And he would be ready.
Ready for any horror headed his way.
***
Although Dean had made his decision, and he intended to go on with it— not like he'd any other choice in the first place. The thought of the horrors he'd encounter should he venture into the desolate landscape still elicited within him, a creeping wave of fear.
Ba- thump! Ba- thump!
His heart hammered against his chest, the sound echoing through the deafening silence.
And to make matters worse, if he ever wanted, even the smallest of chances of escaping this cursed land, then he had no other choice but to steel himself and venture into the "unexplored" region.
However, the fact that no regression of his had ever brought him here did nothing to comfort him. If anything, it only served to further intensify the eerie discomfort and unease swiftly rising within him.
After all, despite its many disadvantages— especially the prospect of visiting Kêlúthà, the other side—regression still had its perks. Most notable of them all would be knowledge.
With the endless regressions, he had slowly pieced together the characteristics of the landscape he was previously trapped in. However, that was before he acquired the chaotic flame at the ruined temple, and... before he was teleported to this even more bizarre desolate region.
And now that he thought about it, he realized that there was really nothing much he could do about what he'd encounter. That was the cold truth. For, even his endless regressions couldn't escape the cold, chilling grasp of fate.
And the most annoying thing was:
Apart from brooding and grimacing— which really did him no good— there was nothing much he could do about it.
Not only was he ignorant, he was also clueless of the dangers and horrors he could encounter in this region. And that only served to intensify the paranoia hidden within him. Making it even more lethargic and consuming.
"Huh."
Letting out a slow heavy breath, he decided to drown out all thoughts and simply head back to his huddled spot.
He had to calm my mind.
'Yeah,' He nodded. 'That should help.'
He was about to take a step when.
Tick—!
A subtle, ticking sound echoed through the cold night.
For a second there, Dean froze, heart hammering against his chest.
Right about then,
Tick—!!
The ticking sound came again. This time louder. And then, it came in clangors and deafening cacophonies.
"....!!"
'W-what the hell was that?'
Confusion marred his features as he took in the view of his surroundings.
"..."
'An eldritch horror?' he thought with a deep frown marring his features.
After all, only an eldritch horror could somehow break into the supposedly impregnable dune structure.
However, that line of thought marred his face with a grim expression, fear rapidly creeping in. But on closer inspections, his surroundings were eerily quiet and silent, giving off an illusion of absolute safety.
Yet he knew better than to revel in it. He had faced too much to be that gullible.
In that instant, he closed his eyes. Concentrating, he tried to detect the eldritch horror. However, seconds stretched in total silence and he found... nothing.
For once, the grim nature of the cursed land didn't bare its fangs at him.
'Perhaps it was just a hallucination,' Dean thought, trying to convince himself.
But he knew better than to believe that. The longer he stood in the silence, the more uncomfortable it became.
Finally, left with no other choice.
"Huh."
He closed his eyes once again. And just as he'd expected, the ticking sound came again, but this time around, he calmed his rapidly beating heart and tried to listen.
~~~!
It was rather difficult and the thought of being suddenly attacked did nothing to calm him down, but he was left with no other choice. To figure out what was happening, he had to first figure out where the sound was coming from.
And so far so good, making use of his sight brought no substantial result. Hence he was left with no other choice but to make use of his ears. Even if that puts him in danger.
Tick—!
Step—!
Seconds stretched into minutes as Dean listened attentively. Walking through the endless darkness, he tried to ascertain the object or being emitting the sound wave.
Tap! Tap!
Dean steps echoed through the darkness, a suffocating pressure pressing on him from all sides.
Slowly, before he realized it, his steps began to mix with the spine-chilling ticking sound in an unnatural grotesque manner.
Step—! Step—!
Every single second in the endless darkness deepened the grim look on his face. And to make matters worse, the chilling wind crawling into his pores did nothing to help out either.
And every other second, he'd shudder, brace himself, and keep moving forward.
Given the vast expanse of the Dune Structure, he expected difficulty in locating the ticking sound— but that didn't make it any less unsettling. If anything, he bordered on the fringe of discomfort and… apprehensiveness.
"...."
Slowly, the sound became louder, and although subtle to the normal human ear, Dean could still somewhat hear it. Not only that, but he could hear it very clearly. Right now, it felt deafening to his ears, sending a rush of blood through his skull.
'Almost there... Ukh-!'
Step—!
He forced through the haze, and with a stifled groan, took another step forward.
"Huh, huh."
Dean stood on the spot, breathing heavily as he tried to shake off the pain still coursing through him.
Having arrived at the spot, he finally opened his eyes.
"...."
Dean's eyes slowly fluttered open, and the sight before him only further served to deepen his unease.
The word etched onto what seemed like a door. A portal perhaps— except that this portal was made of an endless expanse of darkness— was something he'd seen before.
Where? He couldn't really say. But he was sure he'd seen the word, or rather, the name, somewhere in the past.
'Nyarlath.'
Although he wasn't sure if it was one, he knew better than to call upon the name of an eldritch horror.
Hence, he'd muttered the name inwardly. However, even that had its risk. In that, it could be used as a source of connection to induce maddening upon him. Or even... instant death.
"Huh."
Letting out a mouthful of air, Dean tried to calm down. Tried to breathe.
Right now, he could only hope this creature or whatever it was wasn't strong enough to achieve said effect.He could only pray so.
Calming his rapidly beating heart, he tried to assess his current situation.
If he was correct, then this door should be a portal, just like the one he came across in the temple. If so, it should be able to send him to another region.
Perhaps, a region even safer than this desolate, ruined landscape. But, at the same time, it also carried with it the risk of him being sent into an even more bizarre region.
And that was honestly a risk he couldn't afford to take.
Right about then, his gaze shifted to the name.
'Nyarlath...'
He mused.
It couldn't have been etched onto the door for no reason right? There had to be a reason for it to have been etched onto the door.
Perhaps it was to inform anyone seeing it of seomeone, or perhaps it was to warn them of something. Either of the two seemed plausible.
"Ah..."
It could even be the two. However, he didn't have enough clues to arrive at a logical conclusion.
Letting out a shaky breath, he stood in total silence, basking in the soft, eerie glow casted by the door before him.
The longer he stood before the unsettling glow, the creepier it got. Right before his eyes, it morphed and shifted into numerous faces. Faces contorting, twisting, and screaming in unending agonizing pain.
As he stood before the creeping darkness, a thought slowly began to take root within him.
'…Perhaps... just perhaps, I can learn more about this world's past in the next region. And perhaps through that… my forgotten memories.'
The thought crept into his mind over and over again, and each time it did, the urge to take that final step became even more alluring. Eventually, he exhaled shakily, hoping this decision wouldn't break him.
'Yet he had a feeling it would. Very much so.'
Nevertheless, he steeled himself and,
Step—!
Took a sharp step into the door, phasing through it as an endless darkness materialized all around him.
Before he knew what was going on— the darkness swallowed his figure.