The black castle.

“Oh, thank Togos…” You thought, finally reaching the castle.

The walk towards the imposing castle wasn’t very long, the hill atop of which it laid not being particularly steep and this one not being more than 10 or 20 minutes away from the house you had left on foot.

Nonetheless, it was a relief getting there without having encountered a single Player in the meantime, having expected at least some resistance on your way here.

But that didn’t matter anymore. You were here: Mere steps from the door to the castle. It looked immense from this distance, and very eerie too, being completely made out of stones as black as the night punctuated with very tall windows decorated with stained glass in intricate designs; he stained glass depicting scenes of hunts, and angels battling demons.

Even the main door was a little perplexing, being easily three times as tall as you and completely made out of a very shiny-looking gray metal, probably silver or platinum.

“So… Any time.”

The mocking tone of the snake snapping you right out of your thoughts.

“Shhh…” Was all you said, shooting him an annoyed look.

Whispering faintly, you talked to the snake that was perched on your shoulders.

“I don’t know what’s inside there, so you go in and tell me.”

“Me…? Have you lost your mind?”

“No, you idiot. Nobody’s gonna pay attention to some dumb snake passing by, but they will pay attention to a tall, busty woman just coming in like she owns the place.”

“Well, first, I am not an idiot. And secondly, there’s no reason for me to risk my life like that.”

“I’ll give you a freaking reason to run inside if you don’t hurry.”

The snake pondered. He could plainly see your irritation towards him, and he didn’t doubt you’d kill him if he didn’t do as he said. Even if he could probably do some good damage to you before dying.

“I detest to admit it, but I suppose you make sense… Fine, I’ll go in… Just... Be nice and open the door for me.”

It took you a while to open the door. Not only because it was very heavy and hard to move, but because you didn’t want to **** it open completely. Just open enough for the small snake to slither in.

After a moment, the snake had disappeared inside, and you were sitting on the dirt, looking at the horizon.

You had to admit, for how terrifying the castle looked, the view was pretty beautiful: The orange-colored light of the sunset reflecting upon the large lake and framing the five small cabins and everything else around the lake in warm tinges.

The chirping of birds in the distance was really calming, as you breathed in the smell of grass, dirt, wood and everything else that flew in the warm breeze.

“These moments aren’t too bad.” You thought to yourself, remembering too the warm bath you had recently taken and the pleasant talk with the old lady. For the first time since you were born into this world you could really relax and enjoy everything, without waiting for the next Player to come and kill you and everyone who followed you.

"Fucking Players…"

You had a deep hatred for the bunch, born out of your own programming, but developed over more than a dozen life-**** cycles in which they had taken everything and everyone from you.

“That won’t happen again. Ever.” You thought.

And you meant it. You’d do everything in your power to never let any Player take anything from you again. That was a promise you were doing to yourself.

Slowly, you came back out of your thoughts. You noticed the sun had moved a little bit towards the horizon, meaning it had been some time since the snake had come in.

“Just what is he doing in there?” You thought to yourself as you stoop up from the dirt and turned towards the door.

You weren't expecting what happened next.