"Come on, wanna go see how haunted that mansion really is?" The boy could hardly contain his excitement as he spoke.
His two friends-his only audience- frowned in response, reluctant to give him their answer. They couldn't be fooled by such superstitions as ghosts, nor where they motivated to spend their time disproving their existence. Yet somehow, they just couldn't find it in themselves to say no to their eager friend, perhaps due to his eloquence. Or, to be frank, his persistence.
The entrance was heralded by abandoned spider webs, decrepit walls and frayed curtains. Unfortunately, there were no spectres to speak of. The boy had little need of his ghosts now though, for the trembling sign of fear that gripped his friends served more than adequately as his entertainment for the day.
So our intrepid leader took point, taking his exploration party deeper into the dust-veiled interior of the old mansion. He brought his attention to a single book laid atop an aging podium- a sure sign that no pages of content were more worthy of reading than those found within this centerpiece on display. Its words were still legible, if only just, and apart from the rest of its treatise on keeping close relationships unbroken, it offered a dire warning:
Desecrating that which does not belong to you will bring nothing but punishment.
That which you love will inevitably become the greatest of your fears.
When, during the syzygy, three elements must become two, which one will you discard?
If it had been a spell from a witch's book, the three juveniles lacked the knowledge to understand it. Nonetheless, they would soon regret having brought life to the words upon the page.
From out of the darkness, shackles appeared and bound the three together with unbreakable chains that only they could see.
Doomed to keep each other's company eternally.
