Follow the young bun in discovering the darkness that lies beneath her town. Not all is as it seems in this dark fantasy tale.

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Down within the forest brush laid a community vast and unassuming. Many who have wandered through thought the inhabiting fellows to be weak, finding their being to be lacking complexity in means of essence. Yet their darkness weighs through the depths of the earth, hiding in their shadows, shielding the world from the enveloping chaos within. Of course, this is mainly metaphorical, yet it cannot be understood how cruel some of the softest beings can be.

Years prior to now, the small village of Lainpol underwent cruel manipulations and deceptions, devastating those who inhabited its lands. Trees whipped their branches to desecrate the buildings, floods constantly destroyed crops, fires would occur unknowingly and unprovoked. Something was angry. All who lived there feared what would happen next, what malice could occur regardless of their efforts.

It wasn’t until one bun found the cause of all the misery of her people. While wandering through the thickened forest, stumbling upon the tomb of Alaos, she saw the cruel deeds acted upon his corpse. Dug from his cave, forced into unheavenly positions and bereft of sanctity. Seeing that his legs and arms were removed from his cold, lifeless corpse, the bun was overcome by disgust and nausea. Yet for some reason, there was a feeling of familiarity, as if she had experienced this before.

“How could one do this?” She asked herself. Realizing the cursed nature of her village in connection with the destruction of one’s deathly peace. But she thought nothing she could do would resolve this devastation. She stood there, unsure of her next steps. The stench of the body filled her delicate nostrils with horror. An unnatural state of being, rotten and skeletal; yet lively in means of smell alone.  

She exited the tomb for a moment, feeling sick with disgust. Her mind was racing with who committed these fiendish acts and why they did it. She was devastated with a pit forming deep within her. The fellow bunfolk normally worked together, they were happy. These actions were unknown to them, yet there it was.

With some time, she mustered the courage to correct what had happened. She walked back into the tomb, preparing to provide him with a proper rest. She gathered his strewn about limbs, ensuring she had each piece of Alaos’ corpse. While staring over his mound of flesh, she lit a torch and burned what remained of his ruined body. As it burned to ash, she felt no relief. An aura of darkness loomed over her, as if she was to be blamed for this sacrilegious action.

She began to leave the solemn tomb. But before she could exit, a gust of cold air flew around her nimble body. Forming a whisper in the back of her head:

Death is two, death is free; come and join and see the tree.

The words echoed in her skull, each syllable sharper than glass. Uneasiness overwhelmed her, making her uncomfortable. Chills ran up her spine forcing a headache to form. She shifted around, beginning to sweat even in the cold air, searching for the source of these frightening words. No matter where she looked, nothing could be found. Attempting to rationalize these premonitions, she began to second guess what she heard. How could anything enter my mind so vividly? She wondered.

Join the march, where shadows feast, and death reveals the final peace.

It tormented her, enforcing its might upon her mind. Her uneasiness increased, causing her to shake in terror. The darkness surrounding her expanded, corrupting what innocence may have persisted. She was frozen in place, unable to move, stuck like a statue. All that could function was panic, losing her mind’s fortitude as the voice lingered.

Time will tell, shadows will form. You shall sit in your frozen cell.

“Who are you?” She screamed, scared beyond her wits. Her body trembled uncontrollably, causing her to swiftly lose her balance. She fell to the ground, scraping her knee on the rough stone of the tomb’s floor. As blood began to ooze from her leg, she suddenly smelt the rich scent of roses filling the air. A smell so fresh and pure, giving her a sense of brief respite. But as the scent grew in its intensity, so did her pain. Her mind became confused, vertigo consuming her limited vision, and darkness to end it all.

She laid there in a coma, unable to move or act; stiffer than the corpse she burned. Through her unconsciousness, she could still hear the whispers surrounding the tomb, the judgmental gaze of the hidden few. As they whispered and laughed, mocking her unfortunate demise, she felt the loss of reality settle in.

Days went by as she stayed frozen in an eternal cell. Vivid dreams of monsters and ghouls raptured her mind. She was now a feast for those who hid in the shadows to consume. But in this darkness, she occasionally saw a wisp fly through her visions. She wasn’t sure of the wisp’s intentions, for nothing seemed safe in this illusion; yet it felt serene and secure to her. A sight of potential hope to bring her out of her deprivation. That was until the wisp spoke to her.

“Hey, you, follow me!” The wisp yelled to her. The bun was skeptical of the wisp’s intention. Everything she’s seen so far has been malicious to her, so what made this wisp more trustworthy? For all she knew, this wisp was just another monster; but it didn’t feel that way. That sort of feeling where everything is sound. “Hey, hurry, you’re going to get trapped!” The wisp shouted. The bun didn’t have many options, it was either follow the wisp or stay forever. A risk worth taking.

The bun began to run towards the wisp, following the wisp through all sorts of dark passageways, exploring the unfamiliar realm. In the endless void of darkness, she couldn’t see anything. She thought she may have been in some sort of cave, maybe a dense forest, but it was impossible for her to tell.

As they continued forward, the bun became cut up, with multiple scratches and scrapes forming on her body. Her blood oozed more, but she was determined to continue forward. The passageway became narrower and narrower causing her to become overcome by claustrophobia. The walls became damper, flowing with an unknown fluid. The air of the passageway became denser, toxic as it entered the bun’s lungs. Yet she continued forward, watching the wisp ahead of her until they finally came to a stop.

A room with no lights, no entrances except for the way they came, feeling and smelling of coldness. The bun looked towards the wisp as its light began to dissipate, disappearing as if to have never existed. It was still and quiet, reeking of sorrow and misery.

“Where are you?” The bun shouted through the echoing chamber. Nothing. “Help me, please, where did you go?” Nothing responded again. Her heart began to race as panic ensnared her mind. Thoughts of doubt encapsulating any sense she once had. Her paws began to claw against the walls, anxious to find the entry they came through. But as she searched, slowly chipping her claws away, she realized it was gone. No way out, stuck in darkness. Stuck with no means of escape.

“Watch this; this will be funny,” a voice said from outside the wall.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” She shouted, hopeful for a response. A thud began on the other side of the wall, causing a sense of hope to be saved from the cave. Constant thuds hitting the wall, banging and chipping away at what sounded like stone.

After a few minutes, a light could be seen through the wall. Standing on the other side were two younger buns covered in pebbles and dirt, amazed at what they had found.

“You found me!” She screamed with relief, but they did not react to her excitement. She felt their warm paws grab onto her body, dragging her from the sarcophagus. They threw her on the floor, thudding as a solid mass. When she looked up and saw the smirk plastered on the young buns’ faces, terror delved deeper into her mind. They were amused by their find. From their side, crudely made blades were withdrawn, shining from the light outside. With a swift sweep of their blade, they began to chop into her flesh. A bloodcurdling scream escaped from her mouth as agonizing pain enveloped her body. First the legs were chopped off, left on the ground with blood pooling. Treated without dignity. Then her arms were ripped from their socket, gingerly placed on top of her head from their cruelty. The younger buns began to laugh, enjoying their newfound interest.

She laid there, sliced into pieces, helpless. All she wished for was death. She knew there was no escape from this misery, not even pain was left. Just her lifeless body with an active conscious. The younger buns soon chose to leave, laughing and giddy with their actions, leaving her to rot on the cold stone ground.

Weeks went by, yet she remained alive and conscious, wondering how she deserved such actions. She thought that was the worst of it, but as her stiffness consumed her mind, insanity soon followed. A scream was attempted, seeking help in her new home, but no one ever came. It wasn’t until one stormy day, with the whistling winds howling just outside, she noticed another bun enter where she had been left.

“How could one do this?” The bun asked as it stared at her desecrated corpse. It looked disturbed by what it found, feeling the same emotions she had felt before. The bun exited the tomb briefly, seemingly disgusted by her appearance, until it reentered. It began to gather her limbs, moving them into a single pile. Walking to the hanging torch, it lit it, giving another sense of familiarity to her rotting corpse. Everything felt familiar to her, as if this had occurred before.

A sense of relief overcame her as the bun walked towards her piled corpse. A feeling of escape and end, the ability to die in peace. It threw the lit torch over her body, allowing her desecrated corpse to be put to rest. But as consciousness began to end, a familiar voice appeared again.

Death is two, death is free; come and join and see the tree.

And as she faded into the ash, the whispers carried her away, promising peace but delivering only shadows. Death is two, death is free; come and join and see the tree.