A relatively normal day

The next day, the blood moon passed with no trouble coming our way. Mary and I have been walking around the forest, We decided to leave havenfiled. Mary was happily holding my hand in pure joy. She reminds me of someone back at my world.

whatever, that was in the past, focus on the now and always be cautious. "Hey if you're going to think to much why don't you carry me."

"you want me to carry you?" I asked irritably.

"Yes, carry me!" Mary pouted, crossing her arms. "I don't want to ride your back like some sack of potatoes."

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at her, pretending to weigh the idea. "You do realize you're probably more trouble than I'm prepared for?"

She gave me a playful grin, stepping closer, her hands reaching out for me again. "Come on, you know you want to. Besides, aren't you the big, strong hero now?"

I sighed but reached down, scooping her up into my arms. She giggled, holding onto me like a child as I adjusted to the sudden weight. For someone who appeared so light and fragile, there was definitely more to Mary than met the eye.

"You're heavier than you look," I muttered, shifting her a bit to get comfortable.

"Well, blame the supernatural baggage," she teased, resting her head against my chest. "But don't worry, you can handle it."

We continued through the forest, the eerie stillness of the post-blood moon world settling around us. Even though things seemed calm, I kept my senses sharp. The supernatural always had a way of lulling you into a false sense of security before striking.

Mary, though, was strangely at ease, humming softly to herself as she leaned into me. Despite her playful attitude, I could sense an underlying tension an unspoken weight between us. Something had changed since our emergence from the blood river. She was more aware, more powerful, but also more distant at times. It felt like she was still testing the boundaries of whatever tether kept her tied to me.

After a while, the forest began to thin out, and I could see the horizon opening up ahead. The trees faded into a barren landscape, where the ground was cracked and dry, and the air had a metallic tang. A wasteland. I could see lost souls and other unwanted things. I wonder what happened.

"Do you want to hear a secret" Mary asked, her eyes stared at my fiery green ones. I glanced down at her, intrigued but wary. Mary's voice had dropped to a tone I wasn't used to hearing,serious, almost fragile. She didn't meet my eyes, her own gaze fixed on the cracked and desolate wasteland ahead.

"A secret?" I asked, trying to mask the curiosity creeping into my voice.

Mary nodded, resting her head back against my chest. "This world used to be normal but one day, a large hand descended down on the world making it a world of nightmares and horrors beyond normal human comprehension. From that day on, two rules were made in the entire world. Don't pray to the one who abandoned us and only the strong has a right to say what is wrong and good"

I tightened my grip on Mary as I absorbed her words. Her tone was unsettlingly calm, almost detached, as if she was recounting a distant memory rather than revealing something deeply personal.

"So, this place was once… normal?" I asked, trying to piece together the implications of what she'd said. "And then everything changed because of this 'hand'?"

Mary nodded slowly. "Yes. The world was reshaped into a nightmarish reflection of itself. The hand's touch turned everything into a battleground of survival, where the rules of reality no longer applied. Nightmares became real, and the old world faded into a place of legends and whispers."

I glanced around at the desolate landscape, feeling the weight of her words. The barren wasteland and the lost souls drifting aimlessly seemed to confirm her account.

"And the rules?" I pressed, feeling an unease settle over me. "What do they mean for us?"

Mary sighed, her breath warm against my chest. "The first rule, not to pray to the one who abandoned us, means that any hope of redemption or rescue from that entity is futile. It's a way to ensure we don't cling to false promises or look for salvation where none exists. The second rule, that only the strong can determine what is right or wrong, means that power dictates morality here. Those with strength can impose their will and create their own version of justice."

"So, power is everything," I concluded, trying to process how this new understanding fit into our current situation. "And this hand who or what was it? Do you know?"

Mary shook her head. "The hand is a symbol of the entity that transformed our world. Its true nature remains a mystery. Some say it was a god, others think it was an ancient being of pure chaos. What is known is that its influence altered everything beyond recognition, but there was a name heard by a person"

"What was it?" I asked, what kind of cosmic horror could do that.

"Ruler of the red world or something like that" That didn't sound intimidating at all, damn I hope I don't run into any Trevor handerson creatures or creepypasta's. Mary looked to be enjoying the ride which gave me the urge to drop her on the ground.

"Why are you being clingy anyway's" Mary's smile widened as she looked up at me, seemingly unfazed by my irritation. "Maybe I just like being close to you," she said with a playful glint in her eye. "Or maybe I'm testing your patience. Either way, it's nice to have a moment of normalcy, even if it's just a fleeting one."

"Reasoning with you is useless" I patted her head. Mary leaned into the pat, her eyes closing briefly as if savoring the small gesture of affection. "See? You do care," she teased, her voice soft but with that usual playfulness. "You just don't want to admit it."

I rolled my eyes but didn't bother denying it. There was no point. Mary had a way of disarming me with her lighthearted attitude, and as much as I wanted to stay guarded, I found myself lowering my defenses around her.

"Don't get too comfortable," I warned, shifting her slightly in my arms. "This is a temporary arrangement."

"Temporary," she echoed, smiling. "Sure."

For the next few hours we walked straight in the wastelands, occasionally there were a few well 'Rakes' they were long skinless humans with long arms and legs, sharp black fingers and sometimes twisted looking heads.

They were low level fodder at most, they all turned to dust the moment they reached me. Mary managed to tame some of them and put them in her 'penthouse or farm'. Mary actually tried to teach me to resurrect this things.

"It's actually possible, you and I both can control souls and your flames are tangible, they give off the aura of decay" She said while slightly moving around.

Her 'taming' is just soul slavery, what she said can be true but, i haven't even gotten the chance to use it yet, though i did feel like my organs aren't really existent, everything just feels warm yet it has a hint of death.

Mary continued her talking while I listened along the way, just some random things about plants and sometimes foods she wants to taste and places she likes to go to. She was no different from an innocent child.

<Turn around>

A voice said behind me, it felt like countless whispers, i ignored it and continued looking front. "Those are some good ideas Mary"

I said answering her question.

<T.U.R.N…A.R.O.U.N.D>

"Yeah maybe if you knew how to cook you could make it" She said with enthusiasm.

<PRAY>

"I mean i do know how to cook some small dishes but nothing fancy." I tried to keep my voice steady, ignoring the persistent, eerie voice that lingered in the back of my mind. Mary continued chatting, oblivious to the strange whispers that kept intensifying.

<PRAY… TURN AROUND…> The voice insisted, its tone becoming more guttural, more demanding.

<HERECTIC>

<CREATURE>

<SINFUL >

<BEAST >

I ignored it, the thing isn't a threat if i don't turn around, Herectic creature of the Sinful beast, that is what I got from that. After the voice said it those words everything was quiet again.

*Ring*

"Strange, didn't my phone break some days ago" I pulled it out of my pocket, and what I saw was a symbol of a cat with one eye covering its entire face staring at me. I did the most sensible thing I could think of, i burned the phone and threw it far away as possible.

Mary was startled by my behavior for a bit. "What happened?"

She asked in confusion, i smiled and pulled her cheeks. "Nothing it's just the phone was heating up a bit, I think my body heat affected it and was about to blow up"

she swatted my hands. "James, i am not stupid, I know something must have happened but you won't tell me or will you?"

"it's just voices, ignoring them will make them go away" I said reassuring her. Mary clung to me like a stubborn koala, her head resting comfortably against my chest, her arms wrapped tightly around my neck. I could feel her steady breathing, her warmth contrasting the cold air of the wasteland.

<Pehtotalrayn>