In response to the guest who asked if the story was over since I didn't update last Friday: nope!


The instant Eve's foot crossed the threshold of the foreboding arch in the woods, her surroundings changed completely for the second time that day.

She knew immediately that this place was worse than the last one.

She had expected this—she had expected bad things when she set out, and she had known that she undoubtedly should not cross through the arch. But she did it anyway because it was an adventure, and adventure was what she was looking for. This place, though—this place made her wonder if it was worth it.

She wasn't in the forest anymore. She wasn't even outside now. The other side of the arch was a hallway. The walls were a dark gray, and it seemed almost more like a tunnel than a hallway, as if it had been carved out of stone inside a mountain. As far as she could tell, there was no light coming from anywhere, though it was just barely bright enough for her to see her immediate surroundings.

Over all, the appearance of Eve's surroundings did not give off a friendly vibe. However, more concerning was the magical aura of the place. There was a feeling of gloominess and despair in the air. Eve could feel magical fear trying to press in on her, and she mentally pushed it back to the best of her ability. Even more obvious than the depressing mood and intimidating appearance was the unmistakable presence of danger. She could feel the danger from every direction.

Eve instinctively turned around with the intent to leave. She had already gotten herself into more trouble than she could handle, and this was way past just adventure. This place meant big trouble, and if she stayed, she would be very unlikely to make it out alive.

As she turned around, Eve's stomach dropped, a sense of dread falling over her. Of course the way out was gone. Any magical place with such an air of pure malevolence would not make it so easy for anyone who wandered in to just walk right back out. All right then, she supposed. If she couldn't back out, she'd just have to go on through.

Pushing down the fear growing inside her, Eve cautiously started forward. She could see no other way to go, so what else was there for her to do? She refused to just stand still and wait for her inevitable unpleasant death.

Walking through the long, dark, scary hallway, Eve could almost feel the fear like a physical force. The darkness here seemed oppressive, like a living malevolent entity. She took a deep breath to calm herself and continued to move forward slowly.

It struck her as strange that there was no one here. Despite the fact that she could see no one, Eve could tell that she was not truly alone. The evil that she could feel in this place didn't just appear out of nowhere. It stemmed from something—probably a living being. Whether the source of the evil was living or not, whatever (extremely cursed) thing that radiated all this energy so strongly was around here somewhere. And since she was now inside, she was trapped in the same confines as it was, even if it was a large space. The thought gave her shivers.

Then another thought occurred to her. It was improbable (but not impossible) that all this dark energy was from one being. The more likely explanation was that there were many, though that thought certainly didn't make her feel any better about it. In fact, that made it all the more strange that there was no one or thing around. Eve did not feel comforted by the realization.

Despite all of the signs of her surroundings, in accordance with her own instincts, telling her not to go any further into this cursed place, Eve went forward. As she walked, the hallway did not get darker for lack of light or brighter with any new light sources. It stayed the same, but as she paid more attention, the light almost seemed to flicker across the floor as if it was coming from a torch, although there were no torches in sight.

Eve studied the hallway closely, looking for any rooms or passages branching off, but she saw nothing. It stayed the same. She wondered where the path went and what was at the other end.

She walked for a while longer. The hallway was disorienting; everything ahead looked the same, and everything behind looked the same. If she turned around multiple times, she wouldn't be able to tell which way she had come from.

By now, Eve had walked far enough from the start that she couldn't see it anymore. The magical fear and the aura of death and danger were as present as ever and seemed to be increasing at a steady pace. Eve was definitely getting the feelings she was supposed to be getting from those, but… in a slightly absurd twist, she could feel herself almost growing bored. Yeah, there was something scary going on here, but it was just a long, empty, boring path.

Just as she started to wonder if it really would lead anywhere at all, something changed.

It was a very slight change, but it wasn't difficult for Eve to notice after walking down the exact same hallway for so long.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were beginning to look nicer, more like a real hallway than a tunnel carved in rock.

Eve shook herself to attention, studying the difference where she was standing. She'd been walking long enough that she'd almost stopped thinking about it at all. This was new and interesting. It likely meant bad things for her, though. It was beginning to look like this hallway would lead somewhere after all.

She looked up and further down the hall in front of her and hesitantly resumed her walk. The further she went, the more it started to look like the interior of a real building. Eve started walking faster, taking longer steps. Whatever evil inhabited this place probably waited for her at the end of this hallway, but the suspense was enough to keep her going. She wanted to know where it went!

The changes in the hall became increasingly more noticeable. The ground turned from the rough, uneven ground of a cave to the smooth, polished stone floor of a nice building. The sides of the tunnel became completely vertical walls. The top started to look like a real ceiling, rounded high above.

Before long, Eve noticed that she could see something different. The hallway ended in another arch, this one with a closed door attached. This one looked just like the first one that had led her into this place, like it belonged in some sort of fancy and important castle, only the second one was not crumbling ruins. This one was obviously not abandoned.

As she got closer, Eve could see the designs on the archway more clearly, and she started to get a sinking feeling in her stomach. Engraved in the stone of the arch was a pattern consisting of tiny, detailed skulls, assorted bones, and even whole skeletons in some places.

Even without touching it, Eve could tell the door would be heavy. It was made of dark wood, the first thing she'd seen here that wasn't stone. The door was in good shape; it didn't look like it got used very often. Eve had seen some wooden doors that looked like they would give her splinters, but this was not one of them. Eve did not want to open the door.

Eve grabbed the handle of the door and, with some effort, opened it.

The door opened to a room.

This room, like the rest of the place so far, was dimly lit. Eve spared a quick glance back into the hallway behind her before she completely let go of the notion that she might turn back. She stepped into the room and, after a moment of thought, shut the door behind her. There was nowhere for her to go that way, and with it closed anyone who might have been behind her wouldn't be able to sneak up on her.

Standing with her back to the door, Eve surveyed the room in front of her. There was a small, square table in the middle with four chairs around it. There was no other furniture. There were no decorations on the wall and no other doorways that Eve could see.

Eve scrunched her brow, confused. Was this it? Just this room? It seemed…anticlimactic. All of the bad feelings that had been growing as she got further down the hallway were worse than ever here, but it was a dead end. She went to the table and walked around it, looking closely at it. Was it some kind of magical object? Or maybe the chairs? She didn't think so. Being a sort of magical creature herself, Eve was usually able to sense dark and light magic and where it came from like most magical creatures could. Eve stopped walking and looked up again.

Of course, just because she couldn't see anything else didn't mean there wasn't anything there. The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. There was probably another exit she couldn't see. She started to feel a little sick.

The magical fear, the growing sense of dread and desperation, the somehow obvious danger in an empty area—they were all starting to add together, along with the lack of exits, to point to something very, very bad for anyone trespassing (also known by the name of Eve). The darkness. The drawings on the doorway. Where was she, anyway?

Eve was starting to think she had an idea, and it was not looking good for her.

Suddenly, she felt a cold presence behind her. She was not alone anymore.

Eve whirled around and found herself face-to-face with what she assumed was a wraith, which seemed to have come out of nowhere. Despite everything, she couldn't help but be a little curious. She'd never seen a wraith before. She opened her mouth to say something, but the wraith beat her to it.

"A trespasser in the land of the undead," the wraith said in a haunting, whispery voice.

Eve stared at it and tried to think of a response. "Sorry."

The wraith had begun to move toward her, but it paused at this. "The trespasser speaks in my presence," it said. It seemed surprised.

"Uh…yeah," Eve answered lamely. "Please don't kill me?"

That seemed to remind the wraith of its job. "Trespassers must die," it hissed.

Eve jumped back as quickly as she could. "No, thanks!" She didn't want to die! She shouldn't have done this in the firs place. What had she been thinking?

The wraith froze in place again. "It seems you will not die today," it sighed. "Not by my hand, at least."

Eve stood very still. She didn't want to aggravate it, but… "What?" she asked.

"New orders," the wraith said. "The Underking will see the trespasser. Follow me."

The wraith started to the door Eve had used to enter the room. She followed. She didn't see another choice. It seemed that the thought she'd had before had been right: this was the Under Realm. What a mess she had gotten herself into! "Why does the Underking want to see me?" she asked. "Can't I just go home? I got lost."

"The Underking does not tolerate trespassers," the wraith responded, ignoring the rest of Eve's statement. "Pray that he will show you mercy."


Are we running after flickering sparks?

Or are we grappling for diamonds in the dark?

The way we chase that mercury