Chapter Text
“What’s my name?”
“It’s Proven, pronounced like ‘pro-ven’. Or, ‘Proven the Explorer’, a nickname that the locals gave you a few years ago.”
Darkness kept Proven in a chokehold, as his eyes opened and closed in a gentle rhythm. His first instinct was to assume that he was now in another cave. While it caught him unprepared, this experience wasn’t anything too unusual. As he recalled the event that seemed like it happened only seconds ago, his well-tuned memory greeted him with flashes of green light. Green light, that had appeared only inches away, dragging him into a state of unconsciousness while on a cave expedition.
Adjusting to his surroundings in the present, he noticed that same green light eminating from a short distance away. Probably less than 100 meters north from his position, provided his depth perception wasn’t affected while unconscious. The light appeared as a rectangular outline, leaking out into the darkness from an unclosed door. As the blurriness faded, multiple things quickly became clear to Proven. This wasn’t a cave. Someone was here. Someone had brought him to this place. Someone with intent. It most likely wasn’t some monster or cave dweller either. If all were true, a situation like this was not ideal for Proven. While he was seasoned in battling creatures of the caves during the search for treasure, combat with other humans was far beyond his abilities.
A short amount of time had passed since he came back to his senses, but no movements had been made. No noises could be heard from up ahead either. Did the individual know that Proven was here yet? Luckily, the fearless explorer hadn’t been caught unarmed as he still had his backpack of mining gear attached from the expedition earlier. He took the prolonged silence as a display of peace, and lack of malicious intent. Trusting that thought, he got up with a determined smile gleaming across his face. Sure, his instincts had led him down some wrong pathways in the past, but there had never been a time where Proven the Explorer got lost. Not even once. He always found his way out again, because in his world… life and luck were always stood by his side.
TO BE CONTINUED in Chapter 2 - Doorway.