We stood in an empty void, nothing visible to us but a sign under a soft spotlight. Particles danced around it, causing our eyes to be caught. The wooden frame practically glowed under the spectacle.

We stepped forward, and the sound of sickening squelching noises filled the atmosphere, causing a passive sense of dread to beat down on me. That is, until I stepped into the light, in which all worries, all my panic, my anxiety—just disappeared.

Though along with those things, so did the warmth around my hands, I turned to to see Emilia no longer with me, my hand wrapped around nothing but the cold air of this dark abyss, before slowly falling to my side.

I turned to the sign, my eyes scanning the carved text on the wooden board.

“Let go of your sins, rest here when the time arises, my arms will always be open, so raise your head, run, and never look back,” I read softly, the words seemed to roll off my tongue, almost as though I was predicting the words to come next; like I’ve heard it…before—

I couldn’t pry my eyes away from the sign, those words replaying constantly like a familiar prayer, almost like they came with their own, gentle and soft voice.

Raise your head, run, and never look back!

My arms are always open

So come to me, ok?

I stared longer than I should at those words, I felt as though I was in a trance. My distracted state oblivious as my body is slowly eaten by the abyss below…

Until my gaze was enveloped in shadow, all light gone in an instant.

“Hey,” A soft voice echoed in a distant void. I felt as though I was floating, all feeling gone. I couldn’t move, yet my mind roamed free; counting down the seconds as time passed me by.

Raise your head,

Run,

My arms are always open,

So come to me ok?

There’s no one, and I mean no one, that loves you more than I do…

“Hey!” The voice grew louder, and louder and louder. A shimmering light appeared above me, shining across my eyelids in hopes of coaxing me back to consciousness. Hesitantly I opened my eyes, the green flashes of my iris shimmering in the white patches that would float above me.

I felt as though I was drowning, above me the light started to take the form of rippling waves.

It seemed so peaceful up there…

Everyone up there seems so carefree, so wonderful.

Slowly I reached for it, my hands desperately reaching for the top, even as I sank deeper and deeper. It felt hopeless. Yet I stretched it further

Hey sister, why were we left behind?

Further.

Do you think one day, we can go up there too?

Further! And further! I kept going, I kept trying to reach yet I got dragged down more and more until…It all changed.

As if it were at just a snap of a finger, I was lying on a wooden floor, my hand stretched out to a purple staircase that spiraled into an unforeseeable ceiling. Slowly I got up, propping my hand up behind me to keep me balanced.

I was surrounded by a small, circular wooden room, the tacky purple wallpaper running up the walls with small bookcases running under them.

“You’re finally up,” I heard a voice, one that was soft and elegant, a woman sat on one of the bookcases; short in stature yet she carried a mysterious aura about her. Her pink gaze lay on my pathetic form on the ground. Striped stockings ran down her slender legs with lolita-styled clothing.

Her black hair was done in low-curtain bangs a lolita hairstyle that framed her youthful face perfectly.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

image [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GdvhZ_9XIAA77fs?format=jpg&name=4096x4096]

“Well? What are you waiting for? If you can walk hurry up and get out!” Her voice is gentle but her words are sharp and piercing.

“Where am I?” I pondered.

“You really don’t remember? This is the fifth time you asked me that! Honestly–” She mumbled, jumping off the bookcase with a soft hup, her heels clicking against the wooden floor as her hands rested on her hips.

“Well if I must remind you!” She scowled down at me, “This is my library, and also the gateway of your trials to revival— I suppose,”

“Trials?” I echoed, finally pushing myself upright, the ache in my limbs unfamiliar but persistent. “What are you talking about?”

The woman huffed in annoyance, rolling her eyes in an exaggerated manner that made her seem far too young for the heavy aura she carried. “Honestly, it’s like you step into this library and leave your brain behind every single time.”

Her heels clicked as she stepped closer, the sound unnaturally loud in the quiet room. She reached into the folds of her dress, pulling out a small black book, its edges frayed like it had been passed through too many hands. With a flick of her wrist, the book snapped open, and the air between us grew heavy.

“Name?” she asked, not bothering to look up.

“Name?” I repeated, confused.

“Yes, yes, yes! Your name! What is it this time!? Eric? Matthew? Tobias? Steven?” I could tell her patience with me was wearing thin.

“Oliver…” I murmured, cutting off her rant and giving her her answer. A moment of silence.

“Oliver?” She muttered again, looking at me as if she was making sure I was serious. Softly, I nodded.

“Oliver.”

“You can’t be serious!” she burst out in boisterous laughter, her feet practically flying as she cackled and roared. “Out of all the names, Oliver?!”

Emilia thought it was a nice name…

With a soft sigh of relief, she stood, her hands smoothing out her dress before turning to me once more.

“Alright, Oliver,” She said with extreme emphasis on my name, raising a finger up as she point to the staircase that spiraled into the ceiling above. “If I have to explain this again I suppose I can,”

“You see that stairwell?” She questioned, waiting until I nodded to continue her explanation and turn to the stairwell. “It leads to your trials—tests you’ll face with anyone who happens to accompany you.”

“And the point of these trials?” I asked, squinting at her.

She smirked, the glint in her pink eyes almost playful. “Reincarnation. But don’t get too excited.”

“What’s the catch?”

“The number of trials? Unknown. Even I don’t know how many you’ll face. And whether you finish alone or with someone, you’ll always return here by yourself.” She crossed her arms, her tone sharp. “Now, those are the basics. Got it?”

I nod to her words, though it’s hard to wrap my head around the fact I’m even here— this all feels so surreal…

“So that means…”

“That means that girl is in her own book chamber, talking to her own version of me,” She interjected, sitting on one of the bookcases once more. Her tiny hands drew out one of the books, flipping through the pages. “Whenever you’re ready just climb the staircase, and please do try to survive this time,”

“R-right…” I muttered, slowly walking towards the stairwell, my hands rubbing against the wooden shell before I ended up at the entrance and took my first steps…