The hallway I’ve grown accustomed to was decorated with framed photos and achievements accumulated over the years. Photos of Isaac and I as kids and of my parents were everywhere. One of them was a picture of the whole family eating at a restaurant for my sixth birthday. Dad and Isaac sat next to each other on one side of the blue sofas while mom sat with me. Everyone was smiling and having a good time as an array of burgers, fries, seafood, and pasta was spread out.

Another photo had only me and Isaac posing side by side. Isaac was holding up a peace sign with a toothy grin on his face, though he was missing a couple of baby teeth. As for me, I was the opposite of my brother and stared hard at the camera straight-faced and cross-armed. I didn’t like forcing a smile and I still dislike it now. I felt uncomfortable whenever I was asked to, so I just settled on either frowning or showing a poker face. I was scolded a lot by my parents for that, but I didn’t care that much.

There were many other photos too, but I didn’t have the time to look through them all. Tearing my gaze away from the canvas of happy memories, I was now standing in the living room, the place where it all started and ended. An intruder wearing all black and a ski mask was holding a handgun in his right hand and a small leather bag in the other. The gun was pointed at mom and dad who was between the kitchen and the living room. My parents’ faces had all the blood drained out of them and were visibly shaking as they confronted the intruder. I glanced to my side to see little Isaac and me hiding behind mom, both confused and scared at the same time.

"Mummy, what’s happening?” Isaac’s voice quivered, tilting his head upwards.

“Shh… It’s okay Isaac. We’ll handle things from here,” Mom gently whispered, placing a trembling hand on the boy’s arm. No matter how hard she tried to appear calm, fear was slowly creeping up on the poor woman. Little Laila noticed this and glanced at the adults quickly, her eyes finally landing on the gun. The corners of her mouth parted open in shock but were then replaced with a new emotion.

“Isaac, l-let’s go back to our rooms.” Little Laila’s voice stammered. She clutched her brother’s arm firmly and tried to drag the boy away. However, the robber wasn’t going to let the two kids walk away.

“Stay right there or I’ll shoot!” He shouted at the top of his lungs, the barrel now in our direction.

“Let’s relax here buddy…” Dad said, inserting himself between the intruder and the three of us. “What do you want from us?”

“Isn’t it fucking obvious?” The intruder spat through the mask. “Give me all your money and prized possessions! I want it in my bag pronto!"

He waved the gun right in front of his face, a small crease forming on his mask which I assume is a sinister smile. Dad was quiet for a few seconds, his eyes darting around the house, thoughts scrambling about.

“…I’m sorry. W-We don’t have any cash to give you,” Dad said, swallowing a large mouthful of saliva.

“Ah? No cash? You think I’m playing games with you?” The intruder raised his voice. Suddenly, we all heard a click coming from him. The man had a finger on the trigger of the weapon, ready to press it at a moment’s notice. Since dad was very knowledgeable about firearms, he knew instantly what the intruder had just done.

Dad raised his arms defensively, pleading with the man. “Let’s think about this carefully! There are kids here! Let’s talk things out! If you leave now, we won’t call the cops!”

“I don’t give a damn! I know you folks aren’t lacking in the cash department! There ain’t shit to talk about. Where’s the money?!” The man roared once again, taking a step forward with his black leather boots crunching on the glossy wooden floor.

“We don’t carry around cash. We mostly use our cards to pay for our stuff. The only valuables we have are our electronics. If you want those, I’ll gladly hand them out.” Dad said, fishing around in his pockets for his phone. The intruder, not amused, leveled the weapon at dads eyes.

“I’ll give you the count of five to go get the cash I saw you withdraw yesterday.” The man glared. My dad's eyes widened as the realization of who this might be dawned on him.

“Five… Four…” He started counting down, moving closer to the family.

“Hold on there Jerald, I’ll go get the cash in my bedroom!” Dad stammered, keeping his eyes on the man as he moved away from the gunman. Something clicked in the assailant’s head as he lowered the barrel of the gun. A flash of astonishment was seen through his eyes, but it only lasted for a moment. Just as dad was standing near mom, ready to make his way to the bedroom, the gunman hastily rose the gun to its previous position. And then…

BANG!

A sound as loud as a firecracker set off in the woods resonated throughout the house. The smell of gunpowder filled the room as we all stared bewildered at the man in front of us. The house was now quiet other than the sound of a liquid dripping on the floor that made popping noises every few seconds. Soon after, a heavy thump was heard as a man was now slumped on the floor, the life in his eyes now gone. The kids and the mother both looked down at the floor in horror at the still corpse.

“H-HONEY!” Mom wailed as she rushed to her husband’s side. The woman wasn’t even given the chance to bend down and check on the man before another deafening noise erupted. Another corpse was made, and it was now slumped over the previous one. Two bullet-sized holes on each of their foreheads were oozing the fluid of life, said fluids mixing together as the wooden floor was now stained red. Little Isaac and Laila had yet to move or speak as their tiny brains were trying to make heads or tails of what had just transpired., their ears ringing.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The gunman could only sigh at the sight as he scratched his temple with the gun. "…To think Andre recognized me that quickly. What a mess. Since Andrew knew who I was, I had no choice but to kill him since I can't afford to be brought to jail. Can't have no witnesses either…"

Jerald walked over to the pair of shaking and embracing siblings. The man raised the gun and pointed it at little Laila.

“You two know who I am too, and I can’t have you revealing who I am. Blame your pops for shouting out my name like that.”

Jerald had his index finger on the trigger. Little Laila’s breathing was rapid, her chest heaving from the situation. Her legs wobbled uncontrollably, but she didn’t fall over as she embraced her sniveling brother deep in her arms. The girl shut her eyes, unable to do anything. All she could do was wait for her demise. Luckily, ear-splitting sirens that could wake up the whole neighborhood were heard outside the house. Judging by the noise and flashing lights of blue and red, cop cars were rapidly approaching.

The man clicked his tongue, pulling the gun away. “Tch. They’re here already?! I didn’t even get to steal the money either! Everything has gone to shit!”

Without another word, the gunman shoved the siblings aside, knocking them sideways as they landed on a puddle of blood. Jerald went to the back of the house and escaped through the backyard, jumping over the fence, leaving the now parentless kids alone until the cops arrived.

****

"…Oh… I guess the scars still sting this badly…"

Tears were streaming down my face as I watched the whole scene unfurl before me. I was watching from behind the kitchen counter in silence. Painful and heart-wrenching memories crashed into me as I thought back to the time before the death of my parents. A life of happiness and laughter with mom and dad... A time that Isaac and I will never go back to.

“What a cruel final challenge this was…” I muttered, wiping the tears with my sleeve. All I could think about right now is how Isaac would react to this. I’m sure that my brother is on the final floor facing the final challenge. If this is a test of the mind, then we are probably facing the same challenge. Most of our experiences have happened with us together, so It’s hard to think of anything else that Isaac might be challenged on. The only thing I can think of is-

As if on cue, another white portal appeared, this time to my left.

"Am I finally being let out?"

There is nothing else for me to do here. Is the final challenge just us facing the turmoil within our hearts? Does it show us our deepest and darkest secrets? Our painful experiences? If it’s only that then this is nothing compared to the other floors. The wound is old, and I’ve had enough time to come to terms with the death of my parents. The man named Jerald was caught and thrown into a high-security prison, facing at least thirty years for second-degree murder without parole, a verdict I was not happy with, but at least the perpetrator has been caught

Isaac and I watched Jerald being handcuffed and led away from the courtroom preparing for his departure. As a kid, and still to this day, I wasn’t satisfied with the man just being put in prison. I wanted him to suffer just as we did. It was so bad that I started to have negative thoughts and emotions swirling inside of me. Thoughts a nine-year-old should never have to think about. I wanted Jerald, the guy who killed my parents, to die by my own hands as I stood over his bleeding corpse with a smile on my face.

That feeling didn’t last long when I saw the look on Isaacs's face. The expression he had on that day shook me to my very core. An expression I wished to never see on my brother's face ever again.

There was a fire in his eyes- an expression of pure hate that could kill a man thousand times over. His forehead was creased and had clenched fists that could rupture a boulder in half with sheer anger alone. I was aghast that Isaac could even express himself like this. The cheerful and fun child I’d grown up with was now gone and replaced with something terrifying. After that day, I decided to do my utmost best to change my brother’s perspective and to get rid of all that hate in his heart. I knew even as a child that harboring this much hate would be detrimental to our mental health, even with all the therapy we went through.

So, with that, I would assist Isaac and be a good influence in whatever way I could, even with the littlest of things. I didn’t spoil the boy though, as I gave him both tough and soft love. It had to be a delicate balance. I adopted my mom's loving mannerisms and my dads sternness. I like to think I did a good job in raising Isaac. He’s ‘normal’, more or less, after all we went through, But I’m starting to think that he might be returning to what he was before. It got me thinking- what would happen if I were to die? Would he lose all hope? Turn into a ball of wrath misery? I shudder at the mere thought of Isaac losing control in this day and age...

Whoosh!

Just like before, I was being sucked into the portal. Since I know that I was powerless against the force, I just let myself be taken away. The last thing I saw as I was being whisked away was a group of cops comforting two squealing kids as they cried out for their parents in the living room. Now, all I could see was white all around me.

"Okay then… where are you taking me now… I hope it's back to reality."

In answer to my question, my body froze, and a new portal opened. I was already half-submerged in the portal, and before long, I was fully immersed.

While I am a ghost, I am still a corporeal being. I’m tangible, while also intangible at the same time. If I wish it to be, I can still feel as if I was there, but my presence won’t be known as if I wasn’t there at all. What I’m getting at here is that the place I’m currently at is cold, and when I say cold, I mean tundra levels of freezing. Almost like I was in the Artic itself. This feeling of being trapped in an ice-cold freezer with no clothes felt familiar. The pain was bearable due to my [Frost Resistance]. Since the sun was gone and replaced with the moon, the temperature dropped even further.

From below, the floor was as white as snow. In fact, this was snow. As I raised my head to where I have found myself, I could feel my stomach stirring at the sight. It’s a place filled to the brim with snow. Everywhere you looked, there was the pearly-white snow that encompassed this forested land. Bare trees missing all their leaves, gray and white Dire Wolves running across the landscape leaving their footprints behind. A crystal fog that blinds your vision from seeing any further, and the stinging sensation within your lungs whenever you breathed in the air…

"…This place is…"

I couldn’t finish my sentence as a new portal opened right behind me. It wasn’t a portal that I was accustomed to just now, but a portal of blue sparks as wide as a closet unfurled. What came out of said portal were two humans. They were dropped right on top of a pile of snow. I glided over to the heap, knowing full well who they were and where I was exactly.

"W-Where a-are we…" A male voice stuttered.

“…I d-don’t know…” A feminine voice squeaked in reply. The pair rose from the ground, their clothes and hair messy with snow and other matter.

…Yep. I know where we are. The locals called this place the Forest of Snow. A place where not even the hottest of suns could melt. A place where only a specific species would be able to live here for long periods of time. A place far west of the Ashia continent. This was South Osmen, the homeland of the Apithiens. An area where Isaac and I were transported to just after Solgac, Morgac, and the others were slaughtered by the Pillar Luna.