When the Universe Becomes ZeroWarning! This lore is extremely bleak, so be prepare to read it since this story is short anyway. This is the most darkest and bleakest lore I ever written for my series. In a alternate timeline, the people at the Global Across Network has discovered something really terrible while they were doing their research in the lab which they found out that their universe acting little weird and sensing danger as they trying to find out what is causing this and making people going sick and causing side effects. But upon realizing this, one female researcher who is a mathematician which she been studying about the universes and others for years and just find out about the ultimate doom which she been researching that something will turn their home universe into a infinitesimal point that includes any beings that become a one point that is worse than death. In a alert, the people in the organization trying their best to stop it and using their powerful invention to prevent it from happening, but their efforts from stopping it is futile for them. Every scientists been working on for whole hours from preventing their universe becoming infested by it so the universe won't become like a one point, after 14 hours which they trying to stop it, people in the organization realized they can't stop it and know it's virtually impossible to interfere with the 0 dimensional space and their minds can't not hope to understand such thing that is conceptual abstraction to stop it, let along using their machine to reverse it or to fix it which they can only grasp the concept of the 0 dimensional space. Due to their horror after witnessing such terrifying doom coming for every beings will become a one point, they alert the entire world about the incoming apocalypse that will come for them in days and turn their beautiful universe becoming like the one point, not just one universe, but more will spread to another more universes, and potentially effecting the entire dimensions which there is no hope for the organization to stop it, just no hope to save their universe and more.Staircases of InfinityLore Inside the building, it was abandoned for a long time and never heard about it why it still there. Upon heading inside the building which seem to be open, the inside of the building has rotten and messy stuff and the smell was unbearable to breathe. But there was a blank white door that seem to be clean and not messy for unknown reason while this building hasn't been clean for a long time. When the man try to open the door, it won't open which seem to be locked and there was no key around this building which seem to be impossible to open the door to get inside, but there was a note that slip underneath the door which said "Knock on it for seven times to enter." As that, the person knock on the door seven times to see if it works or it might be a prank. After he knock the door seven times, he heard the click of the doorknob which mean the door is unlocked and he can process what is inside that room. When he open the door, the man was shocked to see endless staircases which they are over the place in this unknown realm that he has enter this strange place which every staircases in a weird or uncanny way. The door shut closed on it's own and lock it to prevent him from leaving this strange place. Upon walking on these staircases, he look around to see a empty white space that seem to be creating uncountable stairscases in this realm for the purpose to walk on a endless staircases which is impossible to count many staircases appearing in this realm. The poor man kept walking which he started to be worry that he has enter this abandoned building that someone wasn't a living person that created this place or why this was abandoned in the first place. He kept walking like he was upside down as a spider which some staircases are like magnet from preventing me from falling into the endless of nothing. This realm kept getting more weirder it get when I see some floating staircases spinning around and glitching each other and repeat the same thing. The man was looking for the door to exit the unknown realm so he can get out of here alive as he kept looking around. While he kept walking, he saw a paper on the next tread and pick it up that reads "If you want to leave this place, you must find a green tread to step on it that will activated it and then it will summon a door somewhere hidden in this realm. To find it, you must follow the patterns of each three treads that shakes a little that will lead you out of here. You only have 5 minutes to find the door, if you don't find it in no time, you be stuck in here once the green tread appear tomorrow." The man finished reading the paper as he drop it in fear if it failed to find the door, he'll be stuck in here until that green tread appear tomorrow which he is worry the more he keeps failing in days, the man might die of starvation and dehydration. He begin to stop being in fear as he determined to leave this realm for good as he continue walking to find the green tread. the male humanoid hyrax looking for the green tread as this realm has endlessly staircases popping up that will take him a very long time to find it which he shouldn't have ever enter the abandoned building in the beginning. He kept searching while looking down on the treads as he walking on them until he found it that was up on the top and rush there to step on the green tread which I activated it that cause the door summon somewhere which I need to find it really quickly. He rush down to find the shaky white treads that will lead me out of this hellish maze realm for good. The man found one tread shaking and kept running on the staircases to find more as he look at the wristwatch as the time is ticking. He went to the left and found a second tread shaking which he is almost finding the door in no time, he kept running and saw the other staircases acting weird that are turning into ice as the man is surprised at this which the realm is trying to stop him from leaving this place. As he kept running, he only has two minutes left while he's running to find the last shaking tread on the staircases, he look around in hurry until the spikes came out of the staircases just before he stop. The spike went down as he continue walking downstairs and he was worry this realm trying to kill him as well too which the paper the man read it didn't mentions about stopping or killing people here, this place is pure evil whoever created this monstrous realm which the man have no idea what's the purpose for this building build in a middle of nowhere. While he was running, he finally found the last third tread shaking on the staircase and sees the same color door after he came here. I only have 30 seconds to make it, he kept running as the staircases begin to crack and fall apart into pieces that is falling to the endless pit. The man was shocked which his victory for escaping has failed. But, he still has a chance to jump long to make it to the door. It was 15 seconds as the man step back up on the staircases and being rushing downstairs as he makes a big leap and made it to the door and finally open it and the same room with the same smell and he closes the door shut and was relieved which he finally made it out. The man exit the abandoned building which he has trauma for being stuck in that strange realm that gave him PTSD which he has fear of similar abandoned building that has that too and begin writing the note that says "Do not enter this building, it is extremely dangerous!" I place it on the door to prevent people entering this place which I don't want them has the same fate like me too.Haunted 9: SkullDarkness Absolute nothingness surrounded him, as the Wile felt like he was slowly dissolving in a pool of black gold. Such is the fate of souls that get usurped by the man-of-war monster.. As if that wasn't hellish enough, swarms of piranha-like teeth were gnashing him from head to foot. No wounds were shed, no bruises nor blood. The very core of his spirit was under attack instead, the pain of which exceeds that of any other. Aiden genuinely wished for anything to put an end to this, the madness he was slowly sinking into seemed inescapable. The evil spirits had made good on their promise to make his suffering slow and merciless... The Wile was unable to ignite his flame no matter how much he yearned for it to burn, for the body of the collective spirit had completely enveloped him, just enough to not crush him. He had long since gone past the panic stage.. overwhelmed, defeated.. he was too tired to even turn a head. He was forced into a state of isolation within his annihilation, frozen.. without hope… 'What are you doing, lad?!' A strong, yet unfamiliar voice echoed in his brain, which snapped him straight out of his trance. 'You have to keep fighting!' "I... I can't!" Aiden whimpered in his mind. 'Yes you can!' The voice shouted. 'You've done it before! If not for yourself, then do it for--' Just then the Wile heard a nauseating scream. He followed the sound to the best of his ability against the intense pressure of his entire surroundings, when he saw that at least two of the foul spirits had ganged up on something that gave off a faint, minuscule light. Aiden could not understand why, but he had the sudden urge to squirm with everything he had. Pushing and thrashing his way towards the scene, the Phoebe Wile's internal ferocity was starting to build up, and with it the drive to slash his nails, loosening his hand just enough to reach out and grab the foul spirit that had just consumed the speck. With a quick squeeze, ignited with the heat of his mystical fire, the wisp-like blob let out a chilling shriek as the Wile ripped out its very core, revealing the weak essence of what appeared to be a glowing firefly from within. In their combined fury, the surrounding community of the single minded demons pressed down onto the Wile even harder, this time compressing his body to the point that it became difficult to breathe, let alone stay on the surface of the ever increasing black pool. But with a bit of good timing, Aiden was able to slip his arm pass the pressure point. Despite the numbingly intense pins and needles that snagged onto his loose appendage, he managed to grab the hapless firefly and absorb its essence into his body. And with it securely tucked away, and his main source of energy still exposed in the open, the Wile had just enough power needed to start wreaking havoc with his inferno. With his ferality no longer in check, the Wile set out a tremendous scream as he began to set himself ablaze. Aiden's renewed adrenaline gave him the perfect opportunity to push against the mass of blobs for just one second, which was all the time he needed to let loose all the chaotic energy that would make the kings of gehenna proud. ....... The chill in the air intensified as the entire yard became lit with a soft, yet unsettling white glow. Jac had kicked off her shoes and was walking towards her two dumbfounded friends. With each step she took, the grass would grow wildly around her bare feet- every blade of which taking on a dusty white color that gave them the appearance of marble. Her hair had turned a similar shade, and the light from her eyes had made her pupils a disturbing bleach. "Jac... what's happened to you...?" Richard spoke barely a peep. "Don't touch her!!" Jillian screamed. "Please," The witch and Jac's voice said simultaneously. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am called The Witch of the Dawn and I was once the goddess of the land you are standing on. Jac made a contract with me, and has become my host. She is sleeping now, but she will awaken and reunite with you soon enough." Richard had drowned out every word as he held Jac close and rubbed his cheek against her; tears ran down along his face, which had softened the glow of her hair somewhat as it made contact. He didn't care that touching her left his hands numb and caused his skin to crack, he just wanted his best friend back dammit! "Jac... This happened before, so I know you can snap out of it again! Please! I beg of you! Wake up~!!" Richard kept up his tight embrace all while Jac remained largely emotionless. A hint of reflection was spotted in her eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came. She saw the damage done and the visible shaking of the giant's hands, which triggered a reaction that was likely from the possessed herself that caused her to jerk away and jump off onto the grass below. "The elf is right. It's best that you don't touch me while I am active." The witch said. With a renewed burst of rage, Jillian stomped on the ground. "What are you plotting, Witch? What is the purpose of all of this?!" "I came to reclaim what is mine." The witch proclaimed. "Where my long time enemy sought to reap what was left of this land, I choose to make it beautiful once more. I will do away with the industrialized cities that have encroached in my domain for far too long, and bring the forest back to its former glory! The way it was always meant to be!" "Your idea of paradise is a wild unchecked forest with weird looking white plants that don't even look edible and are already half dead. Got it." Jillian quipped. "Leave me out of it." "Talk down to me again elf, and I won't be so merciful next time!" The hair behind Jac began to rise ferociously, as it flowed eerily with the unsteady wind. Jillian remained firm but chose not to take it further, for any rash response could result in injury to Jac. Richard felt just as helpless, if not more so. He stared blankly at who he formally knew as his best friend, as she approached what was left of the cursed tree and began to spread her arms wide. "The time has come for me to reestablish my rightful place in this world! This will be the start of a new era! People will flock to my forest and worship me again...." Hints of tears began to fall from Jac's eyes, but it was unclear whether she or the witch had shed them. "Then my full power will be replenished and I will finally have enough strength to... bring him back to me..." The jewel in front of her chest began to float upward and took on a sinister red glow. The whirlwind then kicked up and surrounded her like a barrier which would have blown Jillian back if it wasn't for the giant hand that had caught her. The wild plants then exploded in size right where Jac stood, rapidly enveloping everything in her surroundings like an infestation of white, otherworldly weeds. "It's not safe here! We have to go!" Jillian shouted. "But... what about Jac?" The words that came out of Richard's mouth stung and the start of tears formed on Jillian's eyes as well. "I know! But we don't have a choice!" No matter what however, Richard wouldn't budge. It took a sudden lightning flash between them to break the Wile giant's fixation of his back-turned Link partner. The electrical current was situated at that very point in the sky before them- Jillian understood right away that this was far from any natural phenomenon, and her fears were confirmed when a ripple through space began to form just above the cursed snag. "Come hither spirits and lend me your power!!!" The Witch shouted with a fiery passion. “We shall take the night this All Hallows Eve!!” All of a sudden, just as the peak of the gusts were whipping, and the opening of the void had made a visible dent in the night sky, she heard a crack. And then another. And then... With a loud smash, the glass oval jewel shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. Immediately after, the storm had quieted and the disturbance had caused the magic to come to a complete halt. This left the Witch absolutely livid. "NO!!! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!! HOW IS THIS--" At that exact moment in time, something caused her to lose her voice, as she, and the others behind her, gave out a series of audible gasps. A set of bony fingers as intense as the surface of the sun appeared from the ripple in the sky. They began to pull it apart, tearing a hole in space just wide enough for it to go through. And out of it came the biggest and most horrifying giant that anyone had ever laid eyes on. A macro being engulfed by flames all over its body, with a torch that bloomed from the top of its skull-like head. Blotches of mass could be seen all over, which wailed individually, and yet all at once in sheer agony, in tandem to the enigma's earth shaking shrill. It sat its foot down, instantly igniting the path it treaded, swallowing up the last of the cursed tree as it made its way towards the haunted house. Jillian screamed as Richard finally broke from his petrified state to scoop her up and onto higher ground. But try as she might, Jac couldn't move. No matter how much the holy apparition screeched in her head, the jewel was no more and the ability to have control over her was destroyed along with it. Jac's natural fear of immense fire kept her firmly rooted in place, as the titanic monster was now just a few feet away. The beast locked eye sockets with the young woman and was about to reach out to grab her with a finishing hand. Against her better judgment, Jillian struggled to break free from Richard's grip and charged head on towards the fiery demon. Her personal safety was put on the sideline in a brief moment of adrenaline and sheer willpower. Just as the infernal being's finger was mere inches from the terror stricken witch's face, Jillian dived as close as she could just behind the wall of flames and began to scream at the top of her lungs. "DON'T HURT HER!!!" Much to everyone's surprise, the giant suddenly paused. "WHATEVER YOU DO! PLEASE!!! DON'T HURT JAC!!" After a moment of tense staring, the surrounding flames caused the girl to overheat and collapse. The hand immediately grabbed hold, but not before its fire was let out, revealing a sun-like glow to an otherwise normal giant hand. Against the ground, the being laid his hand gently over the fainted Jac. And with a light tap of a finger against her chest, a part of her spirit fell out from behind, along with that of the Witch of the Dawn. The Witch desperately tried to get away but it was no use, for the giant instantly snapped her up. With the foul spirit now in its clutches, the glowing giant then proceeded to crush inward while reigniting its hand. With a horrendous final cry, the witch was disintegrated into hundreds of glowing butterflies, each one burning with an intense flame which had made all but one disappear as it's embers went out. When that was over with, the enormous skeletal beast pulled back and looked upon Jac with great concern. In this very position it gradually faded away, and along with it the flames it had left in its wake had all gone out at once. In the giant's place, a multitude of faint white orbs began to float into the sky, as if they were being pulled into the moonlit night. This gorgeous scene was overshadowed by the young woman who lay still on the forest floor, in front of where the tree once stood. Richard wasted no time to return by Jac's side, and with tears anew, he held her limp body to her face, and pleaded. "Please wake up Jac.... please! Wake up....”Haunted 3: ShadowsThe week since the eve of the scavenger hunt had been filled with restless nights for Aiden. The first couple of days the Wile barely uttered a syllable, and his stomach stayed unusually empty. Through the attempts of comforting words from his concerned friends however, Aiden was able to shake off his initial shock by day three, and thus began his path towards normalcy. By week's end he was eating full meals again and his general unease of mind was beginning to fade away. But all that progress instantly faded on the exact Saturday after that event. The evening was cold and the sky appeared to be starless. What started as a slow, almost peaceful day would end in a treacherous night.. Aiden's dreams would once again bring upon relapses of terror, but this time, they were more intense than any that came before it. Everyday for the past week at exactly midnight, he would startle up from his slumber.. the Wile would then curl into a ball and wrap his arms over his legs, remaining in this position until the rooster crowed. This time however, his body felt as if it was paralyzed by his own sleep, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake himself wake. As he broke into a pool of sweat, the Wile tossed and turned. Tremors began to quake all over his body, and his hands and feet were petrified, fingers stuck in place unable to bend. His eyes were rapidly moving from side to side under his eyelids, the sheer horror of what he was imagining were thinly emoting from his gaping mouth. The tree... It bared no leaves or fruit.It's bark was freshly charred as if it was constantly burning from an unseen flame. Each dusk carried this very same nightmare, but this time there seemed to be no means of escape. It was as if the hallowed wood was pulling him in like a magnet. Or perhaps, it was the other way around. Upon realizing this, Aiden managed to regain half of his consciousness. He was aware he was still in a dream, but at least now he had some semblance of control. With all his might he broke the shackles that were binding him, which was revealed to be strange tree roots that were made visible once the Wile giant had ripped them to shreds. However, like a lizard's tail but at ten times the speed, the tree roots regenerated in an attempt to tie him down again. Aiden's eyes widened in a furious gaze, his pupils narrowed to a slit as his bared fangs spewed out a bellowing snarl. With a resounding roar, Aiden called upon his inner magic to ignite the roots in a furious blaze. He was able to burn away the restraints that were keeping him down, and in this process his magic glowed, almost resembling brilliant red and yellow wings. With these newly obtained appendages, he was able to glide far away from the hideous tree… and back into reality. In that exact moment, Aiden shot out of bed. The Wile looked over his body in a panic, much to his relief there was nothing amiss. A long sigh escaped him. ‘Another night of this.’ He was fixing to curl back up under his blankets, when he felt a cold chill pierce through his entire being as he stared up at the ceiling... Aiden almost forgot to breathe when he saw, or perhaps more accurately, felt the presence of it.. a shadowy blob like creature, with erratic eyes all over its gaseous body. Whatever it was, it didn't feel like a natural force of nature. Just being near this entity left the young man sick to his stomach. With the sound of multiple voices, it grumbled. "You are a Phoebe Wile.." Aiden's hair stood on end as soon as he heard those words aloud. He couldn't verbalize with his mouth, but his mind could be heard by the foul apparition loud and clear. How the hell do you know about that?! "Your power is phenomenal. Your fire can even burn spirits.." A male voice said. "Your kind go through death and rebirth." Said a female. "You are both half alive.." spoke another. "And half dead. " said another voice still. "Due to this, you are in tune with the spirit world." Just who are you? And what do you want from me?! Aiden cries out in his thoughts. "Who we are doesn't concern you..." A dozen spoke at once. "We came for your flesh! A fresh, living body to take refuge in." "But despite being near immortal, we cannot inhabit yours . Your fire will cook us up." "A shame really..." Wait, you were trying to POSSESS ME?! Aiden cried. The spirits remained silent after that remark, which had mostly confirmed the Wile's suspicions. "Our work here is done. There is no need for us to stay any longer." A female voice grumbled. "Just keep this in mind, Phoebe," a male one spoke, "when the time comes for us to pillage the land, we don't want you to get in our way." "We'll leave you alone if you leave us alone, that seems fair, doesn't it?" Aiden could only nod rapidly in response. "If you don't keep your end of the bargain" the voices gathered at once, "then we'll come after you, and you will feel a death unlike any before..” A legion of the blobs would then merge together to form a massive hand that filled up almost the entire room. It then charged at the terrified Wile, stopping short just before it appeared as if it was about to smack him, a finger tip mere inches from the Wile's mortified face. Aiden remained frozen in place as he witnessed the shadowy hand slowly subside into the ceiling. Sensing his plight, the voices all began to cackle at once, steadily increasing in volume until their sinister laughter swirled around the entire house. Aiden was beginning to grow ill from his struggle to endure this, he wanted so badly for it to end, but the euphoria that was spiraling into a chaotic mesh of dread and doom prevented him from entirely ignoring their presence altogether. He just pulled his covers over him and began to count, tears running down his hot cheeks like a cascade. And then... There was silence. Aiden could not bear to bolt awake this time, instead he slowly and reluctantly opened his eyes to the ceiling. Thank god, it had been cleared of the strange apparitions. The Wile giant gave out a tremendous sigh, but he couldn't shake off the fact that he felt completely drained after this ordeal. He looked to the side at the clock to see that it was only half past midnight. ’Another sleepless night... ’ He knew… that nightmare was not merely just that. If his Phoebe Wile instincts were correct, then something horrible had just unveiled itself to him... and it hinted at something terrible yet to come. Normally he would keep his insecurities and personal problems to himself, but this time Aiden felt that this is about to go beyond just him. Like it or not, he needed help, he cannot shoulder this burden alone.trophy