The Nightmare
Tyra slept in her magma-lined bed, the warmth usually a comfort after her recent ordeals. However, a gnawing sensation of being watched disturbed her rest. Jolted awake, she found herself not in her familiar home but in a decaying, foreboding mansion. The shift was instant and unnerving—her fiery domain replaced by eerie silence and shadowy halls.
Panicking, Tyra began to explore. Her hands skimmed the cold walls, searching desperately for an exit or anything familiar. The pictures on the walls depicted creatures and symbols she didn’t recognize—alien and unnerving in their strangeness. Her panic deepened when she realized she was no longer wearing her suit. Clad only in a tattered robe she didn’t remember donning, Tyra felt vulnerable. She stifled a scream, steeling herself to continue searching.
The Exploration
Room by room, Tyra uncovered unsettling details. The mansion had the grandeur of royalty but was in ruins. Broken chairs, overturned furniture, and shattered glass painted a picture of chaos and decay. Every door she opened revealed more emptiness, with damaged remnants of a bygone era that spoke of wealth lost to time.
As she ventured deeper, she found scraps of documents. The yellowed papers spoke cryptically of a "great discovery" that would "revolutionize Arcana." Words like mixing, leaving behind the binary, and new frontiers for the mixed caught her attention but made little sense. As she pieced together the fragmented text, terms like the Bone, the Hooves, and the Vegetarianism and Carnivorous Frontier left her more puzzled.
Among the debris in one room, she found a functioning pistol with a handful of bullets—antiquated technology in Arcana. It was something tangible, at least, to defend herself in this increasingly unnerving environment. In the kitchen, she found a set of rusted keys labeled "Basement." Memories of countless horror stories deterred her from even considering descending into the unknown depths. She shuddered at the thought and instead rummaged for food, discovering strange, outdated brands she couldn’t recognize—brands clearly meant for animals.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The Encounter
As Tyra left the kitchen, the oppressive feeling of being watched returned. Her skin prickled as her grip tightened on the pistol. When she blinked, she thought she saw a head peering around the corner—a grotesque, elongated form that wasn’t human.
Fear froze her, but the sound of footsteps jolted her into motion. She backed away slowly, her breath quickening. With each step, the sensation of another presence grew stronger. Then it appeared—a grotesque, smiling beast with an uncanny resemblance to a colossal dog. Its distorted limbs and hollow grin made Tyra’s blood run cold.
Without hesitation, Tyra fired all her bullets at the creature. The shots echoed through the mansion but had no effect. The beast only drew closer each time she blinked, its grin unwavering. She turned and ran, desperate to escape, but the creature’s presence was inescapable. It caught her with ease, its jaws tearing into her arms first. The pain was excruciatingly real. Then it moved to her legs, leaving her helpless.
When the beast opened its maw wide to consume her head—
The Awakening
Tyra awoke with a jolt, gasping for breath and clutching at her sheets. Her arms and legs were intact, but the terror lingered. She wiped the sweat from her brow, trembling as she recalled every visceral detail of the nightmare. It had felt so real—the decay of the mansion, the cryptic documents, and the grinning, unstoppable creature.
It was still dark, the glowing numbers on her Grimo Magma Phone reading 5:40 a.m. She curled up on her bed, trying to calm her racing heart. Though she was safe now, the memory of that thing left her shaken.
Tyra turned on her phone, scrolling aimlessly to distract herself. Images of Skully and Frosty, the skeleton and snowman she had encountered before, surfaced in her mind. They felt oddly familiar now, but the creature from her nightmare didn’t. What was that thing? And why did she feel like it was somehow tied to her?
Resolving to investigate in the morning, Tyra sighed and put her phone down. She had a long day ahead of her, filled with questions and uncertainties. For now, though, she had to rest—if her mind would let her.