The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

Thorvin opened the door and stepped out of his room into the long corridor.

The corridor was utterly silent. There was not even the sound of a passing breath of air.

Thorvin looked left and right.

’I’m certain I heard the sound of some door opening just now,’ Thorvin thought, sweeping his gaze along the entire corridor, searching for traces that might lead him to the source of that noise.

And indeed, he picked up traces—footprints leading straight to the room in the middle, the one right beside his own.

’The storehouse?’

Thorvin approached the wooden storehouse door, placed his hand on the wooden handle, and then—

Creak!

The storehouse door swung open with a grating sound, and inside, Thorvin found the source of the noise he had been searching for.

...

Behind the door that had been on the far right, the one with the stone handle, Ravian stood looking around at a space that was extremely cramped compared to the corridor he had been standing in before.

’I think this is the right door,’ Ravian guessed, peering down the extremely narrow, dark passage with a small torch at its entrance, which he took to light the way ahead.

Ravian had chosen the door with the stone handle on the far right.

’Why would an emergency exit have a handle that luxurious, and golden at that? I’m afraid that was some highly sensitive room where the most valuable things are stored, and it certainly has other protective measures in place,’ Ravian reasoned, recalling the door that had given him a deeply bad feeling just as he was about to open it, making him turn back on his heels and end up here.

’Now then, how long am I going to keep pressing forward in here?’ Ravian frowned as he watched the path continue straight ahead with a slight downward slope, as though it were descending into a trench rather than leading to an exit.

’This is the right door... isn’t it?’ Doubt began creeping into Ravian’s heart as he stared at the path stretching before him with no clear end.

But it seemed the real surprise had only just arrived.

For the passage began to show...

”Water?” Ravian said, bending down to find the source of the dampness touching his leather boots, only to discover that the water level in the passage was rising, water that had appeared suddenly out of nowhere.

’Where is this water coming from?’ Confusion was plain on Ravian’s face as he looked down at his feet, but he did not stop. He kept moving forward.

A few steps later, the water reached his knees, which brought Ravian to a halt.

’Umm, I think this calls for a short pause,’ Ravian thought, staring at the water that now looked completely black amid the darkness. If anything, the torch’s flame made it look even stranger, revealing the silt and sand suspended within while concealing whatever lay beneath.

’I’m not going to lie, but this shit is terrifying me a little,’ Ravian thought as he watched the water for a few more seconds, waiting for anything to suddenly appear beneath his legs.

But even after two minutes of staring at the water without moving, nothing happened.

’Did I just discover my own phobia?’ Ravian thought, gazing at the dark water beneath his feet, imagining a snake or a lizard slithering out of it.

’No, no, no.’ Ravian shook his head quickly.

’There’s no time for this fear. I have to get out before they start searching for whoever knocked out that soldier in the storeroom.’

Ravian made his decision, steadied himself, then took his first step into the water.

Then the second, followed by the third—and then he did not stop.

The water level kept rising with every few steps Ravian took, until it reached his waist.

And even though Ravian could not see a thing, and could be exposed to some unknown danger in that passage at any moment, still...

He did not stop.

Ravian kept pushing forward until the water reached his neck, the torch in his hand raised above his head to keep it from touching the water, which forced him to stop once more.

’When will this end?’ Ravian looked ahead and still saw no sign of any way out of this place.

’There’s no way I picked the wrong door, right?’ Ravian asked himself the same question, but even now, he did not look back.

Ravian closed his eyes for a few seconds, thinking about what to do.

Either turn back after nearly half an hour of walking through this place, and given how tight the security was, the soldier’s delay had surely been discovered by now and they had gone back for him, which meant...

’Turning back means getting caught. In the best-case scenario.’

Ravian was certain of this, and so he kept clinging to the hope that this was the right path.

’But with this body, I can stay underwater for over an hour with ease. Still... is that really the right choice?’

Ravian remained standing in place, the water’s pressure making his body and breathing heavier.

Then he opened his eyes and turned to look behind him, only to find a dark path with no visible end and no way out, one he was certain concluded in an ominous fate awaiting him after sneaking into a place like this.

And ahead of him was the same corridor—dark, heavy, flooded with water that may or may not hold something within it, its end far more obscure, its outcome far more unknown.

’Ah, my beautiful nights—will life smile upon me today, or will I find myself sent back to relive this day from the start?’ Ravian smiled, gazing at the torch’s reflection in the water.

’Have I lost my mind? No, no, no.’ Ravian shook his head, smiling a wide smile that hinted at a genuine happiness rarely seen on his face.

’Fine, it might seem a little insane, but...’

’The greater the worry, and the slimmer my odds of success, the brighter the dawn of hope rises in my heart.’ Ravian clenched his fist against his chest.

’The more others wait for my downfall, the sweeter my success becomes.’

’The more misery I endure trying to arrive, the more beautiful the arrival.’

’As for those behind my being here in the first place...’ The happy smile on Ravian’s face twisted into one of pure, obsessive madness.

’Await my coming in silence, for by the Lord of the heavens, I am coming for you, without fail.’

Ravian ended his train of thought with that same smile on his face, then—

Splash!

Ravian flung the torch behind him and dove into the water, plunging through it and shooting forward at full speed.

...

Atop a vast cloud high in the heavens, amid the beautiful night sky, a white eye with a vertical black slit suddenly opened, gazing down from the sky as it narrowed.

’The threads of fate have shifted.’

’No... rather, the threads of fate have grown murkier.’