A dark fairy tale about traps, lures and falling for shadows.
When you see an eldritch dark horror made of shadows by the side of an old cursed trail that no one dares to go, you expect it to be less charming as it tries to trick you with deceitful...
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Art by James Fenner (@JMFenner91 on Twitter)
I leaned against the boulder, gathering the last shreds of strength I had left in me with slow and quiet exhales before I finally turned to the forest and walked towards it.
The dark mass of trees loomed over in the distance, its ominous presence weighing down on me with each step I took closer to the border. An explosion of Red Drops bloomed all over the grass, their sweet floral fragrance lingering in the air, so dense and poignant, it was almost dizzying to the senses.
A tall shadow stood at the forest's edge, waiting patiently for me, and when he saw me drawing near, Erebus walked up to me, opening a path in a sea of Red Drops. The fragrance emanating from the flowers became even more poignant when he stepped over them, delicate petals pressed underneath his feet. The scent filled up my lungs, coating me in red from the inside.
The trees in the background distorted as if they were pulled in by an invisible force, like a black hole sucking everything to its core. The air suddenly had a different smell to it, something that seemed foreign and familiar at the same time.
The moonlight glowed in unsteady waves over the canopy of the trees and the sound of the wind along with the crunch of grass and leaves on the ground suddenly were amplified. I think I could even hear the forest breathing, the trees swelling and constricting inside their trunks, in sync with the pulse of a beating heart...
Was it my heart that I was hearing, thumping so loudly inside my chest?
The whole world felt like a fever dream, wild and surreal.
As I walked to the forest's edge, something glinted on the grass, making me stop. I kneeled on the grass to inspect it and found the same knife that I had been stabbed with, in the night I was attacked by the boy from Jeff's Dirty Gang. A morbid curiosity made me pick up the blade.
Dry, caked-up blood was still on the blade. Old blood. My blood.
There was blood on my hand too, I realized as I held the knife. Slick, red, and new. I had been pressing my hand against the wound in my chest for a while. I was still bleeding out.
For a moment, I thought about ending my life. The means to do it were right here, in my hands. I could plunge this damn thing right into my heart... It would be swift and quick, I wouldn't have to worry about being chased out of my village or people accusing me of being the devil and coming after me with torches and pitchforks. I wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore.
With this knife, I could end it once and for all.
'Why would you do such a thing?' Erebus' voice prickled into my head, startling me. I glanced up, towards the forest's edge as he stepped forward with his mantle of flowing shadows.
