Hermit37

In a world where "happily ever after" is nothing more than a cruel fantasy, darkness festers beneath the surface of glory and power. Hidden beyond the polished halls of history are the unspeakable tragedies suffered by countless innocents, tragedies orchestrated by those who sit comfortably atop broken lives.

Born into a once-gifted family now scarred by grief and madness, a brilliant boy named Pheo carries the desperate hope of saving his mother, frozen in a curse no one can explain. Raised under the weight of his father's growing insanity and society’s cruel whispers, Pheo isolates himself, diving into forbidden knowledge and secrets buried deep within ancient tomes.

But salvation does not come easily.

As a violent storm brews, Pheo faces a terror greater than the curse: the monster his father has become. Without warning, he is forced to swallow an unknown, violet elixir and is swept into the night, his fate sealed by hands once meant to protect him.

What is the true nature of the curse that froze his mother in time? What secrets caused his father to change, and at what cost? In a world ruled by unseen horrors and lost hopes, Pheo's search for truth may unravel something far darker than he ever imagined.

Stigma: The Journey Of Awakening

They sprinted towards the exit. The parts they repaired moments ago were already back to the sorry state they were before, broken and full of holes.

Jen heard sounds from below, the screams of children. She looked down to see the children in a frenzied state.

They all rushed to get up, some of them suffering from poor fates of suffocation or being pushed off the stairwell.

Can't they just wait their turn?

She thought it was odd, rather than sounding happy their screams sounded like they were horrified.

Jen kept her mind off it, thinking it was just something minor to think about.

Running through the stairs, she was reminded of someone.

"Where's Pheo?" She asked the others.

"Ah right, that kid" Tom recalled, "Wasn't he supposed to be distracting Don?"

Mark groaned, "Do we have to go back and meet him at Ryu's room?"

The group slowed down, but Jim didn't stop with them.

"Does it matter? He's probably ahead of us already?" He yelled out, causing them to keep running.

Sorry Pheo, but we don't need any liabilities

"Over here!" They heard a voice shout out.

The group looked over to see that it was Jug waving, already ahead of them.

He opened up a hatch to a hidden passageway "This was unexpected, but we can make do!"

Jim smiled, "Looks like we're taking a shortcut"

He grabbed Jug's hand, helping him as they both got the group down the path Jug led them towards.

They looked around the hidden area. It wasn't a staircase, but a tunnel with an incline upwards.

"It looks really neat but, I can't tell if it's worse than the stairs or not" Tom said as he caught his breath.

Mark looked more composed however, "At least we're hidden"

"The chaos outside would definitely hinder us" Jen added.

The group took a moment to catch their breath.

"You should rest a bit before heading out" Jug suggested

"When we're this close?" Jim asked, "A few more minutes and we can see the light of day again"

Jug got both of his hands and lowered Jim's shoulders, "Look at how tired they are"

The group was labored with they're breathing, clearly tired from the sudden amount of energy they had to use.

"Even if you make it out, it'd take minutes before you end up falling from exhaustion"

Jim's adrenaline was pushing him to go further, but his rationality kept himself from moving further.

"Alright, lets take a break before going all out one last time" He sat down with the others.

They all silently rested, thinking of what they'd do once they finally got out.

Jug handed Jim his container of water, "My homemade water bottle"

Jim took a swig of it, passing it onto the others.

"So what are you guys planning to do once you're finally out?" Jug asked the group.

They started talking about their dreams and aspirations, with their hopes and dreams surrounding themselves.

Chapter 29: Secret Passage