[b]DAY 16: NICOLAS – OUT OF CONTROL[/b]

Nicolas was slowly coming back to his senses. A horrible headache was one of the first things he noticed. His eyelids felt heavy somehow and it took a while before he managed to open his eyes. A smell of ashes pestered his nose and once his eyes agreed to work, he understood why there was such a strong scent lingering. His surroundings were charred black, a really destructive fire had burned everything. It was a sad and horrifying sight. Black clouds were hanging low on the blazing sky, so strong was the fiery color that it almost looked like heaven itself was on fire.

With sluggish movements Nicolas succeeded in getting himself up. He just kept turning around, glancing at all the destruction that surrounded him. It was making him incredibly anxious and he desperately tried to spot any signs of life. Just what had happened in this place? Why was he here? And where was Black Cat and Cedric? He was all alone in a strange land and didn't know where to go or what to do. But he couldn't just stay there, so he began to nervously walk forward.

Everything was so miserable. The trees, the hills… fire had devoured everything and there were still tiny embers smoldering in some places. An ominous wind started to blow and whirls of ash flew in the air. It clung on the clothes of the young wizard like claws, not wanting to let go. As Nicolas was fighting with the wind and protecting his eyes with his arm so the ashes wouldn't fly on them, he walked up an exceptionally high hill, hoping to get a better look at the terrain. Eventually he reached the top and glanced around.

Fire had consumed everything. He could see endless plains of burned ground, however, there was also a small village at the center of everything. It didn't give his hopes up, though, because it was devastated by the flames as well. But he decided to check it anyway, as it seemed the most logical thing to do at that moment. And so Nicolas started to descend the hill, heading to the settlement.

Eventually he got to the village. By the moment he passed the remains of the first buildings, he could sense a presence of sorrow and death lingering in the area. It just fueled his anxiety, but he continued to walk among the carcasses of houses that had once been homes to some people. But now they were charred, only a ruined memory of what they used to be. Nicolas was relieved when he couldn't spot burned corpses among the buildings.

Or so he thought.

As he kept walking further into the heart of the settlement, he started to get a weird feeling that he wasn't alone. This made him even more nervous and he kept turning his head from side to side. He started to notice white eyes here and there, but they disappeared as soon as he looked directly in their direction. And so it was for a brief moment, but whatever still resided in this forsaken village, it began to get bolder. First they took a darker form so it was still pretty hard to see them. But gradually they whitened, revealing figures of tormented spirits. Their appearance and the great numbers of them frightened Nicolas and more and more of them came out from their hideouts. They were whispering something Nicolas couldn't understand and although they didn't seem hostile – yet – the young wizard wanted to get away from them as soon as possible, so he ran through the main street.

In a short moment it seemed like the spirits were everywhere. Nicolas hurried his steps, but was soon forced to stop because a group of these entities were blocking the way. He tried to look for another way out, but suddenly the spirits were coming at him from every direction. They were circling around him, slowly closing in. At that moment, Nicolas realized that he had to use magic to get out of this situation. It was his only hope.

He raised his right hand in the air and began to focus. A purple sphere appeared above his hand, having swirls around it. It was so bright it illuminated the whole area with its glow. Slowly but surely it was growing; it was the young wizard's plan to hit as many of the targets as he could so he would knock the beings down and then he could flee. So he let the sphere strengthen, feeding it with his magical energy.

It was going well until abruptly Nicolas could feel that something was wrong. His magic was getting unstable and before he could figure out why or what was happening, it started to get out of control. The magical energy began to spiral down his arm, tearing open his skin, exposing his flesh. Shocked, Nicolas attempted to end his casting, but it didn't work; now his own magical energy was attacking against him. It was shredding him from all around his body, ripping his skin, blood splattering everywhere and even exposing his bones in a few places.

Then the sphere exploded violently. The massive energy it had accumulated just burst and knocked down everything that had been near it, including Nicolas and the circle of spirits that had gathered around him. His perception faded immediately and when his body hit the ground, his vision darkened until he saw nothing but black. But just before he lost consciousness completely, he could hear a faint voice.

“Nicolas! Nicolas, wake up!”

It was the voice of Black Cat.



[b]DAY 17: IRINN'SUL – NOT SO PRETTY ANYMORE[/b]

Irinn'sul was a curious one, nosy even. So when he had sensed a presence of something… exceptional, he had got the urge to check it out. He had been on a journey and his way had led him into this one small village, then he had got this strange sensation. A sinister and strong aura could be felt, even though the one emitting it was far away. The simple individuals like the villagers hadn't noticed it, of course, but Irinn'sul, being a powerful entity himself, had got aware of the being. The villagers lived a modest lifestyle and were innocent, so Irinn'sul had thought that he had to take a look at the mysterious person he was sensing. He had left the village behind, following his senses to the nearby forest.

Night had wrapped the world in darkness as Irinn'sul was walking among the great trees. He had a good night vision, so the darkness didn't really bother him. The night was silent, it was almost like the whole world had drifted to sleep. As Irinn'sul was proceeding further into the woods, the strange sensation kept growing stronger and he took this as an indication that he was getting closer. Whoever there was, they had remained stationary, but why was that, he didn't know. But he would find that out.

It seemed that the person he was looking for was also sensing him. At some point Irinn'sul noticed particles that resembled will-o'-the-wisps were slowly flying through the air. Someone was sending him an invite to come closer. Fearlessly he walked to the direction of the tiny flames and followed them through thick vegetation, until he came to a small clearing with a pond.

And right by the water, there was someone looking into the surface as if he could see something enlightening. He stayed still for a brief moment but then turned around to face Irinn'sul, the small flames dancing around him.

Irinn'sul knew right away that he was facing a demon. He also knew that this being was reading his soul at that moment. But he faced this wicked being with great confidence. He let his gaze examine the demon. He was a tall man with greyish skin, resembling a lot like a human with his facial features. Typical to a demon, he had a set of horns on his head and also had a thin tail whipping around. He was dressed in dark and quite lavish attire and Irinn'sul got a feeling that this being wasn't just like any other demon – he had encountered a few during his lifetime and somehow this one stood out.

The demon had a smile on his face. “Greetings, Irinn'sul. I'm glad we could meet.”

Irinn'sul didn't wince even though the demon knew his name. “I just wanted to make sure that you will not hurt the people of this area. May I ask, what are you doing here?”

“I'm a demon, what do you think?” He was smirking. Irinn'sul hadn't expected to get straight answers. “But does that really matter now? Because my interest is all in you.”

“I am flattered”, Irinn'sul responded and smiled a little. “What do you want from me?”

The demon's smile turned into a sadistic one. “I want to make you suffer.”

Suddenly he threw a fireball at Irinn'sul who blocked it easily with his own magic. Then began their battle where each side bombarded the other with conjuring. Irinn'sul had raised to the air with his silvery wings and his opponent had casted black wings of shadow to be able to fly as well. They blasted their magical energies, trying to crush the defense of the foe, and suddenly the silent night was filled with flamboyant colors of different spells and noises that came from them. This confrontation was probably seen and heard all the way in the village where the people would be left to wonder what was happening.

Irinn'sul and the demon were very much evenly matched. No matter what they tried, the other one would manage to defend against it and they were in a stalemate for a good while. However, the resolution would come sooner or later and finally, Irinn'sul was able to cause a serious wound on the demon's chest. He had casted a spear made of light and had sent it at his opponent so quickly that the demon didn't manage to deflect it in time and it burst through his incomplete shield. It pierced his chest, leaving a gaping hole and black blood started to drip down. It caused him to fall from the air, he barely was able to glide down with his fading wings. Irinn'sul was arrogantly looking at him, thinking that he had won. Gracefully he landed on the ground, his gaze still fixed at the demon.

“I will allow you to leave”, he said to his foe.

He wasn't expecting that the demon had one more trick up his sleeve – and Irinn'sul had let his guard down because of his arrogance.

The demon slashed the air and a purple projectile appeared from it, it moved too quickly for Irinn'sul to react on time. It hit him in the face, shredding his skin and even flesh and he yelped from the pain, instinctively his hands got drawn to his face. The agony was unbearable, it felt like acid had been thrown into his face, it was like the wound was on fire.

The demon laughed at him. “Not so pretty anymore, huh? Let's say that this was a tie.”

Then he was just gone, disappeared in a black smoke, moving to a safe place where to tend his wound. Irinn'sul was left alone and he hurried to the pond to look at his reflection.

His beautiful face… it was ruined. He had a horrible wound on the right side of his face, bleeding abundantly. It had torn almost the whole right side, ripped his skin, shredded his flesh. He could only look at it with horror. He tried to cast a few healing spells to mend it, but they barely had any effect on the wound at all. He screeched from horror as he realized that he could do nothing about it, the wound was cursed.

His life was ruined. The demon had succeeded in making him suffer, after all.



[b]DAY 18: EVERETT – YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE[/b]

There was a murderer sneaking around. He had committed a filicide. How can someone be so heartless that they kill their own children? And he just had left their bodies like that, throats slit, stabbed by a knife multiple times, there was so much blood that the corpses of these poor children were practically bathing in it. The father had left them behind like the trash of yesterday, probably thinking that if he got far enough, nobody would notice or connect him to the murder of his own children. But there was one, there was a person who had witnessed it all and who was on his trail.

Everett was an individual that liked to observe the filthiest filth that tainted mankind. There was just something irresistible in the souls of those that had accepted darkness in them. And Everett, as a part demon, enjoyed reading their souls and finding out their stories, no matter how horrible they may be. He had been pretty much loitering around when he had witnessed the murder of the kids. He had been watching from afar how the father had lured his kids to one of the darkest alleys there were in this neighborhood, then attacked them violently with a knife and when the bloody deed was done, he fled and the bodies of the kids were left behind. The murderous father hadn't noticed Everett and perhaps he thought there were no witnesses, but oh wrong he was. Everett had gone after him, stalking him from shadow to shadow.

The father was hurrying through the streets of Olden Shadow Town and his pace was that kind of sort that it seemed like he was trying to run away from all of his sins – there most likely were more of them than just the murder he had committed. Everett was following behind with a steady tempo, allowing the man to have a lead. And while the father was running away, Everett was reading the contents of his soul, just to understand more what had led to such a heinous act.

But there wasn't really much to know. The man had lost his wife in a car crash many years ago, leaving only him and the two kids. It seemed like his sanity had spiraled downwards over the years because of the constant stress in the work and because he had to take care of the kids all by himself. He wanted a release from all this and because he had taken the madness into his heart, he had finally snapped and cut off the greatest weight that was pressing him down to the dark abyss. The children had to die, only then he could be free. Then he had to leave the town and start somewhere else.

But that wouldn't happen, not as long as Everett was concerned.

Gradually the town became darker and darker. The man Everett had been stalking the whole time seemed to get lost in the labyrinth of the streets and alleys of the border of the town. He had slowed down, trying his best to navigate the complex layout of the area. But he would never find his way out of here. Everett had shortened the distance between him and the man he had been stalking and was walking only a few meters behind his target. It took surprisingly long for the man to notice his presence, at that point Everett was almost so close to him that he could be considered as his shadow. The man had flinched after noticing him, taken a few steps backwards while intently staring at his stalker.

Some could find Everett's appearance frightening, mostly because there was a gaping hole in his face and there was almost nothing but void inside, except for a small ball of flame that was burning in the utter blackness, it was an eye. Everett smiled at the man, revealing his rows of sharp teeth that belonged to a monster.

“Who are you and what do you want?” the man asked and there was a hint of irritation in his voice even though he looked a little bit scared.

“I'm just an observer”, Everett responded. “And I have seen how you took two lives today.”

“How…?” The man's eyes widened.

Everett stepped closer to him, licking his lips. “You're nothing but filth and filth is something that needs to be disposed of.”

For having a chubby figure, Everett could move surprisingly fast. In an instant he dashed right in front of the man, grabbing his shoulders with an iron grip. And before the man had time to react to his closeness, Everett had sunk his sharp teeth on the man's neck. He began to tear his skin and flesh very violently, like a shark. The man struggled for a moment and tried to push him away, but in vain. He didn't have strength for long because Everett had torn open his artery and the blood loss made him go limp, then death claimed him. Maybe this was merciful, because Everett ripped huge chunks of meat out of his body and ate them. His strong jaws chewed the murderer's flesh from all around his body.

He devoured everything. The skin, the flesh, the organs, bones… even the clothes. Only thing that remained was stains of blood on the ground. And when it would rain again, it would wash away the last remains of the man who had killed his innocent children.

Everett licked his lips clean as he was done. And when he started to walk away, he hoped that the souls of the children could rest in peace now that they were avenged.



[b]DAY 19: CEDRIC – SNAKE EYES[/b]

She had invited him. And when she does invite you, you have to come to her or you will suffer a fate worse than death. Cedric had no idea why she was calling him, but he had this feeling in his guts that it wasn't something pleasant.

Cedric had traveled through a black mist. It was thick and damp and felt oppressive, he had done this several times before, but it was one of those things to which you never get used to. It took quite a bit of effort to muster through it because it hindered your movements. You also couldn't see anything through it, so you never knew how much distance you had left. It felt like forever for Cedric to get through the mist and finally it began to fade away and he could feel how moving began to need less effort. Eventually he was able to leave it all behind and he stopped for a while to observe where he was now.

A long and dark corridor reached out into a world of shadows in front of him. It looked sinister and all the alarms were blaring inside Cedric's head, but he knew that he had to step into this darkness. Everything was made of black stone, giving the place an eerie and cold look. Many statues of serpents guarded the corridor and in such a place where the light was scarce, the darkness almost made them look alive. Cedric felt anxious but he had to take the first step, but even after managing to do so, it didn't really get easier. His heart was beating fast as he walked through the corridor and he felt the stone eyes of the statues watching over him. 

As Cedric proceeded further in, a faint sound of humming began to fill the air. It made his heart tremble and he was well aware that she was waiting for him in the heart of this building and he hoped that the corridor would never end. The humming created an unpleasant feeling that something was buzzing inside his head, but it did partly silence the nervous thoughts in his mind. He kept going further in and he could swear that reality started to twist around him; he could see movement from the corner of his eye and dark bluish haze began to claim the area. Golden eyes would appear and disappear around him. It was because of her presence, she had the ability to make a man question his own sanity.

Cedric made it to a small chamber. Even larger snake statues were guarding its every side, but other than that, this small space was empty. A huge stone gate was blocking the path. Carvings of serpents were decorating it and at the center there was a round panel, runes circling around it. Cedric's level of anxiety just kept increasing as he sluggishly made his way across the chamber to the gate, almost like he was walking through a thick mist again. He pressed his hand against the panel and the gate started to open. A bulky layer of stone began to rise, granting Cedric an access deeper into this strange place. He braced himself as he walked past the gate and the stone returned to its place, sealing him in.

Now he found himself in a spacious room. Even more statues of snakes were around, they were everywhere in a complete disarray and they were in different positions. And at the very end of the room stood the largest and most magnificent sculpture of them all: it was a serpent with wings. It was guarding a platform where a decorative throne made of stone was standing. At the moment it was empty. But that didn't relieve Cedric's mind at all.

Cedric walked slowly in front of the platform, making sure that he wasn't too close to it and he bowed down respectfully. He stayed in that position for a while, his heart beating fast. He was sure that she was listening to its beats. Nothing happened for a while, but then whispers started to fill his ears. He couldn't understand a single word and just kept his position, but he got a horrible feeling that she wasn't pleased with him at all. What he had done wrong, he wasn't sure.

The answer came quickly. Something dropped on Cedric's back, making him flinch. But before he had time to react to it, something slithered to his shoulder and from there, to his face. He realized it was a small snake. Then the snake opened its mouth wide and charged at the man's eye, biting it. Cedric screamed from pain as the snake devoured his eyeball and then slithered inside his head. It moved towards his other eye and consumed that as well. Blood was flowing from his eye sockets and the snake was wriggling painfully around his head, its sharp scales grinding the insides. Eventually it did come out, leaving Cedric completely blind and bloody.

He was on his knees on the floor, whimpering miserably from the pain. He could hear one more whisper and then everything went silent. But after that came one more sound, like a weird snap, and suddenly he felt weightless. It was like a cold blanket had been wrapped around him and he felt like he was being pulled through empty space. She had sent him away, away from her eyes. Coldly she had just gotten rid of him.

Wherever Cedric would then appear, he didn't know. How he could continue life without sight, he didn't know that either. But at that moment he felt that he wanted to redeem himself for her.



[b]DAY 20: DOCTOR – I'M WEARING WHITE BECAUSE WHITE GOES BEST WITH RED[/b]

It was the season of death. Plants had withered, leaves fallen and bit by bit daylight was getting shortened, making more room for darkness that dominated the world. And just like every night during this season, this night was black as well, some probably found it oddly comforting, but to some it was just a time of dread. The clock was ticking and silently, without words, it eventually let everyone know that midnight had arrived. Then it just kept ticking again, its work was never done. Now that midnight had arrived, so came a feeling that monsters were out now – or in, as it was in this one hospital.

The doctor was walking through the silent hallways. There was no one else around, at least not inside. But outside, the spirits were waiting. They were swaying by the harsh autumn wind, lingering just outside the windows, anticipating the moment when they could get their hands on the souls of the dead people. It was the doctor's duty to offer these souls to them and she had just started her tour, deciding who would die that night.

The hallways were dim and some of the lights were flickering in an eerie way. The crackling noise from them and the lone steps of the doctor were the only things that could be heard. Her steps were like a countdown to your demise and some of the patients were listening to them with fear in their hearts, they could sigh in relief only after the steps had gone past their rooms. But of course, there were also those who were so weak that they couldn't really stay aware of their surroundings and these people were the ones who would most likely face their deaths tonight.

First the doctor visited an old lady. It was only natural that her turn would come next. She was unconscious and tied to a ventilator. The doctor examined the lady with her gaze for a while before she switched off the machine. The oldster couldn't breathe on her own and after some time, she died because she couldn't get oxygen. This was the first soul to go tonight and her departure was the most peaceful one.

The doctor was on the move again. She came to the room of a middle-aged man next. Just like the old lady, he was unconscious as well. He had bandages in various parts of his body; he had been in a car crash. But the doctor knew that he was a cheater who had promised his heart for his wife, but had then tried to offer it to someone else. The doctor took a scalpel from her coat and walked right by the man's side. She made a cut to the man's chest and made it deep, so deep she could see his organs. She cut off his heart and ripped it out. Then she carefully put it in one of her pockets – it belonged to the man's wife so she was going to send it to her. Now the spirits got another soul.

Next one was a young woman who had attempted to take her own life. She had tried to overdose with pills, but hadn't quite succeeded in that. The doctor looked at her comatose figure with pity in her eyes. She had ended up here only to die anyway tonight. Well, she would grant her wish. The doctor had previously placed a saw on the table next to the bed, just for this purpose. She took it and stepped next to the woman. Then she began to saw her neck. Blood stained the steel immediately and she kept going and going, cutting her throat and the bone. In the end the young woman was decapitated. The doctor had done her a favor, since all her problems were in the head – it was best to remove it from the rest of her body. And there went the third soul.

Then the doctor visited a patient that was awake. He couldn't really do anything, however, because he was completely paralyzed. He could only move his eyes. The doctor smiled at him as she entered the room. The man had climbed a ladder and fell, hurting his spine so badly it had left him paralyzed. But the doctor knew just what to do. She had a box of matches with her. She lit one and dropped it on top of the man. Immediately his body and bed had caught fire and the doctor watched how the fire consumed him entirely. Now he didn't have to worry about not being able to move his body. Soon only charred remains were left behind. Now the spirits acquired their fourth soul.

The doctor decided to offer the spirits one more soul. So she made her way to the intensive care unit where she would find the last one. There was a man who had got shot in the head, but was still fighting for his life. Not that he deserved to live, for he was a killer who had enjoyed ripping out the organs of young women. The doctor decided to give him the same medicine. The scalpel got a little bit of more work to do. The doctor cut open the man's stomach and then stuck her hand inside. She began to tear his guts out, leaving them hanging outside of his stomach. He bled to death. This is how the spirits gained their fifth soul for tonight.

Now with a blood-stained white coat, the doctor began to stroll on the empty hallways again. And by the dawn she would disappear, until the moment when the clock would made it known that it was midnight again.