A dark, desolated place-one of those you see along rural highways far from town, where the forest presses in and trees form natural entrances. There, a house stood.
The rain grew heavier and the thunder louder. No one had dared to approach the entrance of that abandoned house, but she wasn't just someone-she was something.
She slowly walked toward the entrance, the house looming beyond the stone steps. It felt as if the house itself were watching her, warning her not to enter, promising regret. But this... thing had other plans.
She pulls out a drawing from her belt, the paper getting wet by the rain. The drawing looked like it had been made by a child: the same house, with two soulless eyes staring from a window.
She opened the gates as a flock of crows burst into the air and the last thunderclap echoed. She climbed the stone steps, and with every step closer, the urge to leave grew stronger.
Her body begged her to turn back before it was too late, but she had a job, and she was committed to it. Soon, she stood at the door-hesitant at first. Gathering her courage, she slowly opened it and stepped inside the godforsaken house. She would regret that.
The interior wasn't anything special: family pictures, empty hallways, a second floor, and stairs leading to the basement. The atmosphere was unnaturally silent, as if the moment the door closed, all sound from the outside world had vanished.
She walked through the kitchen-more of the same. An old oven, an old fridge. It was clear no one had lived there for decades; all the furniture belonged to another era.
She returned to the living room, but something had changed. The family pictures-those faces were no longer the same. Different people. A completely different family.
As she stepped closer to inspect them, she heard a noise. Someone-or something-was coming down from the second floor. The footsteps echoed again and again. Did those stairs have no end? How high was the second floor? Either way, the steps were getting closer.
She didn't move a muscle. She waited for whatever it was to reveal itself. She needed answers-but what came down only raised more questions.
The footsteps grew faster. Louder. Her anxiety crept in as the sound rushed toward her, until-
A massive, deformed woman appeared. Her smile stretched impossibly wide, wider than her own face. Her legs were taller than trees. The creature peeked through the wall, watching her with that unnatural grin.
Neither moved. Both waited, as if daring the other to strike first. The only sound was the woman's breathing, slowing as the creature leaned closer and closer-until it lashed out.
She spun around, pulling chains from her back, narrowly dodging the attack. The chains wrapped around the creature's neck, igniting with blue fire.
She yanked and swung them, forcing the creature to smash through the walls. Then she drew a scythe, pulling the monster toward her with the chains, stabbing it in the stomach before slicing its throat.
But it wasn't over.
More creatures with similar twisted forms emerged, surrounding her. She tightened her grip-chains in one hand, scythe in the other.
They rushed her all at once. She stabbed and crushed them, but one managed to graze her, pulling her hood down and revealing a beautiful young woman with hair white as snow and crimson eyes.
Enraged at being exposed, she severed one creature's arm, chained it, and used it to tear the faces from the others, slaughtering them all.
Believing it was finally over, she turned back toward the entrance-but it was gone. In its place stood another hallway, leading to an unknown room.
With no way out, she secured her weapons, pulled her hood back over her head, and walked forward, embracing the darkness of the endless halls.