The Trespasser

“Guardian, the trespasser has made it inside.”

A pair of crimson eyes opened slowly in the dark.

She looked up.

“Impossible.”

The messenger lowered their head.

“We saw him with our own eyes.”

She was silent for a moment.

“No human has made it this far in over a century.”

She adjusted on her throne.

“Scare him out.”

“As you wish, Guardian.”

With one last bow the messenger spread its bat-like wings and flew away.

Beneath the castle, Ken continued his heroic quest to retrieve his drone, completely unaware of the army currently plotting his demise.

“Damn, this place is huge.” Ken whispered

The air smelled like cold stone and old incense. The main hall was absurd. Pillars the size of trees. A ceiling so high his light couldn't find it. And for a castle that looked so old and decrepit on the outside it was surprisingly clean inside.

“Weird”

High above him six pairs of ridiculously large eyes opened.

“There he is, Guardian says to scare him out.”

“Looks frail and young, easy this will be.”

“Do the light thing,” one of them said with a grin.

“Oh, yes, the light thing…”

Ken had made it halfway into the main hall, or so he thought. He'd taken so many turns already, entering the front door seemed to have happened an hour ago… it hadn't.

He took another turn left ending up in a part where the hall narrowed. He took a step and—

Click. Click. Click.

The torches on both sides of the walls lit up one after another.

He froze mid-step and looked ahead.

The dark hallway he just walked in was now fully lit, revealing how impossibly long it actually was.

“Hello?” Ken called out but only the echo of his voice seemed to answer back.

He took a cautious step, looked around and nothing happened. He took another just to be safe but still nothing happened.

“Guess the power just came back on.”

High above, the six pairs of eyes blinked in unison.

“What is this?”

“Electricity he thinks we are.”

“The light thing,” one of them whispered, deeply offended. “He ignored the light thing! No one ignores the light thing.”

Ken, meanwhile, was now very confidently stomping down the hallway, setting off torches as he went like it was some cool museum exhibit.

“The voice thing! Do the voice thing!” one of the beings watching Ken from the ceiling said.

“Yes, the voice thing.”

Below, the hallway had finally ended and Ken stood before two identical stairways, one on the left and the other on the right, both leading up.

Left? The drone definitely crashed into a balcony to the left.

But he wasn't quite sure, he'd taken many turns already, he didn't know if left outside was still left inside.

“Mortal, leave this place now.”

An eerie voice echoed through the mansion.

Ken slowly looked around.

“Hello?”

There was no answer.

He frowned.

“Someone there?”

“MORTAL! LEAVE THIS PLACE NOW!” The voice came louder this time, carrying enough weight to make the hallway seem to vibrate.

Ken backed away slowly, still looking around for whoever was trying to prank him.

“Oh, mighty one,” he said mockingly, putting on an exaggeratedly serious expression. “I regret trespassing upon thy property.”

He paused.

“If thou wouldst be so kind as to point me in the right direction, I'll be out of here soon.”

“He mocks us.”

“I do not like him.”

“Tell Guardian. This is no mere human.”

Ken waited. He looked around.

“Hello?”

Silence

“Still there?”

Nothing, the voice had vanished.

He clicked his tongue.

“Tch. How rude.”

One of the creatures spread its bat-like wings and flew back toward the throne room.

It landed before the woman on the throne and immediately dropped to one knee.

“Guardian...”

She looked down at it.

“Speak.”

“We have failed to frighten the trespasser. None of our methods seem to work. He fears nothing.”

The woman was silent for a moment.

A human with no fear?

“Interesting...”

She leaned forward slightly.

“Bring him to me.”