On each side of Florence, lollipops sprouted from the crushed biscuits. A shadow grew as it loomed over her. The ground shook, clattering her bones. The cotton candies above drifted like clouds, watching over what would happen.

The rat approached Florence, flinging his tail from right to left.

Stella trembled, crouching and covering her face with the four wet packaging boxes.

An eerie silence penetrated the sweet air as Yuze snored on Aisling’s back. Everyone, including Sam and the mob of NPCs, cheered.

“Where is the exit?” Florence asked.

Aisling coughed, cupping her mouth. “Wrong time to ask.”

“Did you seriously think you could escape?” The rat growled. “You’re going to stay here in this candy wonderland.”

“Pardon me, I am slightly busy,” Florence said. “Could you perhaps show us the path that leads into the Walled City?”

Stella yelped, jumping high up.

“So, you’re gonna shut your mouth or what,” Aisling said.

Stella peeped over the stack of packaging boxes with her jaw dropping open. She pointed at herself.

“I’m not talking about you,” Aisling said. She glanced over to Florence and then the rat.

“Me?” Florence asked.

“Why do you even want to go there?” The rat hissed. “You filthy Players.”

All of them remained in silence.

“You’re going to answer me,” the rat said. “Even if you don’t want to answer. You’ll eventually spit it out one way or another.”

Florence raised her eyebrows. “It is none of your beeswax. Plus, I have nothing in my mouth that I have to spit out.”

“What’re you talking about? You don’t even have beeswax.”

“I do not mean it literally.”

Sam hissed, stepping away from the towering rat.

The rat’s eyes popped out of his sockets. “What do you want now, Sam?”

“My reward, aye,” Sam said.

“Later.”

“Catnips and money. Give it now.”

“Again.”

“Aye, where’s it?”

Florence raised her hand into the air.

The rat rolled his eyes. “Just… stop,” he said. “This is just… absurd at this point. Don’t any of you think so?”

Every single NPC nodded in unison.

“See, even those idiots agree,” the rat said. He rubbed the pink ribbon on his tail, turning his head to Florence. “Anyway, what makes you think you can easily escape me?”

Sam hissed. “Give me. Right now, pleb.”

“How about showing me the entrance to the Walled City? That would be nice,” Florence said. “I am a bit busy.”

“Wrong timing to say it, Florence,” Aisling said.

“Do you think I care?” The rat squeaked. “If I guess, you’re one of those occult detectives or Players who want fame and glory.”

Florence took a step back. “How did you… what?”

“I think… I mean, I think we should go… now,” Stella said.

Aisling coughed, wheezing. “Yup, this is gonna be great,” she said.

“How about no?” The rat scratched his face, salivating from the corner of his mouth. “You shall entertain me until you die. Also, did you forget what you had done?”

The mob of NPCs gasped, covering their mouths.

“Pardon me, I know we might have ruined this chess competition… I guess,” Florence said. “So, I want to apologize on Aisling’s behalf.”

Aisling squinted with a smile. “Hey, what did I do?”

“You didn’t just ruin it. You destroyed it,” the rat said. “Literally, borderline psychotic.”

“Well, I actually did not,” Florence said, pointing at Aisling. “She did it.”

A gal with reindeer horns sprouting from her raised her hand in the middle of all the NPCs. “Where’s our reward?”

“Unbelievable,” the rat said. “Kill them.”

Yuze lifted her head with her eyes half closed. “Kill who?”

“Yup, this is a bit confusing,” Aisling said.

“You.” The rat nibbled his nails. “Kill those Players, now.”

The mob around Florence screeched.

Sam hissed, pouncing on Aisling and clawing her face. She screamed, wrestling him, releasing her grip on Yuze. Yuze fell, crunching the crushed biscuits below her. Aisling stumbled, tripping over Yuze. Still, Sam managed to stay put on Aisling’s face.

At the same time, all the NPCs ran, jumping onto Florence, squashing her beneath their weight. The air pushed out of Florence’s lungs, depriving her of oxygen.

Stella yelped, excavating a tunnel beneath her.

Florence struggled and choked. Everything faded, fainting into darkness. She crawled and kicked. But not moving in the slightest.

A shiver ran down her nerves, and goosebumps spread across her skin. An encouraging whisper from her sister echoed in Florence’s ears. After everything that had happened in the past, from the cries and screams of the Great War, this was the ridiculous way to end.

No… she couldn’t simply let go. She must continue on to survive.

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Fingers wrapped around her inflamed forearm, pulling her out. The weight that piled on her disappeared.

The whispering faded, turning into silence.

Her vision cleared up. The rat didn’t move with his jaw open inches from her face. Everyone in her surroundings didn’t budge. Then she got pushed to the side, facing cotton candy frozen high up.

Aisling laughed, clenching her abdomen. “Hey, you wanna wake up or what?”

“Pardon?” Florence asked.

“Sorry, I just can’t hold myself in.”

“Holding yourself in for what?”

“Yup.”

“Absolutely not; I am just wondering why it is like… I do not know what is even going on?”

Aisling wheezed, crouching on the ground. Blood oozed out of her mouth, splashing on the ground. At the same time, the NPCs screeched behind Florence. Stella peeped through the hole she made.

Yuze snored.

“I told you to go to the hospital countless times,” Florence said. “I lost count of it.”

“How haven’t you realized that I saved you with this time manipulation deus ex machina thingy three times… or something… I kinda can’t remember.” Aisling inhaled and exhaled with a shaky breath. She grabbed Florence on the wrist and ran towards Sam.

Sam dilated his pupils. “Hold up. I was like… wait, what? When did you get over there?”

Aisling scooped Sam under his belly. He slapped her.

Sam hissed. “What’re you doing?”

“I’m tactically your owner,” Aisling said.

“You got it the other way around, pleb.”

“Really? Gonna be honest, this is kinda not interesting coming from you.”

The rat swung his tail.

Aisling ducked, yanking Stella out of her hole.

Florence’s head jolted back as she got slammed in the face. She soared, dragging Aisling and Stella along. They landed next to Yuze with a crunch.

“Well, that was convenient,” Aisling said.

A trickle of blood oozed from the nostril of Florence, tickling her as it went down to her chin. She wiped. “Pardon me, but how exactly?”

Sam sank his teeth into Aisling’s flesh.

Aisling screamed. She released her grip around Sam.

“Get your hands off me, pleb,” Sam said.

A bloke with machine arms lunged at Aisling.

Aisling ducked. “What was that for?”

An ox horn sticking out of a woman’s forehead charged over Aisling, slamming her face onto the rat’s fluff.

“How did you… you know?” Florence asked.

Aisling pulled Florence to her side. A fist Florence scratched past her cheeks.

“Would you like to stop talking for a moment?” Aisling slammed her foot between the legs of someone behind Florence.

Florence wheeled around.

A male NPC with fish gills on his neck moaned, clutching the spot where he got kicked. He thudded to his knees. Tears trickled down his face, splashing onto the crushed biscuit’s ground.

“Brutal,” Florence said.

“Do I have to repeat myself?” Aisling asked. “Because I don’t wanna do it.”

Yuze opened her eyes, pulling her revolver out, aiming it at the male with fish gills on his neck.

The revolver clicked.

But… nothing… not even a bullet flew out of the barrel.

“I forgot,” Yuze said. Her stomach growled.

“I should have reminded you to bring it next time, Yuze,” Aisling said. She coughed, sidestepping a swing from the rat’s tail. “Idiot.”

The ground vibrated.

A smug smile plastered onto Yuze’s face.

“How do we get out of this situation?” Florence asked.

“Everyone stop talking,” Aisling said, lifting Yuze and Stella up. “Do all of you really wanna fight and chit-chat simultaneously? Because it’s kinda distracting to do both.”

The rat’s tail swept across the ground. Crumblets of the crushed flew off, blinding Florence.

“No,” the rat said.

“Come on.” Aisling clicked her tongue, gripping onto the handle. “This is just… stupid.”

Florence glanced at the sheathed dagger. “Why are you not using it?”

Stella screamed, shaking uncontrollably.

Aisling coughed, inching backward to the forest of lollipops. “What thing?”

“Your dagger,” Florence said.

“Great, trying to kill us faster, I see.”

“Pardon?”

“Also, do you wanna shut your mouth or something?”

Sam hissed, crouching down with his head outstretched. He prowled, closing the gap between Aisling.

Aisling rolled her eyes. She pinched at the scruff of Sam’s neck, picking him up.

Sam hissed. “Let me go, pleb.”

“Nope,” Aisling said.

“How about yes.” The rat squeaked. “Sorry, but he is my employee.”

“You got it the other way, pleb,” Sam said. He extended his claws, scratching the air. But with each swipe, he missed his target on Aisling.

Aisling breezed into the forest of lollipops, dragging Florence, Stella, and Yuze, bringing Sam as well. Florence looked over her shoulder. The NPCs chased after them, but for some reason, the rat froze with a wide grin.

Florence sneezed. “Pardon me, why are they still standing over there?”

“I don’t know,” Aisling said. “Do you really wanna find out that badly?”

“Absolutely not.”

The towering lollipops blurred, stalking Florence. The cotton candies above in the sky zapped past her head. Each step sped towards a single direction, going deeper into this candy forest. Sweetness filled her nostrils as she inhaled and exhaled, not looking back at the land rumbling and NPCs screeching behind her.

Aisling, still pinching Sam, dragged Florence, Yuze, and Stella into the same opening. Somehow, they circled back where the rat grinned.

The rat opened his arms. “Welcome back.”

“How did we even get over there?” Florence pointed at the ground. “Just… how?”

“Because this place is haunted, pleb,” Sam said.

The rat squeaked. “Couldn’t I have some fun with you until you die?”

Yuze salivated. “Lollipop.”

The rat stomped, trembling the crushed biscuits below his feet, outstretching his claws.

Florence squinted at the rat, dropping her head down.

“What? This is supposed to be the part where all of you scream,” the rat said.

With her hold tight on Sam, Aisling breezed past the rat, pulling Florence, Yuze, and Stella along. Stella yelped, hiding her face.

“How did you expect me to be scared,” Florence said. “Especially in a place like this where I could take a literal bite out of anything and not die.”

Aisling raised her hand up. “Could we all agree this is totally scary… not.”

“How are you certain that this place is haunted? How did we even end up in the same place before?”

“You’ll get used to it. Yup, this essentially confirms that it’s haunted by a ghost, even though I already kinda knew it.”

“How did you know?”

“Seriously? You’re asking me now.”

“This rat does not fit my definition of a ghost.”

“Gonna be honest here, that is a ghost. But it is kinda hard to tell what it used to be.”

“Definitely a rat.”

“I’m not talking about that at all.”

Sam hissed, clawing the air aimlessly.

“Hey, what’re you doing?” The rat slammed his tail on the crushed biscuit’s ground. “Come back. It’s pointless trying to run.”

“This is ridiculous.” Florence groaned as her legs throbbed. “Why is it so hard to get back home?”

“I thought, didn’t you just say you want to go to the Walled City,” Stella said.

“You too. Why’re all of you like this?” Aisling wheezed. “Believe me, you don’t want to know what happened between me and Yuze with Florence.”

“It was not that bad,” Florence said.

“Bad,” Yuze said. “Bad boy.”

Sam dilated his pupils. “Me. No, you are the bad boy.”

“Pardon me, but I think Yuze looks like a gal,” Florence said.

“Yup, because she is one,” Aisling and Sam said.

Every second, the rumbling inched closer. Florence, Aisling, Yuze, Stella, and Sam re-entered the forest of lollipops again, with the mob screeching and chasing behind them. Florence grinned, opening her eyes wide. At this point, something clicked inside Florence’s brain, and the lollipops blurred together as she fled past it.

“What’s with that face, Florence?” Aisling tilted her head. “Whatever you’re thinking right now. We’re not gonna do it.”

“I have got an idea,” Florence said.

“Please don’t give it or info dump your backstory here.”

“Do NPCs look up?”

“This is stupid… we’re not doing whatever you’re planning.”