“Tai! Tai!”

Tai groggily stirred from his sleep, his body heavy with the weight of the early morning. A faint voice echoed through the room.

“Huh? Oh, I’m awake. What time is it?”

Tai mumbled, his voice thick with drowsiness, eyes still half-closed.

Bloom, standing at the foot of his bed, gave him a concerned look. Her brows furrowed in an expression that was both anxious and apologetic.

“I know I was supposed to wake you at sunrise, Tai, but… I heard a scream.”

Tai’s expression shifted immediately. His eyes snapped open, and his exhaustion vanished in an instant.

“A scream?”

He sat up, the sudden surge of alertness leaving him fully awake.

Bloom nodded, her face pale, her voice dropping into a quieter tone.

“Yes, a scream. I think it came from a female.”

“A female?”

Tai’s brows knitted together in concern.

“You should’ve said that sooner, Bloom. Let’s go.”

Tai quickly sprang from the bed, He began to gather his things—his armor and weapons. He pulled on his chestplate, tightened the straps, and then grabbed his wands, sliding them into the special pouch around his waist.

In a blur of motion, Tai reached the window, throwing it open with a force that made the old frame creak in protest. Without hesitation, he jumped out, landing gracefully on the ground below with a soft thud. His feet barely made a sound on the soft earth as he looked around.

“Where did you hear the scream, Bloom?”

Tai called back over his shoulder, his voice now laced with urgency.

She pointed toward the side of the building.

“I heard it coming from behind that building over there.”

Tai nodded, his face hardening with resolve. “Alright, stay close.”

They moved quickly, weaving through alleyways and obstacles as they approached the rear of the building. Tai’s senses were on high alert now, every sound in the environment sharp in his ears. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest, but he focused on the task at hand. His eyes scanned the area methodically, seeking any sign of distress.

They rounded the corner of the building and arrived at an area where the ground was marked with strange, shallow impressions. Tai stopped in his tracks. His gaze flickered to the abandoned boxes and overturned carts scattered haphazardly across the dirt.

Tai knelt, his fingers brushing the marks on the ground, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

“Are you sure you heard a scream from here?”

he asked, his voice low, trying to assess the situation.

Bloom stepped forward hesitantly, her voice barely above a whisper,

“Yes, Tai… I’m sure. It was a woman’s scream, I swear.”

Her gaze shifted nervously over the area, as if searching for something she couldn’t quite name.

Tai’s mind raced. He stood, scanning the surroundings. There was no sign of any immediate danger, but something felt off. His instincts told him that the scream wasn’t a simple cry for help—it felt deeper, more ominous.

“Stay sharp,”

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Tai murmured, his hand instinctively brushing over the hilt of his wands. He turned his gaze back to Bloom.

“If something’s not right, we need to find out what happened. Now.”

Bloom’s voice was barely a whisper, a tremble in her tone.

“Lo–lo- look, there’s a blood trail… it’s going under the boxes, and the mark…”

She swallowed hard, the words barely escaping her lips.

“The mark is a pink grave.”

Tai’s eyes narrowed, his body tensing at the mention of the strange symbol. He didn’t waste a moment.

“A pink grave?”

he repeated, his voice low, filled with suspicion and urgency. He strode over to the trash can, eyes scanning the area around them for any sign of danger. With one swift kick, he sent the trash can tumbling to the side.

What lay beneath wasn’t what he had expected. A narrow hole in the ground, dark and ominous, beckoned him downward. His instincts screamed that this was the beginning of something far darker than they’d anticipated. He glanced back at Bloom.

“Alright, if I’m right, there could be something down there—about the pink grave. We might find that girl too.”

Bloom stepped closer, her face pale, eyes wide with concern.

“Tai, be careful. There could be traps.”

“Traps?”

Tai raised an eyebrow, unsure if she was simply overthinking the situation.

Bloom’s voice dropped into a whisper, as though the very thought of it made her skin crawl.

“Yes. People… people put traps in places like this to capture or kill anyone who gets too close. I’ve heard stories.”

Tai nodded solemnly. He’d faced worse before, but he wasn’t about to underestimate the danger.

“It’s alright. I’ll be careful,” he reassured her, though his mind was already focused on what lay ahead. “But first…”

With a thought , a lantern materialized in his palm, casting an eerie glow in the dim surroundings.

Tai crouched and, without another word, dropped into the hole. The descent was slow and cautious, the tunnel narrow and winding as though it had been carved with malicious intent. The air felt heavier the deeper he went, the faint smell of earth mingling with something far worse—decay.

He walked for what felt like an eternity, the faint light from the lantern flickering as he moved, illuminating the jagged rocks and uneven path ahead. The silence was thick, almost suffocating, until his lantern illuminated something that made his blood run cold.

A patch of dark red stained the dirt floor—a fresh pool of blood.

Tai’s throat tightened. He took a cautious step forward, only to find that the blood trail didn’t stop there. No, it continued, streaking down the walls, pooling in dark pools along the floor. The sight was worse than anything he had imagined. It wasn’t just a trickle—it was a flood. The blood had been left to congeal and dry, but it was clear it had come from something—or someone—very recently.

Tai’s stomach turned. His feet slowed, and before he could stop himself, he pressed a hand against the wall, leaning heavily on it as the sickening reality of the situation hit him all at once. The blood, the scent of death in the air… it was too much. His breath quickened, and suddenly he doubled over, his stomach lurching.

He vomited onto the cold, hard floor. His body trembled as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I don’t know about this, Bloom,”

he muttered, his voice hoarse, thick with nausea.

“The blood… it’s everywhere. It keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

“We heard a scream—a female’s scream. We need to save her, Tai. We might find clues about this pink grave… for the quest you know.”

Tai took a shuddering breath, her words grounding him. He nodded, trying to clear the images from his mind.

“You’re right,”

he said quietly, forcing himself to stand tall again.

“I have to stay focused. But the blood… it looks so gross.”

Bloom squeezed his shoulder gently, her voice unwavering.

“We’ve come this far. We can’t stop now. Let’s keep going.”

Tai exhaled sharply and gave her a small nod.

“You’re right. We can’t stop now. But I need to think of something from my world”

A mask then appeared on tai’s face

“Wow! It really worked”

“Whats that on your face?”

“ it’s a mask to hide the smell, it’s from my old world”

“It looks weird but I’m glad it helps you”

Tai continued forward. The walls of the cave seemed to close in around them, the blood becoming more and more pervasive. His lantern flickered as if it too was unsure of what lay ahead. Time felt distorted as they walked deeper into the labyrinthine tunnel, but finally, through the haze of blood and stench, Tai saw it.

A wooden door.

It was old, warped with age, the hinges rusted and barely hanging on. But something about it felt wrong, a sense of foreboding emanating from the very structure. Tai approached cautiously, but as he reached for the door, a wave of fetid air washed over him. The stench was unbearable, a mixture of rot, decay, and something far more grotesque. Tai recoiled, his mask couldn’t even stop the smell.

Bloom’s voice came again, more urgent this time.

“Hurry, Tai! I can sense her presence… the woman we heard. She’s in that room.”

Tai’s heart pounded in his chest, Gripping his fire wand, Tai turned back to the door. Without hesitation, he kicked it open, the aged wood groaning in protest. As the door swung wide, the stench hit him full force, but he pushed through, eyes narrowing as he scanned the dimly lit interior.

The room was shrouded in shadows, the air thick with tension. But Tai didn’t hesitate. He stepped inside, to find the mysterious girl.