Twisted Wonderland: Welcome to the Villain's World

Chapter 1: Stranger's Awakening

Darkness surrounded every inch of the void. No sign of light or hope as a mysterious traveler, Auvilan Yuuh, continuously fell into nothingness. This suffocating atmosphere wrapped it's black claws around his body and pulled him down deeper into its abyss. There was no where to run, and no way of escape, no matter where he looked. He was trapped. Yet, falling into a deep slumber was the last thing the brunet remembered. He had since forgotten how long he had been drifting in this dull, lifeless limbo. Perhaps it had only been a few minutes, but those few minutes felt like eternity. Was he even still asleep?
Suddenly, from within the veil of darkness, a voice could be heard breaking through the silence. "For me. For them. For you. We are all running out of time. No matter what, never let go of my hand." Right after that, a hand emerged, reaching out to the one who continued to sink. The stranger, drowning within the darkness, extended his own hand in return. Once both hands grasped onto each other, tightly, a blinding light emitted from the black void, forcing the brunet to shut his eyes.

°l|✧⃝|l°

Once more, darkness was the only thing that Auvilan saw as he opened his eyes again. He heard nothing either, but no longer felt that feeling of his body sinking anymore. Instead, his back seemed to be laying against a hardened surface. What was it, though? It certainly didn't feel like the soft surface of a bed mattress. He tried to stretch his arms, but found that something was keeping him restricted from moving around. That was when a dreaded realization hit the boy's mind: he was trapped in some sort of box.
After a moment, the brunet heard scurrying sounds on the other end of whatever barrier was covering the top of the box. "What's that sound?" he quietly questioned, hoping it wasn't anything dangerous. After all, he would have nowhere to run.
"Crap. People are coming, I gotta get a uniform while..." a voice trailed off, followed by a frustrated growl. "The lid is too heavy! Time for...my secret move! There!" Right as the voice finished speaking, a loud whooshing sound could be heard, along with an intense heat following shortly after.
The overwhelmingly hot temperature made Auvilan panic. "Is that fire?!" he exclaimed, now beginning to squirm in attempts to escape, somehow. Although, once he pushed on the lid of the box, it flew open without much effort.
On the other side, Auvilan was met with a strange looking creature. The sight caused a startled expression to appear on his face, while the creature looked equally surprised. "Gahhh! Why are you up?" the creature questioned, which only freaked the brunet out even more.
"A talking w-weasel?" Auvilan exclaimed in shock and confusion. Last he checked, animals from Earth could not talk, nor did they have strange flaming-ears and a forked-tail. Along with the weird talking creature, he noticed that he was in a dark room filled with floating coffins. Wait...coffins? Is that what I was in?! he thought, which only further increased the perturbed feelings he had. Now, he was praying that this was a crazy dream and that he would wake up soon.
"Just who are you calling a weasel? I am the Great Grim!" the creature shot back angrily. He stood on his hind legs and set his two front paws on his hips, saying, "Well, whatever. Hey, human! Hurry and give me those clothes!"
Auvilan took a second and glanced down, noticing his attire has completely changed. He was no longer wearing his simple t-shirt and sweatpants that he had when he remembered going to bed. Now, they were replaced with a black and purple robe with gold trimming and embroidery. This surely wasn't something he expected to ever wear, and he wouldn't be caught dead in something like this. Auvilan's thoughts were interrupted when Grim suddenly threatened to roast him alive if he didn't give him the robe. "Ugh- I didn't ask to get roasted by a talking weasel!" Thus, Auvilan swiftly took off, wanting to get as far away from this wild little monster as possible.
Through the hallways, rooms, and courtyard, the boy ran. He did not bother to stop as he could hear the angry little beast behind him. Eventually, Auvilan ran back into the building and found himself in the library. He had to stop and take a breather, believing he had lost the crazy, fire-breathing weasel. "Sheesh...if this is a dream, I want to wake up..." he grumbled in between breaths. He didn't like being in such a strange place with no way of escape. Where even was he? Can't he just go home now?
Once more, Auvilan's thoughts were disrupted as flames suddenly jumped out at him. "Did you really think you could escape me? You dumb human!" Grim had caught up and wore a smug grin as he ran over. "If you don't wanna get roasted, then you better hand over-" the talking creature couldn't finish his sentence when there was a loud whoosh that cut through the air, and now the little beast yowled in pain. "Ow! What's with this rope?"
"That is no rope. It is the lash of love," a strange voice suddenly piped up from behind Auvilan. "Ah, found you, at last. Are you one of the new students?"
Auvilan turned around to see a man clad in a formal suit with black bird feathers adorning his coat and one placed in his top hat. He could not see the strange man's face as it was concealed behind a bird mask, which looked to be of a crow. Two glowing, gold dots for eyes could be seen, while strands of black hair framed the sides of his face.
"You shouldn't do things like that. Leaving the Gate on your own," the man scolded, crossing his arms. "Not only that, you have yet to tame your familiar, which has violated multiple school rules."
Auvilan stood with a confused look, but that confusion soon turned to mild irritation. Who was this guy, and why in the world was he already accusing him of something he did not do? Needless to say, it made the brunet's blood simmer. He hated being blamed for something he was not responsible for. He didn't even know that troublesome beast and yet he was being blamed for the things that creature did? It was ridiculous!
"Let me go! I'm not their freakin' familiar!" Grim suddenly protested as the man grabbed a hold of, and restrained, him.
"Sure, sure. It's always the rebellious ones that say that. Just pipe down for a moment." The mysterious man covered Grim's mouth, muffling his speech. "My goodness. It's unprecedented for a new student to leave the Gate on their own. Ugh...how impatient can you be?" the masked man grumbled, before informing Auvilan about a sort of entrance ceremony, which was already taking place in a room called the Mirror Chamber. When Auvilan asked about what exactly the "Gate" was, the older man explained that it was the room he arrived in, and that all students who wished to attend must pass through one of those said gates, or doors. After that, the man urged for the boy to follow him.
Reluctantly, Auvilan followed the masked man, who introduced himself by the name of Dire Crowley. He was the headmage of this prestigious school known as Night Raven College. It appears Auvilan had found himself in this bizarre world: Twisted Wonderland. The headmage explained that in this world, some people had the ability to possess and use magic. That was where Night Raven College came in, for it was a school dedicated to educating these said magic users and allowing for them the potential of becoming great magicians. Apparently, only those selected by the Dark Mirror can attend the college. The chosen students were met with a Black Carriage, which carries the Gateway to the school.
However, Auvilan had no memory of seeing a Black Carriage. Then again, he did remember hearing faint noises at one point before he woke up in the coffin. Perhaps that was the sounds of him being carried in the said carriage?
Once the explanations were over, Crowley had told Auvilan to continue following him for this "entrance ceremony." As the brunet was following the man, he started to wonder if this was going to play out like those cliché horror movie scenes: follow a strange figure and you end up dead by morning. Just the thought made the boy shudder, and he made a mental note to prepare himself to run if needed.

Translations by: Shel_bb