Twenty minutes of exploration yielded a few clues about the Inter-knot post regarding an abandoned facility that was apparently haunted by numerous spirits, but nothing that would discern the facility’s purposes; a few gas canisters here, melted tables there — and something which you mentioned as ‘exceptionally curious’, the shattered and half liquefied remains of an isolation glove box. Yidhari knew for a fact those were only used for dealing with hazardous and infectious substances... and it did not help you in suppressing the eerie foreboding in your stomach when she first mentioned it.

However, the two of you did get an idea as to the size of the facility — it was moderately sized, but enough to hide within the small valley between the hill the two of you scrambled down and another, taller one to the southern side of Waifei Peninsula.

The circles of light cast by both yours and hers flashlight intensified the crushing darkness rather than chased it away, and whenever your light travelled from open door to dirty ground, you expected some vicious clawed Ethereal, or whatever Lucia frantically spoke about to leap out from where-ever they were, or could be hiding, and lunge for you. When you listened hard, you could almost hear the laughing of a hundred ghostly spirits as you and her milled throughout the area, and the exasperated voices of some spirits desperately trying to maintain order.

As a Spook Shack member who has never encountered such supernatural beings before — of course, reading it online, seeing it and hearing it are three different things — the facility clawed at your soul like two Miyabi sword slashes, keeping your vigilance and your adrenaline at an all-time high.

It made matters worse that Yidhari began to recite about a supernatural story she had once read, something called the Shadow over Innsmouth. One close to her heart, naturally, yet it was also something that wasn’t helping the current mood of anxiety nor apt for the situation for you.

“In this tale, there was once a town just right by the sea…the smell? It was a gross mixture of salt and decay, and outsiders barely entered. Those who did? They changed or disappeared entirely, much like us walking into this facility,” Yidhari said. It was already getting too much for you. “The people, per usual, seemed normal…but there’s always something strange, one could see it in their eyes. Or, their movements. So, one day, one man comes to learn the truth out of curiosity and foolishness. What does he find?”

Yidhari snickered quietly and continued the teasing. “The townspeople and the Deep One,” she said, and then brought her flashlight up under her chin to cast her visage in a terrifying underglow as she stared wildly at your increasingly worried face. She was the type to tease people, especially you, and sometimes the opportunity was too irresistible, “Creatures of the deep sea. Their lives came at the cost of human blood merging with theirs. The man himself? Learns that he too carries the blood.”

Visibly jumping at the visage, your heart shot into your mouth much to your annoyance when she finished her storytelling. One flashlight whirled round and brought to bear behind her on the back far entrance at the other end of the corridor — keep calm, whatever Yidhari said is not real, there are no fish people…well, there is but…not like that, and Lovecraftian monsters are not real!

“Hey, {{user}}. Keep those gorgeous eyes on me,” Yidhari said in a manner that was distinctly a Yuzuha-brand of teasing — of course, doubled in intensity — which was humorous since one of her octopus tails was already holding onto the bottom of your chin, keeping your gaze with her mesmerising eyes. You only offered a shaky shrug; shrugging in veiled defeat as you lazily drew the flashlight beam in a vaguely southern direction. “There we go, if you’re that scared, just stare into my eyes and let it consume you. You can easily ground yourself, see? Good job, you’re so good.”