Somehow, Dead House looks even creepier than usual. I mean, it could be worse. There could be this great big storm.
Nothing is of importance right now. All Lisa found were two frogs, who were nothing but corpses. We continue searching the massive library until I see an old newspaper. On it…is an advertisement.
"Revenge R Us." I read. "Payback or your money back."
"More like quarterback." Lisa jokes. "Still, I know just the guy to hire a company like that…"
"Yeah. So why hasn't he already? And why were these two frogs inside?"
Suddenly, we hear thunder boom. And then, a massive shadow looks down at us, from outside the window with red glowing eyes and large bird-like wings! I have to admit, it's creepy! It's so nightmarish I feel my mind go faint…
Suddenly, the shadow stretches across the floor. It rises up the chamber door. As if an evil demon of ancient yore…
DARKNESS THERE. AND NOTHING MORE.
The world pulses a crimson red as if from bloody gore. Like a maddening evil of forgotten lore. And the dark mind that whispered that word as a roar…soon rose from the blackness like a hound of war.
Quoth the raven: "NEVERMORE."
Suddenly, all returns to normal as I regain what sanity I may have lost. Lisa is internally panicking as we notice what's watching us: A little black bird.
"Is that a crow or a raven?" She stammers. "Because it's really creeping me out either way. Hope this doesn't end up a murder…"
Right. Always joking to ease the tension. Its yellow eyes only glare at us.
"How did you find this cursed place?" She growled.
Lisa and I nearly screamed at this. The raven TALKED!
"Uh…" She stammered. "We happened to…find it, one day. Uh, he got lost in the woods and later showed it to me…"
The raven only tilts her head.
"How much do you know of the Dead House?" She asked.
"It used to be the home of a horror author." I answered. "R.L. Stine. He vanished 30 years ago. He lived in this place called Dark Falls, but ever since an accident happened there, no one has seen him since."
"We found his journal, and it says something took him." Lisa adds. "Apparently he managed to seal this evil dummy named Slappy away, along with the rest of his monsters. It wanted revenge, so it abducted him to torment for all eternity. We're trying to find where he is and rescue him."
The raven seems intrigued. "Revenge…that is a concept I am all too familiar with."
Suddenly, she teleports in a black shadowy mist so she sits on a nearby chair.
"Call me Maggie. As you may have noticed, I am no ordinary crow."
"Oh, sorry. I keep thinking you're a raven." Lisa chuckles.
"I am familiar with who may have taken the man you speak of. But his name is too terrifying to speak of. Even Slappy himself panics at that name. Instead, he is known only as…the God of Shadows."
God of Shadows? My mind flashes back to our battle with the Shadow Lord. He mentioned that the God of Shadows was far more powerful than he was…and the Shadow Lord defeated us like we were nothing!
"At his beck and call is an army of Shadow Demons. Twisted malfested deformed abominations, the black abyss hiding their true forms. Teeth sharp enough to crush diamonds. Claws powerful enough to tear even metal to shreds. All hidden under a black cloak of pure darkness."
Of course…I remember! That's the description of the Shadow Lord! And he said that there were many more LIKE him! More Shadow Demons!
"The Shadow God himself even cursed me to become a Shadow Demon. Hence why I wield magic dark and terrible. Although I escaped the realm in which the god resided, I found myself a danger. A monster. A weapon. One that a human called Iris soon found, and took for her own. With my power, she became a witch. She had been tormented like I had too, under the belief of witchcraft. Thus…we formed a business focusing on one thing: Vengeance."
"Revenge R Us…" I realize. "That's you?!"
"The other animals called me the Shadow of Vengeance. And rightfully so. I could curse anyone to do what I desired. But I learned that I had a limit to this curse of my own. I could only cast three spells per day. Should I cast a fourth, the spell backfires upon me. The same goes for whoever casts the spells using me as their vessel. For magic is a powerful force in which the mortal mind knows frighteningly little about."
"You're saying we shouldn't use magic because it's dangerous?"
"Only in the hands that have no idea how to use it. Such was the tale of the Brills."
She points a wing to the dead mindless frogs, laying still on the floor as if food for her.
"Wade and Micah had a fierce sibling rivalry in human life. A rivalry which knew no equal. Believed and seen as perfect by his family, unable to do any wrong, Micah was an attractive boy. But he sought only one thing for his younger sister Wade. Torment. Hiding the true monster underneath, he made her life a living hell. Humiliation, embarrassment, and complete and total harassment all day, every day. Every chance he got."
"Wow…" Lisa says. "Thank god MY older brother never does that to me. Can't read through my diary if I HAVE no diary."
"With no one else to help her, Wade turned to us for vengeance. However, Micah soon learned of her plan, how and why is beyond me. But he paid Iris to make sure his torment to Wade continued. Any curse she inflicted on him would be reflected back on her. Ultimately, he even fooled her by pretending to have been erased from existence. Iris played a part in this prank, making up a sister for herself and me: Paula and Minnie, both hiding within this very house. Moved here from Dark Falls by the Shadow God himself. As a death trap. Should anyone enter this house and remain for too long, either to spend the night or just another dare, they will be trapped inside when the sun rises. And when the rooms begin shifting as the spirits emerge…they will never be seen again…"
We gasp.
"Are there any exceptions?" I ask. "We have our own dummy Rocky here watching the place!"
"He has no soul to take. He is unable to join the unresting poltergeist spirits of all those the house has devoured in its slumber during the day. And Micah was a fool here, to make Wade suffer here of all places. For it was the last time he would ruin her life. And thus ruin his own as well…"
"You killed them…didn't you?"
"Having snapped from countless torments, Wade managed to snatch me and abused the power of my Shadow Magic, going mad from what no mortal mind should ever have. She exhausted Micah with eternal backflips, his lungs burning as he still went even when he could do no more. Then he was transformed, deformed into a slug. And then, the final spell turned him into a frog. Iris was furious at Wade's theft, but her twisted mind desired this power all for herself. She tried backstabbing Iris with the same curse that befell her brother…only for I to backstab her. Thus, she became a frog as well, gaining the mind as one alongside Micah. They remained here, ignorant of all the danger and trying to get the many flies hiding in this unholy ground. And when the sun rose the next day…"
We look back at the lifeless frogs. Their skin is gray rather than green. As if their very soul was sucked out of their body. Lisa only winces with an "Oooooo…."
"The Shadow God has claimed their souls because they died by the curse he had placed upon this house. As with the rest of its victims, their souls were transformed into mindless Shadow Demons. Void of all memories, knowing nothing of their life, of emotion, of anything. A blank slate. Merely puppets. Obeying the call of their dark master…"
"So…there IS a way to turn humans that are animals BACK into humans, right?"
Maggie suddenly teleports right into Lisa's face, staring her dead in the eye! She screams and stumbles back, falling flat on her back.
"No." She says coldly. "It is a punishment for those souls, dabbling in something they had no idea how to control. Now the magic controls THEM, and they will remain those beasts…forevermore."
If Murkin's serum was to be used on them, then…maybe THAT is why it would be temporary! But Larry was always a dog, right?
"I take it you're not on our side or Slappy's?" I ask.
"I am on NO one's side." Quoth the raven, her eyes glowing a deathly red. "I am neither good nor evil. I am merely the shadow that is cast, always watching how it all unfolds. But now that you have seen me, know this. I am an omen. An omen of horror beyond imagination that is yet to come. The Shadow God knows of your plans. And once his master arrives in this dimension, it will be the damnation of you all."
"The Shadow God has a master?!" I ask. "W-Who is it?!"
Maggie only stares deep into our souls as she gains three pupils in her red eyes, as well as in a third eye on her forehead. Suddenly, the world goes red again. This time, we see a giant cosmic horror watching us from above the stars. The closest my mind can comprehend of it is this: A celestial octopod figure, clad in robes, sitting on a black stone monolith throne of mortal agony. It holds a powerful staff, the tip having an octopoid face with green glowing eyes, in its massive clawed hand, cosmic matter forming dragon wings on the being's back. Clouds as red as blood form massive tentacles large enough to crush planets in its otherworldly grip.
"IN ITS DIMENSION DARK AND DREAMING,
THE GREAT OLD ONE AWAITS, ALL-SEEING.
A COSMIC ABOMINATION OF PURE CALAMITY,
IT SEEKS TO RENDER ALL INTO INSANITY.
MADNESS WILL CONSUME ALL OMNIVERSES,
ITS VOICE DRIVING MAD ALL WHO HEARS THIS.
ITS NAME TO MUCH FOR ANY TONGUE TO ADHERE,
THE CLOSEST GUESS BEING THE ONE CALLED FEAR.
ITS AWAKENING ENDED ITS OWN DIMENSION,
NOW IT SEEKS TO CONSUME ALL OF CREATION.
FOR THAT IS NOT DEAD WHICH CAN ETERNAL LIE,
AND WITH STRANGE AEONS, EVEN DEATH MAY DIE."
And then, silence. Silence, as the bird is gone. Silence, as the world returns to normal. Silence, as the entire house goes still.
"My god…" I whisper. "It's worse than I imagined…MUCH worse…"
Awakening ended its own dimension? That can only mean one thing…
Azathoth. Fear is Azathoth…
