Rewind: A Grimdark LitRPG Series (Pyresouls Apocalypse, Book 1) by James Callum (reading tree .txt) 📕

He wanted to see the horror on the thing’s face, wanted it to see his face and know its doom. All he could see was the red flash of bloodied teeth from Kim’s final smile.

Jacob’s grin was more of a feral grimace as he dove the [Sacrificial Knife] into the man’s chest, working to cut out his still-pumping heart. He sawed through the soft, cartilage-like bone with ease.

When he was done, he lifted the bloated black thing out of his chest so the priest could see it in his last moments.

“Hail the Vile Covenant,” Jacob said with a sneer.

It took a surprisingly long time for the man to die without a heart. Several full seconds passed as the horror and life began to drain from the man’s ugly features.

Jacob dropped the heart to the stones and stood. “Your tainted god isn’t getting this sacrifice,” he added, crushing the misshapen thing under his boot and grinding his heel against it.

A look of pure mortal terror filled the man for the last flickers of his life as he realized he would be severed from his god. The act, unsurprisingly, was viewed as a betrayal of the Covenant and he was summarily kicked out.

You defeat the [Vile Priest].

You have betrayed the Vile Covenant.

You are marked as an Enemy and can never attempt to rejoin the Vile Covenant.

Awarded 1,500 Souls.

You gain [Soul of a Devout Priest].

You gain [Antediluvian Ring].

“Fine by me,” Jacob said, spitting on the corpse and sliding his visor down.

Dark threads of the priest’s blood wound their way through the cracks and seams of the stones until they found their way into the dark waters of the room.

Wherever the blood touched, the water churned and frothed.

All thought of further desecrating the room flew from Jacob’s head. Time to go!

Jacob swapped his [Ring of Covetous Breath] for his new one immediately, hoping that it might give whatever creature was coming for him pause. Just enough confusion that he could slip out of the room without fighting the damn thing.

As soon as the rings were swapped he was hit with a sickening brackish, rotten fish stench so heinous he tasted bile in the back of his throat.

When a black tentacle with purple suckers split the water in the middle of the room, Jacob knew it wasn’t confused by the ring he wore. He had no time to swap the rings back though.

Praying he wouldn’t vomit in his helmet, he surged through the water, surprised at how little it bothered him.

No matter how the reeking brackish fluid churned and filled the chamber it didn’t slow him one bit. He ran at full speed, sprinting through the room even as it filled up to his waist with water.

Dodging the swaying tentacles that sprouted from the water was even easier without the slowdown that water normally inflicted. Two quick, successive rolls had him at 30% Stamina and at the foot of the stairs to the drier hallway.

A tentacle slammed him in the back, doing more good than harm as it propelled him up the stairs and into the hallway beyond in exchange for a quarter of his Health.

Jacob staggered to his feet and continued to flee down the tunnel. A glance over his shoulder revealed reaching dark tentacles that couldn’t quite fit through the narrow doorframe.

Slowing down to let his Stamina regenerate, Jacob heard the cracking stone as the tentacles behind swelled and forced the stone doorway apart.

The deep guttural, otherworldly roar that rumbled the stones and filled the halls with ancient rage chased him out of the Drowned Halls.

Puddles grew exponentially in size. Sprays of briny water erupted from seams in the walls, filling up the halls with seawater that thankfully did little to impede his escape.

By the time Jacob passed the room with the Pyre, he saw a wall of steam flooding out from that room. “Go!” the Fire Oppa cried from beyond the veil of mist. “Not even the Vile God can stifle my Pyre. Do not linger, Jacob!”

He didn’t stop running until he returned to the fork in the tunnel.

25

While Jacob took the path toward Hollow Dreams, he looked up the [Antediluvian Ring] in his equipment. Without it, he still felt confident he could have escaped. Even if he was killed he would have been sent back to the Pyre and that was clearly still safe even as the tunnels filled with seawater.

[Antediluvian Ring]

An ancient ring of rough, unpleasant stone with mind-bending carvings in an indecipherable language. Tentacle carvings appear to move whenever salt water is near.

This ancient ring is older than the first Covenants. It is a testament to the Vile Covenant's lasting ambitions and is given only to those who have fully dedicated themselves to the Great Old One.

Its name is inscribed upon the ring, and reading it aloud begins the slow process of change required to become one of the Anointed. Until that time comes, the ring grants greatly improved mobility in areas of rough terrain such as swamps, water, or tar.

Jacob took off his helm and shook out his wet hair, glad that the stench of the Drowned Halls hadn’t seeped into his armor. Though the seawater had.

It didn’t seem to cause any immediate issues, so he dealt with the deep discomfort of a whole-body wet-sock sensation.

The ring was niche in its usefulness, but considering his other options he decided to keep it on. He didn’t remember any rough terrain leading into Hollow Dreams, but then again he never came through this path before.

And for all their discussion, the specifics were never - or very rarely - known. Aside from Alec’s memories of a game he played ten years ago, the archives were notoriously spotty.

Discussing and planning what to do was more like streetlights in the dark. There were bright spots with accurate and verified information. But between those spots was utter darkness where neither Alec nor the archives had any helpful information.

It was left to Jacob to navigate the dark to find the light.

The