"He knows the truth"
"She died again"
"Was there ever a she?"
"Was there ever a he"
Two puppets, Parrah and Noya smirked with their lifeless wooden mouths as best they could, their hands above their chin to cover up whatever laughter was trying to claw its way out of the void within their mouths.
Judging the character before them, a hollow boy with purple eyes and wavering will. Poor Hansel walked on with heavy steps, ignoring the puppets and slaying whatever stray nightmare saw him as an easy meal. A path of blood trailed before him, though he didn't seem to care. His high heeled boots were stained in dry black, and his empty eyes looked on, hopeful perhaps some delusion might snap him into reality
A reality where he knew who he was. Not just knowing he's Hansel, but what it is he truly is. The poor boy tries to remember more about his past, trying to remember more of who he was before his sister, before the witch and the breadcrumbs and the house in the woods
As he took a look at a serpentine nightmare, the image of a rope somehow burned in his vision, gasping for air and choking out the only two words he could manage
"I'm dead" He whispered
As suddenly as he spoke these words, a piercing headache began to cut through his thoughts, radiating heat and cold across his whole body, his every muscle stinging and joints feeling as though they're being ripped apart by the hinges.
"I can't... breath"
Hansel falls to his knees and drops the lantern Gretel held so dear, the flames that spilled erupting and burning dry grass nearby, their purple flames emitting a faint glow in front of him, illuminating a place that wasn't in front of him before, revealing around him a small room, trash bags and instant ramen cups scattered all over a foreign, yet somehow familiar floor
He sees a screen, then a wave of comments
Then, almost as though naturally, Gretel speaks up
"I don't need any of you! I just want my brother"
Her eyes widen and a tired look goes across his face. Seemingly out of reflex, Hansel call out in an irritated tone
"Hey, who's been bothering my little sister? Cut it out!"
Hansel looks into the flames, and see's Gretel's face, knowing it's his own, but not knowing if it is truly his.
The flames flicker for an instant, and he gets snapped back into Library, seeing a hungry wolf-like nightmare with fierce eyes and a ferocious appetite approach him slowly. As Gretel gasps for air and draws his blade, his eyes catch a flicker of the purple flames now roaring around him, where he sees not just a monitor screen, but a long, tightly knotted noose hanging above
Before he realizes what's going on, he feels the rope tightly wrapped around his neck, clawing at his flesh while the nightmare approaches him from the front, its snarling mouth drooling from the anticipation of a snack
The one who hangs feels rage, disgust, and hatred. Screaming out from the deepest part of his very being, he curses everyone who doubted him, those who doxed him. He cursed and spat at the ones who took away his only safe haven, blaming them as the ones who drove him to take his own life.
Before he could finish, however, the pain became so intense that he collapsed. The nightmare, afraid from the sudden cursing, lashing, and screeching, turned and fled. Seeing this, Hansel laughs at himself.
He looked at the monitor between the flames and saw the flow of comments, those who said it was a fake suicide, and others who didn't know what to do, pointing fingers at who to blame and trying to pass any guilt or fault they might have had towards another
Hansel didn't care for any of this after the pain began to calm. He didn't know what doxing was, and for that matter, he didn't know what a monitor was. The words simply entered his mind, and yet he knew not what a single one meant, nor how they related to his purpose.
He lay there, face down on the floor as the purple flames began to die down, thinking not of the empty room and long lost memory, but rather of a way to bring back his authors and acquire a purpose, a dream and a wish for which he could live and die for without a sister, without anyone else to lead him.
Hansel would continue to trek alone, slaying monsters and playing the pair of twisted puppets' game. The game of killing with no end, only a pile of bodies, and a mountain of dread awaiting him. It was this hope he wished to cling to, having his wish come true. It was for this he decided to live for. He decided to cave in, and live for the sake of a simple delusion, of a lie he could tell himself to live on forever and never look back
For he is Hansel, and Delusion is his sin
