Rutger opened the portal, and the girl stepped forward. The cold of the Dark World bit into her skin.

The mermaid pond slipped away like she had shed a heavy coat. Colors shifted around her in a swirl, and the air was thick with the hum when the girl crossed boundaries. For a heartbeat, Catty was nowhere—a breath suspended between realities. Then the world snapped into place with a lurch, and she found herself standing ankle-deep in untouched snow. Behind her, the portal shimmered briefly before closing, leaving no trace of its existence.

Snow underfoot sparkled like a sea of tiny stars had fallen to the earth. Catty's first exhalation hung in the frost air, shimmering faintly under the cold light of a distant moon. The cold chilled her to the bone—the girl was wearing only a pleated miniskirt and a light pullover.

She halted before old trees intertwining overhead. Their branches formed a vault high above that glistened with a dusting of rime. A few snowflakes drifted from the unseen sky, dancing lazily through the dim moonlight before alighting on her hair.

The silence was dense, smothering the crunch of her steps in the crisp snow, muffling the world as if the trees sought to conceal her presence.

Catty moved forward, guided by the moon that traced a path among the trees. Their trunks were gnarled and thick and towered like timeless sentinels watching the girl's every move. Occasionally, the air carried the sound of iced twigs creaking above, accompanying her silent march through this frozen realm.

Her eyes adjusted to the faint light, and the snow glowed brighter around her feet, illuminating her path in a soft, ghostly light. It was as if the world was both guiding and warning her. Catty could see her breath, a series of small clouds puffing rhythmically from her lips in the cold air.

The portal to the Dark World she had stepped through was left far behind, and the way she had come was swallowed up by the night. Ahead, her way wound through the silent, watchful forest, leading deeper into the heart of this snow-filled world.

As Catty ventured further, the air seemed to thicken, filled with the faint scent of cold iron and the underlying, almost imperceptible trace of something wild. This reminded her that this world was alive and that she was not its master.

Her loneliness was palpable and went beyond mere solitude. The girl had stepped into another realm entirely, one that existed in a perpetual state of twilight and chill. Yet, there was a beauty to it, a stark, desolate beauty that both awed and frightened her. This place was untouched by time, governed by its own ancient and unfathomable rules.

Catty approached a clearing where the trees parted slightly, casting elongated shadows across the snow. From a distance, she glimpsed what seemed like a trick of the light—a silhouette swaying gently in the breeze. But there was no breeze. Curiosity drew her closer, her footsteps cautious and slow.

Catty's heart caught in her throat as the figure came into clearer view. It was a body hanging from a gnarled branch.

Catty's instinct screamed at her to run from the ghastly sight, but fear rooted her to the spot. She scanned the silent trees around her, expecting somebody to emerge from the shadows. The forest held its breath with her, the only sound the faint creak of the rope from which the body hung.

A battle waged within her—curiosity urging her forward, caution pulling her back—and the girl stepped closer. Her eyes never left the figure, and Catty realized her vulnerability. Standing beneath the body, she was alone, terribly alone in this world.

"Oh, come on..." she uttered a bitter snarl swallowed by the wilderness. "What the heck?"

Then, in the silence following her words, the impossible happened. The body's eyes fluttered open, fixing on her with a surprised gaze. No malice lay in those eyes, only profound sadness that made her heart skip.

Then, unexpectedly, the lips of the hanging body twitched.

"Hullo there," the body croaked, its voice dry as the winter leaves that never rustled here. "You seem awfully solid for a ghost."

Catty blinked, her fear momentarily sidelined by absurdity. "I'm not a ghost," she replied with wonder and wariness.

"Ludicrouser and ludicrouser," the body murmured, its head tilting slightly, causing the rope to creak ominously. "And here I thought we were all ghosts, in a manner of speaking."

Catty frowned, steadying her nerves. "Who are you?" she ventured, unsure if she wanted an answer.

"In life, a wanderer much like you. In death, merely part of the scenery," it said, a faint smile playing on its dead lips. "But enough about me. You have paths to choose, little ghost-not-ghost."

"Why am I here?" Catty asked.

"Why? This is a very Eternian question to ask, of course!" the body laughed like wind through barren branches. "The real question is Where! Where will you go? Back to the dawn or straight ahead into the darkness?"

"Piss off!"

Eyes pierced through her, and a barely heard voice whispered, "Seek the heart of the pond, but beware the shadows that thirst for light."

Catty shivered, not just from the cold.

"The heart of the pond..." she repeated.

"Always a popular destination," the body sighed. "Beware, though... The heart is often guarded, not just by life."

As suddenly as it had begun, the conversation ended, the body's eyes closing again, leaving Catty alone with her thoughts. She turned slowly, peering into the forest's depths. Each direction was now a riddle waiting to be solved. With a deep breath, she chose her path, the cryptic advice from the hanging figure echoing in her steps.

Further, the landscape began to shift. The dense trees thinned out, revealing a vast, open plain blanketed in snow. Massive bones, frosted over and embedded in the ice, rose from the earth like grotesque sculptures, their forms blurred and softened under a cover of white.

Catty walked among the remains of creatures so vast that they seemed more like the ruins of castles than the bones of the living. Her footfalls were muffled by the thick, untouched snow blanket that sprawled endlessly before her. The air was bitingly cold, carrying the faint scent of ancient death.

Above the girl, the sky was a heavy, oppressive grey, clouds hanging low as if mourning the monsters whose remains lay scattered across the landscape. Occasionally, a harsh gust of wind would sweep across the plain, causing the exposed bones to groan and creak, a mournful dirge that resonated through the silent air.

The remains of an enormous ribcage formed a natural archway, towering over Catty like frost-laden sentinels. As she passed beneath them, the sheer scale of these ancient remains made her feel insignificant in the face of frenzy grandiosity. Shadows played across the snow, cast by the broken teeth of some colossal beast.

Catty's path wound through this graveyard of giants. Despite the desolation, there was a haunting beauty in the starkness. The silence of the snowy expanse was punctuated by her breath and the distant call of birds circling overhead.

Just beyond the field of bones, the girl saw the ruins of a majestic temple, its facade veiled beneath a thick blanket of snow. The structure seemed huge against the white landscape, its tall columns and shattered arches towering over the girl.

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When Catty came closer, a sudden rumble broke the hush of the frost air. It started as a low hum emanating from the earth's very bowels, and it escalated quickly into a trembling that shook the building. Within moments, the snow clinging to the temple's surfaces began to shift, cascading down its sides. The girl rushed back and barely managed to dodge the avalanche.

As the last snow tumbled to the ground, billowing white clouds, she saw the temple's entrance and heard mournful singing drifting out from the dark hole behind the gate.

Catty stood for a moment at the threshold, the haunting song wrapping around her and seeping into her bones. With each note, the air grew colder, and the shadows within the temple became more blackened.

Compelled by fear and hope, the girl stepped forward, crossing into the deep of the temple, her heart pounding in rhythm with the otherworldly chant.

The narrow corridors echoed with the sound of her footsteps. The walls were rough and made of massive stone blocks that had been dilapidated by the passage of countless millennia. The air was heavy and stale, permeated by the pungent odor of decay and the acrid stench of brackish ooze that flowed down the walls, collecting in fetid pools on the cracked floor.

Every so often, Catty passed alcoves where petrified monsters froze forever. She was afraid to imagine what they held in their paws. Luckily, the details were erased over time.

The deeper Catty ventured, the louder and clearer the singing became. It resonated from the walls around her, a melody that was both a lament and a calling. The sound beckoned her onward, pulling the girl through the labyrinthine corridors designed to confound her.

The temple became more sinister and decayed with each turn and descent down crumbling steps. Pillars were etched with sculls and supported by arches, which loomed over the murky expanse she walked through.

When the moon disappeared and it became completely dark, the girl saw a pale light at the end of the corridor and went towards it.

The path opened into a larger hall, and the singing now completely enveloped her. The hall stretched out before Catty, vast and dimly lit, with a glow emanating from the numerous eggs scattered across the floor.

The hall was like an immense cavern, its ceiling lost in the darkness above. Stalactites hung like jagged teeth. Water dripped with a steady rhythm, echoing through the chamber. The floor was uneven and strewn with rocks.

At the center of the hall, Catty saw a creature.

It was colossal, the size of a tower, a slug-like reptile, and its body shimmered with an oily sheen. Its head was crowned with twisted, jagged horns that curved menacingly, casting sprawling shadows against the jagged walls. Only one eye burned with a fiery glow. A maw filled with razor-sharp teeth parted slightly as it hissed, revealing the inferno within. Its powerful limbs ended in massive, clawed talons that could rend stone as easily as flesh, and a long, sinuous tail lashed the air behind it. The creature's breath came out in puffs of stench, adding to the already oppressive atmosphere of the hall.

The eggs were large, almost as tall as Catty, and pulsed with an inner light. It cast eerie, dancing patterns on the rocky floor, making the eggs seem alive. Their surfaces were translucent, revealing shadowy forms writhing within. Through the shell, she could make out the vague shapes of creatures curled up inside, their movements slow and serpentine. Veins of glowing blue and gold crisscrossed the surface, pulsating in rhythm with an unseen heartbeat, and a faint hum emanated from them and filled the air with awe and dread.

The creature moved slightly, its massive claws scraping against the stone floor, creating a sound that sent shivers down the girl's spine. It was clear that this beast was the guardian of the eggs. The air around it crackled with energy, a palpable sense of danger that made Catty's every instinct screaming at her to flee.

The girl felt a strange compulsion to move forward despite the fear clawing at her. The song that had guided her here grew louder, more insistent, wrapping around her like a tangible force. The words of the hanged body echoed in her mind, urging her to seek the heart of the pond, to beware of the light amidst the shadows.

With each step, the temperature dropped, the cold seeping into her bones. The walls of the hall closed in, the darkness pressing down on Catty. Yet, she pushed forward, her eyes fixed on the creature and the eggs it guarded.

Catty could barely breathe, the cold air burning her lungs. She could feel the weight of the creature's gaze, a pressure that seemed to slow her movements and cloud her thoughts. But the girl couldn't stop now.

As she approached the glowing eggs, the shadows around the room's edges began to stir, creeping closer with silent malevolence.

The creature suddenly swung its tail and wrapped it around Catty, lifting her off the ground. She gasped as it brought her closer to its massive head. The creature's stinking breath washed over the girl as it opened its maw, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.

In the face of imminent danger, Catty's thoughts betrayed her fear. 'What the hell? When did I get so deep again?' echoed in her mind, and the creature seemed to pause, its fiery eye narrowing as it read her thoughts.

'Scared, aren't you?' a deep, gravelly voice filled her mind. 'You humans always are.'

Catty's eyes widened, 'You can read my thoughts?'

The creature's laughter rumbled through the hall, like rocks grinding together.

'Yes, little bug, I can. And I'm about to make you my next meal!'

'Please, don't eat me!' her mind screamed, trying to project any thought that might save her.

Its massive maw gaped wider, rows of jagged teeth glistening with a slick, oily residue. The cavernous mouth seemed like a black abyss, the stench emanating from within nearly unbearable. Catty could see tendrils of saliva stretching between the teeth, glistening in the dim light. She could feel the hot, fetid breath washing over her, making her eyes water.

Suddenly, the creature recoiled slightly, its eye narrowing with curiosity. It sniffed the air around her, its nostrils flaring.

'Interesting... I sense something different in you. A power... Oh, dragon power!'

Catty's mind flashed to the bracelet on her wrist, the symbol of her connection to the dragon. The creature's eye flicked to the bracelet, then back to her face. It loosened its grip just enough for her to breathe more easily.

'Now, before I decide what to do, you're going to tell me what a little girl like you is doing with dragon power.'

Catty swallowed hard, trying to steady her racing heart.

'I... I'm on a quest... I need to find the egg...'

'The egg!!!' the creature squeezed the girl so hard that her bones crunched.

'The dragon's egg! To fulfill a prophecy!' the girl barely had time to exhale.

The creature's eye gleamed. 'A prophecy? You better not be lying, girl. I can smell a lie from a mile away, and trust me, I've got a good nose for these things.'

'I'm telling the truth!' she thought frantically, hoping the creature would sense her sincerity. 'The prophecy speaks of a girl with dragon power. I'm that girl!'

The creature's gaze bore into her, searching her thoughts for any hint of deception. It seemed to weigh her thoughts carefully, its massive jaws closing slightly, reducing the overwhelming stench.

'If you're lying, I'll snap you like a twig,' it growled. 'But if you're telling the truth...'

'I'm not lying!' Catty's thoughts were a desperate plea. 'I swear, I'm here not to harm.'

'You can't harm me!' the creature laughed with a rumbling sound.

As the girl struggled to maintain her composure, the creature's voice filled her mind again, 'You want to fulfill your prophecy, little girl? Fine. But first, you will do something for me.'

The creature tightened its grip on her with its tail, dragging her closer to the eggs. Catty's eyes widened in horror as she saw inside them. The twisted and writhing larvae were attached to the bodies of humans, elves, and dwarves, feeding off them like parasites. The sight was sickening, the sheer brutality of it making her stomach churn.

'You see, these eggs need to hatch,' the creature continued, its voice filled with dark amusement, 'but this place is a mess—it's no proper nursery. You will clean this room and put it in order. If you refuse, you'll be food for my children."

Catty's heart pounded in her chest, fear clawing at her insides. The hall was indeed a horrific mess. The floor was strewn with bones, excrement, waste, and remains of countless victims, and the air was thick with the stench of decay and waste. She glanced around, feeling a wave of despair wash over her.

'How do I know you won't kill me anyway?' she managed to think. 'Why should I trust you?'

The creature's eye gleamed with vicious delight.

'You don't,' it replied, its tail tightening around her in a crushing grip. 'But you don't have much choice, do you? Clean this place, and I might let you go. Refuse, and I guarantee you'll join those you see inside the eggs.'

Catty swallowed hard, her mind racing. She was trapped, and the only way out was to comply with the creature's demands. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the gruesome task ahead.

'Fine,' she thought, despite the terror gnawing at her. 'I'll clean this place.'

The creature chuckled darkly, loosening its grip just enough to set her down near the eggs.

'Good. Get to work, little dragon girl. And remember, I'll be watching.'

Catty glanced around the room, taking in the enormity of the task. The bones, the filth, the waste—everything needed to be cleared away. She forced herself to move, starting with the nearest pile of bones. As the girl worked, she couldn't help but steal glances at the eggs, the larvae within them a constant reminder of what awaited her if she failed.

The hours dragged on, each moment a struggle against the rising tide of fear and disgust. She moved bones, scrubbed the floor, and cleared away the excrement, her hands shaking but determined. All the while, the creature watched her, its eye gleaming with a predatory light.

Catty's mind raced, and she searched for a way to use the situation to her advantage. The girl focused on her goals as she worked—the child's spirit and the dragon's egg. She couldn't afford to lose hope, not now.

When Catty was scrubbing the floor, she noticed something shimmering among the debris. The girl reached out and gently cleaned it, her breath catching in her throat. It was a phoenix feather, old and broken but still the source of a brilliant light, even in its dormant state. The feather was warm, and Catty saw a way through.