The darkness Within

When morning arrived, Remi awoke to find the hut eerily still. The aged straw and mud walls creaked as a breeze blew through the open window, rustling the yellowed curtains. There was no sign of her helper, Dalia, anywhere. She frantically searched the room, looking for any clues that would explain the old womans sudden disappearance. Anxiety bubbled in her stomach, a feeling of dread washing over her. Something was definitely wrong.

Just then, she heard a noise outside. Remi cautiously opened the door, expecting to find Dalia. Instead, she found a group of ten heavily armed men, their faces hidden by shadows.

”What do you want? ” Remi asked, her voice shaking.

”Weve come for you, ” one of the men said. ”You
e coming with us. ”

Remi tried to run, but the men grabbed her, dragging her into the forest. She screamed for help, but nobody came. She was completely at their mercy.

The men marched her deep into the forest until they reached a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a large, dark Obsidian temple. Remis heart sank as she realized where she was—the temple of a dark god. As the men ushered her inside, she began to quiver, for the nearer she got to the temple, the more oppressive the presence of evil seemed to emanate from its walls. Everywhere she looked, she saw ancient symbols carved into the walls and floor, symbols of a power that she did not understand. It was clear that she was completely at the mercy of the mysterious men who had brought her here.

The men pushed her roughly through the dark temple, ushering her down a lengthy, spiral staircase. The chill of the air hit her as soon as she descended, the darkness of the room only broken by the flickering of the many candles that lined its walls. Her feet met the cold stone of the floor and her gaze settled on the large stone altar in the center of the chamber. On its surface lay a lifeless body, its features obscured by a dark cloth. Fear began to grip her heart, causing her to freeze in place. The men shouted at her to move and she realized that she was to be the next sacrifice.

Remi screamed in terror as she realized what was happening. She was going to die.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Dalia stepped into the room. She smiled, her eyes filled with malice. ”So, youve figured it out, ” she said. ”I lured you here for this purpose—to be sacrificed to my master. ”

Remi stared at Dalia in disbelief. ”Why? ” she asked.

”Because I serve the dark god, ” Dalia said. ”And he needs a sacrifice to gain power. You were a perfect choice. ”

Remis heart raced as she realized her fate. She was going to die here, in this dark and terrible place.

Dalia laughed at the expression on Remis face ”Don worry darling it will be quick and painless… For me anyways! ” chuckling at her dark joke Dalia grabbed Remi by the wrist and dragged her towards the large obsidian Altar. As she neared the Altar, Remi saw a deep groove that ran down the middle disappearing underneath the body. The groove was filled with blood that was leaking out of a hole in the center of the table.

Panicking as she saw the blood, Remi begged her to let her go. Unphased, Dalia had the men remove the body and hold Remi down on the Altar as she started to chant in a language never heard in the waking world.

Remi gasped as a deep bone-chilling coldness seeped into her. Her body convulsed as her life force drained ever so slowly away from her. The skin on her body was turning grey and her bright red eyes became a dark ruby red losing the luster they once held.

”No! ” she thought, ”What is happening to me?! What have I done to deserve this? ” Tears started to stream down her face as her body shook uncontrollably. She was terrified of what was happening and what would happen next.

The room began to tremble and shake as a portal opened up in the center of the Altar, a portal leading to the underworld. Dalia stepped back and watched as the portal opened wider and wider, a deep and powerful voice echoed from within the abyss speaking the same language as Dalia.

Barely conscious Remi felt a tugging sensation from within her chest and she knew that something had been awakened. The men holding her down stepped back, eyes wide with terror. She was no longer the same Remi, there was something darker and more powerful now living within her.

”Wh- What is this!? ” Remi thought to herself as she lay there half dead, unable to move even an inch as she felt a surge of energy coursing through her body, as if something was taking over. She was scared of what this new power meant and what it would cost her.

The ground suddenly began to quake and the walls of the temple started to crumble. Dalia quickly grabbed Remi and jumped through the portal, leaving the men behind in the chaos.

On the other side of the portal, Remi found herself being tossed on the ground in a dark and gruesome landscape. A landscape that seemed to stretch on endlessly. She felt the strange power coursing through her veins, communicating with her that she had been granted access to the underworld.

Dalia grinned, her sky-blue eyes twinkling mischievously, ”Welcome to the underworld, my dear. ”

Remi trembled as she struggled to look around, the darkness of the underworld seeming to swallow her whole. Strange creatures lurked in the shadows, their eyes glowing a deep red. Remi felt a chill run down her spine, as it slowly set in, that she was now part of this dark and mysterious place, with no way home.