Endless falling. As if the earth had abandoned gravity, and the sky forgot how to catch those who fall.
Jack was plummeting through a tunnel of darkness, seeing nothing but fleeting flashes of memories he never lived... yet somehow knew.
The cry of an infant... A hand gripping a pen, carving his name into a wall... A woman screaming amid a storm of fire... The face of a man who looked exactly like him, smiling inside a shattered mirror...
Then—Impact.
Jack found himself lying on a surface as soft as sand, yet warm—as if it pulsed with life. He opened his eyes and looked up. The sky loomed overhead... but it wasn't a sky.
It was a black stone dome, covered in ancient inscriptions that moved slowly... as though the walls were breathing.
He sat up, cautiously examining his surroundings.
Jack (whispers):
"Where am I now...? Is this part of the house? Or... part of me?"
The light was dim but enough to reveal a long corridor ahead, lined with broken pillars. Hanging between them were portraits of people he didn't recognize—but their eyes gazed at him as if they did.
A faint voice (from afar):
"Keep going, Jack... the tour has just begun."
He stepped forward with heavy feet. With every stride, the whispering of spirits grew louder. Faces murmured to him—some wept, others laughed maniacally, and a few chanted his name like a sacred prayer.
Jack (to himself):
"This isn't just a house... it's a giant grave... or a book made of flesh."
At the corridor's end stood a tall mirror. He approached to see his reflection—but it wasn't there.
Instead, he saw an old man with hollow eyes, standing beside strange medical devices and flanked by two silent nurses.
Nearby... a man with three heads, speaking in one unified voice:
Three-Headed Man:
"Has he arrived?" "Is the house consuming him yet?" "Have the memories awakened within?"
Nurse (nervously):
"Yes... but Sindo has grown too dangerous. His presence is destroying the house's balance. He must be stopped."
Old Man (breathing heavily):
"Jack will find his way. If the house chose him, it will either bless him... or curse him."
Middle Head (firmly):
"If Jack fails... we all fall."
Left Head:
"And Sindo... will not stop until he reclaims all that was taken from him."
Jack (trembling, looking around):
"Who are you? What is this place?! What's happening?!"
Heavy breaths filled the space before the old man spoke, voice raspy and sorrowful:
Old Man:
"I am someone who knows you better than you know yourself... Someone who witnessed your past, walked with you in your present... And lived your future before you were born."
Jack stepped back, confusion clouding his face as the nurses momentarily froze—time itself stuttering.
Jack (shocked):
"That... that's impossible. I don't know you. I don't remember you!"
Old Man (closing his eyes):
"That's fine. Forgetting is a blessing... until the time comes when it becomes a curse. Haven't you ever wondered why you keep having the same nightmares? Why the house called to you? Why Baros didn't kill you when he had the chance?"
Jack (softly):
"Baros...? The creature?"
Old Man (steadily):
"The one who kills without hesitation. Unless ordered by someone above."
Jack:
"Someone above? You?!"
A bitter smile curled the old man's lips as he whispered:
Old Man:
"I'm merely a servant of the truth... and you're part of it. From the moment you stepped over the threshold of this house, the wheel of fate began to turn."
Three-Headed Man (interrupting):
"Jack, Sindo has escaped his exile. And the moment you left your room... balance was broken. If you don't restore it, there will be no house left."
Jack (frustrated):
"What do I have to do with any of this?! Why me?! Why not just stop Sindo yourselves?!"
Old Man:
"Because you're the key, Jack... the one who once locked the door against the shadows, and forgot he ever did."
A heavy silence fell, broken only by the sharp beep of a medical device... then silence again.
Old Man (whispering):
"We shall see if the house blesses you... or rejects you."
Suddenly... the mirror in the corner trembled. Its surface no longer reflected Jack—it transformed into a black lake, rippling with cold smoke. The lights dimmed, and a low moan seeped from within the glass, like slow breaths behind a fragile barrier between two worlds.
Jack stared at it, stunned... then took a step forward, his eyes widening with each new detail forming in that otherworldly scene.
It wasn't a reflection—it was a window to another realm.
Through the fractured mist, he saw a horrifying kingdom stretching into the horizon... built entirely from the bones of colossal creatures. Palaces rose from skulls, walls formed from interlocking ribs, and streets paved with flattened spines that groaned beneath every step.
Above, the sky was a polluted, ashen grey. Winged beings hovered silently—not flying, but gliding like tethered spirits.
Then, a hand emerged from the mirror.
Pale grey-white, with unnaturally long fingers and claw-like nails. It seized Jack's arm and pulled violently.
He screamed, grasping at anything—chair, ledge—but nothing held. The mirror swallowed him.
Jack fell.
Fell as if he'd dropped out of the world. No ground, no air, no sound. Only the echo of his terrified breath plunging into the void.
Then... a soft impact.
He opened his eyes to find himself in a massive courtyard. The ground beneath him was made of crushed skulls, each step releasing a faint groan—as if the bones remembered pain.
Before him stood a towering throne, forged from twisted spines reaching for the sky like they longed to escape.
And seated on it... was something Jack had never seen before.
A tall figure, cloaked in liquid-black robes. Its face obscured, save for two fiery eyes burning behind a mask. Its voice rumbled like boulders grinding deep beneath the earth:
Entity (deep voice):
"Welcome, Jack... to the Kingdom of the Forgotten Flesh. You are late."
Jack (shivering, looking around):
"What is this place?! Why am I here?! Who are you?!"
Entity:
"I am Lord of these bones—of those denied release, devoured without remembrance. And this is your new home... until you atone."
Jack (screaming):
"Atone for what?! I've done nothing!"
Entity (whispers):
"Oh, but you have... you forgot. And soon... you'll remember. But first... you must survive."
Suddenly, the ground trembled, splitting open with massive black arms reaching from beneath the bones... Faceless, nameless creatures emerged, chanting in one terrible voice:
"The returner... the returner... the key has returned!"
Jack ran, directionless... the voices followed, and the ground beneath him never ended.
He darted through twisted alleys, the skulls beneath his feet wailing, the air burning his lungs like hellfire. In the distance—inhuman screams. Wailing, as if from souls never allowed to leave.
Then—silence.
The world held its breath.
From the fog crawled a creature—slithering across bones like a human serpent. Towering, its body made of fused limbs, topped with a skull and a black, pulsing tongue like an exposed heart.
Creature (voice blending woman and child):
"Jack... Jack... Jack... it's been so long."
Jack (stepping back):
"Who are you? What do you want?!"
Creature (circling him):
"I am what's left of your conscience... your sins... your grandfather's crimes... I am everything you abandoned... when you chose to forget."
Jack (shaken):
"This isn't real... You're not real!"
Creature (laughing like rusted joints):
"Oh, but we are the truth your mind refuses to accept... Can't you see how this house became a nightmare? Haven't you wondered why it chose you?"
Jack:
"Stop this madness... stay away from me!"
Creature (suddenly roaring):
"You won't run, Jack... not anymore."
The creature extended its arm—composed of countless intertwined arms—forming a long whip that struck the ground. Bones exploded and scattered.
Jack flinched and closed his eyes in fear But something strange happened.
The air split open before him, revealing a long black sword wreathed in dark green flames—as if summoned from another realm.
His hand moved without will, the sword calling his name.
Jack gripped the hilt.
A surge of power shot through his body. A new pulse thundered in his chest. A voice inside whispered:
Voice (within):
"You are not the victim here... you are the judge."
Jack raised the sword, looking at the creature with new eyes—not of fear, but resolve.
Jack (firmly):
"I won't run anymore."
Creature (roaring):
"Then... fight me!"
Jack charged, fury and courage blazing within him. The sword ignited in his grip like a falling star.
At the same moment, the creature lunged—its limbs swinging like whips of hellfire.
And they collided...