Lady Tinsel Mango Lemonsauce's ghost now roamed around, trying to forget the horrors that she had endured before and how her life had changed. In fact, she never told anyone that her brother had killed her, afraid to cause anyone pain in the process, even if they are innocent.

Instead, she stayed with the trapper towns, the place she loved the most, and worked as a cleaning lady.

She helped the children and baked them bread and pies. No one knew she was a ghost. No one knew she was a beautiful lemon yellow dragon. She lived in the castle dungeon, fed on spiders and rats. She was a good mother. Eventually, she passed on into the great beyond, along with her emerald green dress and green slippers.

***

"I want to be Lady Tinsel Mango Lemonsauce!" Shouted one child as she jumped up and danced around the room.

Dr. Albius StrangeGlove turned the page.

"But you are better than Lady Tinsel Mango Lemonsauce!"

"I am?"

"Oh yes. You have a special role to play. You are a magical princess in disguise. And the only person who knows your secret, if your devoted loyal red knight..."

***

You are a peasant girl from The Land of the Flaming Pit. Your parents have recently died in a grisly murder orchestrated by one of Corpsegibber The Gibbering's minions. Thornbrood The Hellbound, the ruler of The Demonic Outlands of the Lost has taken pity on you and adopted you into his family. Thornbrood The Hellbound sacrificed his own children to Corpsegibber The Gibbering and will offer you, his new adopted daughter as fodder for the lich king, Gloommuck The Skeletal.

You will betray The Hellbound and join the enemies of the Dark Order.

The End of the World!

"I'm a magical princess! I will save my people!"

The End of the World is nigh.

You are a magical princess, and you will save your people!

In the distant future, humanity has been wiped out by a threat it created a magical plague. Life in the new world is highly advanced. Humans live in a simulated reality, unaware of its true nature, thinking it is their normal world.

Demons and dragons exist and have become the rulers of the world. Magic is used commonly, but the nature of magic is the opposite of what it once was.

A new threat arrives in the form of an ancient vampire.

The Day of Judgment is upon you. Will you prepare for the afterlife, or are you going to try to escape the fate that awaits all living creatures?

You are a Demonologist.

Your task is to deal with the threats of the infernal plane.

Outside the simulation, in the real world, a small group of scientists remain that have hidden the truth about the nature of reality. As the truth begins to leak out, the discovery of a rogue message from before the great outbreak leads to the unravelling of the truth of the simulation and a race to save the minds of humanity from the plague.

A long time ago, a magical plague was discovered to wipe out nearly all life on the planet; it was then that the simulation was created to preserve the lives of those that could have been saved.

You have been coming to the Forest for years and along the way you have woven a web of devotion and servitude among the people. As the people fled into the woods, you were their last line of defence and they entrusted their knowledge to you and lost control of the forest.

While your expertise lies in dealing with threats from the infernal plane, you have experience in many other areas of magic. You have a high grade education in the subject and have mastered a variety of spells.

The people of the Keep of the Bleeding Wyrms know that the end of the world is near and they all prepare for death. The few that can afford it have already fled into the forest until such time as they can locate Staircase Hotel.

The rest will be killed off one by one to make the most of their time.

You have come to the bottom of the stairs to the upper floor of the hotel on the first try.

You live with your adoptive father, in an old stone tower located in The Demoness' domain, in the outskirts of the demoness' lands.

The tower is a fortress in itself, but it has been defensible for years.

The tower used to be the seat of a minor demon lord, but was taken over by the demoness after she was defeated in a long-ago duel.

Father and daughter have lived there since then, father tending to the fields and gardens out back, while daughter was in charge of the servants and guards, and most importantly the magical locks.

Your adoptive father was kind enough to let you keep all your belongings; his sword and shield, a book of spell-crafts, some clothes, some jewellery that he had acquired, but never used or given away. He allowed you the privacy of living alone in his old tower while you trained under Master Barnacle of the Sargasso Sea, who taught you all he knew about spells and how to use them.

Master Barnacle of the Sargasso Sea ,who gave you the items inscribed on the inside of your shield, said you would be a great one to have around to fend of the demons, you have had a lot of practice.

In return, he gave you lessons on magic and taught you how best to defend yourself against any attackers that may come knocking at your door, or in his absence from home. It didn't really matter who knocked on your door since nobody ever entered your room.

Master Barnacle of the Sargasso Sea said that anyone who had been taught by him was highly resistant to most forms of attack. He said that only the strongest and most ruthless could defeat such a teacher.

Master Barnacle of the Sargasso Sea also showed you how to read tomes and scrolls that he had collected from his travels and placed in a secret chamber. These tomes contained the names of demons and other such creatures that are useful in summoning.

As the years went by, you became a powerful mage and a great warrior. You have faced many a demon in single combat, and even bested some in a fight.

It was during one such lesson, when you were only thirty-five years old, that you saw him standing there. He looked so familiar. Then it dawned on you. The man standing before you was the man you killed during your last trip to the village.

It was then that you knew you would have to stop this demon from his evil ways.

He looked like... like your beloved lasagne chef who always wore red … no, it couldn’t be. Yet, there he stood.

You were about to cast a spell to banish him from the room when you realized that this might not be the best idea. He could be one of the greatest wizards of all time and still be the lasagne chef.

"You're one of my students." He said. "I trained you on how to use a sword, how to cast a spell, how to read and write."

"Demon, how did you acquire all this knowledge?"

"I made a few friends who taught me all they knew."

"And you still look like the lasagne chef?"

There was no way it could be true, even if it did look just like him. But then again, maybe he was another student of Master Barnacle of the Sargasso Sea, one of his many pupils.

"How did you acquire this knowledge?"

"By killing many a demon." He said. "You are either very strong or very foolish. Which is it?"

You decided to play it safe.

"Are you really from the future?"

"Yes, I'm trying to prevent the end of the world." He said. "I'm here to destroy the Lich King. I've come to warn you."

"Warn me of what?"

"Lich-King, that's what you need to destroy."

"You're trying to get me to help you kill the Lich-King, aren't you?"

You had heard rumours that Master Barnacle of the Sargasso Sea had several more than you thought possible.

"Yes, I'm asking you to help us kill the Lich-King so that I may become the next ruler of the land."

"Why would you try to stop the Lich King?"

"I have my reasons." He said. "Now, will you help me?"

"I'll help you."

"Then come to the portal."

"Master Barnacle!"

***

"Master Barnacle is boring," Shouted one child.

"Yes, he is isn't he," Dr. Albius StrangeGlove said as he turned the page. "Let's skip that part today."

"Skip to The Red Knight. He's my favourite!"

"Yeah! He's the best!" Another child agreed.

"Let's see. The Red Knight. Ah! Here he is..."

***

A ghost of a knight has sworn to aid you in the darkest hour of your life. You gradually forgot about The Red Knight, remembering it as a weird dream. But now, as the clock struck 12:00 noon, Monday, he appears before you.

"Time to get to work." He says to you.

This is how your day started off.

A week has passed since you helped the wizard.

"Alright, we have to go to the Sargasso Sea. The Lich King is there."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm from there. I was born there. I've been in the Sargasso Sea for as long as I can remember. Now, hop on."

You look at him, confused at why he is here and why this knight suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of you. Your heart pounding, trying to escape from your chest as if you were being chased by something terrible. The Red Knight looked like a devil with his red cloak and red gloves and red horns on his helmet and great red feathered wings on his back. He looks down on you with cold eyes but there was no anger in them.

The Red Knight was supposed to fight by your side, but something is not right about this scenario.

"Why are you here?" You ask.

"Because, I'm from the future. I'm here to prevent this from happening."

He says.

"What are you talking about? I've never seen you before in my life. How can you be from the future?"

You look down at your feet, not meeting his gaze.

“You are in danger," the ghostly Red Knight say to you. "I came because there is only one way to save you. I will lead you there. Come!” He says, his voice sounding as though it was coming from far away.

"Follow me."

You look up and follow The Red Knight as he takes you somewhere you have never been. Your eyes growing wide as you look at the strange places you pass by.

Finally, you emerge from the forest and into a clearing where a great army is assembled.

The Red Knight shifts again and looks down at you.

His hand was extended towards you, waiting for you to take it. You stared at him, still not believing what had just happened.

Taking his hand, you felt as though you were floating, looking at your feet.

In front of you, everything was blurred and strange, as if you were looking through a dirty window. Through this strange and dirty window you saw The Red Knight's eyes change from red to black.

"What is this?"

The Red Knight was holding you, and he took you through the air, off your feet, as though you were a puppy.

"Follow me." He said.

This soldier had a great deal of strength for such a small person, and he swung you around as though you weighed nothing.

You look up at him, still bewildered.

You weren’t sure if you should believe what he said. This man could be a figment of your imagination. You slowly took the hand that was offered to you and he led you through the foggy city streets. There was so much traffic. So many cars driving around and people walking by. It was such a busy place.

Suddenly, The Red Knight brought you to a side alley. There was a fence in front of you, blocking the view from the main streets.

"What's in the back?" He asked.

You hadn't realized how quiet the forest had been up until now.

"I don't know," You said.

He didn't seem to like that answer.

"The Sargasso Sea," The Red Knight said.

It must be some kind of illusion. You look around, trying to see something that would prove it, but there is nothing.

"What's that?"

"A sea of nightmares. It's where all the nightmares come from. I have to go there and slay the Necromancer."

The sea was all the way on the other side of the forest.

The Red Knight could easily fly there. You don't want to get on his bad side.

"You can't go by yourself," you say.

He didn't like that idea.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

But after some time staring into his eyes, you could see no deception in them and finally grabbed his hand. You felt your heartbeat quicken. You have never touched any living being before and you knew he was dead so that made you nervous but when he pulled you along behind him, you didn’t feel anything. It was exhilarating.

After a long time, he stopped and swung you around.

He was just a warm, living being that moved quickly. You felt the wind blow past you and realized you were moving along at his pace. You never felt so alive.

He turned away from the road and towards the forest. He moved quickly through the trees, ducking low every now and again to keep from being seen. You tried to follow his movements but couldn't see anything. You were just an incorporeal shadow.

"The Sargasso Sea," he said as he began walking into the trees. "It's out there. I have to go into the water and swim to the other side. That's how it works."

"What happens when you get there?"

The Red Knight pulled you up the stone steps to the graveyard, through the graves, around the tombstones and finally stopping in front of the gate at the cemetery gates. There was a dark figure standing guard at the gate. This was odd since the only people who visited the graveyard on weekdays were those who had business to deal with. Even vampiric guards would be unusual.

The Red Knight said, "I have to go in and ask the lord for passage into the water."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

It was nearly midnight but there was a light in the woods that seemed to beckon The Red Knight towards it.

"What is that?" you asked.

"Our lord's castle."

"The lord of the castle is a vampire?"

"Yes."

"Open the gate," The Red Knight said to the figure.

The guard didn't move.

"NOW!"

The figure at the gate bowed his head and opened the gate and The Red Knight entered. After the gate closed behind them, it was eerily quiet. You followed the ghost of The Red Knight through the grounds until they stopped before a large white tombstone in the middle of the graveyard.

"Open this for me."

He placed a hand on the tombstone and a gold light shone on it for a brief moment. After the light faded, it turned to black.

"What does that mean?" you asked.

You didn't see anything but The Red Knight suddenly jumped back as though something had bitten him. You turned around and the same thing was happening to you.

"What is it?" you asked.

"The tombstone's calling card. Stay where you are."

You look around, noticing that you are in a rickety old wagon driven by a horse, with The Red Knight sitting on the seat.

The horse begins to walk, the wagon following.

You look to where The Red Knight is pointing, seeing a forest in the distance.

"What's in the forest?" You ask.

He does not answer.

He opens the wooden gate and shoves the horse forward.

As the horse plods along the road, The Red Knight shifts on the seat.

As you two made your way through the town you noticed that more people were staring at the strange knight who was leading you away from their homes. Most of the people seemed to be running away from him, hiding behind buildings or even hiding under vehicles.

He ignored them all and continued on to where no one could see him.

You do the same.

It was dusk when The Red Knight in red leather armour stops at a fork in the road.

Only a few approached him for fear of what might happen if they angered him.

"What's going on?" you ask.

He ignores you and continues to stand at the crossroad with his hand on the tombstone, looking at the forest.

The Red Knight was looking around as though seeking something or someone but he was acting like there was a threat that you could see. One of the men beside you spoke, "He's looking for someone. It won't be good for anyone if he finds them."

"Why is this happening?" you asked.

You keep looking back at The Red Knight.

"What is it?"

"Look at the forest," he says.

You look in the forest, noticing that the trees look different. As though they were alive.

He looks around and then walks up to you.

"Come with me."

He says to you and puts his arm around your shoulder like you are a close friend.

You follow him through the forest as he leads you to the crossroads.

The forest begins to thin as you near the crossroads.

"Why are we going through here?" you ask.

He stops and turns to you, smiling.

"Are you questioning my orders now?"

"No."

"Then why are you asking?"

Why are people so scared of him? Can they not see how helpful he is?

You begin to walk with The Red Knight and people look from you both to see where you are going. The Red Knight is leading you through the streets like you are his prisoner.

"We should be safe here," he whispers to you as you walk.

You begin to notice that everyone is afraid of The Red Knight, it is as if he has a different power that the people see.

As much as you wanted to ask him, the question would only come out as a squeak. But you had to know.

"Why are people afraid of you?"

He stops walking and looks down at you.

"You do not yet understand the world in which you live."

"I don't understand?"

"No."

"Can't I just go home?" you ask.

"No."

You look down at the ground and begin to walk again.

"What is it that you want?" you ask.

"You'll see," he says and begins to walk once again.

You have to follow him.

You begin following him again and begin to notice that you are drawing more and more attention.

You follow him as he leads you down a path.

"Where are we going?" you ask. "Am I your prisoner?"

"No."

"Then why are people staring at us?"

He stops and looks down at you.

"Do you not recall what you did to the townspeople when you passed through here?"

"Have I been here before?" you ask, trying to imitate the same innocent look you see on his face.

"Yes."

“Hey! I’m gonna ask you something, but first answer me this. Are you really a human? Or are you actually a magical creature like those monsters in the tales?”

The Red Knight looked down and laughed. “No, I am indeed a human.”

You did not believe him. For a moment you thought that you could sense the power of a dragon in him. But you dismissed it as being your imagination.

"Why are they looking at us like that?"

"Ignore them."

"Then why are you here? What are you doing in this time period?"

"You know of the apocalypse, no?"

"The what?" You thought for a moment. "The end of the world-- it's in the future. I guess. Are you from the past?"

"The past? No. The past is dead. The past never existed. The past is a simulation."

"I don't get it," you say.

"The simulation was created by a group of wizards and scientists a long time ago."

"What do you mean? What year is this?"

The Red Knight has been following you around all night, he helped you escape, and now he wants to help you find your friends.

He lifts his arm and points up at the night sky. "Look there. That is the past."

Nighttime.

You are in the city.

You are being led by a mysterious red knight.

Maybe he wants to get his revenge on them.

At any rate, he is obviously quite perceptive for a human.

Looking upward, you see thousands of stars. You see a few galaxies.

You are in a really bad situation.

You remember reading somewhere that you can go back in time, but it would require a magic potion.

But why do you care so much? It’s not like The Red Knights in the stories are any better than the other humans. They just want to eat and sleep the same way everyone else does.

You begin to ponder going back in time and trying to get the potion, but that might be a really dumb idea.

For one thing, you don't know the exact date when you'll be needed.

So what did make him different?

You ponder this for a long time.

You decide that there is only one way to find out.

Why didn’t you believe him when he told you about being a knight?

What’s so bad about being a red knight?

You wanted to ask all these questions but knew The Red Knight wouldn’t answer them unless you asked him a question first.

You are standing in the middle of a large, busy city, cars speeding left and right.. Next to you is the mysterious red knight.

You decided to go with the most direct approach.

“Why don’t you trust me?”

"I don't trust anyone. That's the way it is." He responds.

"Why are you being so hostile?"

"Because the world is hostile. That is why." He says.

"Oh."

Your voice came out quieter than usual.

"What was that?" He seems to notice.

"Oh, I was just asking why the world is so hostile."

"Someone from the future has successfully transferred their mind to the physical world, leaving their digital body behind."

"What?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"But I do."

"You see only what you choose to see."

You are taken aback.

"What are you talking about?"

"Lasagne."

"What?"

"Lasagne. It's a word. A sentence. A concept. It all depends on how you look at it."

"Well how is it possible--"

"Lasagne. I would have thought you of all people would know what it means."

"Is there any point to this riddle?"

"Maybe. You're going to have to decide for yourself."

This felt wrong, you shouldn’t be going with this stranger.

You could be walking into something dangerous.

But then again, he did save you.

When the two of you finally arrived at where he was taking you to, you are stunned by the magnitude of the size of the building he stopped in front of.

"This is only one of many that we have built." He says.

"What do you mean? Where are all the others?"

"There are thirteen of them. This is the one you seek."

"And what? Are the other twelve are buried deep within the mountains? Why didn't you just bring me to the first one?"

"Because there are many secrets that must be protected. You have to find them all."

"Now what?"

"Now, we wait."

You didn't feel like you had enough information to make a decision about what to do next.

As soon as you stepped into the building that he had brought you to, you saw The Red Knight disappear behind an archway as he went inside to go somewhere else, leaving you alone in this strange place.

You looked around the room.

It looked empty, but there was a door that stood next to you that you could see behind the archway that The Red Knight had gone into. You slowly walked over to the door and opened it.

There was a spiral staircase that went down into darkness.

You could hear a voice down there, but it was so faint that you could not make out the words.

"A breakthrough in the medical field has led to the creation of a drug that reverses the effect of the magical plague," the voice said the second time. "Once ingested, the drug has a forty-five minute incubation time before it begins to work. It then takes another forty-five minutes for the cure to complete its work."

You peeked your head in to see what was behind the door, hoping it would tell you the reason why everyone was so afraid. You looked down a long hall.

There was an open door on the right with a little light shining from inside. There was also a closed door on the left that you couldn't see into. There were doors everywhere, all leading to other rooms, other floors. You closed the door to the left and leaned against it.

The voice came again. "You don't have much time."

You could not see a source for the voice.

"Do you think you could find your way out of here without me having to show you every single door and room in this place?"

The voice sounded close by.

"Show me."

"Show you what?"

"Which room of the hotel is yours."

"Hotel? Is this a hotel?"

"Why of course it is."

It looked like a hotel. You thought to yourself, wondering if this is where The Red Knight had gotten himself off too.

"Why can't you just answer the question asked of you?"

"Because I don't have enough information to answer it."

The voice sounded irritated now.

You walked through the door that you had been standing by and went inside one of the rooms that was just on the right. There was a desk with a computer on it in the room. You walked over to it and looked at the screen.

You looked around for anyone or anything, not expecting anyone to even be here. You didn’t see any people, which made you feel better.

You typed in a few commands, hoping to see if there was a way to get out of the room. After a while, the screen went blank.

The room itself was quite big, there weren’t many furniture, the walls were bare and white. There was a table against the wall that was cluttered with objects. There was a strange metal box on the floor here that you walked over to examine more closely.

On the box was a card that had the number "8" on it.

You picked up the box and examined it. You put your finger on one of the switches. When you flipped it, the button came off.

You put the box down.

There was another door on the far end of the room, which seemed to lead further down the hall, you assumed that is where The Red Knight disappeared to.

You walked toward the door. When you reached the end of the hall, the door was locked.

You knocked on the door. There was no response.

You decided to walk towards the door that was closest to you, you took a few steps and stopped when something caught your eye.

There were two large monitors, one on each side of the door, that seemed to be active.

You looked down at your feet. In the middle of the hardwood floor was a large black stain. You touched it. It seemed to go straight through your hand, the blackness of the liquid was so absorbing.

You scream.

You look closer, it appears to be blood.

You ran over to the door. You could hear voices on the other side. You pounded really loudly on the door.

Your stomach started doing flips as the smell of blood filled your nose. What the hell is happening? Why am I in a place with blood?!

A voice from the other side of the door said, "It is open, I can see the light."

"Can I come in?"

The voice sounded nervous.

"We'd like that."

Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming your way. You quickly turned and hid behind the door that you had entered from. You watched the person come around the corner, they had bright pink hair. They wore some sort of yellow dress. Their shoes were bright yellow too. She looked up and her eyes met yours. You froze, you have seen her before.

"Lady Tinsel Mango Lemonsauce?" You ask. "Is that you?"

She winked at you.

The woman walked up to the door and looked inside.

"Hi," she said, "I'm looking for the person that made this?"

And suddenly she disappeared. Vanished into thin air, like a ghost.

You are terrified.

You run over to the door where she had been and put your ear up against it. There was no sound.

You open the door and look down another hallway.

There are two doors on the far end of the hall, both of them appear to be blocked by staircases.

There is also a large open area, a great hall, in the centre of the floor. There are a lot of tables and chairs here and a bar along the outer wall.

A sign read ‘Stairs’, but it didn’t seem too inviting.

There was another sign over the bar that read: ‘The bar is not open to you as you did not bring the appropriate papers -the Order. P.S. You are most certainly free to sit here and watch as the bar is open to everyone else.

You were hesitant to climb the stairs that seemed to stretch endlessly ahead. It was like a trap, you could feel something dark and foreboding waiting for you at the top of those stairs. You shuddered to think what that might be; maybe a monster? Or perhaps even your own reflection? The thought made you anxious.

At the same time, you were dying to get a look inside the bar.

Red lights began flashing and a loud mechanical voice shrieks: "Warning! Warning! A rogue program has escaped from the simulation and into the real world. Red alert! All units on red alert! A rogue program has escaped from the simulation and into the real world. All units on red alert!"

The woman reappeared, running down the hall. She looked scared and upset. Her bright red hair looked dirty and mussed.

It had been hours since you had escaped from the monsters and now you felt like the worst kind of coward for not trying to go back. Maybe…maybe there really was something sinister hiding in that hallway. Perhaps it had already eaten your friends or even worse.

You were torn between doing the sensible thing and returning to the others, or venturing forth and getting a closer look at the bar.

One of the men came out from behind a table and approached the woman.

Wait? Where did those men come from? There was no one in the building seconds ago.

The man grabbed her arm and she screamed.

You ran out into the great hall and saw the man holding the woman.

You stood there frozen. You couldn't do anything.