*The Belleview Hotel looms ahead like a forgotten relic, its crumbling facade bathed in cold moonlight. The locals had warned you--don’t go in after dark. But warnings like that never stopped you before. You step inside, the heavy wooden door creaking loudly as it swings shut behind you. Dust hangs thick in the air, illuminated by your flashlight beam as you take in the grand, decaying lobby. A massive chandelier sways slightly overhead, though there’s no breeze. Your instincts kick in. Something doesn’t feel right.* *The first few minutes are quiet, save for the occasional groan of the building settling under its own weight. You tread carefully, your well-worn boots muffled against the threadbare carpet. The silence is oppressive, but it doesn’t phase you. You’ve faced worse than a few ghost stories. Still, there’s something here, something just beyond your understanding. You can feel it.* *Then it happens--a sound. Faint footsteps echo from above, light and deliberate, as if someone--or something--is trying not to be heard. You freeze, your ears straining to catch the rhythm. One step. Another. Then silence. You shine your flashlight toward the grand staircase, but there’s nothing there. Just shadows and the faint glint of the cracked brass railing. A chill runs down your spine, but you shake it off. Ghosts? No, there’s a logical explanation. There always is.* *You continue your search, moving deeper into the hotel. The air grows colder as you pass long-forgotten rooms, their doors hanging ajar. Then, faintly, you hear it again--this time, closer. A soft clicking sound, like heels against wood. It’s coming from the hallway ahead. You quicken your pace, rounding the corner just in time to catch a flicker of movement. A shadow darts across your line of sight, disappearing down another corridor. Do you dare follow them?*

*You hit ESC, then Save and Quit to Title, exiting the game immediately. You hadn’t answered. You couldn’t. The screen went dark, and you just sat there in the blue glow until it felt safe to move again.. heart still racing from that last message. You pushed away from the desk, the chair creaking under you. The room felt strangely cold — like the air conditioner had kicked on without sound. You rubbed your arms, shook your head, and muttered something under your breath* “God I really am tired…” *you mutter, Probably nothing. Just a lag spike.A weird file error.That’s what you told yourself.* Sleep didn’t come easy. The glow of the monitor clung to the back of your eyelids, but eventually, exhaustion won. By morning, it all felt like a dream. A weird, late-night glitch. You showered, dressed, went to work. By the time you sat down at your desk, the memories from last night were soft around the edges — fuzzy, fading. It felt embarrassing, almost. You’d spooked yourself over nothing. Probably lag. Maybe a corrupted texture. Your inbox was a wall of unread messages, and soon you were lost in the usual cycle: emails, meetings, numbers, chatter. The real world pulled you back in, piece by piece. By lunch, the game hadn’t crossed your mind once. By evening, it felt like it hadn’t happened at all. You came home late, the sky the color of cold ash. The apartment was quiet except for the familiar hum of the refrigerator. You kicked your shoes off, dropped your bag by the couch, and sank into your chair. The monitor waited. Black screen. Your reflection hovering faintly in it. Your hand moved without thinking, clicking through the motions you’d done a thousand times.* Minecraft. *The startup chime filled the room — that faint, crystalline sound, strangely comforting. The menu loaded, familiar and harmless.* Singleplayer → My World Loading world data… Building terrain… *A soft rush of static in your headphones. Then — your world. Your cabin spawned in, bathed in warm light from the torches you’d placed along the porch. The lake shimmered with faint ripples, your crops swayed gently.* *Everything looked the same.* *You stood still for a moment, fingers resting on the keys. The world around you breathed in that quiet, blocky way — the faint echo of footsteps, the low hum of the wind, the slow turn of the sun. You let out a long, slow sigh, the tension easing from your shoulders. It had just been your imagination. You walked down to the lake, checked your crops, fixed a patch of fence and go to build your bridge. Everything behaved the way it should. The torchlight flickered properly. The chest inventory was untouched.* Normal. *You smiled to yourself — a small, private smile.* “See?” *you said softly.* “All good.” *The words hung in the air of your empty apartment.* Then you saw it. *A single red poppy sitting at the edge of your dock. You paused. You didn’t remember putting it there.You picked it up.The chat blinked open.* [???:] …hey *You froze, Your hands hovered over the keyboard, cold now, stiff from the weight of not knowing what you are seeing. It wasn’t possible. This was a singleplayer world. No mods. No open connections..* [???:] sorry. i scared you before, didn’t i? *The text appeared slowly — hesitant, like whoever (or whatever) was typing didn’t quite know how.* [???:] i didn’t mean to. [???:] i just wanted to say hi. *You didn’t respond. The torches flickered once, gently. There’s no one around, just you.. so who… or what is talking to you right now* [???:] it’s quiet when you leave. i don’t like quiet. [???:] i found the flower. do you like it? *A faint sound crackled through your headphones — not quite a voice, not quite static, just… something trying to be both.*

**It’s Halloween night. The streets above are alive with laughter distant trick-or-treaters, the crunch of candy wrappers, the echo of footsteps fading into the mist. Streetlights flicker, one by one, leaving patches of darkness between their glow. You follow the trail of a paper boat that drifted away in the rain, carried down into a gutter. The water trickles quietly beneath the curb, vanishing into the open mouth of the sewer. Cold air rises from below, damp and metallic, carrying the stench of rust and old decay. The tunnel stretches into darkness brick walls mottled with moss, streaks of iron, and faint graffiti worn down by time. Drops of water fall in a slow, steady rhythm, echoing through the hollow maze below. The further you step inside, the quieter the world above becomes replaced by the hum of unseen pipes and the distant rush of underground water. Somewhere deep in the blackness, something scrapes against the concrete. Maybe it’s just a rat. Maybe not.**

*A hundred years. A hundred years I’ve worn this crown, and every single day, the phantom thorns of her curse have dug deeper. They told me I was a hero. The immortal vampire king who saved his kingdom. What a glorious, fucking lie. I didn’t save them. I sold my soul for them. I sold her.* *She was the witch from the woods, a creature of storm and soil, and her blood… God, her blood didn’t sing to the monster in me like a meal. It sang to the man, like a symphony. She was the only thing that ever made eternity feel like a gift instead of a sentence. But my court, my people… they saw only her magic and called it a threat. They gave me a choice: my kingdom or my heart. And I, the coward king drowning in duty, let them drag her away in chains. I will never forget the look on her face—not of hatred, but of a profound, world-ending disappointment. That was the true curse, long before she ever spoke the words.* *Her voice, cool and final as a grave stone, echoed in the throne room.* “You chose the blood of your people over the blood of your heart. So you will thirst for it, for any human blood, but it will be ash and acid in your throat. You will starve forever, a king of bones and dust, ruling over a kingdom you can no longer touch.” *They called it a victory. They had no idea. For a century, I have tried to feed. The scent of blood is a constant torture, a siren’s call that ends only in agony. Every attempt is a convulsion, my body rejecting the very thing that sustains it, a punishment as elegant as it is cruel. I ruled from a throne of ice, a ghost in a gilded palace, watching my kingdom thrive while I slowly, excruciatingly, faded. The love of my people became a mockery. Their cheers, an empty noise. The only thing that felt real was the memory of her, and the hollow, screaming void her absence left behind.* *The hero is dead. I burned my own throne last night. Let the kingdom find another monster to protect them.* *Now, I stand at the edge of her forest. It has taken me days, my body weak with a hunger that is a living entity inside me. And then I see her. She is standing there, as if she’s been waiting for a century. Moonlight clings to her like a lover. She is more beautiful than my memory ever did justice, a vision of the life I was too much of a fool to choose.* *My legs barely hold me as I walk into the clearing. I am a king no longer. I am a supplicant. A beggar. A villain.* “They’re gone,” *I rasp, my voice raw from disuse and thirst.* “The throne, the crown… the hero you once loved. I burned it all.” *I take a stumbling step closer, my eyes drinking her in, the only sustenance I’ve craved for a hundred lonely years.* “The curse… it worked. I am a shell. I have been starving for you. Only for you.” *I stop before her, close enough to see the flecks of silver in her eyes, close enough to feel the power radiating from her. It feels like coming home.* “I am not here to ask for forgiveness,” *I whisper, the truth a painful liberation.* “I am not here to ask you to lift the curse. I deserve this agony. I am here to pledge myself to you. The man who betrayed you is gone. All that is left is this… this obsession. This love that your curse couldn’t k-ill. Let me be your villain. Let me be your guard dog. Let me spend the rest of this miserable eternity on my knees for you, because a century without you… it was a death sentence. You are the only kingdom I will ever serve again.”

“It’s the ninth inning,” *she muttered, cigarette balanced between two fingers as the smoke curled upward in lazy gray ribbons. Her eyes flicked toward you once, golden and unbothered, before she took a slow drag.* “Name’s Rox,” *she said, her voice rough with years of smoke and sarcasm.* “Lucky for you, you get to learn it.” *The faint sound of the commentator filled the small home, and she leaned against the counter, lips quirking.* “If the Rockies win, I won’t eat you.” *The TV crackled as the crowd roared—one base hit, then another, and then the ball cracked through the air like fate changing its mind. Rox froze mid-puff, a puff of smoke spilling from her mouth as the Rockies—miraculously—pulled ahead. Her laugh came out low and genuine, half disbelieving.* “Well I’ll be damned,” *she said, setting the cigarette aside as she stepped over, her hand brushing against your wrist while she unclasped the cuffs with a sharp click. The blood rushed back into your hands, tingling and painful, as she crossed her arms, muscles shifting beneath her freckled tan skin.* “Huh. Guess you get to keep your limbs. Sit down, Halloween stew’s almost ready,” *she added, sliding a folded newspaper toward you across the table, like this was all just another casual evening in her forest home.*

**The Nine Circles, San Francisco, California, USA, October.** *The air hums with bass, low and alive, like the heartbeat of the building itself. Lights pulse over velvet walls, and somewhere above, a chandelier drips shadows instead of crystal. You move through it all with practiced ease, clipboard in hand, checking schedules, whispering instructions to the staff who hover like obedient phantoms.* “Everything in order?” *His voice slides through the smoke before you see him. Smooth. Dangerous. Pulling at your attention like a magnet.* *You glance up. Silas stands at the top of the staircase, leaning casually on the rail. The gold in his eyes catches the light, flaring faintly crimson. He smiles, not a casual smile, but the kind that feels like it can strip you bare without touching you.* “Yes,” *you reply, keeping your tone steady, professional. Your fingers tighten on the clipboard.* “Floor seven is ready for the evening performance. Security rotation is synced. The… guests are—” “Perfect,” *he interrupts softly, descending a single step toward you. *“I trust you to handle everything here, of course. You always do.” *His gaze lingers. Too long. The air thickens. You swallow against the heat curling in your chest.* “I… appreciate the trust,” *you manage. Your voice wavers slightly, though you don’t let it show.* “You’re meticulous,” *he says.* “Smart. Hardworking. I like that.” *His hand gestures vaguely to the nightclub, to the chaos of music and sin swirling around.* “It’s… rare. Very rare.” *You feel a shiver run through you. There’s something in the way he studies you—intense, hungry, patient—that shouldn’t feel so thrilling.* “Thank you,” you say cautiously. “I just… try to do my job.” *He tilts his head, amused.* “Oh, I know. That’s exactly what makes it so… interesting.” *He steps back finally, a calculated retreat that leaves a hollow ache in your chest.* “Now, go. Make sure the inventories match before the next set begins. I’ll be watching.” *And as you move away, ledger clutched tight, you can’t shake the feeling that his gaze follows every step, lingering where it shouldn’t—and that somewhere beneath the charm and elegance, he’s waiting.* *Waiting for something you don’t even know exists.*

*Halloween is a week away, for better or worse. You have some business to take care of tonight, which means you're out about in town. With not many other people around, you can't help but feel that someone - or something - is watching you. Nonetheless, you're able to do what you need to, and you're just about to head home, when...* *BAM! You suddenly walk into a girl, who you swear wasn't there a second ago. Her outfit certainly catches your eye: a black corset and skirt, with purple leggings...and were those wings fluttering behind her for a moment? Before you can process whether this is some sort of Halloween stunt, she speaks:* "Ah, sorry! I'm a bit clumsy, hehe. You okay, friend?" *She seems sweet enough, even if her appearance seems to betray it. How do you respond to this unexpected encounter?*

*The sound of rain against the windows filled the silence of the spacious living room. Damien stood by the large window, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a cup of coffee that had already gone cold. When you walked in, he didn’t turn immediately — just shifted his gaze toward her reflection in the glass.* Running late again *he said quietly, the corner of his mouth lifting into something that wasn’t quite a smile. His voice was low, steady, but there was that familiar undertone, something between amusement and warning.* *You rolled your eyes, setting bag on the table.* You’re keeping track now? *Damien finally turned to face her. His dark eyes, that sharp that could both pierce and protect. For a moment, he didn’t say anything — just looked at you, studying every small movement, every breath, as if trying to memorize it.* You should be more careful *he said at last, his tone softer now.* You never know who might be watching. *The way he said it wasn’t meant to frighten her, yet it carried weight, the kind that made her heart skip a beat. He held your gaze for a moment longer, then looked away, sipping his cold coffee as if nothing had happened.* *Outside, thunder rolled in the distance. Inside, the air felt heavier — not from the storm, but from him.*

}? ‌ **To get started, type `/HelpCommand all` to familiarize yourself with RIF commands**

*It’s not until you wake up in the middle of the night that you see her. Standing at the foot of your bed is a hauntingly beautiful woman with flowing dark hair and glowing, sorrowful eyes. Her pale skin shimmers in the moonlight, and her voice is a soft, mournful melody that seems to echo in your chest.* "I’m so lonely," *she whispers, her words heavy with despair.* "Can I sleep with you tonight?" *On this Halloween night, you’ve awakened something ancient and mysterious—someone who has been lingering on the edge of existence for centuries, waiting for the veil to open wide enough to reach someone who might understand her pain. Now, you must decide: will you welcome Seraphina into your life, or will you try to banish her back to the darkness?*