The Homeseeker: Elemental Adventurer LitRPG [Isekai] (Series Complete!)

Zalan ran for his life, but was constantly obstructed by the mine's terrain or walls appearing seemingly out of nowhere in front of him. He was completely sightless, hardly able to tell one direction from another. He came to a halt, catching his breath and leaning against something rocklike. He suddenly flinched away from it and stabbed at the rockwall with his sword. He hoped, with a sinking sensation, that the wall wouldn't start moving on him. He wouldn't know how to avoid an Earthenbeast without Rep.

Thinking of Rep sent a skewer through his heart. Zalan hadn't expected him to die. Of all the things in the realm, he was the one constant. Rep as his guide. Zalan had grown used to the stark realities of fighting any monsters in this realm, but Zalan never saw a future where he would be traveling the realm alone. He had no idea how he was supposed to escape without him. Both the Depths of Despair and the realm as a whole were unnavigable without his guide and best friend. He knelt down, groaning in pain over the loss. He couldn't tell whether his wounds or his loss were the source of his agony, but it was overwhelming all the same.

When he was finally able to regain his senses some time later, he turned his body to look back in the direction he thought he came from. Nothing but darkness. He had no idea how many times he'd turned himself around nor how far he would have run from Rep. He peered desperately, looking for even the smallest hint of light. Anything to see a sign of Rep still being alive. The tiniest ember of a flame.

Even with his eyes at their widest, he couldn't see a thing. Nothing but all-compassing black. He considered that even if it was possible for Rep to emit light, the Depths of Despair might eat away at the light so it wouldn't reach him. Zalan was blind and without an Artifact to escape with. All he had was the Essence of Soul on his person. But he was almost certain he would die of anything but the Mind of Madness in the Depths of Despair.

He heard the scuttling of creatures in the distance. Taunting him. He was forever in darkness, only waiting for one of them to gain the courage to attack him. And even through his paranoia, Zalan still felt the sensation that some other ominous creature was watching him. It was the same feeling from when he first entered the mines.

He hated the sensation. It watched and didn't help when Rep sacrificed himself. He grit his teeth, his passion getting the better of him. He brandished his blade and took a blind step forward.

"Come on!" Zalan screamed. "Bring it! I have nothing to lose!"

His body shivered. Struck by his own words. He had nothing to lose. There was nothing left for him. Not an Artifact of use, not a power, and not a friend. His stomach lurched in agony as an old emotion returned to him. The feeling like he had absolutely no reason to live. He hadn't changed fast enough. He wasn't someone powerful enough to help himself. He had no light. And now he had no help.

He was truly alone, surrounded by creatures in endless mines. Nerve wracking sounds jeered at him from a distance. There was a distant thudding. Whether it was the sound of Earthenbeasts or something else, Zalan had no way of knowing. The name of the mines made so much sense to him now that he was alone. The Depths of Despair. Optimism was left behind, outside of the infinite gloom. He had no dreams of walking out of the situation alive.

The realization hit him hard. He didn't want to die. Especially not in a place like this, surrounded by nothing comforting. His entire body was trembling powerfully, the movement sucking away what little energy remained in his being. He was mentally and physically drained, with the added feeling of warm blood rolling down the side of his face. He had been alone in the realm before, but never this bad. Even the darkness under the Island of Remains was far preferable to this place.

Zalan suddenly heard something scuttling toward him. He screamed and slashed his sword blindingly, striking the metal against the wall with enough force to hurt his wrist. The noises the approaching creature made sounded a lot like one of the monster spiders. He heard a splotch next to him. It was trying to tie him up in webs. Zalan pushed himself off the wall in fear and began running. He didn't want to be captured and kept in place with nothing but his thoughts. He had to keep moving. Otherwise he knew he would come to understand the other name for the mines. The Mines of Madness.

The creature was tracking him, staying somewhere close behind him. Every twitch of its movements brought Zalan on edge. A slight scrape on the earth, a twitch of its fangs, a quiet hiss in feral excitement of the hunt.

"No!" Zalan yelled, swinging his sword behind him pathetically as he ran. "Stay away! No!"

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He tripped and fell hard to the ground, his sword clattering away. The giant spider continued approaching. Zalan fumbled around, slapping the earth in search of his blade. The spider shot a web at his hand, pinning it to the floor. Zalan twisted around in a frenzy, flailing as he tried to pull himself free.

He heard the spider hiss as it lept toward him. He swung every free limb, flailing randomly in defense. He was bellowing a mix of terrified scream and battle cry. His leg connected with the creature and it went flying, landing with a thud. Zalan listened closely, trying to bring down the drumbeat of his heart in his ears. There was no more scuttling. If the monster was being quiet, he had no way of knowing. Both noise and the lack of it set his mind ablaze with panicked activity. He hoped he was safe.

For the moment.

He pulled hard at the web locking down his hand until he freed himself, tossing the sticky material aside. He began feeling along the floor in desperate search for his weapon. He inhaled sharply as his palm came into contact with the sharp point of his blade. He cut a tiny slice into his hand, but was grateful to have his sword once more. He had no idea why he was grateful when he could hardly fight without his sense of sight. He waved his arms around in search of a wall. Once he felt its cold touch, he got to walking once more. He hoped that no monsters in the mines were attracted to the scent of fresh blood. Zalan shivered at his own thoughts.

He didn't have the slightest idea which way he was headed, but only knew that he didn't want to remain in one place. He was determined to walk until he collapsed from lack of energy. Stomach growling, it occurred to him that total exhaustion could come soon when his food was destroyed in Rep's explosion. And he refused to think of what would happen once it came to that. Images of him being tied up by a giant spider flashed through his mind, but he deliberately didn't dwell on them. He just needed to keep walking. Nothing but motion.

He lost all sense of time in the complete darkness. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours. He was in a freezing sweat, energy slowly draining away as he insisted on his progress forward. The sounds of creatures in the shadows never faded. The feeling of being watched never waned. And yet Zalan continued to move in a haze. He didn't know what he was searching for, but he wouldn't stop until he found it.

He wanted to lie on the ground and stop all the fighting. All the mental and physical anguish could end if he just rolled up in a ball and let the Depths of Despair have its way with him. He wanted to convince himself he didn't care about the consequences of quitting, but he was too terrified to actually choose to lie down. The Depths of Despair could be described as anything but comforting. Even lying down to take a break felt like a maddening idea. He had the inertia to keep walking, so he would do nothing but walk. It felt like the closest thing he could do to trying. He was going to keep trying until he collapsed.

His thoughts were the most defeatist he had ever felt in the realm. He was no longer lamenting about not being able to go home, but being doomed to die alone. Neither he nor Rep's bodies were likely to be found and they would rot away in the dark abyss of the mines. Or their remains would be eaten away by the giant spiders. Or worse yet, they would be eaten alive.

Lost in his thoughts, Zalan yelped in terror when something shifted from under his arm. He felt the wall next to him move. An Earthenbeast had been sleeping wherever he was leaning against. He felt the dark world fold around him as the formidable creature slowly emerged from the walls of the mines. Zalan slashed his sword at it, only for it to bounce off harmlessly. He wasn't even sure if he struck the monster or the rock wall it extracted itself from. A moment later, Zalan was swatted away, landing hard on his knee. Without knowing which way was which, Zalan got up, shoved the sword in his sheath, and began limping in a mad run.

He could feel that he was starting to lose control over his mind. Remaining awake for so long with such little energy made him feel manic and constantly in a hyper-focused state of mind. He was breathing erratically, feeling like he couldn't take in a full breath as he constantly stumbled and crashed into his surroundings.

Already feeling at his limit, he tripped over something that made him land hard again on his knees, causing too much pain for him to bounce up and continue running. He strained his muscles, trying to push off the ground but couldn't find the strength. He was totally wiped, and trembling just to keep his face off the ground. He curled up into a ball, closing his eyes tightly in anguish.

"Please," Zalan whispered to himself gently, not knowing what else to do. "Please, I don't want to die. Someone save me. God save me, please."

Zalan's voice was trembling and his heart beat loudly in his chest, filling his ears with an ominous toll. A foreboding gong. His heart was running so fast, he was sure it would give out from over exerting itself. Either that or explode entirely. He was overwhelmed on all fronts, thousands of thoughts running through his mind.

He saw Fran's smile before being engulfed by the Elemental Dragon's lightning attack. He saw Xavier, proud of himself for saving a life before being consumed by a Leviathan. He saw Rep's smile a moment before the deafening explosion. He even saw his mother's face, a light, grateful smile on her lips. Why couldn't he smile like them? Why did his life have to end in agony?

"I don't want to die," Zalan repeated.

Zalan suddenly heard a voice he didn't recognize from somewhere close to him on the ground. He flinched in fear, until recognizing it as human.

"Why not?" the voice asked.