Too Late for the Dead

If I could make it to the balcony, I might be able to jump outside. The fall may break few of my bones, but anything is better than this hell.

The thought offered a glimmer of hope amid the chaos, but I couldn't ignore the reality of the situation. The weeping portrait—the source of the maniacal laughter—It was in that part of the mansion. It was right where the laughter had come from.

I was afraid to go up there, to encounter that maniac again, but there was no other way. I had to get to that balcony if i wanted to get out of here alive.

So facing the reality, without wasting a any second, I forced myself to move toward the stairs again, navigating through the maze of burning debris on my way. The mansion was a living nightmare, flames clawing at the walls and floorboards creaking ominously beneath me. Smoke choked the air, making every breath a struggle.

I darted past collapsing sections of the ceiling and narrowly avoided falling debris that rained down with menacing speed. The heat was unbearable, and the crackling of the fire grew louder, almost as if it were mocking my every step.

Each movement was measured and cautious, every step calculated to avoid the most dangerous patches. The fire was relentless, eating away at everything it touched. My heart pounded as I fought to stay calm, forcing my legs to move even as the smoke made my vision hazy. I couldn't afford to be slow. The voice inside me screamed to hurry, urging me on despite the terror that gripped my every nerve.

"Just keep going," I told myself, my voice barely audible over the roar of the flames. "Get to the balcony. You can make it."

As I reached the second floor, the sight before me was almost surreal. The flames had spread, turning the once-grand hall into a nightmare of burning splinters and glowing embers. The air was thick with heat and smoke, making each breath feel like fire itself. I could see the balcony now, just within reach, but the path was fraught with danger.

I moved cautiously, my senses heightened. The mansion seemed to be collapsing in on itself, every creak and groan a warning of imminent disaster. The stairs beneath me felt unstable, shifting with every step I took. I couldn't afford to hesitate.

Finally, I reached the landing and saw the balcony door ahead. I could see the outside, the moonlight offering a stark contrast to the inferno within. But I had to get past the source of that haunting laughter first. It was right behind me, echoing through the corridors, taunting me with its maddening cadence.

Taking a deep breath, I braced myself and moved forward, pushing through the smoke and heat. I had come too far to turn back now. Every instinct screamed at me to hurry, but I had to be careful not to fall victim to the treacherous conditions around me.

My pulse raced as I approached the balcony, my only hope for escape. The mansion roared around me, and I had to stay focused, fighting the overwhelming urge to panic. If I made it through this, it would be by sheer will and determination.

________________________

I reached the railing of the balcony, my chest heaving as I struggled to catch my breath. The inferno raged behind me, its heat searing through every layer of my clothing. With a cautious glance over my shoulder, I was momentarily relieved to find no sign of the grotesque portrait or its maddening laughter. For a moment, I allowed myself to hope.

I stood before the reeling, just inches away from my freedom, I looked back at the mansion, now completely engulfed in flames and about to crash dow. The fire illuminated the surrounding, turning it a sickly orange. I couldn't here the laughter anymore, 'the nightmarish garden would have also burn away,' i thought.

For a moment i stand there silently, my mind numb with exhaustion and fear. I had survived, but at what cost? The mansion, with all its secrets and horrors, was now a blazing ruin.

I had no answers, only more questions, and a lingering sense of dread that I couldn't shake. What had my uncle been trying to tell me? What had really happened in that mansion?

I finally turned back, my legs trembling, as i prepared myself for the jump, only to face-to-face with the woman from the portrait. I immediately froze, she was Alive and in flesh, Her eyes, shining with an eerie gray light, were mere inches from my own. Her expression was devoid of any mercy, and before I could react, her hand reached my chest and i felt an invisible force push me back.

A frigid chill clawed at my chest, as if icy fingers of something unearthly had gripped my very soul. In that instant, an unseen force hurled me backward. I crashed through splintering wooden walls, my body slamming into the cold, unforgiving floor of the second-floor lobby. The impact wrenched the air from my lungs, pain lancing up my spine. Before I could gather my breath, a groaning creak reverberated through the room—a sound that twisted my gut in terror. The floor beneath me trembled, buckling under my weight.

I tried to crawl away, dragging myself across the creaking boards, but it was too late. With a deafening crack, the floor gave way, and I plunged into the darkness below.

I hit the ground hard, a sickening crunch resonating as I collided with burning debris on the first floor. The agony was blinding; I could feel shattered bones grinding beneath my skin. My chest heaved with broken breaths, each exhale wet with blood. The acrid scent of smoke and charred wood filled my nostrils as I lay helpless, pinned by the wreckage.

Through the haze of pain, she appeared again. The woman from the portrait. But this time, she was no mere ghostly figure—she was a twisted abomination. Her face, once eerily serene, split grotesquely down the middle, tearing apart with a sickening rip. A yawning maw, black as night, gaped wide as if to swallow the very essence of life itself. Her eyes, hollow and endless, locked onto mine.

The darkness in her gaze was alive—an abyss, cold and insatiable, pulling me into oblivion. She moved closer, her breath rancid with decay, the monstrous maw stretching wider. I could do nothing but watch as the void closed in, my mind unraveling under the weight of its impossible hunger.

I thought of my uncle in those final moments, a soft, resigned smile touching my lips as I accepted my fate.

But just as the maw lunged toward me, something extraordinary happened. The grotesque creature was repelled by a force I couldn't see. In my fading vision, I saw a brilliant, golden glow—intense and radiant, far surpassing the surrounding flames. The same force that had flung me away now sent the creature crashing back.

As the brilliance dimmed, a golden card revealed itself behind the fadding glow, and fluttered down through the smoke. It hovered momentarily before coming to rest beside me. I reached out, my trembling fingers brushing against the card. It was a tarot card, shimmering with a radiant gold that contrasted sharply with the encroaching darkness. The card depicted a figure standing on the edge of a cliff, a sense of reckless adventure and looming danger captured in its design.

"The Fool," I whispered, my dimming eyes fixed on the golden card. My uncle's letter, the warning of the Fool, and the journey into the unknown—all of it converged into a crushing, dreadful realization. I began to laugh, the sound escaping me in an unsettling, disjointed manner. "Ha...haha...hahaha!" The irony was almost too much to bear.

"You came too late, I suppose," I mumbled, the words barely escaping my lips as the weight of understanding settled heavily upon me. The cryptic message from my uncle, the perilous path I had taken, and the toll it demanded—all of it culminated in this grim, unavoidable truth- Maybe i was supposed to find this here.

Just as the full gravity of the situation sank in, the ceiling above me groaned ominously and then gave way, crashing down over me. Flames roared, and burning debris cascaded down, turning the world into a fiery, chaotic blur. The last thing I saw was the golden card, its brilliance dimming, "The fool!" I spoke again before the consuming darkness of the collapsing mansion enveloped me.