Upon opening my eyes again, the first thing that reached me was not the image… but the sound.
Background music.
A repeated rhythm, almost childish, like a melody that had gotten trapped in an eternal loop.
It was not entirely joyful, but neither sad. It simply was there, repeating itself over and over, as if the place breathed through that music.
The site in which I now found myself was strange, even by the standards of the places I had already explored.
At first glance it seemed a colorful place, almost innocent. The ground was covered by intense green grass, so perfect that it seemed artificial, as if someone had painted it with care.
The bushes that surrounded the area did not grow naturally: they were tall, dense, aligned with too much precision, forming green walls that delimited the space.
They were not bushes.
They were walls.
The path that extended in front of me led toward a point further ahead where the terrain seemed to fold over itself.
In the distance, everything indicated that it was a labyrinth… or that I was already inside one without having realized it.
I looked around, trying to locate some point of reference, something familiar. It was then when I saw a small wooden sign nailed to the ground, tilted as if someone had placed it there in a hurry or carelessly.
I approached.
The letters were carved irregularly, as if they had been made with an inadequate tool… or by someone who did not have human hands.
"A round of applause for the brave knight".
I read those words in a low voice.
And upon doing so, a shiver ran through my entire body.
It was not fear exactly.
It was the uncomfortable sensation of being watched. As if each step, each breath, each thought was being recorded by something I could not see.
The air itself seemed attentive to me.
I swallowed saliva.
I felt that the place knew I was there.
Without even thinking too much, I decided not to continue along the green and colorful path. Something inside me screamed that advancing without understanding would be a mistake.
I turned around and headed toward the stone stairs I had noticed before.
I climbed the steps quickly.
But as soon as I reached the last one… the world bent.
A blink.
And I was again in the same place.
The same grass. The same bushes. The same repeated music.
My heart jumped.
I tried again. I went down, went up, turned, even ran.
Nothing.
I always returned to the same place.
I was locked in that site I did not know, trapped in a space that did not obey normal rules. No matter the path I took: the result was always the same.
I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself.
It was then when I saw it.
A rabbit.
It was of a strange pink color, almost artificial, as if it did not belong to the real world. It spun on itself, turning in impossible circles, as if its existence were an error of the place, a glitch that no one had bothered to correct.
I approached with caution.
Each step I took seemed to alter the surroundings. The grass crunched exaggeratedly, the music rose barely in volume, as if reacting to my presence.
I extended my hand.
I touched the rabbit.
And it disappeared.
It did not explode, it did not flee, it left no trace. It simply vanished, as if it had never been there.
In its place, a small matchbox vial fell to the ground and rolled a few centimeters before stopping.
I picked it up.
I had no idea what the hell was happening in that place. Nothing followed a recognizable logic. It was like being inside a dream that was not mine.
Without better options, I decided to advance along the path in front of me.
I walked.
And walked.
Until reaching a point where the path divided into two clear directions: north and west.
There were no signs. There were no indications. Only the decision.
Without thinking too much, I chose the west, following instinct more than reason. I advanced along the chosen path… only to return, minutes later, to the same crossroads.
But this time, there was only one direction.
North.
I frowned, annoyed.
I took a step forward.
Then, a white rabbit appeared suddenly in front of me.
It was not like the previous one.
This one had an aggressive posture, eyes wide open, body tense. I did not hesitate. I drew my sword and, with a single clean cut, pierced it.
It died instantly.
But upon falling, something happened.
Too many souls.
Many more than any other monster I had faced before had left. The flow of power was so intense that it made me step back.
That was not normal.
I continued exploring the place.
The further I advanced, the more lost I became. The landscape repeated itself, but it was never exactly the same. The bushes changed in height, the paths narrowed or opened without warning.
Rabbits appeared out of nowhere.
I defeated them.
And always, always, they gave me an absurd amount of souls.
It was as if the place wanted to tempt me, reward me for staying there, for continuing to advance without asking questions.
Until I reached a different site.
There was only one possible path.
On one side of the path, strange flags waved, with symbols I had never seen. I did not recognize the colors, I did not understand the designs. They seemed to watch me.
I advanced.
And upon doing so, I felt the sky change.
Red. Blue. Green.
The colors blinked over and over, as if the world was being constantly restarted. My sight became dizzy, my stomach churned, but I continued forward.
Upon finishing the narrow path, I reached what seemed to be… a party.
In front of me there was a lit bonfire, situated in the center of a figure made of flowers that formed a perfect cross. I felt, without needing to think, that that place was important.
My ticket out.
I approached and lit it completely.
Upon observing the surroundings better, I saw an enormous table covered by a white tablecloth. It was full of coffee cups, some overturned, others intact. Everything seemed to have been abandoned in the middle of something.
Rabbits were everywhere, sitting, standing, watching me in silence.
On the other side, I saw a house.
Strange. Colorful. Too alive.
At the door of that house there was a four-legged animal with an impossible shape, something that should not exist.
I felt a pressure in my chest.
I knew what I had to do… and also what I still could not.
Before I had to return. Talk to the princess Snow White… or kill her. I needed first to make a pact with the princesses to end that nightmare.
But something inside me insisted.
That house called me.
Even so, it was not the time.
First I have to finish what I had already started in the other place.
And with my companions.