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"How long have I been gone?" He spoke into the empty darkness, and his words were stolen from the air, drowned by the echoing chorus of silence. His eyes looked into the all consuming black before him, failing to pick out even a single detail of what lay beyond. And a voice came back to him, a dark, resonating voice that was both imposing and comforting at the same time
"Too long" It said, vibrating from the darkness. He gingerly stepped forwards, speaking as he did
"This is my last time..." He began gently, but was cut off as behind him he heard the sound of the rusty metal gate slam and lock, trapping him in the eternal black room. The voice came back, angrily now
"You lied to me!" It yelled, and the words seemed to shake the very foundations of the Earth, the booming malevolent voice drowned out the silence. The darkness seemed to grow as the voice yelled, enveloping him in the black. He backed away slowly
"No! At the time I meant it all!" He said quickly, stumbling back from the growing darkness and what he knew waited within for him.
"But you went back on your promises! You didn't even try to keep them!" It boomed, and the darkness seemed to become more aggressive as it did, spreading out faster until he could see nothing and was lost inside the pitch blackness. It was suffocating, he was unable to escape it no matter how fast he backed up, and he felt himself back up against a wall
"I never meant to let it die, I just don't care about you anymore... I'm sorry..." He begged the darkness around him, but the darkness just shouted back at him
"You are a liar!" The voice came, and he could hear some sobbing within it, and an inhuman scream of agony and anger "You betrayed me!" He turned and felt his way up the stairs in an attempt to escape, but collided with the locked gate. He cast an unlock spell, and was appalled by the way the light from his spell could not even break the darkness. There was no click from the lock, whatever force was holding it shut was more powerful than he was
"I should never have left..." He said sadly, glancing back into blackness, knowing that he was about to die. The disembodied voice came back, but more sad than angry now. It was filled with sorrow and grieving
"No. You should never have left." It said... he heard the gate behind him swing open, knocking him down the stairs "Go. Leave me in peace." He stumbled to his feet, not needing to be told twice. As the darkness slowly retreated, he dashed up the stairs and escaped from the damned room. As he did, he could hear it's inhuman cries escape the room, splitting through the air. He sprinted through the confusing corridors in the ruins of the ancient fortress-city, and back through the twisting, haunting cave system. He could feel the hundreds, maybe thousands of tormented spirits swirl around, always remaining just out of sight in the fashion that made them so horrifying, like they were taunting him
He was elated to see some beams of light pass down through the roof, making him realise he had almost reached the surface. One of the many groups of ancient, bleached bones seemed to rattle as he passed by, the shattered pieces making a noise which he could only describe as terrifying. The fear inside at him smashed at his skin, and it took every inch of courage in his body to stop himself from collapsing in a whimpering heap right there.
Some secrets in the world should remain hidden.
He did not stop running until he was not just out of the cave but until he was off of Vvardenfell entirely. Only then did he feel truly safe, and for months after that he would look over his shoulder, fearful that it would change it's mind about releasing him and come to collect him.