𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈 • 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

...

How long has it been since you’ve met Bierce? Two weeks? You didn’t bother to calculate, but assumed anyway.

You already got two ring pieces from two nightmares and each one of them granted you two different abilities; Speed Boost and Teleportation. Their experience was enjoyable. They made you feel powerful and strong in some way, perhaps because these abilities allow you to run in an inhumane speed and maybe even manipulate the space by going from here to there in no time, without even the need to move your legs. Or perhaps because they are simply magical?

After all, there were still more nightmares to go, eight of them if curious to know. The next portal already opened, flashing red and revealing an icon of a man wearing a weird hat, with a mad grin stuck on his face. The unsettling sight sent shivers down your spine. Why did this portal look more intimidating than the previous ones? Well, it’s not like the monkeys with the sharp teeth and knives for hands or the little girl - who is supposed to be called ‘Agatha’ - with her longs claws and rotten appearance haven’t scared the bloody hell out of you.

But you’ve just been wondering what would this portal offer of obstacles and environment for you. Think about it; this man looks like a pirate, look at his hat. What if you arrive in a ship floating in the ocean, probably even in the middle of a storm? That would make sense, right? Or at least that were just your expectations.

You remembered some things pirates do to strangers on their boats, like Captain Hook from Peter Pan. They force that foreigner to walk on a piece of wood to jump off and drown in water, probably even get killed by some aquatic creature, like a shark or a crocodile, or they simply kill that person on their own.

Which is worse to your opinion? Being eaten alive, drowning or being stabbed with a pirate’s sword? After all, these are just expectations, they don’t really have to be true anyways.

What if it ended up being something completely different?

You had to get into it anyway. You had to get these ‘Soul Shards’ or whatever, even if you really hated this job Bierce gave you. You had no choice after all.

You pulled your hair into a ponytail, took your tablet and entered the portal. You found yourself in a red hallway - just like the previous nightmares - but this time it had pits with spikes. You used your Teleportation to get to the other floor and it worked until you came to the end. You heard distorted and barely audible screams and laughter as you approached the door and entered it.

Everything went black and silent until your vision was back again and you found yourself in one of the scariest yet most marvelous places you’ve ever been. You were in some kind of an entrance to a Buckingham palace. There was a big beautiful fountain taking almost all of the space available for it, looking like a pool. It was also night as well and the moon was full, the moonlight gave the place an attractive shiny blue colour.

“Keep your eyes open. The statues in this place are awfully life-like.” Bierce warned in a soft tone through your tablet.

You stopped at your tracks once you’ve spotted a statue saluting (at God knows at what or who) in the staircase, still and motionless. You slowly walked towards it, not very sure if it was safe or not.

You examined its appearance in curiosity. First of all it was all golden and shiny, and it was a litlle difficult for you to identify its physical features. What firstly caught your attention was how its face was the same as the one you’ve seen in the portal and it wore the same hat as well. You continued observing it; it had a smile on its face... Ahem- grin! Yeah, definitely a grin! His hair was curly and tied into a tiny ponytail. He wore an elegant and classic golden outfit, something a gentleman from the 18th century would wear.

You liked how fancy the statue appeared to be, it really did give the impression of a gentleman. You’ve always loved these 18th century, classic things and antiques. However this wasn’t United Kingdom, was it? You’re in a nightmare, this statue is supposed to be a threat. A danger. Not some decoration created by a sculptor.

Before you continued to take the stairs, you looked over to see a golden sign with a “Beyond these gates, Judgment awaits” quote written on it in a cursive font style. You didn’t understand what it meant, but it did quite rhythm, don't you agree? Something poetic and artistic that - in some odd way - did fit this place.

You opened the gates and took one last glance at the statue, making sure it didn’t do anything, before continuing.

There were some phrases written on the walls like “Never look away” and “They're always watching”. These quotes seemed like a warning, possibly from a previous visitor to this place? You had the guts that these statues would be chasing and hunting you down and trying to kill you while you’re not looking at them, which was what the phrases held of meaning, right? You had to never look away from them because they ‘are always watching’, which was what you were considering to do so.

Before you opened the gates, you looked at the right wall to see a phrase that read “Libera Tutumet”... What bloody hell does this even mean? You assumed it was Latin, because of the structure of the words, but you didn’t quite know what it meant. Something like freedom or liberty.. or whatever.

You rolled your eyes and opened thegate and found yourself in another zone similar to the previous one, except that there were two smaller fountains, one on each of the right and left side. You swore you saw something in the center of the place. You walked forward to see it clearly and there you found - yet again - another statue saluting (at absolutely nothing). Though this one looked different than the previous one you encountered.

This one was made of grey stone and wore the exact same hat as the other statue. It had straight hair, again tied to a ponytail except it was longer. Its facial structure and clothing was a lot different from the previous one; it was shorter and it wore a  thick coat, a cravat, a bowtie and a strap. It wasn’t all that fancy as the other one in the entrance of the nightmare, but still, you had to admit it or ‘he’ was a fancy boy, even though it had cracks on itself.

You almost jumped at the sudden snicker coming from behind you. You abruptly glanced behind you to see where the sound came from and to your horror, the statue was now facing you. You widened your eyes and sweatdropped in dread.

Did that statue just move? Did it just laugh?

You stood there for a few seconds, studying the statue, not moving nor breaking eye contact from it. You didn’t know wether looking away would be safe. Would it? It’s just the beginning of the nightmare, you haven’t even seen a signal Soul Shard yet and weird things are already happening. You finally dared to avert your head back to the gates.

Yet again, a maniacal laugh could be heard from the distance, startling you and making you yelp.

Once you held yourself together again, you looked behind you to check on the statue, just for you to feel a wave of anxiety strike you once you witnessed it had disappeared.

Where the bloody hell did it go?

Your hands trembled, heart hammering and your throat thickened, making it hard for you to breath properly. You looked around you, seeking for any trace of it left. It wasn’t anywhere. You just hoped it wouldn’t appear again.

You looked at your tablet to check the map. You zoomed out and the tablet revealed the full structure of this zone. It was a hedge maze. That didn’t give you any satisfaction nor relieve the sudden fear that just hit you a few seconds ago.

Now you had to deal with getting lost in such a place. Great. Just great.

You didn’t complain though. At least you had your tablet to guide you, that was the fortunate thing. As long as you have your map in your hands, you’re going to be safe from any dead ends or corners.

“Let’s begin.”

𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 ࿐