[b]DAY 21: GUT SPILL – QUEEN'S WILL[/b]

This world had done it again, making no sense. It gave an impression that it was purposely trying to make a person go insane. Kagi hadn't even realized that he had drifted to some sleep-like state when he woke up again – and from a different place as well. He wasn't anymore in the shore of black lake where he had last remembered to be. Now he found himself from a quite dense forest. But the trees didn't have foliage and their pale trunks were dripping red sap, making it look like that the trees were bleeding. It looked ominous but kind of stunning at the same time. He could hear very muffled whispering around him and it probably was coming from the trees. It was so quiet that he wondered was he actually hearing anything at all. 

Kagi got up and looked a bit around. Where should he go? Did it matter, though? He chose a direction randomly and began strolling that path. Wherever he would end up next, he left that for faith to decide.

The number of trees seemed almost endless. He encountered more and more trees as he kept going. For how long he wandered through that patch of forest, he didn't know since the concept of time was so messed up in this world. But he was in no hurry. He had all the time in the world for his little adventure through these lands.

And of course, Kagi would finally discover the border of the forest – sort of. He had found his way to a very, very large clearing. In that place, the ruins of some medieval castle were resting, partly taken over by nature: vines were strangling the walls here and there. This place proved that at least in some point of time, here had been intelligent life. Perhaps inside of those ruins he could find something that told more about these lands and how to possibly get away. And the desire to check out the place was also partly because of pure curiosity. So, he headed to the gate and stepped through it, entering the castle.

The wind was howling ominously, swaying partly burnt banners that were hanging from the ceiling. Oddly, there didn't seem to be any other signs of fire ever happening. In fact, the insides of castle seemed to be in pretty good condition. Sure, there were tons of dust all over the place, but everything appeared to be in order, as if it had been abandoned only a little while ago. This did, actually, give an impression that someone could still lurk inside. So Kagi began his investigation.

He examined superficially all the rooms he came across: lots of small rooms, the throne room, kitchen, library, the dungeons… But didn't find anything worth of mentioning or useful. That was rather disappointing.

But while Kagi was climbing the stairs to one of the towers, something started happening. 

He began to hear some irritating ringing in his ears. And the higher he climbed, the louder it was getting. And when he had found his way to a bedroom of some sort that was fitting for a queen, the ringing had become almost so awful it was hurting his head. 

And then suddenly – it was gone.

It left behind a languid feeling. Almost like in a trance, he walked to the table that stood right next to the large bed. There were withered flowers placed on it – and a bloody knife. The strange thing was, the blood seemed to be fresh. But he barely noticed it. Kagi picked up that sharp object, admiring it for a minute.

Then he stabbed himself to the stomach.

He smiled a little as he was guiding the knife across his abdomen, slashing it open. Blood was flowing heavily as the wound got wider and wider. Eventually it was so large that his guts started fall from it to the floor. He was cackling a little bit, savoring the sight of his innards gushing out. He dropped the knife and fell on his knees. Even with his guts spilling out, he felt warm and comfortable. 

Finally, he started to feel incredibly lethargic because of the spell that had been cast upon him. He collapsed to the floor, experiencing a very content feeling.

And sleep conquered him.



[b]DAY 22: PASTEL GORE – FLOWER OF JOY[/b]

Sekin and Mivor had been friends since they were kids. They had played together, went to adventures together and sometimes even causing trouble to other townsfolk. They were almost inseparable. It didn't matter that Mivor was an offspring of noble family and Sekin was just a mere servant boy. Of course, their families weren't really happy about this friendship of theirs, but they couldn't contain these boys, so they were allowed to stick together. They were soul mates. Even when they grow up and became adults, their friendship was still deep. They shared everything: joys, burdens, stories, journeys, mysteries they had encountered… everything.

So, when one day Sekin invited Mivor to his home because he wanted to show something, Mivor gladly paid a visit, being completely unaware that he was marching to a trap.

It was nighttime and strong winds were howling and it was raining a little. A storm was probably coming. Mivor was hurrying through the streets, heading to his friend's home. Bleak street lights were illuminating his way. Soon he found the door he was looking for and knocked three times. Sekin opened it and let his friend in. Mivor took off his black coat and left it hanging on a rack before he walked further in to Sekin's humble home, and Sekin did lead him to the room with a fireplace that was currently burning.

“So, what did you want to show me?” Mivor asked from his friend as he sat on a chair.

“Just wait a second”, Sekin answered while going through some of his stuff. Then he brought a small bag and a pipe and said: “Here! You're going to like this shit!”

“What it is?” Mivor inquired curiously.

“I got this from this one wandering merchant while I was at the pub”, Sekin began explaining. “It's apparently some kind of hallucinogen made of a specific flower. And it will blow your mind! I tried a bit of it yesterday and it was amazing!”

Sekin added a bit of the powder from the bag to the pipe and ignited it, giving the pipe to Mivor.

“It smells pretty nice”, Mivor noted.

Then he inhaled the smoke a little. He passed the pipe back to his friend who also took a dose of the smoke. After that, they both waited for the effects to take place. 

At least Mivor didn't have to wait for long when something started happening. His sight started to become slightly distorted and a pleasing, relaxed feeling conquered his body.

“Give me more”, he said to his friend who gave the pipe back to him.

He took more smoke to his mouth.

And more.

Every now and then, Mivor would inhale the smoke. And it really started to mess with his head, but he was feeling contented and pleased. His vision was fluctuating and he could see bright colors all around him. It felt funny to him somehow, so he was giggling. He got an urge to dance so he stood up and began to wobbly around. But soon he fell down, not really noticing it. He kept flailing and then looked at his friend. He could somewhat distinguish the figure of Sekin who was standing now, holding something in his hands. He came closer and closer to Mivor. Then he brought that object down and suddenly, Mivor felt something tingling in his left leg. He cranked himself that much up that he was now sitting. Even in his drugged state, he realized that his leg had been chopped off. But he thought it was funny.

“Look, man!” Mivor said to Sekin. “I'm purple inside! And I bleed blue stuff!”

“Want to see some more, bitch?” Sekin asked.

“Yeah”, Mivor answered.

So, Sekin chopped off his friend's right leg as well. And Mivor was just staring at this happening like a moron. He looked at his purple exposed flesh, poking it a bit because it made funny squishy sounds. Then he played around with his blue blood like a child in a puddle.

“I've been always so jealous of you”, Sekin muttered. “You've had such an easy life since the day you were born. You know nothing about hardships. You've been acting like a true friend but I know that the moment you find yourself a wife, you will ditch me and live your carefree rich life. I hate you and your fucking family!”

But Mivor didn't listen. He had fallen on his back and was rolling around happily and giggling. Sekin was disgusted by this sight and chopped off Mivor's both arms.

“Hey, man, I can't move my limbs”, he stated.

Then came the final blow: Sekin struck his axe at Mivor's head, silencing him.

But at least Mivor's last moments were fun.



[b]DAY 23: DROWNING – YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED WITH ME[/b]

They were all cursed. Every single one of them. However, he was different than the others for some unknown reason. He wasn't as cursed as the rest of them. Everyone in this hellhole seemed to be mindless and he had been pretty much like that as well, but somehow, he had started to regain his senses. Bit by bit, he had acquired his own will back as the time passed. Years and years he had spent in this place as a slave, feeling some strange allure to the master of this temple, Yanxuè, and to the place as a whole. That was the reason why he hadn't attempted to leave even though he had always hated to be there: something was pulling him there. The same thing was with others as well. They were all drawn by some odd phenomenon to stay in the temple and its near outskirts. 

But at some point, he discovered the truth of what was causing it.

It was because of the blood of Yanxuè.

By accident, he had witnessed that this one broken-minded servant was adding small, not noticeable amounts of blood to the water they were giving to the slaves. He hadn't realized yet that this was the cause of the allure, but had stopped drinking that served drink, nonetheless. But after he had done so, over time he had thoroughly began to get free from Yanxuè's curse.

Or so he had thought.

After he had stopped drinking the poisoned water and obtained his mind and will utterly back, he had decided to escape – maybe even tell someone what was happening in that ruin of a temple and end that madness. Yanxuè was a cruel, sadistic creature who would torment his servants for fun and sacrifice his subordinates for himself since he considered himself as a god. This world would be a better place without a tyrant like him.

So, on that one particular night, he attempted to run away – however one thing he didn't take into account was that he still had some of the Yanxuè's corrupted blood in his system.

He snuck out of the temple when the darkness fell on the land. Mostly people would be asleep at this time of the day, so there was a chance that no one would be able to see him flee. His heart was racing as he kept glancing all around him, afraid that he would get caught. But no one seemed to be awake. He ran out of the ruined building, making his way through the barren land.

And for a moment, he felt triumphant.

That was until he started to feel strange.

He suddenly felt weakness in his limbs and a strong taste of blood came to his mouth. Breathing started to get hard as he experienced some intense pain inside of him. But the worst part was just coming. He fell to the ground due to the agony and powerlessness and started coughing up blood. He noticed that it was really dark in color, almost black, and it was thicker than it should have been. Breathing became harder and harder to perform – it felt like his lungs were filling with something. He realized that it was probably his own blood. Fear conquered him as he comprehended that he was going to die.

He was literally drowning in his own blood.

Eventually he couldn't breathe at all anymore. His veins got clogged with this now a lot denser blood and the veins ruptured, causing him to bleed internally. Was it the fact that oxygen couldn't circulate around his body anymore or was it that abundant bleeding inside of him, his body finally gave up and he lost his life.

But before death took him, he could see a snake-like creature witnessing his last moments, hearing it laugh at his demise.

That was the last thing he saw.



[b]DAY 24: BARBED WIRE – TAKE OUR MISERY[/b]

Every twenty years a maiden would be selected to perform a great task. And she had been chosen on the day she had born. She had been raised her whole life for this. This was her destiny. Just like her predecessors, she would wield this duty with pride. It was her burden to carry the misery of her townsfolk to the other realm where the deceased dwelled, for all the suffering should be left in the past. This tradition had been practiced since the ancient days. The world had changed over time, but this ritual had remained, although, it had experienced small alterations as well. In early days, thorns were used to represent the misery of the living, but just recently, they were replaced by barbed wire. 

This day was the day of the ritual. She was about to get sacrificed, but she felt no fear. After all, she had been prepared for this day since she had got brought to this world. It was the only reason for her existence. If sacrificing her life meant that the rest would be released from misery, she was willing to give it up. 

The sun was setting.

It was time.

She could hear a knock on the door. It got opened and few people came inside. She followed with her gaze calmly as they walked close to her. It was time to make preparations. A pure white cloth was put to her head, blinding her eyes – this was because when she would arrive to the netherworld, a guardian demon won't then be able to curse her by gazing at her eyes. Next, they wrapped her arms with barbed wire – the symbol of the misery of the living. It was put on her tightly, biting her skin and making it bleed.

She was now ready.

The townsfolk escorted her out and so began a march to the sacred tree. A long cortege that consisted of probably all of the residents of the town started to move away from the area. Some individuals had torches to illuminate their way and all the people where humming and chanting songs from the past. The blindfolded maiden walking in the center, the cortege disappeared to the woods slowly.

Daylight was fading fast and the forest was becoming dark. Torches were really helpful now. It took quite a lot of time for the cortege to reach their destination. Through the woods they had marched, finally coming to a clearing. In the middle of it stood a dark tree with no leaves. Barbed wire was decorating its branches, left behind by the previous sacrifices.

The crowd spread out and surrounded the tree. The maiden was let through the mass of people, now standing at the roots of the wood. The people kept chanting their songs as a pedestal was placed under a certain branch. Some barbed wire got wrapped around it and the rest of the wire was tied to form a noose. Then, she got escorted to the pedestal and helped to stand on it. The noose found its way to her neck and was tightened. Few prayers were muttered before the pedestal got kicked over, she now hanging from the barbed wire. It sunk into her neck, causing her to bleed.

For a good while she was suffering. But eventually, her body succumbed to death, beginning now her travel to the netherworld.



[b]DAY 25: FROSTBITE – FROZEN ANGEL[/b]

He was the odd one who had never liked to be around people. He would rather be left alone, having these yearnings for solitude ever since he had been a child. And when he matured and became a man, he left the village to live as a recluse on the roots of a certain mountain. He enjoyed his isolated life in there, having only his thoughts as his company. When he was a kid, he had discovered the world of written work and thus, had been reading a lot ever since his young age. He grew up to be quite wise and when the information of his knowledge spread out, it caused that sometimes, although rarely, people would come to visit his isolated cabin to ask for advice. But mostly he was left alone, not bothered by the burdens of the outer world. He liked to keep to himself, writing epic tales about heroes and monsters and adventures – a life he had dreamed of but knew that it wasn't for him. So, he lived pretty much a quiet life, not much happening in it.

But then came a day that changed everything.

It was a beautiful winter day. He had been out in a forest, hunting. But suddenly, he had stumbled upon a woman, lying on the ground, unconscious. He had immediately rushed to her and checked if she was still alive. Yes, she was breathing and her heart was beating. After these mandatory inspections, he noticed just how gorgeous she was – like an angel. He lifted her from the ground and started to carry her to his cabin. Luckily, they weren't that far away from it.

When they arrived to the destination, he ignited the fireplace right away. Then he took off the woman's cold clothes and replaced them with some of his own. At this point he noticed that she had quite a few frostbites on her body: she had huge, disgusting blisters in her hands and feet and her skin was a bit glossy. He wrapped her in a blanket and placed her carefully to his bed and moved it closer to the fireplace so she could warm up.

Then he just waited.

Days passed and the sleeping beauty still hadn't woken up. And despite of his best efforts to keep her warm, her skin still felt cold and the frostbites had turned out to worse – her hands and feet had become black and looked mummified. It seemed like that it had spread below the skin.

Even though he didn't know who she was, he had started to become really fond of her. And over time, he developed an obsession for her. Previously he had slept in the same bed as her in order to keep her warm, but later, he had done that also to be close to her. She was so beautiful he couldn't get his eyes off her. Sometimes he would guide his hand across her body, wanting to get familiar with every part of it. But if only he would get to know her name… He wished that she would wake up soon.

But that day never dawned.

More parts of her body became blackened, ruining her beauty. He got a feeling that she was dying. No matter how hard he tried to take care of her, death was closing in on her. This made him very depressed – he didn't want to lose her. But as he stared outside from the window, seeing that a blizzard was raging there, he got an idea. He could do one last thing. And so, he left the door open, picked up his angel and carried her to the storm. At some point he stopped and put her down on the snow. Then he placed himself next to her and he embraced her. He wished for the mountain to take their lives.

And he hoped that the death would unite them.