[b]DAY 26: GARDEN – GARDEN OF ROT[/b]

He felt so light, it was like his body weighted only as much as a feather. His surroundings felt so soft, his consciousness was blurry. All of this seemed so pleasant. Like floating in a dream world, in the middle of nothing, he was wrapped in a thick mist. Then, it was like he was getting pulled, and gradually his consciousness began to brighten, as if getting woken up from the sweetest dream. Eventually he opened his eyes, but his vision didn't tell much anything. As if being guided by a gentle giant hand, he got some foothold and could stand up. He looked around, but there was only haze everywhere. Not in a creepy way, it was more like a misty morning.

But the question was, where was he?

He scratched his head a little, trying to recall what had happened to him. He could remember the bad car accident where he had been with his girlfriend… And the hospital bed… Nothing else. Being in the hospital bed was his last memory. He wondered had he died. For some reason, this thought didn't feel bad. If felt reassuring if nothing else. Maybe when you're dead it's easy to accept you're dead.

The man felt a bit cold. Wherever he was, it was bit chilly in here. He began to move, aimlessly chose a direction and started his journey to uncover the truth about where he had ended up to. He wandered in the mist for a good while, unable to tell had he made any progress at all because of the poor visibility. But as he didn't have any other choice, he continued his travel. 

Finally, at some point, the mist began to fade away a little, offering a bit better glance at the world where the man was. He could see few trees surrounding him, their trunks being pitch-black and the leaves were silvery. Such strange trees, he wondered. He kept walking forward and was soon welcomed by a clearing. Because there was still some haze lingering in the scene, he couldn't see the whole thing from his spot, so he began to investigate what he could find from there.

Soon he came to conclusion that he was in a very weird garden. The plants he saw were extraordinary. They were in many kinds of shapes, some large, some small, some had eyes or human teeth in them, but most commonly to them all, they were withered. But the most disturbing thing wasn't the strange flowers, it was that in here and there, there were human arms and hands sticking out of the soil, emaciated and reaching out for the heaven.

Naturally, this gave the creeps to the man, so he decided to continue his journey, but almost bumped into someone. It was an old man, dressed in black robes, and he had a watering can in his hand.

“Uuuhhh… Excuse me…” the man tried to form words.

“Yes?” the old man asked, looking a bit annoyed. “What do you want?”

“I, umm… What is this place? Where am I?”

The old man shoved him aside to get to some plants and began to water them. As if that would help at all.

“This is a garden where smothered hopes and broken dreams lay, forever decaying”, said the elder. “And you, my friend, if you're wandering in these parts of existence, that means you're dead.”

That's what the man had kind of figured out already, so it didn't come as a surprise to hear it from someone else.

“So, is this heaven or hell or what?” the man asked.

“Whatever you make it to be”, replied the old man.

That wasn't really helpful.

“Can you guide me?” the man tried to get at least one useful answer from the elder.

“Everyone's fate is different, young man”, the old man stated. “Just walk on your path and you will find your way.”

“Oh. Well, goodbye, then.”

The man started to make his leave, as he felt like he couldn't get any clearer answer from the old man. He walked through the very odd and disturbing garden, and soon the same mist that had greeted him into this world, would now embrace him once again as he began his journey to find out what his fate is.



[b]DAY 27: HANAHAKI DISEASE – MY BLACK HEART FELL FOR YOU[/b]

There you are again, looking as gorgeous as ever. The warm light of the lanterns highlights your handsome features, even though the night is dark, you are like the brightest star that has fallen to the earth so you can bring solace and light to this war-ridden world. And oh, how I long to be by your side, but unfortunately, that isn't the case. You have her. I'm watching from afar how you're holding her, and together you are watching the calm surface of the water and how it reflects your perfect little moment. There is no place for me. But I wish there were. I want nothing more than to have you as my own.

Do you remember how our relationship started? We were just rookies, along with few others, but we had fire in our hearts and will to make this world a better place. We fought side by side in so many battles and we were such a good team together, we were like inseparable. We have been traveling all around the world to help people and kill the monsters that have plagued these lands. We have become truly extraordinary warriors by now, and that we have accomplished together. And I think that our hearts have connected in a way that many hasn't been able to achieve ever in their lives, and I was sure you felt the same as well. I loved you. You loved me. That's how things should have been.

Then you met her. Or maybe you had already known her for a while, I don't know. I have no idea how your relationship with this woman began, but when I met her for the first time, I knew she was trouble. But you, you're so kind with a big heart, you weren't able to see how vile she was. You didn't see how she infiltrated between us, trying to tear us apart. But there was not much I could do, as I wanted to see you happy and for some reason, you were happy in this woman's presence. So I kept my mouth shut and watched in agony how you chose her and not me. Little by little our love drifted apart, soon it was like there was a humongous rift between us. Our distance kept growing and soon it became that you barely gave any attention to me at all. My heart was broken, but you didn't even notice.

We have continued to travel and do our duties for the people of this world, but even though we have been on this journey together, I feel like the loneliest person in the world. She has invaded our team and your eyes can see only her. You see potential in her. I don't. I've been asking myself, if you love her so much and not me, then why haven't I left yet? Maybe it's because I adore you, you're my everything. You have saved me so many times, you've been with me through hell and back. I just can't live without you.

So here we are. You and your little miss together, and me, only accompanied by shadows.  And in a night like this, it really hits me: the rift between us is too wide and deep. My heart is in such great pain that my own arcane energy is turning against me. Flowers have pierced through my skin along with thorn-filled vines, blood is dripping. More and more of them appear, more blood is streaming down. It's getting hard to breath; I'm coughing up flower petals and blood. A huge flower destroys my right eye, taking its place in the socket. I fall to my knees, coughing even more petals, and I look at your direction. You are blissfully unaware what's happening to me. Perhaps you don't even care.

I want to call your name, ask for help, but I can't speak anymore. You're just holding her even more tightly. This vision enrages me. Here I'm suffering and you don't give a damn.

I'm getting close to death; I can feel it. Suddenly, there's voices around me. They are promising his heart for me, that she will suffer and not me. I just have to join them. In my vengeful mind, this is exactly what I want. I try to stand up, giving one more hatred-filled glance at the couple in the bridge. My body is weak at the moment, but the voices said it's okay, they will strengthen it. I disappear into the shadows, thus giving up my mortality.



[b]DAY 28: SMOKE – TAR LUNGS[/b]

Over the years, it had become a regular thing for Sin Vulpes to hang around the town, even when he wasn't working. And it was most pleasant to do when the sun had set, leaving the world wrapped in darkness. He enjoyed these nightly walks, as he had taken the town as his territory, and keeping a watchful eye on it felt the right thing to do. For over twenty years he had been living here in Olden Shadow Town, and those twenty years have been the best years of his life. This was his town, now, and no one can take it away from him.

The past few nights had been exceptionally dark. The darkness had intensified for an unknown reason, it was like a dark blanket was strangling the sky itself. Not that many citizens had paid attention to this phenomenon, but there were those few who were whispering about how something big was going on, or at least going to happen soon. But most didn't care. Sin Vulpes himself was slightly intrigued by this spectacle, and would wait how it was going to escalate. But other than that, he wasn't worried or excited about this thing. He was simply an onlooker, and if something was going to happen in the end, then he would react to it accordingly.

So, on that night, the unnatural darkness was hanging over the world as well. It didn't affect the lives of anyone, so people were just doing their own things, mostly staying inside their homes. But there were a couple of night owls, like Sin Vulpes, who would roam in the streets during that nocturnal time. It was just like any other night, people were around the clubs and bars, hooking up and just having great time with their accompanies. Sin Vulpes was a lone wolf, so to say, and were doing his things on his own. He most often didn't enjoy the company of other people, with few exceptions, of course. He was a man and a man has his needs.

But that night, he just was lingering around one of his favorite bars. He was leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette, keeping haphazardly an eye on people who would come in or leave the bar. Few people seemed to get annoyed by the smoke, but Sin Vulpes didn't care at all. If somebody would come to complain and pick a fight with him, he would beat them up in no time. No one, absolutely no one, will mess with him.

The man inhaled the smoke from his cigarette, then blew it into the crispy autumn air. He watched how it was swirling, dancing in the air before it would fade away. Then a sudden coughing fit attacked him, so he put his arm in front of his mouth and he began to cough loudly. When it was over, he looked at his arm and noticed that there was quite a lot blood. Maybe this would have been some wake-up call to somebody, but Sin Vulpes simply didn't care. His habit had taken such a deep root in him, so seeing a bit of blood wasn't going to make him quit. For twenty years he had been doing this, and he wasn't going to stop.

It was like a slow self-destruction. Without any remorse, he continued to inhale the toxic smoke into his lungs. While he was staying there, outside the bar, he coughed up blood few times. Eventually he was done with smoking, and entered the building to get a drink, maybe that would help him to get the taste of blood out of his mouth. 



[b]DAY 29: ZOMBIEFIED – MARCH OF THE DEAD[/b]

Our love was like straight from a fairy tale. We met on a bridge during one full moon night, it was magical, and we fell in love with each other at first glance. That was when the happiest days of my life began. Our hearts belonged to each other; we were inseparable. Lying in bed side by side, fondling with your hair, sniffing your scent, holding your body close to mine… Those were the moments of true bliss. Kissing you, embracing you, I never got tired of doing these things. We were connected in a deep level, understanding each other better than anyone else. Oh, I couldn't have been happier.

But the only certain thing in life is uncertainty. One day, you fell ill. It didn't seem to be that serious at first, it was like a little cold. I tried to nurse you back to your health. But great was the worry when days turned to weeks, and you didn't show any signs of recovering. It only got worse. You began to cough blood, your body wasted away into mere twigs, even your gorgeous hair started to fall off. I watched how you slowly withered away; I hadn't experienced anything so painful before your illness. Not even the physician of the village could help you. I felt so hopeless, so powerless. Day by day you were getting closer to death.

In the end, you lost the fight. You were taken away from me way too soon. It's not fair, you were still so young… But who am I to defy life? After your coffin was lowered to the soil, I cried. I cried more than ever. It was hard to accept that you were gone, that you have left me alone in this world. If it wasn't for my friends and family, I don't know how I would have survived losing you. They helped me to deal with that enormous grief. Eventually, I felt like that I could go living this life, cherishing our fond memories. Who knows, maybe one day we can meet again.

But I had no idea that such day would come so soon, and not in a way I had imagined.

Who could have guessed that such an ordinary day would turn out to be very extraordinary. I had spent the whole day at the inn to help my family, who owned the place. It had been quite busy day, but I enjoyed doing my tasks. And when the evening came, our hall was filled with even more people, as villagers came in to relax after a day of work and drink with their buddies. Everything seemed to be like always, it was just another regular nightfall.

Then, we heard a loud noise outside, it was like a voice of a trumpet, however, it had this very ominous tone in it, it was otherworldly. It gave chills to everyone; the whole inn had gone quiet. After a short moment of silence, people began to whisper things, and when few bravest ones made their way to the door, others would follow behind. Everyone wanted to know what was going on outside. Even I came with a mass of people, for I was curious. 
 
A crowd of people were flowing to the streets, the lamps offering us illumination. The villagers were looking around, trying to figure out where the noise had come from. And then, suddenly, somebody shouted to look at the west street. Everybody turned their heads to that direction, and we all saw it.

Something was coming. Lots of figures where approaching. When they came out of the shadows, everybody got shocked and terrified.

They were walking corpses. And there were lots of them. They were in different phases of decaying, so some appeared as pretty fresh, while others were a disgusting rotten mess filled with maggots, and some were just skeletons at that point. And when these abominations came closer, I could see you among them, in your robes like what you had wearing when you were buried. Even though it was just the rotten corpse of you, I felt a warm sting in my heart, as seeing you had always thrilled me. I wondered where you were going with the other dead ones.

The group of corpses didn't seem malicious, as they just walked by us spectators. Still, quite understandably, few people ran away and hid in their homes, while we others stayed outside and watched the march of the dead. We didn't know where they were heading to or what had caused them to raise from their graves to begin with. It was such a bizarre nightfall. 

Nobody knew anything. We just watched. And prayed that this wasn't a sign of a calamity. 



[b]DAY 30: BLOODDRUNK – THEIR BLOOD SHALL STAIN THE GROUND[/b]

Peace is so easy to break. Just have bad news and the townsfolks will go into a state of distress. Such thing happened in the small town of Ridhe. The people of this town had been living normal, peaceful lives, when one day, a foreign person came to Ridhe, bringing a grim warning with him. He told that he was from a place not too far away from Ridhe, and that something bad had happened. He proceeded to tell about a mysterious Beastman, a horrible individual that had slaughtered so many of his hometown's people. And according to his words, the Beastman was heading to this town. He only moved during nighttime, so the townsfolks still had some time to prepare. Then, he fled, leaving behind perplexed and terrified folks of Ridhe.

People got divided. Most people believed the foreign man's words and were afraid. But there was also some that thought what the man had said was pure rubbish. How could a single man be so threatening and dreadful? Quarrels broke out, families and friends got torn apart. Some people began to barricade their homes, and some even decided to leave Ridhe. Mainly mothers gathered their children in order to escape from the threat in the horizon. In the end, those who had chose to flee from the town were the smartest ones.

Only the darkness could bring the answers. When it was time for sunset, people became nervous and hid in their homes – except, of course, those who had been skeptical from the beginning. The latter were annoyed and mocked those who had fled or hidden themselves. Quite a lot of these skeptic people flocked in the tavern, living their lives in a normal way. And when the sky grew darker and darker, they were sure about that the other townsfolks had been a bunch of fools. So there they were, drinking and laughing, having a good time, blissfully unaware that something was indeed coming their way.

The lamps had been lit and they shed light to the nightly streets. A couple of giggling young women, heading to the tavern as well, were crossing the main street. One of them noticed something, and stopped her going. She looked into the direction of darkness; a border of the town devoid of lamps. Something was moving in there. She pointed it out to her friends and they confirmed that there was something. They decided to run to the tavern and tell others. They hurried to the building, and when they arrived to the place, they told everyone what they had just seen. They managed to gather a group of people to look what was going in the border of the town, and soon this crowd exited the building to check what was going on.

The townsfolk saw five ominous lights in the distance. They were moving around in circles, like will-o'-the-wisps, and there was something very unsettling about them. Then they heard howls of a wolfpack, and these eerie voices struck fear in to the hearts of people. The lights were getting closer and closer, and as they were getting near, they devoured the lights of street lamps, thus bringing darkness on their way. Eventually, the townsfolks could distinguish a figure of a tall man coming closer. The lights were circling around him, revealing that he was dressed in dark clothes and that he had an axe in his hand. But the disturbing thing was the sight of few wolves that were walking with him, for those creatures were eyeless. This is when the people realized that what the foreign person had warned them about, was true. The crowd began to scatter, now fearing for their lives. But these fools had sealed their fate, so when the dark man raised his axe and shouted something incomprehensible, the wolves left his side and began their hunt.

It became the night of slaughter and bloodshed. The wolves attacked on anybody they managed to catch, tearing their victims apart, mauling them. They would tear off the limbs, rip their organs out, licking the blood. And it seemed like that the more they got taste for blood, the more they would kill. It was useless to fight against them; one man had his own axe and tried to strike it at one beast's head, nothing happened, his weapon just went through the wolf as if he had been trying to cut mist. It seemed like that your only way of surviving them was to hope that you would run faster than other folks, so you would have more time to escape when the attention of the beasts is on those poor people. Maybe a couple of townsfolks managed to escape this night of horror that way.

While the wolves would hunt in the streets, the tall man would invade the homes of people. He would break the doors and anything else that came to his way with his axe, cracking them into splinters. Without mercy, he would murder everyone on his path, men, women, children, elderly people… It didn't matter who you are, if you got noticed by him, you would die. He would kill anyone with his axe, preferably striking to the throat, then he would sink his sharp teeth into the bloody wound, sucking, licking the blood. Just like the wolves, the more he gourmandized with blood, the more into a killing frenzy he became. It was like he was getting drunk from the blood, becoming more and more violent the more he drank it.

Just like everything else, this night of horrors came to an end. Before the dawn, the Beastman and his wolves retreated, probably moving to a next town. They left behind horrible things; torn bodies, lots of blood staining the ground and hearts full of fear, since there were some survivors from the night. They would probably never recover from the horrors they witnessed that night, but at least it was over now. 

They had lived.



[b]DAY 31: REVENGE – WHEN A MAN HAS NOTHING LEFT BUT VENGEANCE[/b]

For once it was a bright night on Mitber's path. Weeks had passed as he had journeyed through the land, and he had been accompanied by darkness most of the way. It was winter, so there wasn't much sunlight to begin with, but for an unknown reason, the moon had been staying hidden. Except for this night. Mitber took it as a good omen, that even the beloved Luna wanted to see the justice to come true. Under its guiding moonlight, he would press on, traveling through the endlessly white land. Cold winds were blowing, but Mitber barely even noticed them. They were more like companions than a hindrance. Whatever spirits were riding on them, they seemed to bid him good luck. It almost felt like that every force in the world was on the side to justify what he was about to execute. With fire in his eyes, he found strength to carry on, to move across this harsh land.

For weeks he had been searching for a man called Halric. That was the sole reason he had began this journey, trying to track the man. There was unfinished business between them, something that Mitber wanted to settle. This mission was the only thing left in his life.

They had been friends. But Halric had always been very envious person. He was never really content with his life and would get jealous over many little things. For an instance, he was very envious of Mitber's happiness; he had got married and became a father of a baby girl. Halric wanted this happiness as his own, as he didn't have a significant other in his life, and he wanted it so much that one day, he snapped. If he can't have it, nobody can. He took his sword and killed Mitber's wife and daughter, and tried to kill Mitber as well. He left him die, all bloody and broken, and neither of the two men expected Mitber to survive. But he did. It had been miraculous how one of the townsfolks found him so soon, lying on the street, and had helped him to get to the local physician to tend his wounds. But Mitber thought that this wasn't a miracle. It was fate. Halric had taken everything he had loved away from him, and Mitber had to get his revenge. He had lived for that purpose only. So, when he had got back to his health, he had bought a sword and began to chase the man who murdered his family.

Mitber had a feeling that he was close to the end. There was a small village looming in the distance. The man had a strong sense that Halric made it his hideout. Only a little more left. Mitber began to walk faster, for he could barely contain his hatred and need to kill. He would do a favor to the world tonight, as someone like Halric shouldn't be allowed to live.

Soon Mitber passed the wooden gates to the village. He stopped for a while, inspecting the settlement with his gaze. There wasn't really much to see, of course the villagers would be inside during such late and cold hour. Mitber began to walk through the village, looking around. It didn't take much time before he noticed the inn. Most likely he could find Halric from there. His heart was beating faster from the thrill as he entered the building.

There were few people in the hall. Mitber let his eyes wander throughout the large room in the dim light provided by a chandelier that was hanging from the ceiling. And indeed, he spotted Halric from the corner of the room. The mere sight of this man enraged Mitber and he wanted to kill him right at that spot. But that wouldn't be very honorable, so he tried to contain his fury just for a little while. He clenched his fists as he walked trough the hall to Halric's table. Mitber whisked away the pint of beer Halric had been drinking, instantly getting his attention.

“What the hell, man?” Halric shouted angrily and stood up.

“Now you're in a mood to fight”, Mitber stated. He set down his hood so his face would be visible.

Halric grew pale right at that moment.

“Mitber! But how…?” Halric shook his head in disbelief. “I thought I killed you!”

“It was a good try”, Mitber said. “I'm in here to settle things. Come. Let's go outside.”

Mitber began to walk to the door, and Halric reluctantly followed behind. They stepped from the warmness of the inn to the freezing outdoors. Mitber took a little bit distance from the building before he turned around to face Halric. He drew his sword out from its sheath.

“Fight to the death”, Mitber declared.

“This time I'll be sure to kill you”, Halric threatened, drawing his sword as well.

The men just stood still for a while, evaluating each other. Then, as if by a sign, they rushed towards each other, swinging their blades. The clash of steel filled the chilly night air as the men fought. Mitber was really making it hard to Halric, his fury was guiding his sword as he unleashed all of his hatred. Halric could barely keep up with him and was full on defensive mode as he was getting pounded hit by hit. Mitber managed to get one swing close to him, his blade scraping his opponent's cheek, forcing him to retreat a little. But Mitber showed no mercy, continuing to give trouble to Halric. Little by little Halric got pushed towards a wall, and soon his back was against one. He couldn't back away more. This was bad. Just when had Mitber become so good with handling a sword?

Then happened the decisive move. Mitber managed to knock off Halric's sword from his hand. The blade fell to the snow. Halric wasn't really able to comprehend what was happening when Mitber had already impaled his chest with his sword. Blood was flowing from the wound, riding on the blade downwards, some of it dribbling to the snow. Halric had a shocked expression in his face as he stared at the weapon stuck in his chest. Then, Mitber pulled the blade out and the dumbfounded Halric couldn't react to his next move. Mitber swung his sword aggressively, cutting off Halric's head. The head rolled on the snow, staining it red from blood. And death had left an incredulous expression on his face.

Mitber was breathing heavily after the fight. He was grasping his sword tightly and he stared down at the fresh corpse of his former friend. Why did things had to come to this? Though, Mitber didn't feel any remorse. This is the proper fate for betrayers and murderers.

He set his sword back to its sheath. Now the lives of his wife and daughter had been avenged. There was no reason to feel hatred anymore. Mitber turned his back to the corpse and began to walk away. He wandered out of the village, perhaps now just searching for a new purpose for his life.