Act 0 Chapter 2: The Dark Abyss

Exactly as the cottage had looked outside, its interior was small and old, many of its structure decayed, and others crumbling. Even the few furniture inside were all worn out. Holes can be found at the walls of the crumbling cottage, through which light passed, keeping the interior well-lit. Moreover, the atmosphere within the room was foggy and chilly, making it hard to see things from a distance.

The atmosphere within the cottage was well enough strange. However, the trio ignored that as they quickly rummaged through the entire place. The cottage was by no means huge, and in a matter of minutes, they managed to turn everything inside out.

“Hey, did you guys find anything?” Asked Farah.

“Nope, nothing here.” Replied Sarah as she closed a small cabinet.

“How about on your side, Solomon?” 

“Umm… I think, I might have found something.”

At Solomon’s words, everyone gathered to him.

“What is it?” Asked Farah, a little excited.

“Help me move this thing first.” Said Solomon, pointing to a bed.

*Creak

The trio pushed the bed away.

“Woah, there’s a hatch!” Exclaimed Farah.

“Oh, so that’s what it was. I peeked through the gap a little a while ago, and I thought something was there.” Said Solomon, a little surprised.

“It’s not a bad find at all, Solomon. Come on, let’s go open it.” Suggested, Sarah.

The hatch was wooden and unlocked. Moreover, it had a handle, making it easy to open. So they pulled on the handle, and swung the door open. But as soon as they did, the atmosphere in the room immediately grew colder. On the other side of the hatch was a wooden ladder, leading down to a place too dark to make out.

*Whimper

*Gulp

For some reason, Grumpy suddenly recalled the chill he felt before entering the cottage, and he started whimpering again. This time around though, he wasn’t alone. Even the twins felt it as they visibly gulped. Solomon did as well, but he had already felt that something was here, so it didn’t bother him too much. No matter what, Solomon wanted to find out what the mystery was behind this cottage. But at the same time, he didn’t want to impose too much on the twins, so he offered to go down first, and do some recon.

“Hey, you two. How about I go down by myself first? Then after I make sure everything’s clear, I can go back up and call you guys.”

Solomon meant well, but unfortunately, the tough-acting Farah wasn’t going to have any of it. And immediately, she pulled herself together, and slapped on her tough act.

“A-Are you implying that I’m scared?” Questioned Farah

“N-No, it’ s just…”

“Hmph! You should know better than think this great Farah is going to be scared of some lame ghosts.”

Said Farah with the toughest expression she could muster.

“Tee hee, even though your face looked like that a while ago.” Retorted Sarah.

“I-I wasn’t scared! Look, I’ll even be the first to go down!”

Not wanting to admit that she was scared, Farah rashly went down the ladder.

“Ah! Wait for me!”

“M-Me too!”

Immediately, Sarah and Solomon followed after her, and they too went down the ladder.

Grumpy, thinking that he had been forgotten heaved a sigh of relief. But alas, the dog’s reprieve was but short-lived as Solomon quickly went back to pick him up when he realized Grumpy was forgotten. Grumpy seeing Solomon’s happy face that looked like it was saying, “Look, I didn’t forget you. Aren’t I nice?” felt the urge to bite him, but he refrained since he didn’t want to trouble his mistresses. Like this, the whole group went down the ladder, where they were greeted by an abysmally dark room.

“What is this? It’s too dark.” Complained Farah.

“You didn’t bring your phone too?” Asked Sarah.

“Nope. It’s too bad, huh? I could’ve sworn I had a flashlight app there too. Haha, but what’s done is done. Since we can’t see anything, we might as well go back up.”

“Ah! Don’t worry, I have a flash light app on my phone. We can use that to explore the area.”

“Tch…”

“Eh?”

Seeing that the twins didn’t have a flashlight with them, Solomon suggested to use his phone. But for some reason, Farah just clicked her tongue and stared needles at him, while Sarah just silently gave him a thumbs up. Solomon was a little confused at that, but ignoring the twins’ strange behavior, he took out his phone, and used his flashlight app to light the room.

“What the… isn’t this just a normal storeroom?”

Just as Sarah had mentioned, there was certainly nothing out of the ordinary in the room. There were some broken craters here and there, nothing special. There was a stool lying on the floor, and then there were cobwebs near the corners of the ceiling. It was a truly ordinary, if not old, storeroom. Yes, completely ordinary, except… there was a huge object standing right at the center of the room, covered by a large dirty cloth.

“Hmm… well the only thing that looks worthwhile is that big thing, so... let’s go check it out, I guess?”

At Farah’s suggestion, the group went towards that object. Working together, the group carefully pulled the cloth away, taking care not to push the object down or break it. And when the cloth had been pulled away, what they uncovered was a large, double door made out of what looked to be a dark, sturdy stone, and was around fifteen feet in height and seven feet in width.

“Oh… it’s a door.” Said Farah, with an obvious lack of interest.

“Too bad it wasn’t a ghost, huh?” Replied Sarah.

“Idiot, why would I want a ghost?”

“Obviously so you can show me your scared face!”

“You!”

At that, the twins began to bicker again. Ignoring them, Solomon went to examine the door by himself. The door stood at the center of the room, so clearly it should not be connected anywhere. But still, Solomon walked around it, believing that there was something to this door.

There was not much logic behind it, if any at all. The only real basis Solomon had for his actions was a strange fear welling up from deep inside him. A strange fear that he has never felt before. A sort of fear that’s screaming inside his head, telling him that the living should not be here, much less tamper with the door before him. But it is that very same fear that’s pushing him to keep on investigating.

“If by chance, there truly was something otherworldly to this then... just maybe…” With that line of thought, hope for the impossible dream was rekindled within Solomon, and he pushed open the door.

“Ha… haha… ”

Solomon’s stifled laughter caught the sisters’ attention, and they looked over. Rays of light shot through the opening door, illuminating the room. At the same time, cold wind blew in accompanied by the scent of nature. Not one of them could believe their eyes. Who could’ve thought that, that isolated door would actually lead somewhere?

“Wh-… B-But how?”

“That’s… impossible.”

The two twins were completely dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Solomon was also shocked, but in his daze and in his excitement, he unconsciously stepped forward.

“W-Wait! Don’t go!”

Exclaimed Farah, but it was too late. Solomon had already gone through the door.

“Ahh! That stupid kid! Why did he just step through it?”

As Farah complained she walked towards the door.

“Haha, that kid’s surprisingly gutsy, huh?”

Cheerfully said Sarah as she followed after her sister.

“It’s a good thing you’re not like him, otherwise, how could you ever be such a pleasurable toy for your younger sister? Tee hee.” Continued Sarah as she hugged her sister’s right arm.

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“You… you just won’t let it die, will you?”

“Well… you’re always acting tough, so I figured I’d milk this scared you while I can.”

“…”

Seeing the twins going through the door merrily, Grumpy shook his head as he too followed after them. But as soon as he went through the door, he couldn’t help but visibly gulp.

“This… isn’t our world, is it?”  

Those words escaped someone’s lips, but it fell on deaf ears. Completely taken by shock, the group stood there, unmoving, almost lifeless as they looked around them, unbelieving.  

The endless gray sky that hung above them. The grassless land that stretched as far as the eyes could see. And that great, thick fog that covered the land. Everything here was screaming to them that they were no longer in their hometown.

A land unlike their hometown and an isolated door that led to an unknown land. There was only one way to explain it… a portal. Only, to where?

*SLAM!

Suddenly the door behind them shut close. Immediately, everyone’s heart fell as panic rushed through their minds. Quickly, they turned back towards the door and attempted to reopen it, but before even being able to take a step towards it, the door faded away, leaving them in that world with no way home.

“No…way” Muttered Farah, her voice clearly shocked.

After that, silence passed. No one uttering a word. The whole group was completely silent, shocked. But it can’t be helped, because this turn of events was truly far too sudden, leaving their minds at a mess, a whirlpool of emotions raging through them. Fear, guilt, anxiety… countless thoughts and emotions all jumbled together within their mind. And then without giving them rest, they heard it.

*Roar

A great roar bellowed out. And immediately, their already sunken countenance had turned even grimmer. They didn’t know where it was coming from, but that mattered little. All that mattered was that there was something bad in here. Something that might kill them. Moreover, they were in a foreign world. A world they were completely unfamiliar with. In a world like this, where would they run?

Grumpy, realizing that the situation had gone for the worst, racked his canine brain as hard as he could. “At this rate we’re all going to die,” thought Grumpy. “Whatever that thing that roared was it can’t be any good.” But Grumpy didn’t know where they were. Even if he were to use his nose, what use could it possibly be when he didn’t even know what the smell of this beast they were running away from was?

Then Grumpy felt it again. That same sensation that led him to the cottage in the first place. That strange curiosity driving at his instincts, screaming at him to follow it. “Ah! Could it be! Could it be that there’s another door somewhere?” Hope rekindled within Grumpy, he ran towards the direction he was being called, and then he stopped shortly, turned to the trio, and barked, saying, “Follow me!”

The first to react to Grumpy’s bark was Sarah.

“A-Ah! L-Look guys! Grumpy seems to have an idea! Let’s follow his lead!” Said Sarah, her voice clearly affected by the current situation.

“B-But this isn’t our world. How could he know where to go?” Dubiously asked Farah.

“Who cares? Grumpy has a good nose, so the fog shouldn’t affect him as much. And being an animal, I’m sure his instincts are better than ours.” Persuaded Sarah

“B-But what if we get even more lost? I mean the door-“

“Forget the door! We don’t have the luxury to see if it’ll come back, and we can’t be standing here waiting for whatever that thing that roared, find us! We need to go!”

At Sarah’s persuasion, Farah gulped, and she nodded. Having no other choice, the whole group decided to follow Grumpy’s lead into the fog. They didn’t know where they were, or where they were headed. But they ran and ran, blindly following Grumpy’s lead, hoping deep inside that they’ll find a way back. Or at least… never have to meet whatever that thing that roared was.

*Whimper

The dog having hit something, whimpered as it stopped. The group stopped, gulping, they quietly looked onwards. Then through the thick fog, a giant stood up, its back facing them. Being fifteen feet tall with tawny skin, muscles bulging out from every corner of its body, and a bull’s head, it was a giant minotaur.

Immediately, without waiting for it to turn around, the dog turned left, and started running. Realizing the dog’s intention, the group quickly followed after it, and they ran as fast as they could, not even looking back once. A minute passed, and the giant minotaur turned, grinning at the running group. Then opening its mouth, it bellowed out a great roar towards them.

Fear pierced into everyone’s hearts. But none of them uttered a word, each of them too afraid, and too focused at running. Then the giant minotaur began to walk.

*Boom *Boom

Each of its steps shook the earth. The rhythm starting slowly, but then gradually, that sound grew faster and faster, until the sound finally turned into a full sprint. At that, panic immediately raced through everyone’s minds, and they ran even faster. But as they were running, they suddenly noticed that the sound had stopped. Curiosity having reached its peak, Solomon couldn’t help but turn his head to take a look. Then he saw it, the giant minotaur standing a hundred meters away, the fog dispersing from its breath. As Solomon gulped, the giant minotaur suddenly jumped.

“Guys! Dodge it! It’s jumping!”

At Solomon’s shout, the whole group turned to look, and seeing the giant minotaur jumping for them, they ran out of the way.

*BOOM!

As the giant minotaur landed next to them, the earth let out a great cry as it spit out a shower of dust and earth at the nearby group. Then slowly, the giant minotaur began to stand. As it turned, it showed a grin as if saying, “Play time’s over.” At that moment, despair filled everyone’s heart. It’s over, they thought. But then-

*ROAR! *BOOM!

Suddenly, lightning struck from somewhere, crashing into the Minotaur’s back.

*Roar!

The Minotaur turned around, and then it bellowed out an ear-piercing roar. Not waiting to see what was going on, Grumpy barked, calling the others’ attention. When he saw that the others had noticed him. He began to run again, following the lead of the feeling inside of him.

*ROAR! *BOOM! *BOOM! *Roar!

The roar of thunder, the crash of lightning, and the wild rampage of the giant minotaur and its raging cries could be heard in the background as the group desperately ran.

“What the hell are those things!?” Screamed Farah.

“I don’t know! Just keep on running!” Replied Sarah.

The group ran and ran, until finally, Grumpy came to a halt.

“What’s wrong Grump-“

As Sarah was about to ask Grumpy that, she saw it. Grumpy had reached a dead end. And now they were standing right at the edge of a cliff. Sarah walked forward in disbelief, and she looked down that cliff. Below was a nostalgic view. Pure darkness. Just like that time they went down that ladder, it was abysmally dark. But this time, it was the real thing. There was no ladder to gently climb down. Being at the edge of the cliff, the only way out was to either jump or look for a different way. When she realized that, she limped to the ground, her legs having lost all strength.

“No way…” Muttered Sarah, her voice, weak. Her expression, filled with despair.

When Farah saw her twin so weak, she tried to cheer her up, but then –

*ROAR! *CRASH!

A great roar bellowed from the heavens. And a wingless, yellow dragon fell from the sky, crashing into the ground. At impact, the earth cried, and shockwaves exploded forth, sending waves of forces crashing in all directions. That force crashed into the group, pushing all of them into the abyss.