Deepwish
A post-apocalyptic visual novel: a seeker's descent into the forbidden mines to find the Chamber of Fulfillment — where the Wishmaker decides what you truly deserve.
PsThey say the sky burned a hundred years ago. The Great War left nothing but ash and an endless winter. When it all began, people fled underground in a panic. They built colossal mines, hoping to wait out the apocalypse. But time proved that you can't survive long in those depths. The darkness, the radiation, the madness—they kill you slowly, but they never fail.
We live on the surface now. In miserable settlements, burning the scraps of the past to stay warm. To survive, we're forced into short raids into those ancient mines—scavenging for coal and artifacts. Staying down there too long is a death sentence.
But among the survivors, a stubborn legend persists: in the deepest, forbidden mine, there is a Chamber of Fulfillment. A place where one single, most cherished wish comes true.
The journey there is lethal. You won't make it alone. You need a guide. Something to show the way and shield you from the madness of the deep. The only one who has it is the mad Lord of Electricity, lurking in the most damned tunnels.
And so, one seeker sets out. He goes against every rule. He wants to reach the end. But he doesn't know the Chamber's golden rule yet: the Wishmaker decides what you truly deserve. And sometimes, the greatest wish of all is simply the chance to return to the surface.
Step by step. Leaving the last warmth of his home behind, he walks into the icy wasteland. Ahead lies the mine entrance, usually only opened for a couple of hours. But today, he isn't here for coal. He's here for a legend. The Lord of Electricity hides at the very bottom, where even desperate miners don't dare to go.
The descent grows deeper. These are no ordinary workings. The air burns his lungs, and the red light carves ugly silhouettes of ancient machines out of the dark. Time loses all meaning here, and the weight of the stone crushes his mind. He pushes forward, knowing his safe hours underground are long gone. There's no turning back now.
Sometimes the path leads through halls where time has stood still. Cold and majestic, they hold the memory of those who built this world before us. Light seeps through the cracks, illuminating hanging cables and ruins. It's easy to feel like a speck of dust in infinity here. And it's just as easy to lose your mind. But he presses on, driven by despair.
Fragments of the past. Colossal digging machines that once clawed into the rock when the sky caught fire. When the war broke out, people poured everything into going underground. These titans were meant to build shelters for millions, but time and radiation stopped them dead. He pauses at the edge of the abyss, staring at this graveyard of titans. The realization of his own insignificance weighs on his shoulders. But here, among the dead giants, he feels the goal is close. Madness awaits ahead.
He's here. His face is hidden, his hands holding the very essence of the dead world—energy that once powered cities and now shattered his mind. "You came for a gift?" the Lord hisses, blue sparks dancing in the air. "You'll get your guide. But first, do me a favor. Find what I lost. Or you'll become part of my collection."
The favor is done. In exchange, the Lord hands him a mountain crystal—the only thing capable of filtering the deadly radiation radiating from the Wishmaker himself. Without this stone, any seeker is doomed. Looking around, the hero sees them—petrified, frozen in their final poses. These are the ones who made it here but had no protection. They remain forever in this grim hall as a silent warning. Clutching the crystal, he moves on. His deepest desire is to touch the Wishmaker and have his wish granted. And this stone is the only key that will let him survive that deadly touch.
He steps out of the Wishmaker's chamber. He doesn't know if his wish was heard yet. The dim lantern light catches a silhouette in the dark. He steps closer. His heart stops. There, on the cold stone, lies a body. It's him. The one who didn't survive the journey. The one he would have become without the mountain crystal.
In that moment, it hits him. His deepest wish has been granted. He wanted to live. And he is alive.
The Wishmaker didn't give him wealth or power. He gave him life. And now the seeker must find the strength to climb back to the surface, to a world that doesn't care about your wishes. But he is alive. And that's more than anyone else could hope for.
Interested in something similar?
Discuss a project