It started simple enough.

You were running in a bright corridor. You heard faint noises from outside that sounds a lot like fighting. You passed by a window, and you backed up quickly. You peered outside, but there's only darkness. The sky was the color of licorice. You aren't really sure about a certain part of it though. Looks like a bunch of writhing mass to you. Shocking pink lightning (heh) flashes by, and you recoiled, squeaking. Rain started to fall. The water looked suspiciously dark to you, so you put out a hand and inspect the liquid. Gross, you got bunch of ink all over your hand. You made a face and wiped your hand on your shirt. Now it's smudged with ink. Why didn't you think this through? You groan and continue on running ahead.

You bolted up a staircase and remembered one joke that your friend told you once. You feel kind of sad for some reason, but whatever. The stairs here are pretty huge and scary, but it'd probably be scarier if it wasn't the color of pee. Yellow is pretty okay, so whatever. Violet and gold banners decorate the walls. It kind of gives a castle-ish vibe to this place. You continue on running ahead, taking a few breathers from time to time. Soon enough, you see the darkness ahead. It's like a weird metaphor for death, except the colors all inversed.

You stumble out in the open air. Ink splattered against your glasses, so you covered your face with your hand and examined your surroundings. You look up aaaaaaaand ugh, the sky was actuallyfilled with a bunch of writhing tentacles. Talk about gross! A bunch of calamari having some kind of dance party up there and drenching you with their defense mechanism (you think so—a friend told you once) juices. The floor had a chess theme going on, with red paint splattered all over. At least you think that it's paint. There are bunch of overturned tables and slashed pillows around. Also cakes and teas. For some reason you're thinking of licking them off the ground. What's up with you today, Egbert? Christ.

All of a sudden, you hear a loud clash of metals behind you. You whipped around. Somehow, you didn't notice the commotion behind you. How dense do you have to be to do something like that? Get your head in the game, Egbert! You don't see anything though. Until you looked up.

You regret looking up. A huge beast loomed over the horizon. A huge pawn—the one in chess—floated in the sky. Wings sprouted from its back, arms from the sides. Then a bunch of arms from the main arms, all wielding swords. A bunch of tendrils darted here and there, as if following something. On closer inspection it actually is.

A girl was darting around, holding a bunch of needles. She's even in a costume! What was she doing? Was she out of her mind?

It was a sad sight. The girl was obviously losing, but she still continued. You would cheer for her, but you're afraid that you might catch the attention of the monster. You aren't as brave as you want, but hey, huge flying beast with a bunch of arms? No freaking way… Wait a second. The writhing tentacles are coming from the girl. Huh. No wonder she's so brave, she has a bunch of sky calamari supporting her.

But apparently those horrors are just there for attacking, not defending. A tendril from the monster had hit the girl rather hard, and she literally shot a few hundred feet away with a scream. You ran towards her, and tripped on a table. Stupid lousy goddamn tables! You struggled to stand up, but a stray tentacle from a ripple of darkness in the ground wrapped itself around your feet. You felt queasy.

Suddenly, silence. The ink stopped raining down for a while. The tentacles slowly trickled down to the location where the girl landed.

"I'm afraid that the girl has gone grimdark. A state in between." You looked up, startled. The source of the voice was some kind of cat looking thing. It didn't have a face. "Do you want to help her?"

"…of course I do," you answered quietly.

"What was that? As far as I know, I'm talking to a boy, not an infant. Someone destined to be a hero, at that!"

"Yes. I want to help her!" you answered more loudly than before.

The creature seemed satisfied. "You need to sign a contract with me, then. You are destined to be powerful, and what am I to hold you back from your fate? I will grant you a wish, and power will be bestowed upon you for a small price."

You hesitated for a moment, and then you reached out to it. You heard screaming behind you, but it's too late.

"John!" a girl's voice cried.

"John, wake up!"

You sit up, heart pounding. What was that dream about? You run your fingers through your hair. "It's just a dream…" you mutter to yourself. It was so vivid, though. You yawn and stand up drowsily. Time to prepare for school, you guess.