The world feels empty. So lacking, so listless, so full of nothing but wasted potential. It feels strange to look upon such a place.
A battle was fought here, once, long ago upon this barren ground. Nothing remains of it now. Even the bodies have long decomposed.
The trees are twisted and dead. Burned black by the lightning which rained down from the heavens. There is nothing here anymore. It almost seems as if you are completely alone in the world. But who wants to be utterly alone? Can you live? Can you breathe? Can you survive?
[[Breathe->2]]
You cannot breathe. Your body will not obey you. Perhaps you have long forgotten how, or maybe it is no longer possible. No air to breathe anymore. The enemy used chemical gases at the end of the war, burned our humanity alive.
Surely, you cannot be alive. Yet you exist, you think, you can see…
…and you can //choose//.
[[Try to breathe again->3]]
[[Stop trying at all->4]]
You make an effort to breathe, to suck in air. It is useless. Why should you bother? A feeling of helplessness washes over you, and then gradually recedes.
At the same time, you become aware of something taking place around you. You are moving; drifting, rather, as if carried by the wind.
[[Let yourself drift forward, hoping that you will be carried towards fresh air->5]]
[[Let yourself drift forward, without hope->6]]
[[Resist and push back->7]]
It is useless to try to breathe in this suffocating climate. You stop, and feel almost as if your body is relaxing. At this point, you become aware of something taking place around you. You are moving; drifting, rather, as if carried by the wind.
[[Let yourself drift forward->6]]
You travel slowly, and time has no meaning. You can hardly move your body at all, or what passes for your body at this point. Your limbs feel numb, but there is a certain freedom which envelops your mind.
There is no change in the surrounding climate. Everything repeats, from the landscape before you to the lack of air or life upon the surface of the world.
Nothing is going to change.
[[Wait for the current to pull you forward->8]]
[[Wait for something to change->9]]
[[Push back against the current->7]]
[[Give up hope and wait without any expectations->10]]
Time passes by with no meaning. You feel yourself move forward as the minutes drag into hours, and the hours drag into days, and the days lengthen into weeks. There is nothing to sustain you. Your body shuts down of its own accord long before the numbness spreads through your mind.
The last few seconds count down to nothing, and you cease to be. There is no body, no thought, no life, no //you//. You lose any sense of self-identity or purpose completely. There is no darkness, no light; only a yawning black hole of nothingness which gradually swallows you up.
You expire here, without hope or purpose, upon the barren plains of a dead planet.
//<u>Ending 1: End Of All Hope</u>
Your life never had a chance to begin.
Would you like to try again?//
[[Start over->1]]
You find it surprisingly easy to push back against the flow of the current. The wind has weakened somewhat and you soon find yourself drifting away in the opposite direction. Even this small action enables you to gain some element of control.
It would be nice to be able to live again.
[[Let yourself continue to drift in this direction, against the wind->11]]
[[Force yourself to stop drifting completely->12]]
The current brings you forward across the surface of the earth, and you feel the wind suddenly pick up and strike you. You are propelled towards the ground with alarming speed. The rocks rise up towards you, sharp and cracked with decades of erosion.
You feel your heart race in your chest. It’s an unfamiliar sensation.
[[Try to dodge the rocks as you fall->13]]
[[Shield your body with your hands to protect yourself->14]]
[[Let yourself fall unhindered->15]]
Nothing is going to change. You feel yourself slow down, strangely, the wind dying down around you. It seems so silent all of a sudden. Below you, the wind picks up suddenly and passes you by, sending particles of dust across the plain. You barely notice it.
There is silence, and you feel almost as if you have lost the ability to hear, for the impact of complete and utter silence is earth-shattering. There is no sound so piercing as the sound of nothing at all.
[[Listen to the silence->16]]
[[Wait for the current to pick up again->17]]
You wait. Nothing is going to change. The sound of the wind passes by your ears, or what passes for ears; you feel a slight movement, but nothing more. What little energy you had until now is slowly being sapped away by the never-ending emptiness of the barren world around you.
Slowly, you close your eyes.
[[Let yourself drift without meaning->6]]
[[Keep your eyes open->18]]
You gradually drift back to where you were before. Within seconds, the wind starts to push you forward again, buffeting you back and forth uncomfortably. It would be simple enough to push past the wind completely before it can gain momentum.
[[Push back against the wind once more->19]]
[[Let it take you away->8]]
Abruptly, you force your body to maintain equilibrium. The wind does not stop, but you stand firm and keep it from pushing you any further back. It requires more control and effort than you realised. Standing your ground becomes quite a struggle.
[[Continue to stand your ground, against the odds->20]]
[[Let the wind take you further away, hoping that you can break away from the current->8]]
You try with all your might to steer yourself away from the jagged rocks waiting below, but you can barely move your body at all. It feels like you are trying to move through tar. The wind is strong and rebuffs any movement you make, sending you back towards the rocks. Only precious seconds remain before you will crash into them.
Faster and faster. You can see them so clearly now. Every little detail, every little piece of them, all clustered together like a makeshift sculpture.
[[Your body smashes into the rocks->21]]
Your reaction is to shield your body with your hands in preparation for impact. There is no avoiding it. You can see the jagged rocks coming up rapidly now, close enough to see every speck of dirt on their surface.
You can also tell that at the speed you’re going, protecting yourself with nothing but your hands isn’t going to make a bit of difference.
Terror washes over you as you fall towards the deadly rocks, looming larger and larger in your mind’s eye. Death. You fear death, or at least your body does. Does that mean you still have some sense of being alive?
There is no longer any time left.
[[Your body smashes right into the rocks->21]]
You willingly allow yourself to plummet towards the deadly rocks far below. Your mind was numb before, so there seems no rational reason to simply let yourself…die. Unless you thought for a moment that this wasn’t real, that this wasn’t going to happen, that this couldn’t happen to you.
But it is happening. Perhaps death means nothing to you, or perhaps you felt that you were never truly alive.
They say that life is too precious to throw away so easily. Unless you are absolutely sure, this is not a decision to make lightly.
[[Change your mind and try to evade the rocks->13]]
[[Change your mind and shield yourself with your hands before impact->14]]
[[Continue to let yourself fall unhindered->22]]
You listen to the sound of nothingness all around you. It envelops you. Clings to you. Embraces you. Complete and absolute silence, clutching at the last vestiges of your sanity and slowly pulling them away, piece by piece. The impact is both comforting and frightening in equal measure.
The wind has become totally silent. You are no longer drifting, but stuck in limbo.
You cannot hear the sound of your own breathing or your own heartbeat. There is little evidence that you are alive at all. Even so, you strain your ears to listen. You listen, and listen, and listen…
The absolute silence threatens to swallow you up completely: mind, heart and soul.
[[Keep listening to the silence->23]]
[[Try to focus on the wind again->17]]
You wait for the wind to reach you, but it has already passed you by. Nothing else happens, except that you can hear the faint sound of the wind from a great distance away. If you had some control over your body, perhaps you could follow it.
Anything would be better than staying here in this void of dead silence.
[[Follow the sound of the wind->11]]
You snap your eyes open, almost overcome by a sudden fear that you could lose yourself here. There is nothing here at all. Nothing but your own thoughts, your own nightmares, your own pain and hopelessness…and the sound of the wind.
The wind has now passed you by, but you can still faintly hear the sound of its passage. If you had some control over your body, perhaps you could follow it.
Anything would be better than staying here in this void of dead silence.
[[Follow the sound of the wind->11]]
Taking advantage of this opportunity, you break through the wind completely and force your way towards the other side. A strange feeling is pulsing through your body, and you discover that it is no longer so difficult to move by yourself.
Somehow, your muscles are now more responsive to you. Your limbs will still need some more work, but for whatever reason you are gaining greater control over your own body.
Without the wind to support you, however, there is no longer anything keeping you in equilibrium. You are beginning to fall towards the surface of the earth. The ground rises up towards you at a dangerous speed.
[[Find something to grab onto->24]]
[[Shield your body with your arms and prepare for a rough landing->25]]
[[Try to find some way to slow your descent->26]]
[[Try to find a way to maintain your current altitude->27]]
Determinedly, you repel the force of the wind as it tries to jolt you away from your position. For several seconds, you are buffeted to and fro and fear that you will lose your balance at any moment, but your patience pays off. The wind cannot keep up forever at this altitude, and eventually dies down into a calming breeze.
You find yourself curiously at ease now that the wind has let up. It has not disappeared completely, but you no longer feel the tension and hopelessness from before. A strange feeling is pulsing through your body, and you discover that it is no longer so difficult to move by yourself.
Somehow, your muscles are more responsive to you. Your limbs will still need some more work, but for whatever reason you are gaining greater control over your own body.
Without the wind to support you, however, there is no longer anything keeping you in equilibrium. You are beginning to fall towards the surface of the earth. The ground rises up towards you at a dangerous speed.
[[Find something to grab onto->24]]
[[Shield your body with your arms and prepare for a rough landing->25]]
[[Try to find some way to slow your descent->26]]
[[Try to find a way to maintain your current altitude->27]]
The first thing that strikes you, curiously enough, is the sensation of everything coming to an abrupt //stop//. No more movement. No more drifting, endlessly, through an abundance of dead space.
After that, you hit the rocks hard enough for them to tear through your flesh and transform your body into a bloody mess across the surface of the earth.
Or so you would have thought.
There is pain, certainly. It washes across you in waves of unrelenting agony until you can barely see straight at all, but it doesn’t seem to last very long – or rather, it doesn’t seem to matter so much. Looking back on it, the real scare might have been if everything really did come to an end. The pain doesn’t matter, until it makes you pass out. Pain is what warns you of the danger, after all.
What you didn’t expect was for your body to pass //through// the rocks relatively unharmed, as if you were nothing more than a ghost.
No blood. No wounds. No broken bones.
Just lots and lots of pain.
[[The wind has finally stopped->28]]
You let yourself fall, plunging faster and faster towards certain death where the jagged rocks await you. Time seems to slow down all at once, and you feel your eyes close in preparation. The pressure mounts in your ears, and soon there is no time for anything anymore. Even past memories fail to resurface. You can barely think at all.
You steel yourself for impact, but it never comes. Instead, you are aware only of time slipping away from you altogether. You find that you can no longer open your eyes.
[[Fall forever->6]]
As you listen to the infinite silence, the emptiness begins to seep into you. Deeper and deeper it sinks into you, expanding to fill your mind and engulf your senses. Before long, you start to feel as if you too are part of the void. You continue to listen, and time passes you by endlessly.
You begin to hear strange voices from beyond the silence. They must be calling out to you. You hear no words, only sounds without meaning. They must be speaking to you. Comforting you. Keeping you company. You cannot put words to what they are saying, but you feel almost content in their presence.
The silence continues without end. What little energy you possessed is gradually leeched from your body and mind.
[[Listen->6]]
There is nothing you can grab on to at this altitude. You flail fruitlessly in mid-air as you fall faster and faster towards the ground, still desperately trying to cling to any visible support. Even the wind fails to pick up again and save you from this fate. You plunge towards the earth, unable to stop your descent.
[[Fall->29]]
Your instinct is to protect your head and body with your arms defensively. As the ground rushes up towards you, you have just enough time to perceive that at the speed you’re going, it won’t make much difference whether you try to protect yourself or not. Nevertheless, you decide to make the best of the situation and brace yourself for landing. It will not be a soft one.
[[Make impact->29]]
At the speed you’re plummeting to earth right now, there is very little you can do to slow your inevitable descent. The wind was the only thing keeping you up. It brings an idea to mind, however: what if you could find another strong current to slow your fall?
Unfortunately, that isn’t something you can easily summon to hand. You will just have to be lucky.
[[Hold out hope that another strong gust of wind will catch you in time before you hit the ground->30]]
[[Try to grab on to something instead->24]]
The only way of maintaining your current altitude which comes to mind is to find another wind current, powerful enough to keep you airborne. As you fall, you sense a tiny gust of wind rush past your face, barely noticeable. You reach out for it and feel it move through your fingers. The current changes direction and moves beneath you.
Within seconds, you are relieved to feel yourself slow down. That isn’t all, however: the wind current is powerful enough to take you away from this part of the landscape altogether, and you are soon travelling away at a considerable speed. Unlike before, however, you feel that you are much more in control of where you are going.
[[Ride the wind->31]]
After what seems like an eternity, the pain has lessened to the point that you feel brave enough to lift yourself off the ground. Now that the wind has gone, you no longer feel that the energy has been sapped from your body. In fact, you seem to be gathering more and more strength with every passing moment. It is an exhilarating experience, to finally be able to stand upon your feet again.
You take a moment to bask in your new-found freedom, flexing your limbs until they start to feel like a part of you again. The air is stale and dusty here, and your chest heaves as you struggle to breathe it in –
Breathe.
You can breathe again.
Here, upon the surface of the dead and blackened earth, there is sufficient air for you to breathe. You didn’t think that was possible. At the same time, you instinctively feel that you do not necessarily need to breathe to stay alive. It’s difficult to explain. Either way, it brings great comfort to your heart.
The barren earth stretches far and wide before you. A dead planet, bereft of life. You don’t know what’s but there for you. Maybe there’s nothing at all. But one thing is for sure: you have regained hope, and you burn with life. The future is yours to make.
//<u>Ending 2: Hope for The Future</u>
You survived the fall to the surface in the most painful way possible. Your future is left uncertain.
Would you like to try again?//
[[Start over->1]]
You hit the ground with a terrific impact that runs through your entire body at once. Waves of pain wash over you, and you feel sure that the crash landing must have broken every bone in your body. Nobody could survive such a fall.
Yet something is different. The pain is receding, little by little, and there is a strange freedom here on the ground that you did not have before. For some time you lie upon the dirt, waiting for the pain to disappear, not too far away from the rocks which almost killed you. Would they have killed you? Who knows if you were ever alive?
It’s a wonder to say so, but you certainly //feel// alive. Even now.
[[The wind has finally stopped->28]]
You continue to plummet towards the ground. Luck does not seem to be with you after all. The only thing left to do is to protect your body with your arms in the hopes that you will survive the fall. You prepare yourself for the worst…
All of a sudden, you sense a tiny gust of wind rush past your face, barely noticeable. Hardly daring to hope, you reach out for it and feel it move through your fingers. The current changes direction and moves beneath you.
Within seconds, you are relieved to feel yourself slow down. That isn’t all, however: the wind current is powerful enough to take you away from this part of the landscape altogether, and you are soon travelling away at a considerable speed. Unlike before, however, you feel that you are much more in control of where you are going.
[[Ride the wind->31]]
You travel for some distance, before feeling a lapse in the currents which guide you. They seem to be weakening as you travel further and further across the barren landscape below you. Perhaps it is a change in the temperament.
At the same time, you feel a strange energy passing through your body. With the wind gradually weakening, you find that your body is much more responsive than before. You can even move your limbs to some degree, though the wind still restricts what you can do.
As the current starts to lose strength, you find that you are gradually falling down towards the ground at a gentle speed.
You have almost gained full control over your body now. Perhaps you can manipulate the wind to navigate exactly where you will land. The ground is barren and dead, but there are several landmarks of note.
[[Aim for a landing near the cliffs up north->32]]
[[Aim for a landing at the side of a hill to the east->33]]
You move towards the cliffs and see that they overlook a deep gorge. Quickly, you keep your body streamlined with the wind currents so that you don’t end up going over the edge. Even if you could somehow survive the fall, there would be no way of finding your way back up again.
Slowly, you drift down towards the ground and feel your feet make contact with hard rock. You have made it.
The wind dies down completely, departing for good. A split second later, you feel stale and dusty air flood into your lungs. //Air.// You suck in a deep breath what feels like the first time in years. Here, upon the surface of a dead earth ravaged by war and plague, you can finally breathe again. The air isn’t exactly clean or fresh, but it’s better than nothing.
Relief washes over you. Against the odds, you have survived what many could not.
[[Breathe->34]]
You reach the side of the hill within half a minute, your feet touching down upon burnt grass. It’s a surprisingly pleasant feeling, considering that you haven’t experienced the touch of anything against your skin for many decades. Before you can do anything else, however, the wind unexpectedly picks up, as if sensing you are no longer in its control.
There is no time to brace yourself for it. Within seconds, your body is thrown back roughly and you hurtle down the slope at a dangerous speed. Sharp rocks and pebbles are sent flying in your wake, and you can find virtually no support anywhere.
[[Try to grab onto the grass to stop yourself from falling->35]]
[[Protect yourself with your arms to prevent any further damage to you->36]]
[[Kick out with your legs to try and slow yourself down->37]]
Whether by chance or your own skill, you have succeeded in making it this far. The barren earth stretches far and wide before you. A dead planet, bereft of life. You don’t know what’s out there for you. Maybe there’s nothing at all. But one thing is for sure: you have regained hope, and you burn with life. The future is yours to make.
//<u>Ending 3: Safe And Sound</u>
You survived the fall to the surface without sacrificing anything. Your future is uncertain, but you are optimistic about what awaits you.
Would you like to try again?//
[[Start over->1]]
You clutch at the grass on the hillside, clumps of it coming apart in your hands. Even so, the friction generated helps to slow you down to the point that you are no longer in danger. You dig your fingers into the rock and hold on for dear life, feeling yourself gradually reach a welcome stop. The stones scrape painfully against your skin, but you are able to stop yourself from falling.
Before you can do anything else, the hillside starts to shake and tremble beneath your feet. You are thrown off balance and fall a short distance to the ground, slightly bruised but mostly unhurt.
You scarcely have time to think before you realise that the entire hill is moving.
[[Pick yourself up->38]]
You force yourself into a defensive crouch, protecting your head and body as best as you can. Sharp rocks and pebbles cut into your unprotected arms, causing numerous abrasions and bruises as you tumble down the hillside. There is no end to it, and it is still a long way down.
In desperation, you clutch at the grass to try and stop your fall. It seems fruitless at first, but gradually you begin to slow down to the point that you are no longer in danger. You dig your fingers into the rock and hold on for dear life, feeling yourself gradually reach a welcome stop. The stones scrape painfully against your skin, but you are able to stop yourself from falling.
Before you can do anything else, the hillside starts to shake and tremble beneath your feet. You are thrown off balance and fall a short distance to the ground, slightly bruised but mostly unhurt.
You scarcely have time to think before you realise that the entire hill is moving.
[[Pick yourself up->38]]
You lash out with your legs and encounter only rocks and dirt. It helps to slow your fall somewhat, but it’s difficult to kick out when you’re falling down the hillside so fast. You try to dig your heels into the earth, and it’s some time before the resulting friction slows you down to the point that you are no longer in danger.
Before you can do anything else, the hillside starts to shake and tremble beneath your feet. You are thrown off balance and fall a short distance to the ground, slightly bruised but mostly unhurt.
You scarcely have time to think before you realise that the entire hill is moving.
[[Pick yourself up->38]]
A great rumbling is shaking the ground you stand on. Painfully, you get to your feet and see that the side of the hill is starting to lift up, as if on a lever. A curved platform of some kind, lifting up, folding away, blinking…Blinking?
With a shock, you realise that a giant eyeball is lifting out of the side of the “hill”. The whole mound is shifting and rising up, revealing a monstrous creature rearing out of the earth itself. This is no hill. You have disturbed the slumber of an ancient beast concealed within the planet, lying dormant since the war.
The burnt grass is torn away to reveal extended spines and a mass of scales upon the monster’s back. Quickly, you back away as the colossal beast opens up its maw to swallow you whole. Two rows of thick, razor-sharp teeth clash together with a sound that sends another tremor through the ground.
A second eye snaps open to stare at you, and then a third.
[[Run away as fast as you can from the monster->39]]
[[Attack the beast head-on with your fists->40]]
[[Try to communicate with the beast->41]]
You don’t wait around to see what the monster’s going to do next. Without hesitation, you turn tail and run for your life, your heart beating hard in your chest.
What kind of twisted evolution could create such a creature? This world was supposed to be long dead; monsters like that should only exist in the depths of nightmares, or consigned to fiction. What’s happening now feels almost like a nightmare in itself.
As you run, you chance a glance over your shoulder. Fortunately, there is no sign of the beast following you. Perhaps it isn’t able to, or perhaps it returned to its slumber after having been so rudely awakened. Nevertheless, you decide to keep moving in case some other hellish being rears its ugly head before you.
It’s a long time before you finally feel you are out of danger. The monster has been left far behind you, and the silence settles about you like an impenetrable fog. For several seconds, you stop to catch your breath and -
//Breathe.//
The revelation hits you all at once. You hadn’t realised it before in all the chaos, but you can breathe now. There is air here.
The wind dies down completely, departing for good. You suck in a deep breath for what feels like the first time in years. Here, upon the surface of a dead earth ravaged by war and plague, you can finally breathe again. The air isn’t exactly clean or fresh, but it’s better than nothing.
Relief washes over you. Against the odds, you have survived what many could not.
[[Breathe->42]]
You charge at the massive beast with your puny little fists in a decidedly foolhardy and certainly suicidal course of action. The creature before you is literally as big as a hill – and that’s just its head. Possibly not all of its head, because the beast seems to be partially submerged in the earth.
Another eye flicks open, and then another, and another. Close to a dozen eyes open out to stare directly at you.
Honestly, you don’t know //what// you were thinking, but this really wasn’t a very good idea. Since you’ve decided to do this, you might as well follow through with it.
[[Attack one of the creature’s many, many eyes->43]]
[[Jump onto the creature’s body and attempt to find a weak spot->44]]
[[Circle round to the creature’s rear to take it by surprise->45]]
[[Forget about fighting a beast which is the size of a hill and just run away now->39]]
There are a few different methods of communication you can try. In the ten seconds remaining to you until the monster eats you, you only have time to try out one of them.
[[Speak to the creature in your own language->46]]
[[Roar at the creature->47]]
[[Communicate with hand gestures->48]]
[[Give up on trying to communicate and run away from the monster->39]]
Whether by chance or your own skill, you have succeeded in making it this far. The barren earth stretches far and wide before you. A dead planet, bereft of life save for the ancient horrors that may be waiting. You don’t know what’s out there for you. Maybe there’s nothing at all. But one thing is for sure: you have regained hope, and you burn with life. The future is yours to make.
//<u>Ending 4: Survivor</u>
You survived the fall to the surface without sacrificing anything, and escaped with the knowledge that dangers still lurk within the depth of the planet. Your future is uncertain, but you are optimistic about what awaits you.
Would you like to try again?//
[[Start over->1]]
Each of the creature’s eyes are bigger than your head. You swing your fist and punch an eye, or at least part of one. It feels exactly like trying to hit a brick wall, and pain courses through your hand at once. The monster doesn’t even notice what you were trying to do. (What //were// you trying to do?)
(if: not ((history:) contains "44") and not ((history:) contains "45"))[Instead, the beast’s gigantic fanged mouth opens larger as if to swallow you up completely. If you don’t do something quickly, then you’re going to be its next meal.
](elseif: (history:) contains "44" and (history:) contains "45")[Before you can do anything else, the powerful suction force on your body increases at a terrific rate. You are helpless to prevent yourself from being dragged inside the beast’s colossal mouth…
[[Be eaten->49]]
](else:)[You feel a strange force pull at your body, and realise that you are slowly being dragged towards the beast’s gaping maw. Time is running out. If you’re going to run, then do it now.
]
(if: (count: (history:), "44") is 0)[[[Jump onto the creature’s body and attempt to find a weak spot->44]]
](if: (count: (history:), "45") is 0)[[[Circle round to the creature’s rear to take it by surprise->45]]
](if: not ((history:) contains "44") or not ((history:) contains "45"))[[[Just run away as fast as you can->39]]]
You take a flying leap onto the creature’s body, trying to dodge the many eyes that are popping up all over the place. Considering that the monster is covered with spines, this turns out to be a bad idea. You are forced to jump very precisely in order to dodge the spines, and in doing so lose your balance and start to fall.
(if: not ((history:) contains "43") and not ((history:) contains "45"))[As you tumble to the ground, the beast’s gigantic fanged mouth opens larger as if to swallow you up completely. If you don’t do something quickly, then you’re going to be its next meal.
](elseif: ((history:) contains "43") and ((history:) contains "45"))[Before you can do anything else, the powerful suction force on your body increases at a terrific rate. You are helpless to prevent yourself from being dragged inside the beast’s colossal mouth…
[[Be eaten->49]]
](else:)[You feel a strange force pull at your body, and realise that you are slowly being dragged towards the beast’s gaping maw. Time is running out. If you’re going to run, then do it now.
]
(if: (count: (history:), "43") is 0)[[[Attack one of the creature’s eyes->43]]
](if: (count: (history:), "45") is 0)[[[Circle round to the creature’s rear to take it by surprise->45]]
](if: not ((history:) contains "43") or not ((history:) contains "45"))[[[Just run away as fast as you can->39]]]
Building up your speed, you spring around to the back of the creature’s body. There is one main problem with this course of action: the monster in front of you is literally the size of a hill, and it will take you at least ten minutes to get around it.
Nevertheless, you give it a shot and make it about a fifth of the way round. Eyes are opening everywhere. There must be dozens of them now, making for a very disturbing sight indeed. Each and every one of them are focused on you.
To make things worse, a second gigantic mouth is converging on you. It doesn’t matter which side you attack from: if you’re too close, the creature could easily devour you whole. (if: not ((history:) contains "43") and not ((history:) contains "44"))[If you don’t do something quickly, then you’re going to be its next meal.
](elseif: ((history:) contains "43") and ((history:) contains "44"))[
Before you can do anything else, the powerful suction force on your body increases at a terrific rate. You are helpless to prevent yourself from being dragged inside the beast’s colossal mouth…
[[Be eaten->49]]
](else:)[
You feel a strange force pull at your body, and realise that you are slowly being dragged towards the beast’s gaping maw. Time is running out. If you’re going to run, then do it now.
]
(if: (count: (history:), "43") is 0)[[[Attack one of the creature’s eyes->43]]
](if: (count: (history:), "44") is 0)[[[Jump onto the creature’s body and attempt to find a weak spot->44]]
](if: not ((history:) contains "43") or not ((history:) contains "44"))[[[Just run away as fast as you can->39]]]
You open your mouth to call out to the creature – but no sound emerges at all. Instead, what happens is altogether more bewildering. It feels like a mystical //force// has erupted from your mouth, surging through the air and knocking down everything in its path.
The force of your soundless cry crashes right into the beast, and several pairs of eyes swivel round to stare at you. As far as you can tell, your action had no effect except to irritate the creature.
Startled at what just happened, you try to call out again, but now you find that now you cannot speak at all. You have no voice with which to speak.
In hindsight, perhaps it should not be surprising that you appear to have lost your voice. It has been so long since you have thought to try speaking at all. It may be a temporary loss. As to where that strange hostile force came from, however, you have no idea. It seems to be gone as well.
Right now, that’s not your main concern. You now have the beast’s full attention, which is hardly a good sign. You suspect that the only reason it hasn’t devoured you yet is because it is still waking up.
[[Run away whilst you still can->39]]
[[Attack the beast head-on with your fists->40]]
You open your mouth to roar at the creature – but no sound emerges at all. Instead, what happens is altogether more bewildering. It feels like a mystical //force// has erupted from your mouth, surging through the air and knocking down everything in its path.
The force of your soundless cry crashes right into the beast, and several pairs of eyes swivel round to stare at you. As far as you can tell, your action had no effect except to irritate the creature.
Startled at what just happened, you try to call out again, but now you find that now you cannot make a sound at all. You have no voice with which to speak.
In hindsight, perhaps it should not be surprising that you appear to have lost your voice. It has been so long since you have thought to try speaking at all. It may be a temporary loss. As to where that strange hostile force came from, however, you have no idea. It seems to be gone as well.
Right now, that’s not your main concern. You now have the beast’s full attention, which is hardly a good sign. You suspect that the only reason it hasn’t devoured you yet is because it is still waking up.
[[Run away whilst you still can->39]]
[[Attack the beast head-on with your fists->40]]
You flail your hands around fruitlessly at the colossal creature bearing down on you. Several pairs of eyes swivel around to stare at you, attracted by your colourful movements. It seems that you have succeeded only in gaining the monster’s full attention, which is hardly a good sign. You suspect that the only reason it hasn’t devoured you yet is because it is still waking up.
[[Run away whilst you still can->39]]
[[Attack the beast head-on with your fists->40]]
The last thing you see before oblivion takes you is the clashing of two rows of razor-sharp teeth ripping through your flesh and tearing you asunder. There is a moment of agony, but it doesn’t last too long. You perish here, barely minutes after your arrival, within the maw of an ancient monster of the planet.
//<u>Ending Five: Permadeath</u>
You survived the fall to the surface, but suffered a gruesome death with no possibility of revival. Your life had scarcely begun.
Would you like to try again?//
[[Start over->1]]