Developing Games: To scare players all around the world! Chapter 107: The Temple [2250PS]

[A.N I will be pausing the PS Chapters for a bit as I’m not feeling well. I’ll update you all when they resume.]

The faces on the amassed heads were still recognizable, a grim pyramid formed from the young and old, men and women alike.

Before this mound of skulls, three incense sticks, long since extinguished, lay in the dirt, their ashes a testament to prayers that went unheard.

"Holy crap... those have to be the villagers' heads."

"They stacked them into a pyramid..."

"Damn it, Ashina and the Inner Palace are truly monsters!"

"This is the second blade of New World’s cruelty, far more merciless than those Taro Soldiers!"

The chat scrolled rapidly, sending a chill down everyone's spines. Natalie’s grip tightened on her sword hilt, her knuckles turning white. A suffocating sensation gripped her chest, sorrow and rage warring within her.

How could anyone possess such cruelty?

Yet, there was no time for mourning.

A bone-jarring sound echoed in the oppressive darkness, followed by a low, chilling wail, much like the cries of ghosts or the howls of wolves. The system’s background music warped into something unsettling.

From the shadows, a grotesque, half-naked figure emerged. A crude loincloth was wrapped around its waist, and a massive blade was clutched in its hand. Its physique was comparable to the brutish Taro Soldiers, but this creature was headless. Tangled coils of black hair writhed around its neck.

"Shit... is that the Headless?"

"Damn, it looks terrifying!"

"My back is tingling..."

Compared to this abomination, the ghostly villagers from before seemed almost benevolent.

Natalie let out a trembling breath. The suffocating aura, the unsettling background music – it all bore down on her. This Headless was one of the monsters Reina had unleashed to crush the Inner Palace, possessing a power level at least equal to the Red Demon.

"For the villagers... don’t be afraid. Just strike it down."

Natalie muttered to herself and charged forward.

She unleashed a series of rapid slashes, each strike landing true. However, upon checking the Headless’s health bar, she found it hadn't decreased even slightly. Her attacks were completely ineffective.

"Crap! It’s completely immune to physical damage!"

The monster began to move, its actions slow and deliberate. Its blade swept down towards her with the unhurried motion of an elderly man.

"So slow!" Natalie’s eyes brightened. She expertly stepped in, deflecting the attack perfectly.

The monster's weapon was knocked aside, but simultaneously, a new bar appeared on her screen: [Terror]. It was already a third full.

A system prompt materialized before her eyes.

[When confronting unspeakable horrors, Fear will accumulate within you. If the bar fills completely, you will perish instantly.]

"Oh shit... so this is what the villagers meant by being scared to death!"

The realization struck her with the force of a blow. The Headless was impervious to conventional steel. Worse still, the mere act of confronting it was pushing her towards a deathly end, brought about by sheer terror.

Victory was impossible under these conditions.

Natalie pivoted and fled. Remaining in this place meant certain doom.

She risked a glance backward and sighed in relief. The Headless matched the slowness of its swings with its steps, dragging itself forward like a shambling corpse. It couldn’t possibly keep pace with her.

"Alright everyone, this foe is impossible without the correct items. We'll need the Divine Snow and the Fear-Banishing Powder before we can engage it."

"Yeah, it didn't even bleed when we hit it!"

"Looks like our next destination is the Temple."

"It’s a shame, though... we can’t avenge the villagers just yet."

"Don’t worry! Once we're done with those monks, we'll return and destroy this thing!"

Natalie let out a faint chuckle, the audience’s chatter helping to steady her frayed nerves. But mid-sentence, she suddenly froze.

She had collided with something. Something incredibly cold. Its texture was stiff, akin to skin stretched over frozen flesh.

Her gaze snapped forward.

And there it was.

The Headless, right in her path. It had materialized before her at some point, its ghastly form pressing against her. The chilling sensation she felt originated from its deathly cold skin.

"FUCK! FUCK!! FUUUCK!!!"

Natalie nearly screamed herself hoarse. What in the world?! Wasn't it just behind her?! How could it have teleported in front of her?!

Before she could even react, the monster’s empty left hand shot forward. Its claw-like fingers plunged directly into her chest.

A deathly coldness pierced through her abdomen. Natalie looked down in sheer horror.

That hand was buried deep within her body.

Then, with a wet, tearing sound, the Headless yanked its left hand out. Clutched within its palm was something red and white, dripping viscously – Natalie’s own heart.

"Ugh..." The Wolf let out a low, broken groan. Her health bar instantly dropped to zero, a fatal blow.

"Damn it! This thing is impossible! Utterly impossible to fight!" Natalie despaired. She didn’t even bother selecting [Resurrect]. Instead, she chose [Die Here]. She knew with absolute certainty that even if she revived, she would remain utterly helpless against this terrifying monstrosity.

A moment later, she materialized anew near the village entrance, by the imposing Buddha idol.

"Forget it... We should head to the Temple first. That Headless is just too much... it's pure nightmare fuel." Natalie let out a sigh, stepping away from the ink-black cave, her face still etched with lingering fear.

"Yeah, that thing seems utterly unkillable. It teleports, it's hideous, and it's terrifying as hell."

"It feels just like Silent Hill all over again."

"The developer truly went overboard this time. Why inflict something so horrifying upon an action game?!"

The chat messages streamed by relentlessly. A consensus was rapidly forming: the Headless wasn't merely a boss, it was the very embodiment of despair.

Although Natalie burned with righteous fury over the murdered villagers, the stark reality was harsh. The Headless was a foe far beyond her current capabilities. Recovering their stolen heads was not yet within her grasp. Her sole recourse was to advance towards the Temple.

From Ashina Isshin's earlier discourse, she understood that the temple's entrance lay hidden beyond an ancient dungeon.

This dungeon had once served Ashina's purposes for incarcerating bandits. But its current function? It served a far more sinister agenda.

Following a concealed passage, Natalie infiltrated the premises. A suffocating miasma of decay assailed her senses. Everywhere, men and women lay swathed in bandages, their forms spasming feebly.

The majority were adults, yet their appearances were ghastly – blazing red eyes, or worse, their skin writhing with mountainous centipedes. They appeared more like experimental subjects than prisoners, on the very precipice of death.

"This dungeon... it's being utilized for immortality experiments." Natalie's voice was chillingly cold.

The viewers recoiled. Along their journey, they had already borne witness to an abundance of atrocities: Taro Soldiers fabricated from children, entire communities annihilated by the Inner Palace, and towering pyramids constructed from severed human heads... And now, human beings reduced to mere material for grotesque experimentation.

It was hell given physical form.

With a heavy heart, Natalie pressed onward. The dungeon's path coiled upwards. Ahead, she detected the flicker of firelight, accompanied by the murmur of voices. Peering more closely, she observed Ashina soldiers standing guard.

"We're already this close to the temple?!" she whispered.

Moving with the silence of a phantom, she struck. The soldiers succumbed one by one.

At length, after a protracted climb, Natalie emerged into a modest wooden dwelling. A notification materialized before her.

[You have arrived at the Temple, Mount Kumgang.]

"It seems... we have finally reached our destination." Natalie stretched, her countenance betraying clear exhaustion. "Alright, everyone. We'll conclude the stream for today. I am utterly drained..."

She had contended with Genichiro earlier, and it was now well past two in the morning. Sekiro presented a formidable challenge, draining both her physical and mental reserves. The ceaseless tragedies she had encountered weighed heavily upon her.

"Rest well, Natalie! We'll pick up again tomorrow!"

"Yeah, don't push yourself too hard!"

The viewers were understanding. Sekiro was an exhilarating experience, but the cumulative strain, stemming from both the gameplay and the narrative, was immense.

Over the preceding days, Sekiro had ascended to the status of a genuine national phenomenon, sparking fervent discussions across the land. A majority of players had already vanquished Genichiro and, much like Natalie, were progressing towards the Temple. Even those who had not yet reached this juncture were aware of the horrors that lay ahead, gleaned from streams and online forums.

The collective verdict was unequivocal: Tony had once again plunged his blade deep into their collective hearts.

Across myriad forums, players voiced their lamentations.

"The commoners of Ashina are too pitiable... slaughtered by the Inner Palace, their heads severed to appease some monstrous entity..."

"Not only that, but they're used in experiments for immortality, transformed into living weapons. I'm beginning to suspect that all the civilians are irrevocably doomed."

"Indeed... At this rate, the entire nation faces ruin. We're merely awaiting the final confrontation with the Inner Palace."

"When an empire flourishes, the people suffer. When it collapses, the people suffer even more keenly."

"It's no wonder people label Genichiro's uncle a lunatic. The man has plunged his country into an abyss of suffering. What value is there in safeguarding an empty husk devoid of its people?"

"Utterly extreme. He exhibits not only cruelty towards his populace but also an unsparing ruthlessness towards himself!"

1438 Words.