Bang.

  The brute hurled me onto the ground like trash. My skull smacked the stone first, and my body followed in a heap. A flash of white burst across my vision. My brain rattled violently inside my skull. I let out a shriek as agony detonated behind my eyes. A sharp jolt speared down my spine as I sat up, clutching my head. My eyes adjusted to the dimness, and I immediately wished they hadn't.

  The room was a graveyard. No. Worse. A slaughterhouse.

  Rotting corpses littered the ground, limbs missing, bodies torn apart. Some were chewed on, human bite marks.

  I leapt up and scrambled back when the truth hit me a heartbeat later.

  Cold. Stiff. Dead bodies.

  "…she… new… flesh…"

  Whispers slithered from the shadows.

  I spun around.

  Children. Dozens of them. About my age, chained to walls like animals. Some stared at me with hollow eyes, others with twisted hunger. One child's lips parted slightly, tongue flicking over dried blood like they were tasting the air.

  Many were covered in blood; fresh, sticky, and wet. But none of it belonged to them.

  I looked back at the corpses, then at them again.

  My stomach dropped. My fingers stiffened, nails digging into my palm before I realized I'd clenched my fist.

  Their stares intensified. Some wide with fear, others narrowed with hatred. And some... were hungry.

  The weight of their gaze crushed my chest. My lungs burned. I couldn't breathe. The air turned heavy, as if it thickened just to choke me.

  My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

  Creak...

  The metal door behind me groaned open. A group of men entered, dressed in gray utility gear. Without a word, they began clearing corpses like it was routine.

  One of them glared at me. "What are you standing there for? Move!"

  I flinched. "O-Oh, no. S-sorry." I stumbled away, finding an empty corner to collect myself, far from the dead and the living who seemed just as dangerous.

  My hand trembled as I opened my fist. The item Master Jay gave me. It wasn't just a token.

  A long slip of paper had been hidden inside.

  'When you see a senile old man, approach him and you might live.'

  "A senile old man?" My throat felt tight. I took a quick glance at the pile of 'flesh' in the corner.

  So I either trust a mad clue… or join them.

  Before I could decide, the paper crumbled into ash, slipping through my fingers. The only lead I had was gone.

  What was that for? I scowled.

  A pale finger suddenly pointed ahead.

  I followed the finger back to its owner.

  "Lynd—"

  Lyndall was sitting right beside me. He pressed a finger gently to my lips.

  "Come. Come." Then, just like that, he stood and darted off into the darkness ahead. I looked into the darkness. Squinted my eyes just to see clearer. But nothing. Not even a flicker of light.

  Of all the nightmares I could've walked into… why this one?

  But I couldn't leave him. Not here. Not in this hell.

  I steeled myself, and chased after him into the tunnel.

  I crept deeper. "Lyndall…? Lyndall, where are you?" I whispered.

  The light behind me faded, swallowed by the dark.

  A chill brushed against my face, followed by a smell that made my stomach twist. It was the stench of rot. The kind that made you wish you had no nose. My eyes watered within seconds. The tears stung my skin, as if my tears were acid.

  Tsk. Got to get out of here fast.

  I pinched mine shut and broke into a sprint, stumbling through the dark until the air cleared.

  I staggered forward, my boot crunching against something soft.

  "…I think I stepped on something," I whispered.

  The realization came a second later.

  A shiver tore through me as the cold gnawed its way into my bones.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Why is it so cold here…?"

  "Lyndall? Where are you, Lyndall?" I whispered. "No one's gotten to him yet… right?"

  Panic crawled up my spine, sharp and cold.

  He can't have gone further, right? This cold. It's unnatural.

  Still, I moved forward. Slow. Reluctant. Like a zombie.

  Same walls. Same blackness. Silence pressed in from all sides, endless and deliberate.

  "I feel like I'm walking in circles…" I muttered, teeth chattering as the cold drained the warmth from my limbs.

  Should I turn back? But what about Lyndall? No. Even if I did turn back, I don't think I have energy. Besides...

  Memories of those carnivorous children flashed through my mind.

  Yup. I'm definitely pushing forward.

  Using my little energy, I kept shouting for Lyndall.

  My shout echoed through the void, then stopped.

  …Huh? The sound... stopped?

  No echo.

  I tried again and the result was still the same.

  An exit!

  Without a second thought, I sprinted forward.

  A faint glow appeared up ahead. Distant, but real.

  I ran faster. Light meant safety. Light meant life.

  And then, blinding.

  I shielded my eyes, stumbling as the tunnel opened into a new world.

  "Ugh… What happened…?"

  My mind was blank. All I remembered was chasing after light. Then, nothing.

  "Llyne?"

  I turned at the sound of a familiar voice.

  "Lyndall?"

  He stood there smiling like nothing had happened.

  I ran to him and pinched his chubby cheeks. "Is that really you? I was so worried. Don't disappear like that ever again, okay?"

  "Fwahahaha. And people called me senile old man. I guess they haven't met ya yet, young lady."

  The gravelly voice cut through the air.

  I turned around slowly.

  A skeleton of an old man sat cross-legged, playing chess with himself. His eyes didn't move. The faint scrape of bone against stone echoed every time a piece shifted. Stringy gray hair, long beard, paper-thin skin wrapped around bones. A walking relic.

  Who...? This person...

  I took a quick glance at him from head to toe.

  ...seems crazy? Wait. He did call himself the senile old man. Could he be... he's the one I was supposed to find?!

  I squinted. "Wait. Are you the one they called senile old man?"

  The old man didn't look up. "Is that what they called me, young lad?"

  "Didn't you just say people call you that?!"

  The old man scratched his head, and looked at me like I'm the crazy one. I turned to Lyndall, he raised his shoulders innocently.

  ...Okay, now what? I found him. What am I even supposed to do?

  My eyes darted around then a thought struck. Right. Ma always says that information is crucial.

  My eyes drifted back to the old man. Maybe… I could get information.

  I stepped forward, sat on the ground, crossed legged. Eyes looking directly at his. "What do you know about this place, old man?"

  "Everything." He threw his hands up in the air. I think I heard a faint crack sound from his shoulder. "There's nothing I don't know. If there is, then I'm a dimwit!"

  I looked away immediately, already feeling the terrible outbreak that might I spill out.

  No. No. No. My tiny devil just found a crack and is trying to climb out and trash-talk the old man. I ain't letting you ruin this perfect opportunity. Down you evil doer! And where is my angel when I need one? ...Oh, right... Do I even have one?

  I breathed in and out repetitively until I shoved that tiny devil back to where it came from. My lips cracked into a smile and beamed at the old man. "…Okay, then. Would you be willing to share some of that?"

  "Not for free," he said, eyes still on the chessboard. "Give me something in return."

  An antique trying to shake down child. What a great adult.

  I frowned. "What do you want?"

  He straightened his back and patted his chest proudly. "Be my student. And call me Master."

  "That's all?" I spat out without realizing. Silly me. Dumb mouth.

  "No. Answer all my questions. Mhmm." He nodded sagely.

  Hmm... Doesn't sound all that bad. If he wants something personal, I can just brew a lie like I always do when I forgot to finish my homework or skip classes.

  "Sure, Master."

  The old man leaned back with a creak and… stopped moving.

  I stared at him and waited for him to make a sound. Any sound. But he remained silent.

  "…Master?" I tilted my head.

  He didn't answer.

  "Are you okay? You didn't die from excitement after getting your first student, right?" I leaned closer and nudged him with a chess piece.

  Nothing.

  I leaned in to check his breathing. Pulse.

  Very faint.

  "Ouiii… Master is dead. How sad. Just when he got himself a student…" I lowered my face and covered it with my hand.

  Great. My source of information is gone.

  Then, pop.

  He sat up.

  "AAAHHHHHHH!!!! A ZOMBIE!!!" Lyndall and I screamed and clung to each other.

  "Fwahaha. Had a nice sleep," the old man yawned and stretched his arms and back.

  "Sleep?! You weren't even breathing!" I yelled at him.

  "Don't jinx me. I've got years left," he said with a pout.

  "I bet you steal people's lifespan by scaring the crap out of them!"

  The old man's eyes sharpened; the senility vanishing for a fraction of a second. "And who are you to criticize me? A thief?"

  Thief? I'd rather be a witch and curse you. No. Hold it in. He's still alive. My annoying information mayfly.

  "What is there to steal? You look poorer than me!" I clutched my head. "I think I'm getting a headache…"

  I rolled my eyes, hoping it would ease the headache or maybe turn that senile old man into air. "Anyway. Weren't you gonna teach me something about this place?"

  He pointed at me lazily and laughed. "Eh? Ah! That's right. Ya crazy young lad..."

  "I have a name! It's Llyne!"

  My temples pulsed. Lyndall patted my back.

  Master shrugged. "I'll teach ya everything." He paused a beat then shoved his index finger an inch away from my face. "But you must obey everything I say."

  "That wasn't the deal, Master."

  "Hey, beggars can't be choosers. Take it or leave it, kiddo." Master swatted his right hand at me.

  This old man... He's trying to squeeze more milk out of a cow.

  "…Fine. But if you pull any more weird stuff, I'll send you to the next life myself."

  Master's skeleton hand reached out, waiting for me to grab it. "We got a deal. Let's shake on it, ser—er, student!"

  I grabbed his hand, and crushed it.

  "You almost called me a servant."

  "Ooo~ I didn't! I didn't!" He winced. "Ya sure got strength, brat. What did your parents feed ya?"

  I let go of his hand, feeling a bit satisfied. "…Are you gonna tell me now?"

  "Nah. Lessons start tomorrow, kiddo. I'm sleepy. Ciao~!"

  He clapped twice then vanished in a blink of an eye.

  I turned, scanning the area for where Master had gone. I rubbed my eyes. Nothing. It was like he had never been there.

  "…He vanished. Just like that? How... How is that possible?!" I turned to Lyndall, who simply shrugged.

  "I'm not going crazy, right?"

  Suddenly, a wave of drowsiness swept through me, dragging my body toward the ground.

  Yawn.

  My knees buckled. I barely caught myself with my arms, shaking my head hard as my thoughts blurred. What is this? What's happening? My body feels unbearably heavy.

  The drowsiness crept up again. My limbs felt heavier by the second, like the air itself was pressing me down.

  "So sleepy…" I tried to fight it. Slapped my face. Blinked hard. My vision narrowed anyway, the edges darkening no matter how wide I forced my eyes open.

  Too late. My body collapsed fully onto the ground. The stone was cold, but not cold enough to fight the pull of sleep.

  Before I drifted off, I felt a small hand on my forehead.

  "Goodnight, Llyne. Sweet dreams."

  Lyndall's voice was the last thing I heard before the darkness took me.

  This chapter marks a shift from pure horror to twisted mentorship and world-lore buildup.

  Expect more banter, secrets, and revelations about this place in the next few chapters.

  Thanks for reading and for the continued support.