Alex stood in a middle of a ballroom, surrounded by ghosts waltzing around him as if he was invisible while floating instruments played classical music on stage.
He sighed, searching his pockets for his phone before realizing that he didn't have it with him.
He sighed loudly, throwing his head back in frustration as he dragged a hand down his face, "Great, just fucking great. I'm trapped in this fever dream of a nightmare without my phone and I don't know where Max is. I'm sure the System is having a field day about this."
'If only I didn't touch that crystal, none of this would've happened. I wonder what my parents are doing now.'
The music stopped abruptly and the ghosts vanished, followed by a familiar creaking behind him, making him freeze with goosebumps erupting on his arms as a chill ran down his spine.
He gulped and then a deep breath then walked out of the room without looking back, speed walking into the hallway, thinking that he successfully avoided it.
Creeeak
He looked behind him only to see a white door opening, revealing a void that stared back at him.
Wasting no time, he ran. Down the hallway, up stairs in a desperate attempt to lose the door, only to tense up at the increasing sound of slamming and the creaking of rusty hinges. He peeked over his shoulder to see it... chasing him.
The freaking door was chasing him as it glided on the floor.
Alex felt like crying, laughing and screaming all at the same time as his heart raced, his eyes facing ahead, the hallway feeling like an endless loop.
He reached for the daggers strapped on the belt and aimlessly threw them behind him in hopes of stopping the door or slowing it down as he threw as many as he could.
He felt his belt for another dagger, only to discover that he threw them all. His palms became clammy, his eyes darting between the endless corridor and the approaching door as he gained speed while his hands felt the gun, sword and shield, his mind in tremoil, debating on using them.
His breathing erratic, his vision slowly blurs, he heartbeat drowning his thoughts as he continued running, losing control of his limbs, then he tripped on his own feet and fell on his back with a loud thud, followed by a crack and Alex found himself falling through the floor and landing onto the back on his back on a table filled with dirty dishes.
Max laid on his back by the table with a bulging belly, surrounded by bones and plates with the goggles over his eyes and sauce on his paws and mouth.
The canine barely registered the sound, delirious from his full aching stomach as he moaned and whimpered.
Alex got off the table with a groan, massaging his sore back, then paused , his eyes wide and his jaw dropping at the sight.
"Max? Did you eat something you shouldn't have?"
"Correction, I ate a buffet I shouldn't have."
".....Why?"
"Because I was hungry, idiot! My stomach is my everything."
"Why?"
"I went rogue, okay?! Food is important! Food is life! My stomach was growling! I had no choice....."
"...."
"...."
"You've got a valid point," Alex said in utter defeat, noting the lingering delicious scent that nearly made him drool.
Max rolled over as stood up and stretched with a loud, dramatic sigh then turned to the boy, "What happened to you?"
"I, um..." Alex sighed, his freckled cheeks red, looking anywhere but Max as he continued slowly, his voice reducing with each word, "I-I was chased by a door and tripped on my feet...."
"I think I misheard you because of the food. Did you say that a door chased you?"
".....Yeah."
"A literal door?"
"Mhm."
"Pfft— Damn! At least I was chased by cursed dolls with legs. But being chased by a door... Hahaha! That's wild bro," Max laughed between gasps as his stomach aches more, earning a glare from Alex, who's face was impossibly red.
Suddenly, an odorless black mist filled the room, surrounding the plates and cutlery that chattered and shook as they levitated, creating two skeletal-like creature's twice Alex's size.
The folks and knives their fingers, the spoons their feet while the trays, plates and cups made up the rest of their body that shone in the light. The leftovers formed their faces with grinning faces that made the frozen duo shiver.
With trembling legs, Alex and Max dashed to the locked door, crashing face-first before the began clawing and ramming themselves on it while the creatures watched them curiously.
Alex took out the shield and charged at the door, breaking through then ran along with Max, dropping it in the process as the creatures followed behind them, their stepping creating a clicking sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter as they walked behind the duo.
"We need to find those damn items and get the hell out of here!"
"How are we going to find them?!"
"With the goggles you're wearing, idiot!"
"Goggles? What goggles?!"
"The ones you're wearing!"
"Wait— I'm wearing the goggles?"
Alex stared at him like he grew more heads, "YES! How did you not know that?"
"I thought I could see colour because of the food!"
"Then how did you know it's me?"
"Because you always smell like vanilla, anxiety and bad life choices!"
"....." Alex sighed, caught between running for his life and scolding Max for eternity, "Just use the goggles."
"On it, bro," Max looked around, running ahead of him as he sniffed the air just in case.
One of the creatures reached out to grab Alex, who yelped and took out the gun, shooting it, killing it as he flew ahead of Max because of the recoil, flying through a wall into a room that was barely inhabited with dust and a mattress on a metal single bed.
"Alex!" Max ran to him while the other creature stared at its fallen comrade in curiosity instead of pain.
"Ow....." Alex sat up, his hands still trembling from the shot as the golden retriever sniffed him for any bruise.
"Are you ok—" Max stepped on him upon seeing energy pursing from the wall, running to sniff it before barking excitedly at the glaring boy, "They are in here."
Alex placed the gun back on the belt and grabbed the sword, holding it with much difficulty as he swung and sliced through the wooden wall, completely off as the house was mostly made of bricks.
The creature caught up to them, entering the room and reached out to grab them, causing them to scream as they reached in for the items and a swirling vortex appeared and sucked them in before the thing could.
Next thing they knew, Alex and Max found themselves in a grassy field, each of them holding an item.
Click
[Trial Four — Complete]
[You've successfully obtained the items without being caught:
-A Magician's hat
-A cane of a Ringmaster]
Alex stared at the hat Max had between his teeth and the black cane with a silver handle the shape of an eagle in his hands.
Before he could utter a word to the screen, the ground rumbled and large bushes emerged, separating the duo as they reached out for one another, that was later unsuccessful.
"Max? MAX!" Alex got the sword and slashed at the thick hunches that created a wall, preventing him from going through.
[Trial Five: Find the last two items and the crystal without going insane]
[Good luck~]
[Trial Quest: Survive The Forest
-Escape the forest in 24 hours
-Collect the ten items
-Stay alive
•Duration: 7 hours 50 minutes
•Reward: ???
•Failure: Erasure from existence]