"That thing…"
The Eternal Tomb groaned in pain. Rock rained on Isaac from above.
"That wretched thing…"
His chest hurt.
"Not even that mongrel could stop me…"
"Not starvation… Not this place."
His voice became quieter.
"And I die because I tripped."
Isaac's head lowered. The back of his head hit a bed of more vines.
His body was shaking with a weak laugh.
The stone beast had stopped moving.
Isaac froze as the shaking stopped.
It didn't try to approach him. Instead it took a step backwards. The stone groaned softly.
Isaac could swear it almost sounded… Afraid.
And then it turned around.
Its thunderous footsteps faded into the Eternal Tomb.
And left him alone in the darkness.
'Why?'
He was overwhelmed by fear and pain. And disbelief.
'Why did it let me live?'
Isaac shivered and rose to his feet.
He turned around.
'What could make a monster like that afraid?'
Isaac stared into the darkness behind him. He felt like something was staring back at him.
***
Isaac cradled his prized killer serpent in his hands.
The blonde youth was truly fortunate. He found the snake after only a couple days of complete darkness. At least what felt like days.
Time didn't matter anymore. It was survival that mattered. Yes, survival.
"Keep telling yourself that."
"Maybe you'll believe it one day."
Isaac placed a chunk of raw rotting serpent meat in his mouth.
And then he swallowed.
His face grew pale as it usually did. This time a little green.
"What do you think, my good friend?"
The serpent, of course, didn't respond.
"Say, don't you think you deserve a name?"
Isaac smiled.
"You're ugly enough to be called Gerard."
The killer serpent's head lurched to the side.
"What? Not a fan?"
Isaac burst into laughter, slapping his knee.
Gerard's dead eyes lingered with the same faint crimson glow. Isaac moved the serpent beneath his arm and continued walking.
His footsteps were careful now. He avoided loose stones instinctively. His breathing had also changed. He breathed slowly. Nearly silent as a shadow.
Isaac tilted his head slightly. Far away he heard something.
A click.
The blonde youth immediately stopped moving.
The hallway became still. He silently prayed in his head for it to go away.
'Be nothing. Be nothing. Be nothing.'
After a long time, Isaac continued walking again.
"I detest this place."
The serpent did not respond.
The humid tunnels grew warmer the deeper he walked. Thick vines covered the walls here like veins. At first he thought it was just a coincidence.
But he was wrong. The stone beast avoided this place. The vines swayed slightly as he brushed against them.
Isaac frowned.
"…Did you move?"
Gerard stared at him blankly.
"…Right."
He sat down carefully against the wall of vines and closed his eyes. He listened.
The Eternal Tomb was never truly quiet. Not anymore. Isaac could notice it now.
Water dripping onto stone. The clicking of loose stone falling.
There were no Labyrinth beasts here either. They avoided this place like the plague, just as the stone beast did. What could have possibly been so scary that everything avoided this place?
He knew the danger. But to him, this was a sanctuary of safety. He yawned and laid on his side.
Then he heard something. It was a dull and rhythmic thud.
And then he heard a sound. A voice.
"…la la la…"
Isaac's eyes snapped open. Something was humming faintly in the distance.
For a moment, the blonde youth genuinely thought he had finally lost his mind.
The humming was coming closer.