“HelLo boY, thIs wAy.”

Aaron winced. A metallic sound scratched his eardrum. Venturing this far into the ruins he had only discovered dusty empty chambers and hallways. No sign of anybody visiting the place within the past couple of years. His body drooped. At long last, one of the locations was real, but it was still a dead end. Moreover, a bandit group tried to kidnap him. He did not know what to tell his parents. They’re going to freak. Telling him to stop adventuring, stay home, and whatnot. He can already feel the headache coming. Aaron rubbed the back of his neck. Tracking down a lead turned out to be more difficult than he originally thought. A sinking feeling crept up to his heart. Maybe he could not find any leads since there were none. Shaking his head, he chased the thought away. It will not do him any good to think negatively.

“YOu aRe rigHt”

That noise again. It stung his ears. Yet, it sounded like it came from inside his head. In the end with nothing here, he had no choice but to head back home. Strolling back to the exit his headache worsened from the strange voices. He halted his steps. The strange voices. They weren’t nothing. Why was he ignoring them? Slapping his cheeks to regain his focus, he stood still listening to them.

“YeS YOu aRe rigHt, CoMe tHis waY”

He tried to listen to it, but his perception struggled to acknowledge its existence. It almost seemed to be words, but he could not decipher them. Instead, its metallic ring froze his body. Flinching he took a step back. His body readied itself to run away. Yet he stood still ignoring his instinct to flee. He pressed forward. The sounds did not start until he entered this corridor. This area must be special.

Glancing around, he spotted a door. The first door he had seen since entering. He was right, there was something different about this area. Not wasting any time, he bolted straight to the door. Reaching for the doorknob, he swiftly slammed his finger. Sharp pain shot up his hand. In his rashness, he had reached for a nonexistent doorknob. It has been years since he did something so stupid. Shaking the pain away from his hand he pushed the door to the side to open it. It did not budge. Keeping his composure, he pushed it up. Nothing. He proceeded to pull it outwards, inwards, and diagonally. No movement. Out of breath, His face reddened. Today was not his day but he should at least be able to figure out a door. Unless it was not a door and the ruins were messing with his head. He shook his head. What an absurd thought. Ruins are inanimate. No matter how insane the place was there were limits to mana. It must be all smoke and mirrors. There should be a hidden contraption. Searching around the door, he found a small black square on the wall. He knew it. A button to open the door. Reaching to press it, his eyes widened. Instead of sinking in, it glowed.

MANA SCAN: MATCH. WELCOME XENOLANE.

The door slid open. A dark corridor appeared before him. He shivered. How did it know his last name? All his studies about mana did not even come close to preparing him for how unsettling this place was.

“DoNot EntEr. ReTurN HoMe, YoUng XeNolANE.”

The corridor screamed a trap that only a fool would fall for. But he had no choice. It was this or nothing at all. Summoning his courage he cast his mage armor. Walking into the room, the door shut behind him. Darkness surrounded him, leaving him alone to his thoughts.

Aaron inched forward. He needed to find the source of the sound. Sound cannot come from nowhere. There must be someone or something producing it. He walked forward for a few feet until a ball of light appeared to his left. It was strange. He sensed no magic from it and there was nothing around to emit the glow. He reached over to touch it, but the light vanished, reappearing farther ahead. Aaron's eyes readjusted to the new source of light. In the shadows a familiar figure emerged.

“It couldn’t be.” He hesitated for a moment before sprinting full force to the figure. “I knew it. They said you were dead, but I knew it.” He tried to hold back his tears but instead he tripped over his foot and fell onto the figure. He clung to its leg, not willing to let go. He could believe it. The figure slowly patted his head.

“iT’s okAy nOw. I’M HerE nOw.” a robotic voice creeped out.

Aaron looked up in horror. The figure had no face. Before he had time to react, it vanished dropping him on to the ground. He froze. His mind raced trying to comprehend what he just saw. Without a moment's rest the light reappeared. This time with a blank woman's face.

“My cHerIsH sOn, yOu loOk lIke yoU sEEn a ghOst. ComE here tO moTHer.” The warp figure opened its arms.

“Mom? Aaron slowly moved toward the woman. This wasn’t right. He knew it was not his mother, but he kept walking towards it. His mind told him to run away, but his body instead reached out for an embrace.

“tHeRe, ThErE, mOthEr hAs Got yoU.” The figure hugged him tightly.

Aaron shivered at its frigid and unnatural touch.

“No! you aren’t her.” He pushed her away.

“HoW cAn yoU sAy tHat aBoUt YoUr OwN MoThEr? iT Is mE.”

“No, she is at home. At the farm. She can't be here. I don’t know what trick this is but reveal yourself.”

“wHy arE yOu beiNg So meAn?”

“No.” he couldn’t help but shutter back.

"CoME tO Me." The figure's icy fingers warped around his wrist.

"Let go." He tugged away, but it drugged its nails into his arm. Coldness spread into his arm numbing it.

" TiME To gO HomE." It dragged him away from the light.

"Let go of me." Using his other hand he clawed at the fake mother grip, but the figure carried on dragging him deeper into the darkness.

" WhY Do you stRUggle? ThEre iS NoThIng heRe. " the faceless mother droned on. "WhY dO YOU cliNg tO FaLse HoPe?"

“Be quiet.” He dragged his heels into the ground tearing his wrist away. Pain shot up his arm as the mother's nails sliced his wrist leaving 5 bloody lines. He grabbed his arm as the blood dripped off his fingers.

The faceless mother paused to face him.

" YoU KnOw iT in YouR HeARt It iS tRue. WhY deNied iT? WhY kEep mAkIng yOurSelf ouT AS A ChilD?"

"It's not your concern." He glared at her hoping the figure would disappear.

" BuT Isn'T A chiLd's coNceRns AlsO TheiR PareNT's CoNcErNs?"

"You're not my mother."

The figure tilted it's head.

" BuT YoU cAn'T deNiEd yoUr reAl PaRent’s WorRies."

"Be quiet." He covered his ears. He no longer wanted to hear the fake’s words. But even when his blood dripped down the side of his head, its voice was still clear in his ear.

" IF yOu KeEp uP ThIS PoiNtlEss QUesT oF YoUrS yOU wILl SurElY DisaPPoint yoUr parEnts, youR liTtle sisTer,"

"Be quiet." He wanted it to stop but instead it grew louder.

"AnD youR decEAsed broTHer."

“I said SHUT UP!”

In his shout he released a burst of mana. Lines raced across, lighting up the room. The figure vanished. His vision blurred before everything went black. With a thud his unconscious body fell onto the ground.