#preservance

You’d think being stuck in a place full of books, I’d bite the bullet and read, but none of ‘em are readable. Everyone one of ‘em is written in a whole different language. No way am I learning a whole language ‘cause I’m bored. 

…Sorta sounding tempting now, though. 

I run my hand along the books instead. There has to be something I can understand somehow, right? 

The sound of the wood vibrating snaps me out of my thoughts. 

I look back at the shelf. The silver pin that killed me shines as it buzzes. First time it’s gone off since I threw myself a moping party the other day. Weird. 

“What’s wrong with you?” I murmur under my breath, moving to pick it up. “Lonely or something?” 

The pin fizzles with energy. It glows as another person’s voice bursts from it. “Ehe. Not yet!” 

“Gah!” 

The pin sounds like it’s laughing at me as it falls to the ground with a click. It’s terrible quality, though. Whoever’s on the other sounds like they’re talking to me through a radio. 

“Scared already, Quin? I thought you were braver than that!” The weirdo giggles. “Not everyone’s daring enough to have a grudge against a god!” 

I grip the insides of my hoodie pocket. “How d’you know my name?” 

“A god knows everyone’s names, silly! Especially if you keep them hidden. Not that I’m one of them!” 

I roll my eyes. Why’s everyone so into learning my name these days? Someone out there trying to steal my identity?

“Oh, but I’m not here to tease you!” The voice continues on. “What I really want to talk about is—” 

“Yeah, cool. See you.” I turn around, ready to walk off without another word. 

The weirdo laughs. It comes out weirdly clear this time. “Come on, Quinny. You’ll regret it later, I’m telling you!” 

“Yeah, right. Whaddya wanna tell me? Something isn’t right here? Seems obvious to me.” I roll my eyes. 

“Oh, you noticed?” The voice sounds weirdly… excited. “That’ll make this so much easier!”

“Uh, what, my assasination?”

“No, silly!” Their laughter sounds like tinkling bells. “You see… the exiled gods want to make a deal with you.” 

“...Hold on. Exiled?” I frown. “Ruella told me they left.” 

I can almost hear the smile in this voice as it speaks. “Did they?”

I frown, trying to recall. They… probably did. Right? Why’d I think they leave? 

“Said something ‘bout how they rejected their positions. Or whatever.” 

“Pffft.” The voice goes low, clearly annoyed despite their singsong. “Of course that’s how they’d think about it.” 

There’s the sound of someone clearing their throat, and their cheer returns. “Are you close with Ruella?” 

“I just got here.” 

“Hmmm. That’s a no! Hold on a minute~.” 

A pause. 

“How about this!” The voice sounds firmer now. Bit of their playfulness is in that voice, but a lot of it’s gone. “You want information. Well, so do we!” 

The voice continues. “Turns out no one’s been able to go back home there since… well, forever, pfft! Who’s fault do you think that is?” 

“Er. Ruella?” 

“It’s always Ruella’s fault,” the voice laughs. The false cheer in it cuts me like a knife. 

I dunno who Ruella is, really— but whoever this person is clearly has a huge grudge against ‘em. Not afraid to show it, either. 

“I… don’t get what you want from me.” I frown. “Obviously something’s up here, but. Ruella let me in. I’m not even a god or anything. And it’s not like there aren’t any gods in here, too.” 

I glance at the door, where weapons lie on the other end of the hall. “‘Sides, I… can’t be sure you’re not lying, either.” 

The voice sighs, kinda like they figured I’d say no. 

“Got to you already, huh? Darn. Should’ve found a way to break in there.” The voice huffs. “Oh well! I think we’re getting a little off topic…” 

“You wanna know what’s going on, but no one there’s totally gonna tell you. We wanna know what’s in there, but we can’t even get inside! Huuuuge problem.” 

“So… why don’t we cooperate?” The voice hums. “We’ll help you learn whatever you’re curious about… as long as you answer some of our questions. Honestly, of course!” 

I think about it for a moment.

“...No thanks.” 

“Huh, really?” They don’t even sound surprised. 

“Sounds like a scam.” 

 No matter how they phrase it, it’s my ass that’s gonna be on the line, not theirs. That’s not some kinda fair trade. That’s just some deal with the devil.

The voice laughs. “Awww, what? But it’s a good plan, right? Unless you want something more?”

“You even have anything to offer me?” I snort. “You’ve gotta be all talk and no bite. Are you gonna start offering me a—”

“Huh, a favor?” The voice interrupts. “Something about… your death?”

“...You just said you weren’t a god.”

“I’m not!”

I sigh. The voice giggles.

“Well, I don’t want my friend to keep stealing the cards you keep close to your chest…. but making deals are harder than they look!” Their smile is clear in their voice. “Buuuut I guess that doesn’t make you feel any better about us, does it?”

“No.”

The voice laughs again.

“How about this— let’s start over. As friends!”

“Friends who can read my mind?”

“Pffft! I can’t read your mind, Quinny. No one can! But sometimes peoples thoughts are…. easy to find! Especially if you keep hiding it.” They laugh. “But we can cut it out if that makes you feel any better!”

“Y’know, just the fact you know someone who can do that for you creeps me out.”

“Hee! Sorry, Quinny~.”

I huff. “And can you cut the Quinny thing out? It’s annoying.”

“You’re just Quin?” The voice hums. “Is that short for something?”

“Can you not make a nickname from my name…?” “Well, I have to call you something!”

“The hell is my name for, then?”

The voice laughs. “You can call me a nickname if you want, Quin!”

“Like what? Shrilly?”

“Pfft, my voice isn’t that shrilly. I meant something like Orphy, or something!”

“That makes you sound too much like a seal.” I grumble. “Where’d that even come from?” 

“First syllable of my name! Orph from Orpheus. Cute, right?”

“That’s a weird name.” And weirdly familiar, too. Did this guy steal steal a name from a book or something? 

“Not any weirder than Quin!” 

I grumble. “Look, I don’t care about being your pawn or whatever—” 

Something knocks on my door. 

“We never said you’d be a pawn.” The voice hums. “Think about it a little more, okay?” 

“Whatever makes you feel better.” 

I flick the pin across the room. It sparkles for a few seconds, before it fades away. Silence ends up coming back instead. 

I stare at it for a few minutes, but they’re not talking anymore. Guess that means they dropped the call? 

…That guy better not secretly be some kind of god of prophecy or whatever. 

I huff and slip the pin back into my pockets. “What’s it again this time, Eurydice?” 

The door slides open. Eurydice looks like how they usually do this time— like outta a goddamn horror movie. 

Their eyes shift around the room. Takes a few minutes before they face me. 

Bits of fruit fall on the floor. [Has the boredom settled in?] 

“Hell no,” I lie. “That all you wanted to say?” 

[No.] 

The words hang in the air for a few minutes. 

“You gonna tell me what it is…?” 

[In a minute.] Vines stretch out from their body, messing up the shelves. [I wanted to borrow a book.] 

I take another look ‘round the place. “S’that was this place was? Some kinda god library?” 

[No.] They start stacking book after book on the floor. 

I wait for another minute, but they don’t say anything else. 

“What are you even looking for, anyway?” 

[Something important.] 

They start moving to another shelf. The pile beside ‘ ‘em’s getting big enough to tower over me. 

“You can look for it later, yeah?” I lean back against the wall as I eye the tower of books. “There’s gotta be a million books in here. Whatever you want’s gonna be a pain to find.” 

The juice hangs in the air, like they’re about to argue, before I hear wind pass through their wooden body. Their version of sighing, I guess.

[Ruella is looking for us.] 

I raise an eyebrow. “They change their mind about me?” 

I flip through the pages of the book I was trying to read. Keyword being trying. Whatever’s in here isn’t in any language I know.

Still was kind of hoping for pictures or something, though. Only one of these books had pictures— and they were all just childish scribbles closed in a clearbook.

“God have mercy on me,” I murmur, pushing the book back in its shelf. Would it kill whoever used this room before to expand their horizons or something? Could’ve read a comic or whatever.

Then I notice the scent of dew overpowering the smell of candles and lilies.

Eurydice knocks lightly on the door.

“Go open the door yourself,” I huff.

The door swings open, letting in a large, wooden snake. Their stupid amount of eyes search the room as the bell ‘round their neck chimes. If I didn’t know better, I’d start thinking this was someone else— but they’ve got a stamp on their body that looks like their usual form, so it’s gotta be Eurydice. No way Ruella would barge in, anyway.

Their eyes fall on the corner of the room. [Decorating?]

“They just fell through my window.” I grumble. Why would I pile all those funeral wreaths together if I wanted them to spice up the room? “Whaddya want?”

[Ruella wanted to know how you were doing.]

“’m fine.” What are they, my mom? “Don’t you have better things to do?”

Eurydice gives me a blank stare. [No.]

“Good to know you guys are relaxed ‘bout this whole ‘my house is falling on me’ thing.”

[There’s only so much that can be done when not on an expedition.]

“Yeah, yeah.” None of business if they’re lying. Not that I can tell.

Eurydice looks back at the wreaths stacked in a pile. [What will you do with them?]

“Er, those?” I frown, looking back at lilies and gumamelas. “Dunno. Let them sit there?”

They slither over to it. A vine crawls out from under their wooden skin, picking one of the wreaths up. [You should take care of them. They’re presents, aren’t they?]

“Hey—!”

The vine drops the wreath almost immediately.

“I— look.” I sigh, leaning against the bookcase. “They’re not gifts. Just shit people put in someone’s wake when they’re dead. They didn’t even get my name right.”

A vine reaches out again, but all it does is raise the wreath up to Eurydice’s eyes.

[This is a strange way to spell Quin.]

I snort. “Isn’t it?”

The room ends up going quiet after that. Eurydice doesn’t move to leave, though. They just keep their hundred million eye stare on me the whole time.

I raise an eyebrow. “Did you wanna say something else, or…?”

They avert their eyes. Slowly, weirdly carefully, juice spells out their next words.

[I wanted to apologize.]

“Um… for killing me?” I raise an eyebrow. “Thought we crossed that bridge when we got to it.”

[No— though I am sorry for that.]

Eurydice sighs. Their bell jingles as they do. [I was rather aggressive earlier. Which was uncalled for. It isn’t as though you knew]

The juice falls to the ground before I can finish reading the whole sentence.

[Regardless.] It flies back up again. [You were only curious.]

I shrug, playing with the drawstring of my jacket. “S’fine. Not like you’ve been any meaner than me.”

They give me a blank stare.

“Er, anyways…” I clear my throat. “You wanted to say anything else?”

Eurydice shakes their head. [No. Though… now that I’m here, I can sense a strange energy in your room. Could I look around?]

“You sure it’s not from the ‘gifts’ I got?” I gesture to the flower pile with my chin. “Could be weird energies from that.”

Eurydice glances at the pile. [The wreaths are normal. Though… I suppose wreaths flying in from a window isn’t normal for a human soul. Maybe that’s it.]

[Let me know if you find something else strange.] Eurydice nods. [I’ll take my leave, then.]

Eurydice takes a quick glance at me before they slither away. They slide the door shut, leaving me all alone in my wake.

I wait for a few seconds before walking out myself.

I’ve started making a game out of investigating the place. ‘Sides from Ruella’s room, I can go wherever I want. Only problem is I’ve got no idea what’s what, so I’m pretty clueless about the whole floor map.

I’ve got a real vague idea of some of the gods, though. Bunch of their belongings are er, stuck in the wall, so I’ve been trying to see if I can find a room that matches ‘em.

Here we got door number one. It’s plain, full of scratches, but also has a huge amount of vandalism. Whoever lived here had a ton of grudges on ‘em, I bet. Only way to explain all those slash marks.

‘Course, if you have problems like that, you have to have had a weapon to defend yourself with.

“Probably left it inside their room if anything,” I murmur under my breath. “If they had all these people attack their door, then… maybe they were a god of something annoying.”

“Annoying, hm?”

Without meaning to, I end up shrieking.

“Wh—?!” I turn back to look at Ruella— it’s gotta be them, right?— but no one’s there. The hall’s as empty as it was five seconds ago. Only thing there is the giant ass windows covered in moss, and the dolls sitting there.

I narrow my eyes at ‘em, but none of ‘em budge.

“I wanna go home…” I grumble. No use worrying ‘bout it, I guess.

A small door materializes in front of me, complete with a door knob and everything. Which’s just another thing I learned.

The first few days I was here, the place was like an abandoned house. Nowadays it’s more like a haunted one. Voices in my head, funeral flowers flying in, and me-sized doors popping up so I can get in.

The door creaks open. Guess even the doors here are broken. Or old. Same thing.

I get one step in towards the room before I hear a voice again.

“You know what they say about curiosity and cats, don’t you?”

My grip on the knob tightens.

There’s no one behind me, though. Nothing beside the windows, moss, and… creepy dolls. One of them even fell down from the windowsill.

“Mama, I don’t want to do this anymore…” I murmur under my breath.

Real obvious someone wants me outta here. ‘m not looking for trouble, so I should get going.

…After taking a quick peek.

I kick the door open— the door dents, for some reason. And in the room is—

All of a sudden, curtains fall from the sky. Smoke bursts out from behind me, obscuring most of my vision of the room.

One of the creepy dolls stands up and dusts its grey dress off.

“Good morning, Quin.” Ruella’s voice booms. “I trust you find yourself well?”

“Um. Yeah, thanks.” A frown grows on my face.

“Good! Now then…” The doll toddles over towards the door. “Come closer, Quin. Perhaps we should sate that curiosity of yours before it gets worse.”

Amazingly, the doll doesn’t topple over as it pushes the door open.

“Come in and look at the room you covet so badly.”

I suck in a breath.

Whatever’s inside the room… is um, definitely not here anymore. S’like a giant came in and punched the floor, leaving a huge pit in the middle.

Man, is pit even the right word for this? It doesn’t even look like there’s anything in the bottom. S’not even bottomless— there’s just a huge load of nothing. All that’s left are a few leftover floating pieces of floor and some glowing grey shards.

“A shame, isn’t it? A loyal friend of mine, cruelly lost too soon…”

I run my fingers along my hoodie’s drawstring. “What killed them?”

“The same thing that kills any god.” The doll lowers its head. “Hatred. Uselessness. Time.”

Its beady eyes stare at me.

“Do you understand now, child, why we do not waltz into rooms uninvited?” It takes a step towards me.

The smoke thickens as the doll inches closer. “Why do you think we keep these doors shut, Quin? For our amusement?”

“I was just curious,” I say, on reflex.

“You’ll sully their graves.” The doll snarls.

My nails practically scratch my palm with how hard I’m pressing against them. “Sorry…”

“If you are, don’t let this happen again.” The smoke around us starts pulling back. “The home of gods is not a child’s playground.”

The doll falls flat on the floor with a thud.

I stare at it for a moment, waiting for it to move… but it doesn’t. It lies face down, eyes staring vacantly at the empty space. Real fitting for a dead god’s room.

“You look right at home here, huh.” I kneel down beside it. “Matching the walls and everything.”

The doll doesn’t respond. Guess Ruella really isn’t inside it anymore.

I turn my attention back to the room— and the broken shards in the air.

Gods are mighty. Gods are powerful. Gods are immortal. Or that’s what people say.

And I thought there’s gotta be some truth to that. Eurydice can make a huge orchard like it’s nothing. Ruella has some really weird shit going on. And both of ‘em look however they want.

But one of ‘em’s dead. Maybe more.

Hatred. Uselessness. Time.

I frown at ‘em. “Why’s it matter to you? ‘Sides, they let me stay, yeah? Though I gotta work for it.”

“Dunno why they thought I should be in charge of this, though.” I kick the ground, watching dust fly up. “Isn't it weird putting a teenager in charge of an adult?”

Eurydice gives me a look that makes it clear they think I’m an idiot.

[Who would be the adult, exactly?] The vines on their body twist. [Besides, that only means they trust you.]

“You? Maybe. Me? Dunno ‘bout that.”

A few seconds pass in silence until it hits me.

“Uh, hold on.” I narrow my eyes. “How old are you?”

[I have lived for hundreds of years.] Vines push my back as they write it out, urging me to keep walking.

“Yeah, no shit…” I stare at ‘em. “‘Kay. What if you were human. How old would you be?”

[I can look whatever age I desire.]

“Wow. It’s real obvious you’re dodging the question, Eurydice.” I snort. “If that’s even your real name.”

They look annoyed. Or as annoyed as wooden garden decor can be. [Did I not mention it was? Stop probing me with useless questions. We’re here.]

We stop in front of a comically large door with a human sized door at the bottom. It’s not as beat up as the rest of the hallway. Still getting bad vibes from it, though. Or maybe it’s just ‘cause Eurydice’s keeps looking at it like it's a ghost.

[My room is to the right.] A vine clings to their door. [Do you need help opening the door?]

“Nah, I think I got it. Er.” I frown at the huge thing. “This room cursed or something?”

[No. Why?]

Jeez. Dunno, maybe it’s ‘cause it looks like you wanna get away from it as soon as possible?

“Nothing. I’ll talk to you later or something, I guess.” I wave them off. With that, I twist the knob and push the door open.

The door doesn’t budge. I turn back to Eurydice. Half their eyes look amused, while the other half looks kinda tired.

[It’s a sliding door.]

Who the hell puts a knob on a sliding door?

The confusion must’ve shown on my face, ‘cause the only thing I can tell from their expression is that they think this is hilarious. [You can explore the other rooms until my next expedition. You're free to knock on my door if you get bored, though.]

“...Sure.” I try to slide the door open. It works this time. “See you, I guess?”

By the time I look back, Eurydice’s already gone.

The door slides shut as I lean against the wall of my room.

My room.

God, none of that’s right. None of this is right.

My room's all stacks of comics and clothes thrown left and right. It's a damn mess, my mom called it. It's not made of marble flooring or as big as a building or filled up like a library—

It was small. It was lonely. But at least it was home.

This is a stranger's room, filled with a stranger's things, and it just isn't mine. And it can't be mine.

How did I even get here?

I was just going to the mall, or maybe school if I felt like it.

I was gonna talk with Cinnabar and tell them I’d pay them again tomorrow. I was gonna tell my dad about where we should go next time he came back. I was gonna tell my mom how much my cousin sucks and—

How the fuck am I gonna do any of that? I’m dead!

This isn’t my room, this isn’t my house, I’m not even supposed to be here! I should be, I don’t fucking know, whittling life away in pugatory?

God. All those stories seem like warnings now.

They said gods can do anything. They said they could give you powers. A new life. Love, family, friends. They could give you everything.

Everything except for your damn life.

What a joke.

Like it could hear my thoughts, the air ‘round the room grows warm and inviting. Almost like it was trying to comfort me. But that’s stupid. Just as stupid as the idea of hearing my parents’ voice here of all places.

It’s really gotta be bad luck, dying like this. What kinda idiot dies while he’s trying to skip class?

The damn pin in my pocket buzzes, like it agrees.

By the time I finish moping, the window’s been cracked open. Random shit like candles and flowers seem to be flying through it, for some reason. What kinda delivery service even is this?

I push myself back up against the wall. That nonsense aside, whoever lived here must have been real important. Kinda weird that their room was basically a me sized library, though.

…Guess that’d explain the tiny door, though.

I stare at it for a moment, taking in a deep breath.

If I'm being real, I don't really wanna go out. Seriously, between the idiot that killed me and the stack of books? I'd rather hide myself in here 'till they drag me out, thanks.

But I know better than anyone that I can't do that. 'Specially because I'd have to face everyone after all that anyways. The longer I hide, the harder it is to get out.

‘Sides, it’s way more important thing is figuring out what the absolute hell is going on here.

I chant that thought in my head as I slide the door open.

I know nothing about gods, but can everybody seriously quit putting all these cracks in the walls? If I didn’t know better, I’d think someone tried bringing the whole place down. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if that was what happened.

Not that that's any of my buisness. Last thing I want is to be involved in their drama.

My footsteps echo ‘round the empty hallway. Really got the feeling before, but most gods have got to be huge. Every door’s in different sizes, but a bunch of them are like huge buildings to me.

I try telling the doors apart, but it's pointless. Scratches aside, they're all the same. If they had some kinda nameplate though, either it'd way too high up for me to see, or there's just nothing at all. How do they even tell these things apart?

Then in the middle of my grumbling, I notice something weird.

Lots of paths are filled with rubble. Nothing new, and probably not anything that’d be a problem for either of the gods here. They could probably fly over it or whatever. Get some vines to move it outta the way.

So it's weird that there’s a path completley blocked off by it— and that Eurydice is staring at it.

At least, I think that’s them. They look kinda different, but the weird star shape is on their body. And that huge bell's still on them, too.

For a second, I think about going back. Can’t really tell what’s going on with them. Maybe they’re remembring something? Wondering why they keep this around? Looking for a way to wreck the place even further? Dunno.

But they definetley know something— and I'm getting that info out of 'em.

“Oi.” I knock on the edge of Eurydice’s wooden arch. “What’s the deal with this?”

Vines grow and twist themselves around their body as they hear me. Billions of eyes flash towards my direction, before the vines relax and recede away.

One of them grows a fruit at its tip, then crushes it. It’s weirdly gentle about it this time. Kinda wish they did that the first time, too. Swear they crushed it hard enough that even fruit got on me.

[It isn’t important.] The words drip with sarcasm. Or at least drips with juice. [Why are you here?]

I shrug. “Got bored. Figured I should get a look around. Not like I’ll be getting out much, yeah?”

[This job will involve nothing but going out.] They make a noise that’s something like a snort.

“Guess it suits me more than I thought.”

Eurydice stares at me for a moment, before looking back at the rubble.

“Someone buried there?”

Couple of their eyes narrow at my statement. [No.]

“Then why d’you keep it around?”

They pause. [Why would it make sense to keep it there if someone was under all that? That isn’t a proper burial.]

“Whatever.” I wave their remarks off. “Could be some weird god ritual. I dunno. S’not important. Why don’t you clean it up? You’d think an earthquake happened in here or something.”

[We have more important things to be doing.]

I make some kinda vague noise of acknowledgement. “Kinda find it hard to believe that bringing a core or whatever’s gonna remove all that.”

Eurydice doesn’t reply to that.

I look back at them, but I can’t read their expressions at all. “So what’s the deal with it?”

[Nothing.] Eurydice closes every one of their eyes except one. It keeps that one trained firmly on the rubble [Why do you want to know?]

I shrug, edging closer it. “Looks fun?”

Their hundreds of eyes flash open to glare at me. Thorny bushes bursts from the ground, preventing me from getting closer.

[This isn't a game, Quin.] The thorns grow on Eurydice's body, too, like a snake crawling up a trunk. [If you're going to mess around, you should go back.]

"Never said it was," I murmur.

Their eyes somehow narrow even more. [Did Ruella set you up to do this?]

"Huh?" I frown. "No? Being honest when I said I was just looking around."

They stare at me for a moment. Feels like hours pass before they turn back to the rubble.

[You should go somewhere else.]

"Still?"

Their eyes scrunch up, like they're tired of asking.

“'Kay, fine," I sigh. "Any last minute demands?"

They take one look at me, then turn away. [Keep this a secret.]

They don’t write anything else, leaving their words floating mid air as they float back to their room. I look back to the rubble they’ve been staring at, but I don’t see anything special about it at all.

A fruit sprouts from their vines before the vine itself crushes it into juice. The liquid flies up and forms into colored words.

[Ruella will want to talk to you.] The words say. [You’re still a stranger, after all.]

“Hm.” What, so I’m gonna get interrogated?

The weirdo nods again. Juice falls back to the floor, staining the tiles. Guess the state of their house doesn’t matter to ‘em much. Or maybe it does? Not like I’ve seen other stained tiles ‘round.

The rest of the walk ends up being real quiet. The walking fantasty doesn’t look like they like talking much, and I’m way more interested in looking around.

You would be too, if you were me. There’s doors for different sizes of people everywhere. It’s real obvious this place was meant for more than two people. Not to mention how huge the decorations they left out are.

The potted plants here have gotta be as tall as I am. Bunch of creepy dolls of different sizes are around too. S’pretty clear only two people ever have been decorating here.

The eyeball machine stops in front of a huge door. And that’s saying something, ‘cause they’re easily twice my height. This door’s way bigger than them. If I thought they were a giant earlier, this other guy must be a… double giant? There’s gotta be a word for that.

The vines on their body reach out and pull the door open. Smoke fills out of the room. Kinda reminds me of how people draw someone burning down a kitchen.

Another fruit gets crushed. [Don’t be rude to them.]

“Why would I be?”

It’s kinda impressive how much emotion they can show without a face. Wordlessly, they float along ahead of me, clearly waiting for me to follow.

For a moment, I think about walking away. What are they gonna do? Kill me again?

A vine pulls me in before I even have a chance to even try.

If that walking garden’s room was more like a greenhouse, then this guy’s room is way more like a museum. Weird knick knacks and things I’ve never seen before are scattered around the place. Not to mention that a bunch of them look broken. Shattered crystal spheres, torn apart radios, pyramids in pieces…

Bet if I took one, it’d take a week for ‘em to notice.

Weirdly enough, this guy’s room looks like it’s in better shape than the greenhouse. Not that that’s a high bar to reach— but there’s a huge difference between ‘this can fall apart any second now’ and ‘actually intact’.

“Your friend usually this messy?” I ask, walking closer to one of the junk piles. “The type to be hoard shit?”

It gives me a look that clearly says ‘what the fuck is wrong with you’.

I poke one of the broken spheres. It glistens, before looking like a broken jawbreaker again. “What’re they like? The serious type?”

A fruit forms on their body, before it quickly fades into nothing. It takes me a moment before I realize what’s up.

“Can’t spill juice in someone else’s room, huh?” I snicker. “Good to know you’ve got an idea of common sense.”

Before I can insult ‘em any further— or before they can retaliate— smoke fills the room again. The curtains by the window flutter, ‘till they’re not window curtains anymore.

Somewhere, there’s a loud click. Wood tiles start flooding the ground from up above, taking over the marble flooring. The curtains grow.

A little humanoid doll falls flat on its ass. Strings come from the sky, wrapping itself around its wrists and ankles. The whole thing’s real puppet like, with how it’s just standing up ‘cause someone else wants it to.

Smoke surrounds the whole room again— everywhere except the puppet in front of us.

“Eurydice.” Their voice is booming, coming from every direction. “What is this creature you’ve brought me?”

A vine crawls up the weirdo— uh, Eurydice, I guess?— crawls up Eurydice’s body. It looks like it turns into a stem midway, ‘cause it starts growing high.

Then for some reason, it sprouts leaves in a bunch. The leaves start moving in ways leaves definitely shouldn’t. Sometimes it changes colors. And it just keeps doing it for what feels like hours.

The puppet doesn’t seem to care, ‘cause it just watches them in silence

“I see,” they say, ‘cause all those movements meant something, apparently. The puppet faces me, doing a small bow. “On behalf of my beloved junior, I apologize. You aren’t too upset, I hope?”

Eurydice’s eyes quickly shift towards me. They look… worried…? Er, surprised? Amazed? Can’t really tell what they’re trying to say. Can you grow an eyebrow or something?

I look back at the puppet with a shrug. “Not like anything will happen if I file a complaint.”

Another plant sprouts, moving a bunch again.

The Pinocchio wannabe sounds like they’re laughing. ‘cept it’s the kinda laugh you use when a kid’s being an idiot and they don’t know it.

“I’m afraid it’s true. We can offer no help to you in terms of regaining your life.” There’s a smile in their voice. “Is it true that you’d like to stay here instead of returning to the afterlife, however?”

“There any problem with that?” I cross my arms.

Another laugh. Almost sounds mocking. “Of course not! However… while your death is indeed partly our fault, I cannot let you stay here for free. Any idle hands here must be used, you understand.”

Huh. Guess even gods have capitalism. Or maybe this is where capitalism came from in the first place.

“Yeah, okay.” I shrug again, stuffing my hands in my pockets. Not like I can really say anything since I’d be free loading otherwise.

“Excellent!” The puppet folds their hands together. “I’m sure you’ve seen that state of our home as you walked here, didn’t you?”

They continue without waiting for a reply. “I’d love to clean up the place, but sadly, our home is falling apart. A little bit of sap may keep the walls from tumbling down on us, but it’s only a stopgap.”

“You… want me to fix the place?” I frown. Yeah, sure. Let the teenager without a construction license remove all the cracks and whatever. Great idea.

“Not quite.” Their voice sounds pleased. Guess I was almost right on the money. “You see, the state of our home is directly tied to the state of the gods. Or for a better term, our positions as gods.”

“So the place’s like this ‘cause no more gods are around?”

“To be more precise, it’s because they chose to no longer fill their duties,” they sigh. The puppet starts pacing around the room. “Such a high position of respect, and they willfully turn it away! A crying shame.”

“Don’t you agree?” The puppet looks back at me with a painted smile.

I frown. Instinctively, I take a step back. “Um. Yeah, sure?”

“And that’s precisely why I’d like you to work with Eurydice.” The smoke from earlier fills the room again. ‘cept it seems to be avoiding Eurydice this time. Reminds me of a spotlight, but worse. “They’re part of my expedition team, you see. Every now and then, they retrieve the cores of failing worlds and bring them back home.”

Like on cue, the smoke shifts, highlighting all the junk piles from earlier. “We use these cores to help bring power back to our home, but Eurydice is only one being, I’m afraid. The time it takes for them to retrieve a single core is the time it takes for a core’s power to drain!”

“Which is where you come in, dear human.” Its eyes look pleased. “With your assistance, we may be able to retrieve their cores fast enough that it makes a real difference.”

“You… want me to go to other worlds on my own?” I frown. “Dunno the first thing ‘bout doing that.”

“That would be ideal, yes, but I’m afraid you wouldn’t be much faster than Eurydice that way. No, what I would like you to do is to support them.” There’s a glint in their eyes. “It isn’t as if I’m asking for much, is it?”

I tap my arm nervously. There wasn’t a catch from what I could tell, so… “Guess not…?”

“Excellent!” The smoke fades. Bits of it are still there, though, just not covering the whole room like before. “Eurydice, would you show our guest to their new room? Any will do— perhaps we could use the room of our mutual friend?”

Eurydice bobs up and down again. “Then we are in agreement! Please take your leave. I still have much to fix, you understand.”

“Yeah, ‘course. See you later, er….?”

“How rude of me! My name is Ruella.” Their eyes seem to smile as Eurydice glares at me. What, is asking for someone’s name a crime? “Be a good boy and leave me be, human.”

Jeez. Do I have to go through hoops to get anyone’s name here? At least they got the boy part right. Probably the only consolation I’m gonna get, though.

I follow Eurydice back out. The wooden tiles fall back as the smoke runs back. I take one look back to figure out where they’re heading, but the whole room’s back to normal again. Plain, modern and full of junk.

Looking closer, wherever I am’s like a damn horror movie— the whole place feels haunted. The room’s overgrown with different kinds of huge plants. Trees, vines, plants with mouths… Point being, it looks abandoned. The cracked tiles just add to the feeling.

Y’know. This might as well happen. I go back to lying down on the floor.

That’s when the floor decides it hates me and starts rumbling.

I frown, looking down below me. It’s gotta be bad luck that I’m dealing with an earthquake now of all times. I look around, searching for something to duck under, but all there is is a bunch of oversized plants.

A loud crack sounds from beneath the ground.

I grit my teeth and run across the room. Is this some karma for blowing my mom off or something? Or is this for skipping school? Maybe it’s the world’s revenge for that one time I stole Cinnabar’s food—

Thud. 

And I gotta trip over nothing, just to top it all off. Great. I’m gonna die to a haunted house ‘cause I can’t walk straight.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Scratch. 

Loud thuds come from behind me. Scratching sounds, too. Whatever’s there is huge. Probably ready for blood.

Against my better judgement, I look back. And I gotta say. Whatever’s going on in here really makes me wish I died back there.

Wherever I was standing before’s been cracked open. Huge vines with eyes slowly come out of it. They crawl on the floor, inching towards… something. 

I back away, keeping my eyes on the vines. Is it just me, or are they moving towards me? 

The plants near me are starting to act creepy, too. They look like they’re moving— and it isn’t the wind, ‘cause it’s hot as hell in here. Or maybe I’m just sweating ‘cause I’m nervous.

One of the plants with a mouth spits on me outta nowhere.

“Augh!” I wipe the juice off with my arm. “Do you really need to do that?”

All eyes on the vines start staring straight at me. 

Shit.

Cinnabar once told me my big mouth was gonna kill me. Guess she never realized how literal that insult was gonna be. 

“Er, y’know, I take that back. It’s cool if your buddies wanna… dump their acid on me or whatever, yeah?” I inch away from the vines. “We can talk this out.”

Juice flies off my arm, forming solid words for me to read.

[It’s too late for chatter, Inkwell.] 

Something flies up from the floor. A huge, wooden archway with some sorta carved star in the middle leers down at me. Eyes are all around its weird body. And more importantly—

Something sharp flies past me. The plants behind me get slashed to pieces. 

“Did you just throw a knife at me?!”

[It’s a machete.] Every one of its eyes squint at me. The vines that hang off its body move to grab the knife again. [You should know that. You were the one who gave it to me.] 

“I didn’t give shit.” I take a slow step back, eyeing the weird living plants. 

One of the vines rises to flick my forehead. [Are you still playing dumb? Trying to hide behind another one of your mortal forms?] 

“The hell are you talking about?” I grit my teeth. “I’m human, you asshole.” 

[You’ve always been a horrible actor.] It rolls its eyes. [Fine. I only stole your soul away so I could have your final words, anyhow.] 

“Wh— this is the first time I’ve seen you!”

Its gaggle of eyes narrow. [Funny. You’ve known me longer than that, cenn.]

“Can you stop your word magic for a damn second and listen to me?!” I grip the drawstring of my hoodie. “My name’s— um — Qu— Quin, not cenn or Inkwell or whatever you’re calling me! I dunno who you’re even talking about! You’ve clearly got the wrong guy, so can you just shut up and put me back wherever you stole me from?”

The living creepypasta stares at me. Silently. Not that they’ve ever made any sound, but it’s still creepy after all that chatter they made.

A vine reaches out and pulls my arm.

“Wh— d’you have a problem with me or something?”

[You’re solid.]

“It’d be damn scary if I wasn't?” 

There’s still a look of suspicion in their eyes. [You said you were human. Why are you so sure?] 

“...’Cause I am?” I raise an eyebrow. “Dunno ‘bout you, but I was born like this. What else am I supposed to be?”

[Hilarious. I couldn’t have killed a human.] The walking ghost story rolls its eyes. [Do you know how you died, Quin?] 

It continues without even waiting for my answer. [It was Retribution that did it. And Retribution can only kill someone like me.]

“...What, a total weirdo?”

[A god, you idiot.] Vines start coming closer. ‘cept they have thorns now, which y’know, is fine. [Let me ask you again. Are you really human?] 

“Whaddya want— my birth certificate?” My hands are shaking. I’ve got way too many questions and none of the answers are making any sense. “Do whatever a god does and get those answers yourself if you don’t believe me.” 

One of the vines starts wrapping itself around my leg. [Don’t get cocky. You and I know we don’t have that kind of power.] 

“How am I supposed to know? I’m not a god!”

[Fine. Tell me. How do you think you died?] 

“How am I supposed to know?!” I half yell. This is way too much information for me. Gods are real? I’m dead? Apparently all of this actually is karma? 

“I— ’kay, look. Was just talking to my friend and some goth stranger pulls this shit out—” I pull the pin out of my pocket. “— saying it’s mine or something. Damn liar. Next thing I know, I’m being electrocuted. Then suffocated. Thanks for that, by the way.”

There’s a long pause.

[Goth?] 

I wait for a moment, but it doesn’t write anything else.

“...That’s what you’re gonna focus on?” I raise an eyebrow. “Yeah, goth. All black. Like a funeral parlor.” 

[I see.] Half of its eyes are shut tight, while the others look… kinda tired? Guilty? Upset? Dunno anymore. But it feels a lot like pity. [I think I’ve made a horrible mistake.]  

You’re telling me. 

The room rumbles as the crack beneath it seals itself shut. Vines shrink themselves into nothing, ‘cept the ones that wrap themselves around that horror story’s body. 

[I don’t understand how, but… it seems like you were bait. And I fell for their trap.] A gust of wind blows through the room like a sigh. [For that, I apologize.]

“S’fine.” I stuff my hands in my pockets. “You’re gonna make it up to me, right?”

The leaves behind me rustle. [Are all mortals like this? I would like to, but… There isn’t anything I can offer you.]

“Whaddya mean?” I frown. “You’ve gotta be able to bring back to life or something, right?”

[Like mortals, gods have things they specialize in. Any god that could help you with that is long gone.] The look in their eyes is almost like pity. [I am really, terribly very sorry.]

“Long gone? Like, dead?” 

[It’s how it is.]

“And— and that’s all?” I grit my teeth. “I’m seriously dead? For real? Just because you missed?”

The asshole lowers its eyes. [I’ll return you to the afterlife shortly.]

“Hell no.” I walk towards it. “You said I’m solid, yeah? Just drop me back on Earth. I’ll figure something out.” 

[Solid compared to ink. Besides… that wouldn’t be a wise idea.]

I turn my hands into fists. “Explain.”

[I’m not sure what you are anymore, but I’m certain whatever Inkwell did made this world believe you were a god.] It states. [And since you’re the soul of a dead god… this world will you treat you like one.]

“...In other words, humans aren’t gonna see me. That right?” 

The wooden creepypasta bobs its body up and down. [Correct. You might be seen by spirits or other creatures, but humans often don’t have the sight to see gods.] 

“I—” I put my hand to my forehead. “Can’t I just— stay there? Doesn’t matter to me if they can see me, I just… wasn’t supposed to leave that fast.”

[I don’t know if I can allow that either.] 

I grit my teeth. “Why not?”

[You can visit. If that is what you want. But you can’t stay there.] It avert its eyes. [If you do not know what you are, then we can’t say for sure what you being around mortals will do.]

“So I’m both dead and dangerous?” I let out a dry laugh. “Real rich coming from the guy with enough power to one shot me.”

The god seems like it’s sighing again. [So you don’t want to return to the afterlife.] 

“If you put me back in there, I’ll crawl back out.”

It gives me a look of suspicion. [You don’t know how to do that.]

“You really wanna test that?” I raise an eyebrow. There’s gotta be something wrong with me if I’m trying to threaten a god. Then again, I’m dead, so I’ve got nothing to lose. 

It looks at me for a moment, like it was considering its options.

[If you aren’t ready to pass on, do you want to live here?]

“Wh— here?” I frown. “Uh…”

I almost say no, ‘cause if every god looked like they came outta horror movies, I’d die. Not like the other option’s any good. 

“Where is here, anyway?”

Multiple eyes look towards me for a moment, before looking away. Like they’re on cue, a burst of sunlight shines through the room. Makes the plants that decorate the room look way brighter than they did before, ‘specially cause of the dew drops on them. 

That’s when I realize the whole place looks more like a house, too— just with giant sized furniture. Didn’t notice them ‘cause they looked way more like columns from where I’m standing. 

The weirdo looks almost satisfied at my reaction. [This is the home of the gods.] 

Something crashes onto the floor behind it. The other god barely spares a glance at it. A plant bursts from the ground, tugging at the wooden pillar. 

[You don’t have to scream that loudly.]

“S… Sorry.” 

…Hold on, why am I apologizing?

The ceiling behind us quickly gets patched with some strange sap. [Like I said. We are in the home of the gods. Though it is in a state of… disrepair, it's an alright place to live in.] 

“Dude.” I point to the fallen pillar behind it. “That could’ve killed someone.” 

[But it didn’t.] 

So I can either rest in peace or live with an murderous idiot. Isn’t this way too much karma for stealing somebody’s cookies? Not that it’s the reason I’m dead. 

No matter how you slice it, though, I don’t got much of a choice. ‘Specially not if I wanna see Earth again. Doesn’t mean I’ll like it. 

“‘Kay… what’ll happen if I stay here?” I tap my fingers against my arm. “The whole place is kinda… big for me.”

[There are more human sized rooms. Probably.] 

“Wait, didn’t mean that, er.” I frown. “You really planning to let me stay here for free?”

[Would you prefer not to?] 

“Not what I mean,” I grumble. “Aren’t I getting way too good of a deal here? The other gods have gotta be getting mad at a mortal freeloading in here.”

It bobs up and down again. Is that it’s way of nodding? [There’s no need to worry. There’s only one other god here. I could convince them.]

“Huh? Just one?” 

[Just one,] it repeats. 

If I didn’t know any better, I’d call these guys a bunch of fakers. Is it fine for them to offer rooms to people just like that? Would’ve thought they’d be more territorial. 

[Do you want to stay?]

For some reason, the idea of agreeing makes me feel like I’ve just skipped reading the terms and conditions. But that’s never stopped me. 

“Not like I’ve got any better choice.”