In my state of pure panic, my only option was to shove the pillow in the corpse's face. Even if it wouldn't suffocate it, it would at least be distract it.

Once I managed to get off the bed, I was instantly ready to shoot this walking corpse into submission.

But as I tried to do so, my efforts weren't good enough...as I kept trying to shoot, there were no more bullets coming out.

I was defenseless.

Not only that, but more corpses started rising from the very ground itself, leaving black puddles of a mysterious liquid everywhere.

It wasn't long until the entire room was full of these corpses. All of them walking towards me, ready to take me.

But at the end of the day...these were just corpses right? Sure they had magical powers, but they were fragile.

With that confidence in mind, I took a massive risk and ran right towards them with the diary and one of the drawers from the nightstand firmly in hand, hoping desperately to bypass them and get them out of the way.

I hit all of them as hard as I could, trying to get away. As I hit them they stumbled over, and once I noticed that a lot of them were trying to get me from behind, I managed to whack their arms away before they could come into contact with me.
Once I found an opening, I ran away as fast as I could down the mysterious hallway, never looking back so I wouldn't waste time.

The hallway then ended and the only thing that would have allowed me to escape was a giant door which was covered with mysterious symbols and looker very ominous. I knew that I would probably have a bad time if I entered it, but I didn't really have a choice.

I grabbed the handle and pulled, and it started to open. It went very slowly however since it seemed like this door hadn't been used in ages, and I didn't even know if I was going to make it since I heard the corpses advance further towards me...

I had no choice but to stop pulling and squeeze into the little gap that I made.

I frantically pushed the door once I reached the other side, trying to close it before the corpses could get through...I started to panic as I saw them run towards me hungrily.

Thankfully I managed to close it before they could get through...

I just hoped I wouldn't have to deal with anything in this room. Unfortunately the odds weren't stacked in my favour...

As I looked around, I saw that the room I was in wasn't just an ordinary room. It looked like I was in some kind of underground coliseum, the whole room was circular with chairs lined up by the walls, creating many different rows. There was also the very centre of the room which had a weird symbol painted on it. It was a rather messy place in general, the floor decorated with rocks and rubble.

This place was bigger than any room in the mansion...how deep underground was I?

Not only that but they was no way out at all, I was trapped. I couldn't even go out the way I came in since the corpses were outside and I had no way to stop them.

There was nothing to do, nothing else to see. Was I going to be stuck here forever?

I sat down, looking up at the ceiling which seemed like it could collapse at any moment.

Oh well...If I was going to be buried alive I was pretty glad it would be in this place. It was an open space, and there was no Alyssa to bother me, no overbearing mother, and hopefully there wouldn't be anything trying to kill me down here.

If it was my fate to die here, then I accept it with open arms.

What could I do here now that I have no choice but to wait for my slow and eventual death?

I then realised that I had of Alyssa's diary in my hand. Maybe I should read that?

It's certainly interesting reading material, so I was sure it would keep me entertained.

I wasn't sure whether to start at the beginning or the end though...the beginning would give me more context but the ending could probably explain more of why things are currently the way they are.

I eventually decided to just read a random entry from the middle, because why not. Maybe it would tell me more about Sain, the afterlife, and this mansion itself.

I sat down and started reading the mysterious journal.

...

I'm afraid...

Sain rarely ever talks to me anymore.

We never get to play games like we used to.

He's always quiet, never talking to me unless I approach him.

And when I do, I never see a smile on his face.

I always seem to bother him. But is it really my fault...?

Something seems to be troubling him, and I have no choice but to find out what.

Maybe then my suffering will finally end...?

...

This Sain person...the name feels strangely familiar. Like I've heard it before...but from where? I don't even know anyone with that name, not even any thing.

This was honestly really bothering me. I felt limited by my own faulty memory and I didn't like.

Maybe Alyssa was literally playing mind games on me somehow...but she had no power here? Or so she said anyway. How could I even believe a word she says after all she's done so far?

But that diary made me see her as more than just some two dimensional ghost that exists only to be a pain...maybe there was something deeper going on? What even goes on through her head, especially when tormenting me? Why does she do it?

I guess being confined in this large space really gave me time to think. It gave me...solitude.

Owen...

Well there goes the solitude I guess.

"What?" I shouted back.

The voice wasn't Alyssa's...I didn't know who's it was to be honest. Maybe it was Sain's? At this point I could just accept that anything is possible and anything could happen.

I must know if you are worthy...

I knew by now what was about to come, this really wasn't anything new to me.

Can you bear the regret, of the sins from the distant past?

The only thing I really regretted at this point was being alive.

Only then, can our future be a happy one...

Sure, a happy future. That's totally gonna happen.

And we may be able to reach what we have searched for...

...Wait what? What is it that these people have been "searching" for?

I really should have read more of the journal when I had the chance. Probably too late for that kind of thing now though.

Since I heard something crawling on the ceiling.

I immediately started shuddering as I heard it.

Did I dare look up?

It seemed to be right above me, moving slowly, like a predator waiting for its prey.

I then saw what was above me.

It was a giant spider. But not just any giant spider, it seemed to be like those corpses that had been wondering around. It even had a giant human skull instead of a spider head, but this one had three eyes instead of two.

It's body was that of a spider, but made with human flesh and bones. In fact it's so called "legs" were actually four human arms in skeletal form, crudely attached to this monstrosity.

Somehow, it was even...breathing.

None of the other corpses did that.

Please...save me...

Oh my god...was this thing actually alive? Were these the actual remains of people from long ago?

The giant corpse spider proceeded to make weird noises, moving it's skull back and forth.

It then spit some kind of mysterious substance at me, probably some kind of venom...

Thankfully I managed to get away from it in the nick of time, but that didn't really make me feel better since those drops of venom managed to burn small holes into the ground.

I then looked at the spider once again, which was getting closer towards me.

I needed to destroy this thing. Obviously this creature wasn't friendly or anything, neither was it here to simply say hello and wish me a good day.

There was one slight complication to that plan though...

I had no weapon.

Nothing to attack with.

Nothing defend myself with.

Without those things...how could I even do anything...?

Not to mention that I didn't

The creature then saw it's opportunity, and it shot me with a web that came out of its mouth, pinning me to the ground which was covered with dust and small rocks.

The impact hurt, but the real pain I was about to feel was on its way. For the first time I was truly...scared. It prevented me from moving, I felt like I was paralysed. That could have been me being binded by the sticky web too though. Surely it was both.

The spider creature grinned at me evilly as it was ready for the kill. I heard it's voice lingering in my ear too which made things worse.

Another one to suffer a terrible fate in this place...

I even started to sweat from pure fear alone. It's "arm" started to transform into a sharp giant pincer, that looked it was even made of metal. How could I even escape this? I tried getting out of the web, but I couldn't no matter how hard I tried.

Not only that, but the web started glowing a light purple...I felt my energy slowly decreasing...like my life force was being forced out of my body...

I could feel was me gradually getting weaker, and everything started becoming a blur...

I needed to do something though. I couldn't just let myself lose like this...

I was able to move my arms somewhat underneath the painful web, but not even they were enough to get myself out of this...not only that, but I felt my hand hurt a little as my hand ended up coming into contact with a sharp rock.

Wait...that was it!

I knew what I had to do.

I grabbed the rock and I tried using it to cut through the web. It had a sharp edge that I tried to use to cut through, and it ended up doing the trick. I was free and I felt my energy slowly start to come back.

The creature didn't react. It just stared at me blankly.

"So what do you have to say to that, spider...thing?" I said triumphantly.

"..."

"Of course. That's what they all say."

This ends now.

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure none of us know when any of this will end."

It then charged towards me, both its arms turned into pincers and ready to slice me open and dissect me. But I felt more confident now that I made a realisation.

I didn't need a weapon. I had a rock.

And at the moment, it was all I had, honestly. I put all the faith I had in it, hoping that all of this would work. My last option was to throw the rock at the spider's human skull head as hard as I could, hoping that it would weaken it.

Despite still being afraid, and weak from that magical web, I threw it as hard as I could directly at the skull.

The result, thankfully, was a small crack that appeared at the left of its forehead. It wailed in pain after the impact, and while it was distracted, I took my chance.

I grabbed the rock that fell onto the ground onto the impact, and I banged it repeatedly onto it's weak spot, desperately trying to break it further.

As I did so, it kept screaming in pain, and after a few hard hits, I finally managed to crack through it like an egg.

To me surprise though, actual blood started pouring out...blood that seemingly came from nowhere. Yet somehow, there it was. The thing that disturbed me most though, was that there was an actual human brain inside...one that seemed to be fully functional.

For a split second I was actually skeptical of killing this thing. It almost felt like I was killing a person. One that wasn't under Alyssa's control. One that didn't seem to deserve it...

Did any of these people deserve it?

...I stopped.

I couldn't bring myself to continue hurting this thing. It felt so wrong. Was there any way I could help it?

I backed away slowly and watched as the creature gained composure. The skull somehow twisted into an actual smile, making a weird creaking noise as he did so.

So he was right about you...

The creature then started fading, leaving golden stuff behind.

You have a good heart.

So many emotions were going through my mind right now, I couldn't even think straight anymore.

"Tell me...who are you...?"

We are the in-between. Heaven and hell don't welcome us. Not after what we did.

I reached out for the creature, but it was almost completely gone...

"Wait! What is it that you-"

I was too late. All that was left was the golden dust floating around in the air.

The dust then started to twist and turn, merging into a giant golden door. I placed my hand on the handle, with Alyssa's diary placed in my other hand, and a familiar voice resounded in my head.

It's time to go back.

Without any hesitation, I opened the door and went through it, ready to return to the surface.