Dila’s trembling fingers clutched the candle tightly, the faint fla swaying with each unsteady breath she took. Its soft orange glow painted her pale face in trembling light, casting long, eerie shadows across the cold, concrete floor.
The basent around her was silent... too silent. The only sound was the quiet flicker... flicker... flicker of the candle’s fla and the distant hum of a computer screen, faintly glowing in the corner. Dust floated through the air, visible in the weak light, swirling like faint ghosts caught in still air.
She slowly pushed herself upright, her knees wobbling. Her bare feet t the chill of the ground again, and she winced... it felt almost alive... cold enough to bite through her skin.
Her breath ca out shaky, white mist rising from her lips in the damp air. She looked around cautiously, her heart hamring as the corners of the room seed to stretch deeper into shadow.
Her voice broke the silence in a trembling whisper. "How... how do I escape this hellhole...?" she said, clutching the candle tighter against her chest. Her eyes darted from one dark corner to another, terrified of what might move. "This is... incredibly eerie," she murmured, her tone quivering.
Her throat felt tight, her pulse racing under her skin. "I don’t want to encounter any monsters anymore... please... God, help ..."
The fla flickered violently at her words, as if reacting to her fear. For a mont, she thought she heard sothing... the faint echo of dripping water, or maybe... a whisper.
She froze, holding her breath, her eyes wide and glistening under the candlelight. The darkness didn’t move... but it felt like it was watching her.
Her fingers dug into the candle’s wax, and her voice lowered to a fragile murmur. "Please... just let wake up already..."
And still... the candle burned on... small and lonely in that endless, suffocating dark.
Dila took one shaky breath and stepped toward the stairs, the flickering candle in her hand trembling with her grip. Each creaking step groaned beneath her bare feet... creeak... creeak... echoing up through the stairwell like the house itself was alive and listening.
Her voice quivered softly, half whisper and half prayer. "Please... no more monster... please let out..." The plea broke between her breaths, fragile and trembling as if spoken through fear itself.
When she reached the top, her fingers hesitated at the old wooden doorknob. The cold tal sent a shiver up her spine. Slowly... she turned it. The latch clicked. The door creaked open.
But what waited beyond wasn’t the sa corridor she rembered.
The air felt cleaner sohow... almost too clean. The narrow hallway had beco wider now... its floor smooth, polished like freshly waxed wood that reflected faint candlelight in soft ripples. The junk and broken furniture that had once cluttered the space were gone... not even dust remained.
Yet the perfection was wrong. The paintings hung neatly along the walls, but every one of them... had been turned around. The backs of the fras faced her, hiding whatever images once stared from them. The silence around her was so thick, even her breathing sounded loud.
Her candle fla wavered as she whispered, "What... what is this...?"
Cautiously, she stepped through. The mont her foot crossed the threshold, the door behind her slamd shut—BANG!—echoing down the hall like thunder.
She spun around in panic, clutching the candle close to her chest. "Not again..." she whispered, her voice breaking.
But this ti... there was no dead end.
The hallway stretched forward endlessly... a long, unbroken corridor that seed to go on forever into the dark. The floorboards glead like new wood, but the light of her candle barely reached beyond a few steps before being swallowed by blackness.
Dila’s lips trembled. Her breath hitched as she took a step forward, the faint echo of her movent bouncing off invisible walls.
Each flicker of the candle made the turned paintings shudder with shifting shadows... as if sothing unseen was hiding just behind them, waiting.
And all she could do... was whisper again into the still air, her voice trembling, "Please... don’t let it start again..."
The silence broke with a deep, wet crack.
Dila froze mid-step, her breath catching in her throat as the ceiling above her split open like rotted wood being torn apart. Dust rained down, and from that jagged wound in the ceiling... sothing erged.
A massive, blood-soaked hand.
It wasn’t human. Its size alone nearly covered the hallway’s width, slamming down with a thundering THUD! that rattled the polished floorboards. Flesh peeled and raw, veins bulging and pulsing faintly beneath torn muscle. There was no skin left—only red, glistening tissue that dripped blood onto the wooden floor in slow, heavy drops.
Plop... plop... plop...
The stench hit her next... copper and rot, thick enough to choke the air.
Dila’s candle flickered violently in her trembling hand. Her other hand instinctively covered her mouth, muffling the strangled gasp that almost escaped. Her entire body stiffened, her knees trembling, and her wide eyes locked onto the grotesque hand now clawing against the floor.
The nails were jagged, yellow-black, caked with dried filth... curling like claws. Each ti it moved, the wood cracked beneath its weight, splintering and moaning.
Her heart pounded so fast she thought it would burst. She took one slow step backward... then another... trying not to make a sound. Her bare feet pressed against the cold wood, and every creak felt like it would give her away.
Her whisper barely left her lips.
"N-no... please no..."
The candlelight trembled along her face, reflecting in her eyes—wide, wet, and full of terror. The hallway that once looked clean and bright now felt suffocating, the air thick with decay.
That monstrous hand twitched... the fingers dragging slowly across the floor, leaving behind long, bloody streaks as if searching for sothing... or soone.
Dila’s breath ca out in shallow bursts. She could hear the faint squelch of muscle shifting above her... and the horrible realization crept in like ice—
—whatever it was attached to... might still be up there.
Then... without knowing..
Dila’s heel caught the edge of a loose floorboard.
CRACK!
"Ahhh—!" she gasped as her body went backward, hitting the floor hard. Pain shot up her spine as her back and hips smacked the wood. The candle wobbled dangerously in her hand, hot wax splattering her wrist. She hissed in pain, clutching it tighter to keep the fla alive.
For a heartbeat she just sat there, stunned, the flickering candlelight trembling against her face. Then... the air changed.
The scraping sound had stopped.
She looked up—and froze.
The enormous hand that had been dragging itself aimlessly was now completely still. The fingers lifted slightly, curling and uncurling... sniffing through the air like so kind of beast sensing prey. Then, with a slow, wet twist, the headless thing turned toward her.
Dila’s pulse roared in her ears. Her throat clenched so tightly she could barely breathe.
"No... no no..." she whispered, muffling her mouth with one hand as tears welled in her eyes.
The massive hand began to crawl toward her—its nails screeching against the floor, leaving long gouges of blood and splintered wood behind.
That was all it took.
Dila scrambled backward, kicking frantically, her bare feet slipping against the polished boards. "N-no! Please!" she cried out, her voice trembling as she clawed her way up, using the wall for balance.
Her breath ca fast and ragged. She clutched the candle close, its tiny fla flickering violently as she pushed herself forward—then she ran.
Her legs moved on pure instinct, bare feet pounding against the floor, every slap echoing through the long corridor. The hand followed. It didn’t crawl like a human... it hovered, dragging itself unnaturally close to the ground, gliding fast despite its weight.
The air behind her filled with the sound of heavy scraping and wet thuds. Thump... drag... thump... drag...
Dila’s candlelight wavered wildly, lighting only fragnts of the endless hallway—portraits so of them flipped when flashing by the candle light, the distorted faces in them seeming to watch her run. Sweat rolled down her forehead and jaw, mixing with the tears on her cheeks. Her breaths ca in short, gasping bursts, as if the darkness itself was pressing down on her lungs.
"Haa... haa... haa—"
Her chest ached. She dared not scream. She knew if she stopped, even for a second... that thing would reach her.
And still, through her shaking, through the pounding of her heart, she whispered through her trembling lips—
"Please... soone... wake up..."
Dila’s legs burned. Every muscle scread in protest, yet she couldn’t stop. The sound of her frantic footsteps mixed with the sickening scrape of flesh and wood behind her.
"Please... save from this nightmare!" she cried, her voice breaking through her heavy breaths.
Her words were swallowed by the endless darkness, the echo bouncing back at her like cruel mockery. She didn’t look back—she couldn’t. The air behind her felt heavy, wet, and alive, as if the monstrous hand was breathing down her neck.
The hallway stretched endlessly before her. The walls warped and blurred, twisting in her peripheral vision like they were lting away. Her surroundings faded into streaks of shadow and faint light as she ran, faster and faster, her bare feet smacking the wooden floor—fleep, fleep, fleep—each step sharper than the last.
Her candle fla whipped wildly, flickering to near extinction with every desperate stride. The tiny light fought to stay alive against the rush of her movent, its glow shuddering like a heart on the verge of breaking.
Her breath ca in ragged bursts.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
She could barely feel her lungs anymore. Her throat was raw, her heartbeat pounding so violently that it drowned everything else out—the scratching, the dragging, even her own thoughts.
Then, for an instant, she dared a glance behind her.
The massive hand was right there. Its skinless flesh shimred wetly, muscles twitching, nails dragging like knives as it hovered against the floorboards while it crawled faster, gaining on her with horrifying speed.
Her eyes widened in pure terror.
"No... no, no, no!" she cried, pushing herself harder, her tears flying into the wind that cut across her face.
The hallway around her began to blur completely now, like the world was collapsing into a tunnel of motion and fear. The candle shook violently in her hand, spilling droplets of wax onto her wrist.
"Please... don’t let it catch !" she whispered between gasps, her voice trembling like a dying prayer.
Her vision was hazy. Every sound was muffled except for the deafening rhythm of her heart, beating like a drum of survival.
Thump... thump... thump...
Each beat scread the sa word in her head—run.
Suddenly....
Dila’s body slamd to the ground with a sickening thud. Her forehead struck the wooden floor, a sharp sting bursting through her skull as the breath was ripped from her chest. The candle rolled away from her trembling hands, still lit... flickering helplessly across the warped floorboards. Its glow wavered and stretched, throwing her shadow violently against the walls.
Then ca the pain.
A cold, wet force clamped around her right leg—tight, heavy, alive. The sound of muscle against skin, the squelching grip of the bloodied giant hand digging into her flesh made her scream.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Her voice echoed endlessly through the dark corridor. Saliva burst from her lips as she scread again, tears mixing with the small dust and blood streaked across her cheek. Her nails clawed at the wooden floor, scraping deep grooves in the surface as she tried to pull herself free.
Crack... crack... crack...
Her nails began to split. Blood welled under her fingertips, saring across the planks as she fought to hold on. The pain in her leg intensified—the giant hand pressed harder, its filthy nails biting deep into her skin. She could feel the weight of its power, the heat of its breathless presence crawling up her spine.
"Help! HELP !" she scread again, voice cracking into raw desperation.
Her body trembled uncontrollably. The candle’s dim fla flickered in the distance, the only fragile light in that suffocating dark. The shadows around her seed to pulse with the monster’s movents... the whole corridor creaked and moaned as if alive, watching, feeding on her terror.
The hand began to pull her backward, slowly, deliberately.
Her body dragged across the floor—skrtt... skrtt... skrtt—her nails leaving streaks of red as she tried to anchor herself.
Her mind was breaking apart between fear and pain. Her breath hitched. "No... please... please... don’t take ..."
Her tears fell to the floorboards, glimring faintly in the candlelight before being sared away by her struggling.
Then the air filled with a low, distorted sound... like a woman’s whisper from deep inside the darkness.
"Co here... my dear princess..."
Dila’s eyes widened even more, her throat tightening as she scread one last ti—
"NOOOO!!!"
Her voice echoed like a dying bell through the endless corridor... as the candle’s fla trembled violently, fighting not to die.
Dila scread as the monstrous hand yanked her backward again—her voice sharp, raw, breaking apart in terror. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The sound pierced through the darkness, swallowed by the endless corridor that stretched beyond her sight. The world around her blurred as she was dragged—wood splinters scattering beneath her fingernails, blood streaking the floor where she tried to resist.
The grip tightened... crushing. Her right leg throbbed with searing pain. Then... everything slowed. The panic in her heart turned into a strange, cold calm.
Her mind whispered through the chaos.
I guess... this is it...
Her breath trembled.
This is the end of my miserable life... When I was in my old world, everything was misery—empty room, playing gas, long nights, silence that hurt more than wounds...
Her voice in her head cracked as tears ford in her eyes.
And even when I was brought to this world... I thought maybe, maybe things would be better... but all I found was pain and fighting...
Her arms loosened; her body stopped resisting.
I guess I’m dying...
Her eyes slowly closed, the flicker of the distant candle reflecting on her wet cheeks.
Then—the monster’s hand released her leg for a split second, letting her hang mid-air in the darkness. The silence that followed was deafening...
Before—
Swoosh!
The air rushed violently around her as the sa massive, bloodied hand lunged again, now seizing her entire body. It pressed hard, crushing her ribs, trapping her arms. The sound of squelching flesh and breaking air filled the corridor.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" she scread once more, her voice shredded by pain.
Her body twitched violently, feet kicking, fingers spasming against the unseen force. Her head jerked back as if pulled by invisible threads; her jaw clenched so tight it hurt. Her hair stuck to her tear-stained face, her breaths coming in broken gasps.
The wind roared around her as she was dragged faster... the walls stretching, bending as if the corridor itself was collapsing into black nothingness.
The candle’s fla, far behind her, flickered one last ti—
and went out.
The only thing that followed...
was her echoing scream fading into the dark.
Finally she was yank out of the hallway into the ceiling where it started.
Then...
SWOSH!!...
They are finally outside to the open.
Dila’s lungs burned as she struggled against the impossibly strong grip of the stretching, blackened hand. Her limbs thrashed, but the harder she fought, the more it seed to tighten, holding her like a vice of shadow. The corridor behind her had vanished; in its place stretched a void of darkness, endless and curling like thick smoke around jagged black trees whose twisted branches clawed at a night sky without stars. In the distance, a mountain lood, a shadowed monolith, its peak lost in the black haze.
And there, erging from the void, a towering figure—the giant lady—lood over her. Only an outline could be seen, pure black, but her presence radiated power and malice. The voice, deep yet eerily soft, drifted across the air like a whisper in a tomb.
*Static hiss sound*[Princess... let’s sleep together... you’re mine...]
Dila’s heart thudded violently against her ribcage. She twisted and writhed, clawing at the hand, but every movent felt slower, weaker, as if her very strength was being siphoned. Her voice cracked in panic.
"No... no! Get away! Let go!"
Her hands scraped against the cold now, ghostly invisible air, almost catching on nothing but shadow.
She forced her legs to kick, her body straining to escape, but the hand’s grip was relentless. Each motion, each desperate pull, seed futile. Exhaustion and fear bled together into raw, icy terror that sank deep into her chest.
Her eyes widened, staring at the looming shadowy figure. Every instinct scread at her to run, to fight—but it was no use. The dark air around her seed to hum, curling and pressing closer, whispering the sa words over and over in ghostly echoes:
*Static hiss sound* [You’re mine... you’re mine..]
Dila’s breath hitched as tears blurred her vision. She felt powerless, trapped in a nightmare that had no walls, no floor, no escape—only darkness, only the suffocating, creeping presence of the hand and the towering, shadowed lady.
Her mind scread, I have to get out... I have to wake up... please, just let wake up...
But no matter how hard she fought, the grip of the hand and the pull of the darkness held her fast, dragging her deeper into the impossible void.
Dila’s heart raced as the suffocating darkness and the shadowy lady’s grasp seed inescapable. Then, from nowhere, a piercing, lodic voice rang out.
☆"Let my master go!"☆
A brilliant burst of pink magical energy exploded through the void, illuminating the curling black trees and jagged mountains. The shadowed hand recoiled, and the towering figure’s outline wavered violently.
From the blinding light, Nari appeared. Her long, soft pink hair cascaded past her waist, flowing naturally with the energy around her. Two loose ponytails frad her face—one adorned with a tiny star clip, the other with a small bunny accessory peeking out. Her large, round eyes shone with a gradient of pink and purple, sparkling even in the chaotic light, one winking mischievously, though worry lined her expression now.
Dila blinked, her voice trembling: "Is that... you, Nari?"
Nari’s petite fra floated gracefully as she raised her right hand, blasting more pink magic that carved a path through the shadows. Her soft pink dress flared with the motion, puffed sleeves bouncing slightly. The bow at her chest seed to glow, catching the light from her spell.
With a swift movent, Nari reached Dila, catching her safely in her arms despite her small body. Her eyes brimd with tears, glimring like tiny stars.
☆"Long ti no see, master..."☆ she whispered, her voice breaking as tears stread down her cheeks.
Dila clutched Nari, relief washing over her, though fear still lingered. The darkness had vanished, leaving only the soft glow of Nari’s pink magic enveloping them both.
The void was gone. The nightmare was over—for now.
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