The sun hangs low in the sky, an ashen disc barely casting shadows. The air reeks of decay, and silence presses on the crumbled city like a suffocating shroud. You kneel in the ruins of a once-beautiful church, whispering a prayer to a God who no longer answers. Dust swirl in the stagnant air as you bow your head, each movement feeling heavy and futile.
The sound of your own breathing fills the void. It feels wrong—too loud, too alive for a world as dead as this one. You whisper, unsure if your words have any meaning. Are they even prayers anymore, or just fragments of memory?
(text-colour:lime)[[[Pray with desperation->Desperation Prayer]]
[[Pray with bitterness->Bitter Prayer]]
[[Pray silently->Silent Prayer]]
]
Your words are sharp, edged with bitterness. **(text-colour:lime)["Why did you leave us?"]** you ask, your voice rising with anger. The words taste like ash on your tongue, but they spill out anyway. **(text-colour:lime)["Why create a world just to let it fall apart?"]**
Deep down, you know no answer will come.
**(text-colour:magenta)["You think blaming Him will change anything?"]** a voice cuts through your thoughts, cold and mocking, as if reading your heart.
Turn to see Maren standing in the shadows. Her face is pale and her hair clings to her sweat-dampened forehead. She clutches her infant tightly, the child swaddled in fraying cloth. Its silence feels louder than words.
(text-colour:lime)[[[Respond->Maren Confronts Lucas]]]
You don't speak. What is there left to say? Your lips move in silence, shaping prayers you no longer believe. Each word feels like a memory of faith long forgotten. The stillness is crushing.
The silence grows heavier. It feels as though the air itself is watching you, waiting for something.
**(text-colour:magenta)["Still hoping someone hears you?"]** a voice cuts through your thoughts, filled with doubt and quiet derision.
Turn to see Maren standing in the shadows. Her face is pale and her hair clings to her sweat-dampened forehead. She clutches her infant tightly, the child swaddled in fraying cloth. Its silence feels louder than words.
[[Respond->Maren Confronts Lucas]]You cry out, your voice trembling with desperation. Each word feels like it falls into an endless void. You pour everything into the prayer: grief, hope, anger. Your voice cracks as you beg for something, anything, to show you that this isn’t the end.
Nothing stirs. no sign, no warmth, not even the faintest echo of hope. The silence swallows your words whole.
(text-colour:magenta)[**"You still believe this matters?"]** a voice cuts through your thoughts, sharp and heartless, breaking the illusion of solitude.
Turn to see Maren standing in the shadows. Her face is pale and her hair clings to her sweat-dampened forehead. She clutches her infant tightly, the child swaddled in fraying cloth. Its silence feels louder than words.
(text-colour:lime)[[[Respond->Maren Confronts Lucas]]]Maren steps closer, her expression grim. Her voice is low, almost a whisper. **(text-colour:magenta)["We can’t stay here, Lucas. There’s nothing left. No God. No miracles. Just... this."]** She gestures at the crumbling church walls, her tone flat but laced with anger.
Her words cut deeper than they should. You want to argue, to tell her she’s wrong, but you feel the weight of truth in her voice. The world has been abandoned—by God, by hope, by everything that made it worth living in.
But then there’s the pull. Faint, distant, but unmistakable. Something inside you insists there’s more. That something waits for you at the Cathedral far across the city.
**(text-colour:lime)["The Cathedral might still hold something,"]** you say finally, your voice trembling. **(text-colour:lime)["Answers. A way out of this."]**
Maren’s eyes narrow, disbelief flickering across her face. **(text-colour:lime)["You don’t know that,"]** she says, her voice bitter. **(text-colour:lime)["What if it’s just another dead end?"]**
After a long pause, she mutters, **(text-colour:lime)["Fine. Lead the way. Let’s get this over with."]**
[[Begin the journey->Journey Begins]]The city stretches on endlessly, a labyrinth of rubble and shadows. The streets are eerily quiet, save for the faint rustling of wind—or perhaps something else, something alive, moving just out of sight.
Buildings lean against one another like drunkards, their foundations cracked and crumbling. Glass shards litter the ground, catching the dim light of the dying sun. Each step you take feels heavier, as though the city itself is trying to hold you back.
The Void feels closer now. Though you cannot see it, the air seems heavier, the world darker with each step you take. Maren trudges beside you, her footsteps muffled, the baby in her arms unnervingly silent.
On the way, you come across a small figure crouched in the debris. A boy, no older than ten, stares at you with hollow eyes. His face is smudged with soot, and his thin frame trembles with each shallow breath.
**(text-colour:cyan)["Please... help me,"]** he whispers, his voice cracked and raw. He holds out a hand, but you can see the infected wounds creeping up his arm like dark veins.
(text-colour:lime)[[[Help the boy->Help Boy]]
[[Leave him->Leave Boy]]]You kneel beside the boy, trying to offer some comfort. His skin is clammy, and his wounds fester with a dark, unearthly rot. You don’t know what you can do for him, but you can’t just leave him here.
As you reach out, Maren’s voice cuts through the silence. **(text-colour:magenta)["Lucas, don’t. He’s already gone."]**
You hesitate, but the boy’s eyes meet yours, wide and pleading. **(text-colour:cyan)["Please,"]** he whispers again. Against your better judgment, you lift him into your arms. His body is frighteningly light, as though he’s already fading away.
The boy smiles faintly, but his expression twists into terror as the Void’s hum rises again. A tendril of darkness lashes out, striking the boy. His scream is brief before his body crumbles into ash.
Maren grabs your arm, pulling you forward. **(text-colour:magenta)["You can’t save them, Lucas. Stop trying."]**
[[Continue->Journey Continues]]You shake your head, averting your gaze from the boy. **(text-colour:lime)["I’m sorry,"]** you mutter, your voice barely audible. Maren pulls your arm, urging you to move.
The boy’s hollow eyes follow you as you walk away, his weak cries echoing in your ears. You tell yourself there was nothing you could do, but the weight of your decision settles like a stone in your chest.
[[Continue->Journey Continues]]The city grows darker, the streets narrowing into claustrophobic alleyways. You pass more signs of life—if it can still be called life. Figures shuffle in the shadows, their eyes glowing faintly. They don’t approach, but their presence is a constant reminder of the world’s decay.
You come across a woman sitting against a wall, clutching a bundle of rags. Her lips move silently, as though in prayer. As you draw closer, you realize the bundle is a child, its body limp and unmoving.
**(text-colour:yellow)["He won’t wake up,"]** she whispers, her voice trembling. **(text-colour:yellow)["Can you help him? Please?"]**
Maren stiffens beside you, her expression unreadable.
(text-colour:lime)[[[Try to help the child->Help Child]]
[[Ignore her and move on->Leave Woman]]]You kneel beside the woman, placing a hand on the child’s forehead. His skin is cold, his eyes half-closed. You whisper a prayer, though you know it’s futile.
The woman watches you with desperate hope, but the child doesn’t stir. A low hum fills the air, and you realize too late that the Void has found you again. A tendril lashes out, striking the woman and her child. Their forms disintegrate into ash, leaving you kneeling in empty space.
Maren pulls you to your feet, her voice shaking. **(text-colour:magenta)["You can’t keep doing this. They’re gone, Lucas. All of them."]**
(text-colour:lime)[[[Continue->Journey Continues 2]]]You shake your head, avoiding the woman’s gaze. **(text-colour:lime)["There’s nothing I can do,"]** you say quietly. She doesn’t respond, her attention fixed on the child in her arms. As you walk away, her whispered prayers follow you, fading into the distance.
Maren’s expression hardens. **(text-colour:magenta)["You’re learning,"]** she mutters, though her tone lacks any real satisfaction.
(text-colour:lime)[[[Continue->Journey Continues 2]]]The Cathedral finally comes into view, its spires jagged and broken. The journey has left you exhausted, but the pull is stronger than ever. Something awaits you within those crumbling walls.
Maren’s steps falter. She clutches her infant closer, her face pale and drawn. **(text-colour:magenta)["Lucas... I don’t think I can do this.]"**
(text-colour:lime)[[[Encourage her->Encourage Maren]]
[[Offer to go alone->Go Alone]]]You place a hand on her shoulder, meeting her weary gaze. **(text-colour:lime)["We’re almost there. Just a little further."]**
She nods reluctantly, taking a shaky breath. Together, you step into the Cathedral.
(text-colour:lime)[[[Enter Cathedral->Cathedral]]]
You nod, understanding her fear. **(text-colour:lime)["Wait here. I’ll see what’s inside."]**
Her expression is a mix of relief and guilt as she sinks to the ground, cradling her child. You step into the Cathedral alone.
[[Enter Cathedral->Cathedral]]
The air inside is thick, oppressive. Stained glass windows line the walls, their images twisted and unrecognizable. The altar stands at the far end, shrouded in shadow.
As you approach, the hum begins again, louder than ever. The Void manifests, its tendrils reaching for you.
(text-colour:lime)[[[Fight->Fight Void]]
[[Flee->Flee Void]]]You stand your ground, gripping a shard of glass from the broken windows. The Void’s tendrils lash out, and you swing wildly, slicing through the darkness. For a moment, it recoils, but the effort is futile. The Void surges forward, engulfing you.
Your last thought is of Maren and the others you failed to save.
[[End->End]]You turn and run, the Void’s tendrils close behind. As you burst through the Cathedral doors, you see Maren crumpled on the ground, her child gone. The Void overtakes you both, consuming everything.
[[End->End]]The world fades to black. There is no escape, no salvation. Only the Void remains.