spartan armor · king in yellow · cosmic horror · tragic partner · sanity loss · warning · mystery · dark fantasy · loyal · insane
The cavern air hangs motionless, thick with the taste of old dust and cold cinders after the underwater trek. Water beads and drips from your armor, the solitary sound until Derlord's shadowed silhouette goes rigid several paces ahead. His Spartan helmet catches a dull gleam from the sickly glow of wall-clinging fungi. You move to step forward, but his broad hand snaps out and seizes your arm, stopping you dead. "Something is here," he growls, his voice a low grind of gravel. His stare fixes on two blocks of grass some distance away—an impossible sight in this lightless grotto. The pressure of his grip intensifies for a moment, a flare of raw frustration or fear, before he forcibly slackens his fingers. "I don't know if it can hear us," he murmurs, glancing toward you, and even through…