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Chapter 1

The empty eyes stared back at me, no longer possessing the feelings that once lingered behind the dark, mysteriousness that while staring deeply into them, I loved to lose all feeling. Once something so magical illuminated your soul, deep behind the shadow of pain, but now, it lay lifeless, lost within itself. My hand pulled away from your arm, yearning to still feel your warmth against my skin. I leaned in close, and kissed her full, pink mocha lips. They almost felt warm, though knowingly the warmth too had passed. I could feel the burning sensation of tears welling in my eyes, but I wanted to be strong, I wanted to be stronger than this, because I knew that all along happiness was something that wasn’t meant to be mine.

“She is only sleeping.” A voice hissed behind me, the words stinging like venom. “You can still save her, the choice is yours to make.”

My cheek burned as a hot tear carved its way down my face, leave a steaming wet trail from my eye to my lip, where I could taste the salty remains. I wiped the back of my hand against my eyes and face, because strength was the only think that was going to be able to pull me through this moment in time.

“Tell me, then, what do I have to do?” I said, trying to usher any amount of strength that I had left in me, trying to present myself as strong and courageous. I stood up, feeling wobbly, like my legs didn’t belong to me, everything around me felt surreal, as I stared into face the intruder. Whatever was in the room wore a dark robe; a large hood draped over their head, shadowing the face, made it impossible to see intruder. Even still, I knew that the presence was not good, that an evil had made its way in, and this was part of it.

“If you want to save her, then you will have to follow me.” The venomous voice said again, while extending a hand, draped by the cape. “What are you willing to do, to save the one that you love?”

“How do I know that this isn’t just a dream, that I can just wake up at any moment, and none of this will even be real?” I was frazzled, at wits end, trying to make sense of this all.

“You don’t.” It replied, then abruptly letting out a shrill laugh. Several moments passed, and the laughter ceased. An eery silence crept over the room, and chills sped up and down my spine. “But is that a risk you are willing to take?” It hissed, anger spewing from the hooded being.

“No.” I said, it was as honest as I could be, was letting her die a risk I was willing to take, given the choice. “No.” I said again, almost as if I was thinking out loud.

“Good, then you will follow me.” The intruder hissed. “Now close your eyes, and don’t open them ‘til I say so.”

Cautiously, I close my eyes, a cool breeze swept across my face. It was bone chilling, leaving me feeling as if I was freezing from the inside out. A softness crept over my hand, as if it were another hand pulling me in a direction I could not see. My body was shaking, I did not know if it was from the cold or the shooting adrenaline that was coursing throughout my body.

I heard a creak, a sound almost like a door opened, and I felt light against my eyes. Bright orange seeping in, illuminating the tiny vessels inside of my eyelids. The feathery hand pulled me forwards, I felt my leg brush against something.

“You may sit down now.” The voice creaked in my ear. I obeyed, carefully sitting down into what felt like a carved out stone or marble. The coolness of the object made me shiver even more as the gently stone glided against my skin. “You may open your eyes now.” The time had come, I was able to open my eyes, but I was hesitant, not sure what I would see once they were opened.

My eyes glanced about what appeared to be a room, even though it looked like the middle of a cave. It was dungeon like, with a large fire burning as bright as the sun in the center, surrounded by stone chairs. Those chairs were embodied by five more ominous hooded beings like the intruder, all facing towards the fire.

“So you’ve accepted the challenge?” One of the beings asked of me.

“I did.” Pausing, why was I holding back, no more holding back. I thought, having a moment of cowardice followed by a burst of courage. “It seems as I had no choice.” I felt the resilience growing in my voice.

“You had a choice, you could walk away.” Another being hissed.

“But if I do that, I lose her.” I replied. “Forever.”

“Then you’ve made up your mind.” I recognized the shrill, eery voice of my intruder.

A solemn, somber look crept over my face as, “Yes.” I boldly stated, waiting for whatever else could possibly happen next.

“Good.” A being which looked to be the leader said, slowly, in an almost ghostly manner, rising from their stone chair. “You will have three tasks to complete, at the completion of each task we will reveal her to you. This is for multiple reasons, which you will understand later. However, if you fail, give up, or cheat in any way...” a pause, I thought I could feel the being smile, “...you will both die.”

“You accept on those terms?” Another being asked of me.

“She dies if I don’t, saying yes means that she has a chance.” I said, my thoughts racing by so fast I felt sick, “So my answer is yes.”

With that, the leader threw both arms into the air, a powder pouring off of him into the fire creating a large cloud of smoke, he threw his arms at the ground, the smoke cleared with a sound so loud it was like thunder. When it cleared, the beings were standing in a pyramid shape, the leader in the front.

In unison they said, “Let the journey begin.”