"Why should I?" I asked Alyssa...wherever she was.

Because it would be easier for you if you did what I said.

"But where do I even go?"

To the painting, duh.

"Why?"

You'll find out once you get closer.

"What happens if I don't?"

Suddenly, four small portals of pitch black appeared on the wall, and what came out of it were big floating hands of the same colour. They grabbed my arms and legs. I tried breaking free but that only made them grip tighter.
Heh, you should learn how to be more obedient...

My only option was to scream for help, but another one appeared and covered my mouth, preventing me from calling.

They're not listening. Claudia's in her room listening to music. At least she has headphones now so you won't have to listen to her music anymore!

I tried screaming more as I was being carried closer to the painting. There was one detail that I didn't notice before, there were skulls underneath the bright moon. That alone made me afraid as to what was coming next.

That's what you should do, Owen. Focus on the positives.

I closed my eyes, afraid of what was going to come next.

You shouldn't be afraid. You should just be grateful that you're still alive!

I started feeling chills as I passed through what felt like water. Thankfully, I could breathe this time. I must have been on the other side of the painting.

As I slowly opened my eyes, the sky looked exactly like the one I saw in the painting, to the point where it didn't look real at all. I couldn't help but be amazed by Alyssa's powers in moments like these, as much as I hated to admit it.

The hands that were grabbing me suddenly vanished, and I felt myself falling.

Terrified of what was below, I once again closed my eyes hoping for the best.

I finally stopped praying for dear life and opened my eyes again once I realised that I was suspended in midair. That could have killed me if I wasn't saved...

I was just above a pile of skulls, the same ones from in the painting. These ones were more realistic, however.

Then, I heard the voice of my captor coming from behind me.

"Ahh, Owen, how nice of you to drop in."

I couldn't help but scowl as she laughed at her own terrible pun.

"Could you let me down already?"

With a quiet giggle coming out of her lips, she stopped whatever was keeping me afloat. I fell face first into a pile of skulls, and at that point all I wanted was to get back to my bed.

I managed to slowly get back up on my feet. At least I had free will, that was something. If only there was a way out of the place, I didn't think there was one.

I turned around and I saw the same moon and swing from the painting, but it wasn't far away at all. They were both suspended in the air slightly above the pile of skulls that I was standing on. The difference was that the girl who was on the swing more detailed.

Her curly hair went down went to her shoulders, and she wore a plain dress that almost reached her knees. She wore a rose on her head, which I found odd since there were no roses in the garden. There was no colour on her, everything about her was grey, which made her seem like a real spirit. She had a bright smile on her face, which I wasn't expecting. Was this...Alyssa? Her age seemed to be 13, I expected her to be younger. That assumption was based on her appearance though, I was sure that her actual age was a lot higher.

She giggled once I layed my eyes on her, and she floated off of her swing and flew slowly towards me. I backed away slowly, afraid that she would do something to me.

As I did so, she just laughed at my fear.

"Do you really think I'm here to hurt you? Is that what you think of me?" She whined, pretending to be upset by my actions.

"That's all you've been doing, of course I would think that!"

"I thought we were having fun!"

"...You think that me almost dying is fun?!"

"You think that me being stuck in a mansion with no one to play with for so long is fun?!" she mimicked, with exactly the same voice is mine.

"Stop that!"

"Stop that!" She replied, again with the same voice as mine.

"Fine. Why have you brought me here?"

"Weren't you the one who wanted to see me?"

"Huh?"

"You're a very curious person, Owen. Like a cat."

Alyssa was very unpredictable, even more so than I first thought...it's like she just said the first things that came to her mind even if they didn't mean anything.

"Your point is?"

She giggled once again and disappeared. I looked around the area, but once I realised that she was behind me I tripped and fell into the pile of skulls from the shock.

She held out her hand to help me up, which I foolishly accepted. Once I tried touching her hand it just passed right through me, and I felt a freezing chill on my hand that fortunately only lasted for a few seconds. As I fell back into the pile she laughed once again.

I couldn't help but wonder what she was. She seemed like an ordinary ghost so far, but I was sure that there was something more.

"Don't you want to learn the truth?" She asked.

I didn't want to admit it in front of her, but yes, I really did.

"Fine. Tell me whatever you want."

"It's no fun when you ask it like that!" Alyssa said while pouting.

"Excuse me?"

"Get on your knees and beg if you want answers. Do it. Now."

"...Are you serious?"

"Yes."

Judging by the serious look on her face, with no emotion other than repressed anger, I could tell that she was.

"Why the hell would I start begging to the enemy?"

"I'll ask again. Please get on your knees and beg."

"No. I refuse to beg to someone like you."

Alyssa did a long sigh, she was obviously getting annoyed by my refusal, and she wouldn't stand for it.

"Alright then...I'll guess I'll just have to do some light persuading," she stated while sounding like she was trying to hold back her rage.

She held out her hand, and one of the skulls from the seemingly endless pile of them flew into it. She giggled as she stroked it like a pet, and she seemed to be enjoying it too much.

"So? What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. I just want you consider something."

Once again, she started randomly disappearing and appearing at different places. I had no idea why, but it was probably just to annoy me.

"I have unlimited power, I can do things that your tiny mortal brain can't even begin to comprehend."

She stopped looking at me and started looking at her pet skull, that seemed to be...alive? It was acting like a cat who was enjoying being stroked by it's master. It was quite disturbing, especially with the skull being silent and not showing any emotion as skulls always do, but it was still moving like a living being.

A smile formed across her arms as it left her arms and floated in the air again. It did an ear piercing scream before exploding into tiny pieces, taking me by surprise.

I had no idea if that skull was really alive, but...I couldn't help but feel bad for it.

"The next skull to be destroyed could be yours."

The way she uttered those words sent shivers down my spine. It was terrifying, and I knew that as much as I hated it, I had to do what she said.

I sighed as I got down to my knees and looked down at the pile of corpses. I couldn't see Alyssa's face but I assumed that she would be smirking right now.

"That's a good start."

I sighed even louder as I clapped my hands together, ready to start begging.

"Please Alyssa! Please give me answers!" I pleaded in an exaggerated voice.

"Hmm...do it more."

I hated being forced to do this...maybe I should have just let her make my skull explode.

"Oh Alyssa, great and powerful! Please bless with me with your knowledge, for I, Owen, am a fool who knows nothing."

I looked up to see her reaction, and she started laughing as she looked down on me.

"Heh, that's acceptable."

That was a relief...at least now she would tell me what she wanted to tell me.

"I should tell you the truth now...after all, you're probably wondering what's happening to Thomas, aren't you?"

"...Yes," I admitted, feeling annoyed at the fact that I couldn't fight back.

"Very well..."

There was a moment of silence.

"Go on then, what happened to Thomas?" I asked, starting to get frustrated.

"Who's that?"

Oh god, now she was doing the same thing as my sister and my mother. Denying his existence for whatever reason.

"Thomas."

She then had a smirk on her face which caught me off guard.

"I don't know what you're talking about...Thomas doesn't exist."

"What?"

"He's gone. After he was killed in my world, he was erased from existence in yours. All the memories of him are no more."

He was really gone...not only was Thomas dead but his entire existence is gone too...I was incredibly satisfied, yet at the same time I was scared.

"Is...is that even possible?"

"Owen...anything is possible."

Something about those words made me even more scared than I was. She could anything she wanted with me, whenever she decided it was time to play.

"Having amazing powers like mine is pretty fun. I almost feel bad about the fact that you don't have them."

She flew towards me and stared directly at me with an emotionless face, and she was so close that I had to back away a little.

"There is something that you might have though...something very interesting."

Once she finally moved away I could start breathing again. What did she mean by that? What did I have? Hopefully I could use it against her, whatever it was...

"Anyway. I'm bored. You may leave now."

Fear suddenly flowed through me as I felt my legs being grabbed by...something. I didn't even know what it was and I was too terrified to look at what was dragging me down.

"Wait!" I shouted.

Alyssa groaned as she flew back to her swing.

"What? This chapter's over now."

"I was just wondering...did these skulls belong to anyone? Or aren't they real?"

Alyssa laughed at my question as I continued to be dragged down.

"Maybe you should have asked them when you arrived."

I wasn't even going to try and figure out what she meant by that. I tried breaking free from what felt like human hands, but they were too strong, and I felt myself being dragged into the abyss of skulls...