My back meets with a hard surface. Proxy’s voice catches my attention as I feel the wind rushing past me. My glasses bounced off from my face, reducing my eyesight significantly. Every part of my body aches. Thankfully, nothing is broken. Though, I hope my glasses aren’t.

"Ow, son of a bitch!" Proxy rubs his butt as he gets up. "I think my back’s shattered."

My head is all groggy with my body feels as stiff as a board. Even so, I'm still able to get up.

"Wait, what about that dude with the book!? I-"

"Proxy?" It's covered in dark clouds. Well, it was night when we entered the Opera house, but where are we?

I step forward, only to stop as I feel something below my shoe. Carefully lifting my foot, my glasses are underneath. Oh, no! Please don’t be broken! Examining them, they remain unscathed. Guess I caught a lucky break. I put them on, enhancing my vision.

"I don't know, but we're not in Oz."

As I’m about to ask a pointless question, three individuals come toward us. They're wearing red hoods, hide not only their faces but their bodies as well.

"Um, excuse me? Um, hello? Can you-"

"Hello!"

Proxy's voice echoes around the area.

"What are you doing!?" I yell at him.

"What? Just wanted to say hi."

The men approach the platform, holding swords in their hands.

"Our master would like to speak to you,” One of them spoke, speaking with a raspy, deep voice. “Please come with us."

His words raise a sense of unease in me. They… I can’t read them. Not only that, but they’re missing something that tells me they’re human; a core feature that makes people, well, people. A cold sweat rolled down my forehead. I don't like this, not one bit.

Proxy jumps down to meet them face to face, strutting up to them with bravado.

"W-wait, Proxy!"

"What would happen if I refuse to meet this guy?"

"Then you shall die!"

Proxy puts a hand to his chin. With a threat like that, even he has to take it seriously.

"Now hold on, man. You didn't say please, and I think that's incredibly rude."

Of course, he isn't taking this seriously.

The one talking to Proxy raises his sword. "Is that a refusal?"

"Well, I mean... Maybe?"

"Then die!"

The one talking to him swings his sword at him. He jumps back right when it was coming at his chest.

"Hey! You could hurt someone with that thing!"

"As I said: you shall die."

His words are needles puncturing my skin. The air runs dry in my throat, making it harder for me to breathe. The intensity behind their words is unlike anything I ever felt before.

Proxy is doing his best to avoid their blades, dancing around them with his nimble footwork. Compared to his enemy's dull movements, he’s clearly got the better of them, but their persistence let them keep up with him, attacking after the others made their move.

"Will you bastards hear me out!?"

One of the hooded men throws a dagger at Proxy. He barely drops to the ground to avoid it.

"Shit, that was close!"

An enemy charges toward him, training their swords for his chest.

"Proxy, watch out!"

He side steps them, smacking one of them with his foot. Knocking one of them to the ground, he bounces around, feeling a tad cocky over the shift of the battle.

"Did I overdo it for ya?" The enemy says nothing. They march at Proxy, who is putting up his guard. "Okay guys, last warning. Let's stop this before I beat the hell out of all of you." They keep their weapons aimed at him. "Fine, then don't say I didn't warn you!"

The two hooded men thrust their swords at him in perfect sync. Proxy jumps to his right. The two, still in sync, react. They rush at him with a flurry of slashes. They're pushing him back. He pushes up against a stone sword that is rooted into the ground. Proxy put his hands on the handle.

"What are you doing? Use it!"

He nods at the command. He easily lifts it out of the ground. Nothing spectacular happens once he pulled it out. One enemy charges at him as he's examining the sword. Proxy turns around just to maneuver around his opponent. He strikes with the sword. Blood did not come out from the enemy's body. Instead, it slams the enemy to the floor. The other enemy comes at Proxy. He spins around, delivering a powerful strike.

Proxy takes a seat on the floor to cool off. "Damn! That was too close."

I’d b

I carefully climb off the platform. "Proxy, are you okay?"

"Never better! How about you?"

"I am. I'm sorry I didn't help."

"It's fine. You would've been in the way, so it's cool."

The bodies next to Proxy, without warning, violently convulse. There's a red glow coming from them.

"What the hell?"

He pokes one of them with his sword. The two bodies release a ghastly scream. A blackish-red aura emanates from the bodies, appearing translucent. It disappears into thin air. I look back at the enemies to see their dried-up faces. Their skin is as white as ash, and they look like empty husks of humans... No, they're not human. Humans don't look like this. Humans don't have the intensity they did! There's no way they're human!

"What the hell is going on? This isn't...I-"

My heart is beating faster. I'm feeling dizzy. This is just too creepy, too unreal. I just...

"Richard!"

A stinging sensation registers around my cheek. Proxy pinched me.

"That hurts! Why did you do that!?"

"You're freaking out, dude."

"Of course I am! Who wouldn't be? We have no idea where we are, or what the hell is happening!"

"I get you, but I need you to chill. If there are more of them, and I'm sure there is, then we need to book the hell out of here." Proxy starts observing his surroundings. "Is that my bag?" We run over to it. "This is my bag!"

He digs through his bag. He takes out the Grimoire. That thing brought us here, then it must be able to take us back. I take the book from his hands. Flipping through the pages, the two-page spread is no longer there. Though the front cover has changed. It has a pentagram in the middle of the book, with two moons beside it. Other than that, nothing else.

"Let's take it with us, just in case."

"Yeah, it can make for some good toilet paper."

"Don't be stupid!"

"I was just joking. Though... Nah, forget it."

He puts the book in his bag.

"Let's make like leaves in the wind, and fly out of this place," Proxy expresses.

We make our way out of this place. There's a stone bridge in front of us. The stone is decrepit, pieces of it are missing, and it appears to be unstable to walk on.

"Do we really need to walk on this?"

"Beats staying here."

I glance back at the husks. A nauseating feeling hits me. No matter how you slice it, this thing is our only way forward. "Okay, let's go."

I step on the bridge, and I already feel the stone below my foot crumbling. God, this is so nerve-racking!

"This is so scary."

"This is so cool!"

"How the heck do you find a bridge cool?"

"How can you not? The crumbling stone that comes off with each step we take. It's itching the inner artist in me. Oh man, I wanna draw so damn badly now!"

"I don't get it, but whatever floats your boat."

I observe my steps as to not fall through the bridge.

"Richard, can I pick your brain?"

"On what?"

"On what those things were. They sure hell weren't human."

"Yeah, their skin was drier than any normal human, but there was something about them."

"That was?"

"...Their teeth were sharp and jagged. Their hands were scaly, and their fingernails were like claws."

With all this put into perspective, they don't really seem human, more like monsters. Actually, there's something else I just noticed. Proxy looks fine, despite the wounds from earlier.

"Proxy, you noticed your wounds are gone, right?"

"Course."

"But why?"

"Who knows, maybe it was because of the book? Either way, I'm all green, baby! I'm gassed up and ready to ride!"

"Well, at least out for the count yet."

"Damn straight!"

We finally make it off that godforsaken bridge. This new area also has no roof. Many weapons stacked up on the walls; bastard swords, pole staffs, short swords, and bows. It's like we ended up in a museum or something. I'd ask if they're real, but it'd be stupid to doubt they are real.

"Hey, buddy! 12 0'clock!"

At the far end of the room, we spot more of those monsters. This time there are three of them. Oh shit, they noticed us! They aim their weapons at us as they edge closer to us.

"Too bad guys, you brought swords to fight me, and I'm my own weapon."

That probably sounded so much better in his head.

"You have thrown your life into the hands of the reaper," one of the hooded foes tells him.

"I don't know about my life, but I know how to throw a fist!"

With sword in hand, he charges at. Proxy makes the first move by hitting one of them with his fist. He hits the other two before they could react.

"Slay him," one of them commands.

"Bring it on, you assholes! Also, who talks like that?"

Two of them go at him. One of them goes for a stab, but he redirects the attack with his sword. Another one is about to hit him, but he grabs the one that's already close to him and pushes him at the others. Proxy rushes behind them. He strikes them with his sword. They both hit the floor.

"Proxy, watch out!"

The third one's using duel swords.

"Oh, so you wanna play like that? Fine, I'll show you how I fight back home."

Proxy throws his sword at his opponent. The monster reflects the attack, but it doesn't matter. That was a diversion. Proxy closes. He grabs the enemy's wrist. Then, he lets go to put his hand on the enemy's cloak, hoisting the monster over his shoulder.

"Time to drop the bomb!"

As he said, Proxy smashes him against the ground, breaking a part of the already ruined floor. He then finishes it by dropping his body with his elbow aimed at the monster's face. That attack causes the monster to go through the same process as the last ones. The translucent energy fades into nothing. Proxy jumps up to his feet.

"Damn, you see that shit!? That was just too freaking awesome!"

Proxy sounds like he's kicking off into high gear.

"Huh?"

There's a banging coming from a large metal door. A design of a monster that looks like a dragon eating another dragon. There's faint breathing on the other side. A louder bang scares the hell out of me. Man, my heart can't take that!

"Open the door. I can hear your breath."

There's a raspy voice on the other end of the door. It's probably another monster. Proxy and I quietly walk away from the door while holding our breath. Breathing feels like a sin, punishable by death.

"Okay, we aren't going that way," Proxy whispers.

"You say that as if we have another option."

"There must be another way then."

I bump into a hooded enemy body. It's gross looking at these things; the face belongs to a nightmare or a horror movie. Looking is raising my anxiety. Now we have to worry about the monsters on the other side of the door? What if they get in here? My mind shows me a grotesque image of them tearing me and Proxy apart. I gag at the idea and fight back the urge to puke. No, damnit, there has to be a way out of this! I can't die here, not in a place like this!

Proxy approaches me with a cloak in his hand. "Yo, Richard, I got an idea." He crouches next to the body and removes- Oh my god, he's removing their cloaks! Wait, there's only dust inside of the cloaks now. What happened to their bodies?

"Here."

He throws the cloak at me.

"You want me to wear this?"

"Bingo."

"But it smells."

"Richard, I know. I sure as shit don't wanna wear this, but even I'm not dumb to fight all those monsters out there."

He's begrudgingly right. If I don't wear it, then I'll be killed when tear their way in here.

"Okay, okay I'll do it."

"Good. Now, help me hide the ashes. Also, let's knock down that pillar."

Proxy points towards the pillar that he mentioned. Looking at it, it's lined up perfectly with the bridge at a certain angle. If it were to fall, it would destroy the bridge.

"Okay, how do we do that?"

Proxy looks around to answer that question. "How about that?" he points towards a bucket that's leaking something. He picks up an arrow that's lying on it. "Smells like... Oil!"

"They were most likely gonna use it for fire arrows."

"Hey, we can use this to blow up the bridge?" Proxy lugs the barrel to the pillar. "Richard, get some crossbows. This is gonna be so cool! Fire arrows!"

"Are fire arrows that cool?"

"Absolutely!"

Proxy opens up the barrel, exposing all the oil inside. He dips the point of the arrow in his hand in the oil. Then he lights it on fire with a lighter.

"Why do you have a lighter?"

"I was gonna wave it around during the concern, but I guess I'm using it to pop fireworks. The Fourth of July has come early,"

...

The monsters force open the door. They come inside by droves with their weapons in hand. We're standing in front of them with our robes on. My body is shaking, my nerves are a mess, and it feels as if bugs are crawling all over my skin. I'm trying to keep it together, but it's not working.

One of them approaches us by itself. "You two, where are the ones that our master wants?"

"They are holding himself up there,"

Proxy points to the section we arrived here at.

"Then what are you doing? Why aren't you trying to capture them?"

"The bridge has been destroyed," I answer.

"How?"

"He destroyed it with a drum of oil, so we cannot access that area. I suggest we formulate a plan."

It's taking everything for me to stay calm. One slip up in tone and mannerisms, and we're dead.

"Yes, that would be the best course of action... Very well, go bring reinforcements. We will attempt to get up to the altar."

The monsters move past us to the broken bridge. The bigger ones enter the room. They have a humanoid figure, but they're unnaturally bulky. They glared at us with evil in their eyes. Even if it's a growl, I'm able to read the emotion in it. It's an indescribable feeling that's making my skin crawl, my hands quiver, my lungs tighten up, my heart beat faster, and my vision blurs. This is beyond anything I've ever felt before. My heart is going to burst through my chest any second now. I can't take this anymore!

"Wait!" I stop dead in my tracks as the monster commands. This worsens my state of being. "...Weren't there five of you?"

"Yes, but he overwhelmed the other three," Proxy reports.

"Then why are two still alive?"

"He eliminated the ones that were an obstacle to them while maneuvering for the barrel of oil."

There's a brief silence. My breath runs thin, I can no longer breathe as easily as I used to. Will it believe him? Will they kill us? Either way, I'm too scared to find out!

"Fine then, you may go."

"Yes."

The monster places its thumb on its heart.

"May our master guide you."

To lower suspicion, both of us do the same.

"May our master guide you," we say in sync.

The monster goes on its way to the bridge. We keep walking slowly until we are far out of sight. The moment we are, I drop to my knees, taking in heavy breaths in and out. My hands are shaking uncontrollably. My heart is beating faster to jump out of my chest. I can't take this, I just can't take this!

"Can't believe they fell for it. Good job, buddy... Richard?"

"This is ridiculous. Why the hell is this happening to us? Why did that stupid book bring us here!?"

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I want to go home. I can't take this anymore. I can't take any of this crap anymore!"

Tears drop from my eyes. Damn it, I don't want to cry, not in front of Proxy; not again! I can't control it, this is just too much for me. I...

"Hey..." Proxy put his hand on my shoulder. I can't face him, not like this. "...We can take a break? It'll be awhile before those monsters realize we tricked them."

Damn it, this is too damn humiliating!

"How are you so calm with all these monsters around us? Doesn't it scare the hell out of you!?"

"I...really don't know."

"How could you not?"

"I don't know? Guess I have nerves of steel, or maybe I'm too much of an idiot to understand fear."

I can't help but chuckle at the idea.

"Heh, in that case, you're the lucky one."

"Just know this: I'm not gonna let them lay a single hand on you. I am the strongest delinquent in NewPort Island after all."

"Really?"

I know he will, but I can't help my surprise at hearing him say it out loud.

"Yeah. So just rely on me to beat their asses into the ground, okay, buddy?"

He's wearing a goofy smile on his face. I can't help but laugh. It amazes me to no end. Despite his rough attributes, he truly is a good person. I take my glasses to wipe my tears. It's time to get everything together. I can't be a crybaby, I have to grow a backbone!

"Thanks, Proxy."

"No problem, I got your back."

I get up from the ground as I put my glasses back on. Okay, I can do this. No more panicking. I can do this!

"Come on, we can't waste time. Those monsters will figure out we're not at the alter," I advise.

"Are sure you're okay?"

"I can't say I'm perfectly okay, but I'll manage. Let's go."

"All right, just don't push yourself, okay?"

"Got it!"

We get a move on through this spiral of a hallway. It has an old gothic interior to it, filled with cobwebs and dust. The halls give off this eerie vibe while having a sense of stillness. There are decorations like vases, statues, and portraits, but most of them are worn by time. My mind and heart are still a mess. But as long as Proxy is with me, I'll push on!