Chapter 3: The One Who Understands All Requiem looked down at his right hand carrying the claymore with thorned rosary binding them together. He let his blade drop next to him to hang freely by the rosary so he may use both hands to climb the vine. He dug his fingers into the vine making it bleed, and started climbing. His claymore dangled from the rosary causing it to shred his forearm while the claymore etched patterns into his legs as it swayed back and forth. Requiem climbed through the darkness covered in blood for what felt like an eternity. He climbed until the face of the iron mask clanked against a stone ceiling where the vine suddenly ended.   Requiem…

After the last Edler left town, real estate agent Eliis Wolf took charge of the abandoned Edler Estate in Carenmis Heights. He was confident in his ability to restore and profit from selling it. He opened the door using the antique key with the crown family crest for the first time. Opening the door required some force, making a creaking noise, showing its age and wear. Sunlight filtered through, exposing floating dust particles in the air. With hands on his hips, Eliis walked into the room and headed towards the center. Despite being old, this was still fixable. ‘I’m feeling optimistic about this,’ he mused. While exploring, he admired the skillful artistry and antique furniture, envisioning how to restore them.…

The Flat Stanley project is an educational endeavor first created back in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third-grade teacher from Ontario, with the intention of helping develop student’s reading, writing, and social studies skills. The premise of the project is simple; students cut out a “Flat Stanley” figurine, decorate it, and then send it off to visit with a friend, family member, or prominent individual in a different area. During its visit, the person receiving Flat Stanley is asked to take it to various different places and take pictures with it. For instance, if you live in Washington, D.C., you might take Flat Stanley to visit the White House or the Capitol Building. Then once the figurine is returned home,…

Chapter 2: One Hound’s Meal is Another Man’s Treasure He scanned the chamber for another door, but fell short. All while the holes in his chest and stomach began to glow with the healing white light. Requiem rested his claymore against his shoulder, then made his way to the door he had entered through seeing that it was the only way out of the chamber. The white light turned into his entrails, then muscles and finally his scarred skin until he was whole again. Pride’s blades pushed out from his back and side to the floor. Requiem pushed open the door to see another void. Without hesitation, he stepped through into a decrepit hallway with the door disappearing behind him…

Max Burns is an amateur photographer. Though his profession is not photography, he does take photos as a hobby. On one of his days off, he received a call to take some photos of an abandoned house. The person who requested this of him was a friend named Violet Moss. She is a realtor who flips houses and resells them to make a profit. Max agreed and went to the address Violet had given him. Upon arrival, the house came into view. He had never seen something so unique. It was a cliff-anchored house; this type of home is only seen sometimes due to the frequent landslides in the area. Pulling into a makeshift parking space, he parked his car,…

Stephen Hillenburg is one of the better-known names in animation. Born on August 21, 1961, he was not only an animator but also a marine biology educator. He passed away on November 26, 2018. He is best known for shows like Rocko’s Modern Life and SpongeBob SquarePants, the latter of which continues to air to this day. What many people don’t seem to know is that Hillenburg once created an educational film featuring the Bikini Bottomites, using real-world sea creatures that resembled the characters from the show. This project was conceived long before SpongeBob SquarePants debuted in 1999. However, it never gained the same recognition as his 1989 comic book The Intertidal Zone, which later became the inspiration for the show. That’s because the film was…

The homunculus was a thin, flat, disproportionate thing that was too smooth, too round, and seemingly forever dissatisfied with its own ludicrous appearance. The first time I ever laid eyes on it, I had just arrived at my tech job, fresh from a stay of extended medical leave, mind already ablaze with the problems of yesterday’s virtual meetings. A semicircle of young and middle-aged colleagues surrounded and watched in hushed excitement as the thing changed. What I initially recognised as an absent man sporting a brownish complexion was moments later a shaved white girl. Then someone considerably older. Then someone else. It showed no signs of stopping. Blurry, smeared features sank and melted apart, continuously forming anew. Faces were perceivable,…

Chapter 1: The Purity of Corruption A naked holy man stood knee deep in snow on frostbitten legs in front of a tower he did not believe existed. It was a tower of legend that was forever moving that sat atop of a snowy mountain scape for the time being, and was said to grant a wish to whoever reached the top. A gust of icy wind cut into his skin scar covered skin like the many blades that did the same during his holy crusade reminding him of his duty. The duty now halted by the seven window stone tower he had only heard from those he had slain. The holy man’s true name had faded from the world…

I’m a rabbi, so you can imagine the kinds of conversation I have when I counsel my congregants. Family troubles. Marital strife. And sometimes, theology. The other day, one of my congregants―a young, sensitive woman with hair almost black and eyes just as dark―came in to see me. She was in the midst of a crisis of faith. “If only God would speak to me, or give me some kind of sign…,” she was saying. “Oh, Rachel,” I said, smiling, “God indeed does speak to us. But not with a voice―that would be too dramatic… too Hollywood. Instead, He speaks through coincidences. Haven’t you heard the saying? ‘Coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous.’” Rachel held my gaze. “Has God…

I’ve heard all about all of the little “games” from the internet, little rituals with beings that hunt you, games that people spread stories about, games that people get wishes for, I feel jealous of them, most of the time it’s just a prank, or if something does happen, at least they’ll more than likely survive. I find it annoying whenever I spot one of those clickbait videos, (PLAYING BLOODY MARY AT 3:00 AM!), because they mock the people who made these stories, or in my case, encounters. My name is Jonah, but I prefer to be called Jon, and I am here to document my account of the ritual game known as “The Candles” I guess I should start…