A familiar smell surrounds the area. You can't remember, but you know this... UGH...!
Your head convulses suddenly and you grab it with both your hands. You can feel your eyes tremble in their sockets as you fall down onto your knees, making the cold, hard floor produce a dull echo.
Crap... Crap... This is... the smell of something horrible... This is a smell devoid of life. This is the smell of death.
Your eyes slowly rise up and you see the corpse's miserable condition. Half of its upper body is literally gone, almost as if it had been vaporized. The remaining half isn't exactly pretty to look at. Pieces of muscle tendons and ligaments are scattered in a polka-dot formation. The two legs are still intact, but black liquid is... Wait, black...? That... isn't exactly the color you associate with a corpse, right?
You hadn't noticed it before, but the corpse appears to be completely black. So much so, that it appears to be more like a shadow than anything. And another thing... There is a dark blue mask situated on its head. From here you can clearly see, "XII" inscribed.
It's official. You're in another crazy dream. But you've never seen this corpse before, at least... You think so. Still, you severely doubt that you would forget a sight in the first place. Unless this is your brain's crazy idea of...
Was that... a growl?
You glance behind you and find that the corpse is up and at it. Without hesitation, it dashes forward and attempts to latch onto you. Instinctively, you step to the side and avoid your assailant.
Your mind can barely process what happened just now. The corpse is moving? But how and why is it... Crap, you can't think with your heart wanting to burst out of your chest. With no other options left, you decide to make a run for it.
Huff... huff...
Somehow you managed to enter the tower and seal off the entrance so Mr. Zombie couldn't get to you. You don't know why you ran so fast though. The thing was actually pretty slow. In any case, you decide to lean on a nearby wall and figure out your next course of action.
... Been a while since you've had a nightmare. Although you don't remember your dreams being so damn detailed. Usually your nightmares are simple like getting beat up by a tricycle gang, finding out that all your food was gone from the fridge, and swimming.
But instead of simple, you're presented with an elaborate lobby, much like those found in fancy castles. Above you is a glass chandelier and underneath you is a red carpet. You wouldn't have guessed the interior looked this nice, judging by the exterior. Before you are six pearl white columns situated to the side of you to present a view of a gloriously grand staircase that would make your late great-uncle (who made a small fortune off making cupholders for various objects), blush.
After a moment of deliberation, you decide to venture in and see what's up with this place. You don't really have any options at this point. So, like all journeys, you begin yours with a single step and...
All of the sudden, the chandelier crashes down and lands five feet in front of you. You topple backwards and look in horror as something emerges from the center of the fallen chandelier.
Your eyes can't identify what it is. It looks like a big blob... But you can't make out any details. Nevertheless, the sheer presence of this thing is staggering. You can feel your bones tremble in fear.
In a nanosecond, you see something fly towards you and subsequently pierce your stomach all the way through.
