"Ugh... Aaaaaah!"
The face-and-arthropod hybrid peering through the gaps in the enormous scales noticed them during their brief encounter. It unleashed an invisible yet tangible mental pressure, while the barbed arthropods sprouting from it conveyed a desire to take something from him.
In terms of sheer sensation, William had experienced what it was like to be shoved into a washing machine several centuries ahead of schedule, with a few extra spoonfuls of bitter, harsh detergent thrown in. Especially since this washing machine was also in free fall through the air, while nightmarish visions battered his eyes. It had a flavor all its own.
The surrounding environment existed in a superposition, shifting from an intact cave into a cracked, expanded version of itself. Changes in the Present World were reflected here: the writing on the "upper sheet of paper" was pressed onto the "lower sheet," much like some kind of peeling and reshaping process. The resemblance was striking, though the two were not quite the same.
The really bad part was that he hadn't passed out again. His disordered consciousness had endured the entire uncontrolled fall, only for it to end with a deranged emergency stop. He felt as if his soul had been shaken loose.
The hand on his shoulder released him, letting him stumble a few steps through the lightless surroundings until he regained his balance. He hurried to light a torch.
The flame, fed by fuel thick with grease, gave him a meager sense of safety. It revealed their two figures. Beyond the circle of light, the darkness lay still; for now, nothing seemed to be emerging.
"Kraft..." William had meant to ask whether the thing above them was gone, but his companion's silence made him notice something was wrong. "Are you all right?"
Kraft gave no explanation