Chapter Text
Prologue
Someone descends beneath a castle. Not a soul in the palace notices the intruder’s entrance.
Then again, how often does one look for shadows?
Someone walks down corridors flanked by cages. Most are empty. Others house the unfortunate remains of those who invoked the previous owner’s wrath.
A farce. The entire castle was a cage already.
Someone faces a golden doorframe. The gold has grown dull, cracks creeping along its once ornate sides. A heart sits atop the frame. Unlike the rest of this place, the symbol is appropriate.
Through the doorway lies the heart of this false palace.
Someone enters the doorway.
A black tendril seeps out of a crack on the cold floor. It notices the Visitor and grows into the shape of a hunched figure. Its pale face betrays little emotion, and neither do its words.
“You are not the dark-haired boy.”
The Keeper shows the faintest trace of curiosity with a slight tilt of its face.
“And yet-”
The tendril extends as the pale face stares at the Visitor closely.
“You have the same empty eyes.”
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Far away, a dark-haired boy rests with with two brothers and a girl, next to a beloved's grave.
White petals scatter across the cemetery as a gust of wind cools the group of friends.
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Somewhere else, a brown-haired boy sleeps by a hospital bed with his grandmother.
A single white petal floats in from the open window, and rests on the boy's head.
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“Interesting.”, the Keeper muses.
The Keeper and the Visitor stay silent for what feels like eternity.
Finally, the Keeper speaks.
“The boy from before. His eyes are not as empty as they once were. He’s found a reason to see.”
The Visitor remains silent.
“This place no longer has an inheritor. Though I sense you know this already.”
For the first time, the Visitor spoke.
“Will you grant me ownership of this place?”
Although a question, the Visitor phrased it like a command.
“You know what this place is, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You know what this power will do, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You know there is no turning back from this path, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then there’s nothing more to be said.”
The pale face almost looked wistful as it stared at the ceiling.
“I wonder what you will make of this place.”
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The castle’s foundation shakes violently.
Pink wallpaper peels away, revealing mossy stone underneath.
Massive vines sprout from the ground as if to sink the castle underneath the earth.
Tall trees erupt around the palace grounds, blocking off entry and exit with its thick trunks.
The vibrant palace became shrouded in overgrowth.
Flora and fauna reclaimed the once-proud monument to human excess.
Spiders from the surrounding forest swarm the estate, attracted by its deep shadows and trapped prey.
Within the palace, a dark figure sits upon a throne of willow, alone in a grand hallway.
Someone waits for the dark-haired boy’s return.
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Beneath the castle, a black tendril seeps out of a tree stump, a white egret orchid nestled at its base.