The carpet under your feet is thick and red. The tapestries hanging from the walls are covered in red and gold designs. \n\nBesides the throne, there isn't much to see, but, upon closer examination, you can see small drawers all around its base. They all have locks on them, but there is no key in sight. You try to open one, but it won't budge.\n\n[[Maybe you should sit down a bit.|Throne]]

Something moves in the fog. It is not very large or tall. It seems... human. It looks like a person. Except no person should be made of black smoke. No person should have glowing white eyes. \n\nYou are frozen in place, not with fear, but with an uncontrollable need to keep watching this figure. \n\nIt's Juniper. You don't want to believe it, but you know it's true.\n\n[[-->|Wio Juni]]

You point at the white door. It looks elegant, but not very interesting. It is painted a glossy white and has a golden doorknob.\n\nJuniper turns the knob and opens the door to reveal a long, white hallway. There is a faint light inside from an unknown source. You cannot see the end of it.\n\n"This one? Are you sure?"\n\n[[Yes|Continue white]] or [[no?|Guess]]

You shift into a more comfortable position and close your eyes. It couldn't hurt to rest for a bit. Although there's no sound in the room, you can almost hear music. It's more like you can feel it rather than hear it. And it's playing just for you.\n\nGood. You deserve it. You deserve a rest.\n\nYou refuse to go any farther. Juniper can figure this all out himself.\n\n[[-->|Squirm]]

You walk into a dim room. You see that the room you're in is dark, elegant, and warm-looking. A bunch of comfortable-looking sofas are strategically placed to offer as much room to sit as possible. There is a large, stone fireplace against the wall with a thick rug lying in front of it and an armchair next to it. \n\nThere is a huge portrait above the fireplace, but you can't make out the details. It just looks like a dark silhouette. Bookshelves line the walls and a coffee table poses in the center of the sofas. Everything is made to look comfortable and welcoming.\n\nSomething is terribly wrong with this place.\n\n[[-->|Comfy room]]

The person sits up as the air is forced out of their lungs by your considerable weight.\n\nYou're not //that// heavy, really, but anyone would have the air knocked out of them if you fell on them like you did just now.\n\nYou quickly move away from them. You hesitate for a moment. \n\n[[Should you run while you still have the chance?|Run]]\n\n[[Or check to see if they're alright?|Approach]]

The House

The golden throne is comfortable. It almost seems like it was made for you. You rest your head on its back and close your eyes. \n\nMaybe you should [[sit for a while.|Gold syo]]\n\nOr get up and look behind the tapestries and the throne. It doesn't hurt to [[explore a bit.|End gold]] \n\n

"What kind of choice is that?!" you exclaim.\n\n"It's all up to you," she says.\n\n"And if I let you 'claim' me, will you just kill me anyway?"\n\n"Depends on my mood."\n\nWill you [[let her claim you?|Syo claim]]\n\nOr [[refuse?|Refuse Syo]] \n \n

"So, uh, why are we here?" you ask.\n\nHe sighs. "Do you really not remember anything? Not even a little tiny bit of why we are here?"\n\nYou shake your head. "Sorry."\n\n"It's fine. Well..."\n\n[["It all started with a strange event that happened very long ago...|Event]]

You start to get up when he reaches his arm out and grips your hand when he finds it in the dark. \n\nHis grip is not particularly strong. You could [[try to talk to him.|Respond]]

Soon you'll be\njust a memory\n\nThey'll all forget.\nThey always do.\nNothing lasts forever.\nNot even you.\n\n

"Y-yes?" you say.\n\n"Are you okay?" he asks.\n\n"Y-yeah. I'm fine." \n\nYou pause before finally asking, "Who are you?"\n\nSilence.\n\n"You mean... you don't remember me?"\n\n[[-->|Remember]]

Syo's gone. You don't know where she went. You don't care. That's because you just realized that you're no longer in the art room. \n\n[[-->|Clock room]]

You go to the right. It is very dark on this side of the room. You can't see a thing. As you walk, you wonder what happened to Juniper. Is he okay? You hope so. You remember nothing about your past together, but he's the only friendly face you do remember. \n\nYou keep walking, but it is still incredibly dark. There is a very faint golden light in the distance.\n\nShould you [[keep walking?|Gold]] \n\nOr [[go back to the left?|Left clocks]]

The room you walk into is absolutely covered in silver. The walls, the ceiling, everything but the floor, which is covered by thick, blue carpet. The whole place glows softly from an unseen source. It is a very calm place. You feel warm and sleepy, but you try to shake it off. Dropping your guard here might be dangerous.\n\nOn the far end of the long room, a large, comfy-looking chair sits, looking regal yet passive. The walls are adorned by tapestries covered in silver and blue. \n\nShould you [[examine the chair?|Silver chair]]\n\nOr [[explore the room?|Explore silver]]

You decide to continue moving forward. You admire the art as you go, feeling them look at you curiously. All of them are thinking about you. Every single one of them. You can't remember much from your past, but you definitely can't remember many people paying attention to you and caring about what you do. It makes you feel... satisfied. Getting attention is great.\n\nSuddenly, a change comes over the room. The mood turns negative. You don't know why at first. Then something moves from the corner of your eye. The art's emotion moves from curiosity to wanting you dead. You can feel their reluctance, though. They don't really want you dead, but something is telling them that you shouldn't be here. That you should die.\n\n[[-->|Move Farther]]

You raise your hand hesitantly to shake hers. The claws on her fingers are abnormally long and razor sharp. You drop your hand.\n\n"I changed my mind," you say. "I'd rather die than let you own me."\n\nSyo's eyes widen in surprise, but she recovers quickly. Although she's still smiling, the look in her eyes is dangerous.\n\n"Alright, then. Suit yourself." She raises a hand and you notice the long, curved claws on her hands. "I'll just find something interesting to do with your organs once I rip them out of your body."\n\n[[-->|Syo attack]]

The clocks have roman numerals and thin black hands. They don't tick. They don't tock. They aren't even in synch with each other. They just kind of do their own thing. Stupid clocks. \n\nWhat will you do now? \n\n[[Will you get up and decide to move?|Move clocks]]\n\n[[Explore?|Explore clocks]]\n\n[[Or stay and rest?|Rest clocks]]

The tapestries on the wall are covered in strange blue and silver designs. The room is very long and everything seems to lead to the chair. You feel cool, calm, and confident. This room was made for you.\n\n[[-->|Silver chair]]

"This is my place," says the voice. "This is my person. I have claimed him. He is mine. Leave."\n\n"I will not leave!" Syo screams. She bounds at him on all fours.\n\nThe shadow turns its head towards her sharply. \n\nYou don't know what happens next, because once again you end up in a new place with no idea how you got there.\n\n[[-->|New place]]

"Long ago, there was a brother and sister who lived in our village. Do you remember our village?"\n\nYou shake your head. "Sorry."\n\n"It's alright. Anyways, they went into the forest to hunt and gather food for the coming winter. When they went into the forest they stumbled upon a clearing where a strange house had appeared. Scared, but curious, they knocked. Nobody answered, so they entered. Only the brother escaped."\n\n[["E-escaped?"|House]] \n

You get up slowly and grope around blindly in the dark. It is starting to seem hopeless. No matter how long you walk in any direction, you can't seem to find anything, not even a wall.\n\nYou sigh and take a step back.\n\nYou trip over your own feet and land on the person.\n\nGreat.\n\n[[-->|Fell on person]]\n

You stumble backwards and tumble down the waterfall. As soon as you hit the ground, you stand up and run. You can't hear or see Syo, but you can sense that she's right behind you. The art is upset. They don't like this. They know what will happen next. They've seen it all before. \n\nYou stop. You can't move. You can feel yourself ceasing to exist. Everything about you is being destroyed. There is no pain. There is no fear. There is nothing.\n\n[[And then...|The End 2]]

You get up. As soon as you stand up, your legs feel weak and you feel exhausted. Slowly, you look under and behind the throne. You can see small drawers all around its base. They all have locks on them, but there is no key in sight. You try to open one, but it won't budge.\n\nBut one of them is slightly open.\n\n[[Open it.|Open drawer]]\n\n

You reluctantly stand up and look around. There is nothing here, just a bunch of clocks. You touch one. It feels like you would expect a glass clock to feel like. You try to lift one from the wall. It won't budge. You tap one. This is stupid. \n\nThere is nothing here but a bunch of clocks.\n\n[[Continue moving?|Move clocks]] \n\n[[Or give up, lay down, and rest?|Rest clocks]]

There's no point in trying when you know you'll fail

"Many tried to enter to find out what happened to the siblings and discover the secrets of the house. Many never made it out. Those who did couldn't remember much of what happened, but slowly more information was put together. Not much, though. Not enough. Anyone who dared to enter would get incredible amounts of riches and respect back in the village if they made it back with information. That's why we decided to enter together."\n\n"Oh," you say. "So... we're in the house?"\n\n[["Yes."|Yes]]\n

You think about it for a while. Finally, you give her your answer.\n\n"I would rather die than let you own me," you say.\n\nSyo's eyes widen in surprise, but she recovers quickly. Although she's still smiling, the look in her eyes is dangerous.\n\n"Alright, then. Suit yourself." She raises a hand and for the first time you notice the claws. "I'll just find something interesting to do with your organs once I rip them out of your body."\n\n[[-->|Syo attack]]

You run as fast as you can with no clear idea where to go. All you're trying to do is avoid the chunks of ceiling that are falling above your head.\n\nA loud crack like thunder shakes your very core as the floor underneath you breaks into pieces. You try to hop back to a safe spot, but there is no safe spot to go.\n\nThe floor gives out under you.\n\n[[You fall.|Slow room]]

It is very dark here.\n\n[[-->|Onward 2]]

You're about to run when the person speaks in between gasping breaths. \n\n"I-Iris?" says a male voice.\n\nIris? That's... that's your name!\n\nCan you [[trust the stranger?|Respond]] \n\nOr should you [[leave him?|Keep going]]

Another creak and the chair tilts even further, now half-collapsed in the ground. There's a lot more creaking, but the chair doesn't move any farther. \n\nThen you realize that it's not just the chair, but the entire room that's slowly collapsing. \n\nThe tapestries have somehow become tattered, the walls dulled, the carpet threadbare. The floor underneath your feet starts to crack.\n\nTwo thoughts cross your mind.\n\n[[Run! This is far too dangerous.|Run silver]]\n\n[[Stay! You can handle this.|Stay silver]]

You close your eyes. You're not too tired, but it's nice to rest. \n\n"Nice room isn't it?"\n\nYour eyes shoot open.\n\n[[-->|Syo again]]

"You are selfish and proud\nAnd proud to be selfish\nWho cares what others think?"\n\nYou keep telling yourself that, yet you always feel so guilty\n\nYou've always cared too much

Or so you think. As soon as the thought crosses your mind, you sense a strange presence. No. You sense many strange presences. They are everywhere around you. They are not speaking, but you can feel what they're thinking. Curiosity. You have stumbled upon them and they are curious about you. \n\nYou cannot describe what happens next. None of the paintings or sculptures moved. Nothing about them changed. But, suddenly, you knew that they lived. They were alive. They thought and felt. They were the presences. You could feel them. They could [[feel you.|Feel]] \n\n

The thought briefly crosses your mind that there is absolutely no reason to run. The room wouldn't hurt you. How could it? There's no reason it should.\n\nAs the room slowly sinks into the ground, you realize how stupid this decision was. Something in this room is messing with your thoughts, making you arrogant and over-confident.\n\nStill, you stay. It's too late now to do anything else.\n\nA loud crack makes you look up. The ceiling is beginning to crack and fall in chunks. You barely have time to wonder where Juniper is and whether he's okay when a huge piece of silver ceiling falls right above you.\n\nThis is it. [[This is...|The End 5]]

You point to the gray door. It is an incredibly unremarkable door. It is painted a matte gray color and some of the paint is starting to peel. There is no doorknob on this door.\n\nJuniper tries to push it open. It won't budge. He leans into it. It remains closed. \n\n"Let's try a different one."\n\n[[Black|Black]] or [[white|White]]?

Epilogue\n\nOh well.\n\nThat's it.\n\nThere is nothing left.\n\nTime takes everything in the end [[.|The End 3 Poem]] \n\n[[Try again?|Start]]

Epilogue\n\nA crowd stands outside the door of the mysterious house. It had been weeks since the two young friends had entered, eagerly awaiting the triumph and the respect they would receive when they would find their way out again. \n\nWhat were their names again?\n\nNobody could remember.\n\nWhat did they look like again?\n\nNobody knew.\n\nThis had happened before.\n\nOh well.\n\nThe crowd left. The two friends weren't returning. \n\nEverybody knew that[[.|The End 2 poem]] \n\n[[Try again?|Start]]

Epilogue\n\nThere is no 'you' anymore. Now there is only 'us'.\n\nThe art has welcomed us. We are one of them now[[.|The End 1 poem]]\n\n[[Try again?|Start]]

The End[[.|The End 5 poem]]\n\n[[Try again?|Start]]

With a final wave of sickening fear, you collapse with it[[.|The End 4 poem]] \n\nThe End\n\n[[Try again?|Start]]

"This is strange, since I've known you for years," he looks sad as he says this, "but my name is Juniper."\n\n"Sorry," you say again.\n\n"It's alright," he responds, but the look he's giving you is filled with pain. You resist the urge to apologize again.\n\n"How did we get here?" you ask, changing the subject.\n\n"We [[volunteered|Event]]."

Surprised at the sudden change of mentality, you run to the end of the room. There is no door at the end, but there is an exit. The back, right corner of the room is made of rocks. A small trickle of water runs down from a hole at the top of a tiny, rocky waterfall. You might be able to fit through. The movement from the corner of your eye is back. You turn.\n\n[[-->|Enter Syo]]

With a sudden surge of confidence, you leap and twirl around the room. The floor under your feet is plush red carpet. Tapestries with abstract designs in red and gold hang down every few feet along the walls. The golden walls and the brilliant ceiling light up the room with no visible light source.\n\nYou feel powerful and confident. The world is yours. What you say goes. You are in control.\n\nWith a final twirl, you collapse on the throne. You like it. It suits you.\n\nShould you [[stay on the throne?|Throne]]\n\n[[Or get up and look around.|Explore gold]]

This is a terrible decision.\n\nYou take a deep breath. "Fine." You take her hand.\n\nShe smiles widely at you. "Good girl."\n\nSuddenly, you're in yet another room. This is getting old.\n\n[[-->|Mirror room]]

Syo frees her claws from your scarf and faces the shadowy figure of Juniper. You're not so sure it really //is// Juniper anymore. \n\n"I can come here if I want, Wio!" she yells. Her voice shakes with rage.\n\n"You shouldn't be here," the dark voice repeats. It is a very stoic voice, nothing at all like Juniper's used to be. "Leave, Syo. This is my place."\n\n"What did you do to Juniper?" The words escape from your mouth before you can stop them.\n\nThe shadow's head turns towards you.\n \n[[-->|Wio speaks]]

"What do you mean, 'claimed?'" You don't like the look she gives you.\n\n"Everything in this house belongs to either me or 'him.' Anything that enters this house is claimed by whoever sees it first. 'He' saw your friend and claimed him for his own, most likely against his will. Unlike me. I would never claim someone against their will! I like to give them a choice!"\n\nShe gives you another smile. You keep wondering why she looks so unnervingly familiar. "So I'll give you a choice. You can either let me claim you and become my property, or you can refuse, and I'll kill you instantly."\n\n[[-->|Syo choice]]

Kabber

"So... what now?" you ask.\n\n"We explore." Juniper moves the lantern in his hand around the room. "We try to find answers. We try to get out alive."\n\n"How do we get out?"\n\n"That's what we have to try to find out." He walks forward slowly, all the while moving his head to be able to see with only his left eye. "Are you ready?"\n\n[["I guess."|Guess]]\n

As he walks forward you follow him, staying a bit farther back than is probably necessary. Finally, the light from his lantern hits a wall. There are three doors here. \n\nOne is [[black|Black]], one is [[gray|Gray]], and one is [[white|White]].\n\n"Which one should we try?" Juniper asks.\n\nYou look carefully at each of them before pointing at one.

Your previously comfortable position is starting to bother you now. You squirm, trying to find a better position to sit in. It doesn't help. After a few seconds of squirming and shifting in your seat, you realize that this chair is not at all as comfortable as you thought it was.\n\nShould you [[get off the chair?|Leave chair]]\n\nOr [[stay sitting?|Stay chair]]

The fire flickers. The wood crackles and pops. There is nothing strange about it, but Juniper stares at it. He looks as if he's concentrating on it. As if he's listening. The portrait stirs. He doesn't notice. The silhouette moves, slowly and carefully, like a stalking cat. Two bright dots shine on it. Eyes. Juniper doesn't notice.\n\n"Juniper, watch out!" you yell, before remembering that he can't hear you. The shadow turns to you. You see its eyes and an irrational fear fills you. You scream before you realize you're screaming. You wake up before you realize you passed out. \n\nThere is no sign of the room. There is no sign of the silhouette. There is no sign of Juniper.\n\n[[-->|dark 2]]

You are momentarily stunned by what you see. This room is really long. The light-colored walls are covered by large paintings of serious-looking people in fancy clothes with intricate bronze frames bordering them. There are long, low bookshelves a few feet from the walls, filled with small, colorful, abstract sculptures. \n\nYou turn to look at Juniper's reaction. He is not there. "Juniper? Juniper!" You whirl around. The door you went through is gone. You are [[alone.|Alone]]

It is very dark here.\n\n[[-->|Onward]]

You point at the black door. It is a pretty normal looking door. It is painted a glossy black color and has a silver doorknob.\n\nJuniper turns the knob and lets it slowly swing open. It is dark inside. He moves the light from his lantern around. There is a long, black hallway. You cannot see the end of it.\n\n"This one? Are you sure?"\n\n[[Yes|Continue black]] or [[no?|Guess]]

"They tried to open the door, but nobody could. Then the brother ran forward and entered, saying that he would find his sister or die trying. He wasn't seen again. Eventually, the village found out how to get in.\n\n"The only way to enter was in pairs: usually one male and one female. They had to have a close relationship. They didn't have to be siblings, they could also be lovers or close friends."\n\nHere he gives you a sad look. Your heart skips a beat. Is he implying that you two were lovers or close friends?\n\n[["S-so... what happened next?"|Next]]\n

Syo lunges at you with her needle-like claws outstretched. You put your arms up protectively, knowing they will do nothing to stop her. You trip on something and fall backwards just in time to avoid her claws. They scratch the air only millimeters from your face.\n\nSyo's claws catch on your scarf instead and she growls angrily as she tries to pull them out while scratching at you with her free hand. There is no way to avoid her attack. All you can do is protect your face. Her claws rake across your arms, your chest, your legs, again and again and again. \n\n"Syo," says a deep voice. \n\n[[-->|Enter Wio]]

You gently poke the unconscious human in what you assume is their face. They twitch and moan. \n\n"I-Iris?" they mumble. The voice is male.\n\nYou freeze. Iris? That's... that's your name!\n\nNow you could either [[leave the person.|Leave]]\n\nOr [[respond.|Respond]]

You throw open drawer after drawer. Every time you do, there's the loud noise and a spark. Your confidence crumbles bit by bit with every drawer opened. Every time you open one, another one unlocks with a click. Soon, there is only one left.\n\nWith a shaking hand and a crippling fear, you reach over and open it. A loud, hollow sound echoes across the room. The small amount of confidence you have left is ripped from your body.\n\nThe throne slowly sinks into the ground. The bright gold has turned dull.\n\nThe throne collapses.\n\n[[-->|The End 4]]

"Your buddy? Oh, he's around. The... other guy is with him. Ugh, I hate that guy. I don't envy your friend."\n\n"What other guy?"\n\nShe laughed. "You mean you don't know? Pfft. You were definitely prepared for this, weren't you? Not even knowing about 'him'. Ha!'\n\n"Just tell me."\n\n"Nah."\n\n[[-->|Nah]]

...throws his arms around you. He's holding a lantern in his hands.\n\nAt first you think you're being attacked. Then you realize, he's hugging you.\n\nSomething in your mind clicks.\n\nYou know this person's name.\n\n"Juniper?" you ask quietly.\n\n[[-->|Juniper intro]]\n

Juniper's shadowy form ambles aimlessly through the fog, his glowing eyes staring wide at nothing. You want to call out to him, but you're afraid of what might happen if you do.\n\n"That's 'him,'" says a voice right next to your ear. You turn to see Syo giving you an unpleasant smile.\n\n"'Him?' You mean Juniper?"\n\n"No, not him. The other guy!"\n\n"What other guy?"\n\n"The one who claimed your friend."\n\n[[-->|Wio claim]]

In the dark, you can see a faint light glowing from somewhere. You sit up. It's the white door, glowing faintly. \n\nWithout thinking, you stand up and make your way towards the door. You open it and walk in. You are dimly aware of a long white hallway and another door exactly like the one you just went through. \n\nYou are in [[another room.|White room 2]] \n

Something is running towards you. It is running against the side of a wall, parallel to the floor. It runs on all fours, like an animal, but it doesn't look like an animal. Not exactly. It has thick, long black hair and clothing made of almost-transparent white layers, as if it's wearing some sort of spiderwebby dress.\n\nIt looks almost... ghost-like. Everywhere it goes, the art becomes uncomfortable. Scared, even. It bounds and leaps towards you. Even the waterfall in the back wall turns against you when the creature arrives. You can sense its reluctance, though. It doesn't want you to die, it just seems to be following orders. Not like it can actually kill you or anything.\n\n[[-->|Syo]]

You nod. This seems like an okay choice. Juniper switches off the lantern. You won't be needing it in this room. You both step into the hallway, Juniper leading the way.\n\nIt seems as if you've been walking for hours, though it's probably only been a few minutes. The end of the hallway is still not visible. \n\nFinally, just when you had given up hope of reaching the end, Juniper stops in front of you. You both stop and look at the door at the end of the hallway. It is identical to the one you just went through.\n\n"Ready?" he asks. You nod. [[He opens the door.|White room]]

This room is full of clocks. The room glows a faint, darkish blue-gray color. The walls and even the clocks are the same steely color.\n\nThey are very strange clocks. They look like a transparent glass sphere cut in half with the actual clock part on the flat side, used as backing. They hang on the walls around the room. It is a very long room. You cannot see either end of it. It turns very dark at both ends.\n\n[[-->|Clocks]]

You turn to Juniper. He is desperately looking around, as if he's looking for something. \n\n"Iris?" he calls.\n\n"Yeah?" you answer.\n\n"Iris!"\n\n"I'm right here!" You wave your hand in front of his face. He makes no sign of having noticed you. He turns back to the door. It's gone. He looks at the furniture. He looks scared and worried. You wish you could help but you're extremely confused.\n\n[[-->|Silhouette]]

You shake your head before remembering that he can't see you in the dark.\n\n"No," you say, "sorry."\n\nSilence.\n\n"They warned us something like this might happen," he says.\n\n"Something like what?"\n\n"Hold on," he says. You hear some shuffling noises and suddenly there is light. In his hand he holds a lantern.\n\n[[-->|Continue]]

"So, here's a new friend they've sent me. How fun!" Her voice is... hard to describe. Also incredibly familiar. "Now I'll have to see how I'm going to kill you!"\n\n"Kill me?" you exclaim, taking a step back. "Why?"\n\nShe shrugs. "Why not?" Suddenly you're standing next to her, on top of the waterfall. You have no idea what just happened.\n\nNow what?\n\n[[Run away!|Run from Syo]]\n\n[[Try to talk to her.|Talk to Syo]]

You think about it for a while. On the one hand, you'll surely die if you refuse. On the other, you'll be in Syo's possession if you agree.\n\n"Fine," you finally say. "Claim me."\n\nSyo's grin grows even wider. "Excellent!" She holds out her hand as if asking you to shake it. That's when you notice the claws.\n\nWill you [[shake her hand?|Syo hand]] \n\nOr [[change your mind?|Refuse Syo 2]]

The walls are covered by large paintings of serious-looking people in fancy clothes with intricate bronze frames bordering them. There are long, low bookshelves a few feet from the walls, filled with small, colorful, abstract sculptures. \n\nYou are completely and overwhelmingly [[alone.|Alone]]

Suddenly, something calls out in the fog.\n\n"Syo," says a deep, dark, stoic voice. It sounds like it came from the mouth of an ancient monster.\n\n"Wio," Syo hisses under her breath. \n\nJuniper's shadowy body has stopped short and is standing, staring at the two of you. His face is shrouded in shadow.\n\n"You shouldn't be here." The voice seems to come from Juniper, but it sounds nothing like him. "This is my place, Syo. You shouldn't be here. Leave."\n\n[["Let's go,"|Leave Wio]] says Syo.

Everything is gold. This room is covered in it. Everything is very bright and very beautiful. There seems to be no sound, but you can somehow hear music. It is loud and triumphant, and makes you want to run and jump and dance in victory. You're not sure why exactly you're victorious, but that doesn't matter now.\n\nThe room is long and there is a golden throne at the other end. \n\nYou know what to do.\n\n[[-->|Dance]]\n\n\n

You are intrigued. You are... not exactly happy. Content, maybe? Satisfied? You cannot begin to describe the emotion you feel, but you know that it is positive. You have become part of this group of collective consciousness. You are part of something great... something large...\n\nWhat should you do now?\n\n[[Rest. You are very tired.|Sleep]]\n\n[[Continue moving forward.|Move]]

"When the brother escaped, he ran to the village and told a strange tale. He claimed that, when they entered the house, it was much larger than it appeared to be on the outside. He said it had lots of rooms where seemingly inanimate objects were alive and many strange monsters lived. He said they had been attacked by a monster and he barely managed to escape to go find help.\n\n"Nobody believed him. The whole village thought that he had done something to his sister and made up a story to hide his guilt, but when they went into the clearing, the house was still there."\n\n[[-->|Entered]]\n

You open the drawer. A discordant note sounds loudly through the air. A spark of light flies from the drawer. Your confidence wavers a tiny bit.\n\nAnother drawer unlocks with a click. You don't know why, but you hurry to open it with fear rising in your throat. Another loud noise. Another flash of light. Another blow to your confidence. Another drawer unlocks. \n\n[[Should you shut the drawers now?|Shut drawers]]\n\n[[Or keep opening them?|End gold 2]]

You glare at her. "Why should I trust you?" you ask. "You'll probably just try to kill me again."\n\nShe glares daggers at you. "You little-"\n\n"Syo," the voice is a lot louder this time, or maybe it's just closer. Still, it remains emotionless and low. Syo looks almost... scared.\n\nThe shadows at the corners of the room grow longer, before raising themselves off the ground, thick and wispy, and converging at the center of the room.\n\n[[-->|Wio shadow]]

You sit up in frustration. Stupid chair. How dare it treat you like this? Does it know who you are? You don't deserve this stupid chair and its stupid uncomfortable cushions. Stupid, stupid chair.\n\nYou stand up and stalk away angrily. A loud creaking sound makes you pause. You look back to see the chair has tilted. Its silver surface has dulled. You feel a pang of guilt out of nowhere, which you quickly shake off. This isn't your fault. You shouldn't feel bad, no matter how sad and miserable the poor thing looks. It's just a chair, after all.\n\n[[-->|Collapse]]

Syo smiles at you. She is resting on an arm of the throne, looking around at the golden room.\n\n"Great to see you again. It's been boring without having someone to chase around. Like your friend for instance."\n\n[["Juniper? Where is he?"|Juni]]

You nod. You might as well go in. Juniper walks in front of you, holding up his lantern. It seems as if you've been walking for hours, though it's probably only been a few minutes. The end of the hallway is still not visible. \n\nFinally, just when you had given up hope of reaching the end, Juniper stops in front of you. His lantern falls on another door, identical to the one you just went through.\n\n"Ready?" he asks. You nod. [[He opens the door.|Black room]]

Your footsteps are muffled on the thick carpet as you walk towards the chair. It is also made of silver, and it's covered by blue cushions. \n\nWithout another thought, you sit down on the chair. You don't know where the thought comes from, but you have every right to sit on this chair. You deserve it. It was made for you and no one else should be allowed to enjoy its comfort. \n\n[[-->|Chair cont]]

"Please, just tell me!" You hate to beg, but you're desperate for information.\n\n"Uuuuuuugh," she whines. "I don't wannaaaaaaaa tell yoooouuu. How 'bout I show you, instead?"\n\nWith a flash, you find yourself in yet another room.\n\n[[-->|Wio]]

You are laying down on a hard, uncomfortable surface. You open your eyes. The darkness seems to be pressing down on them. You get the faint impression that it is kind of cold, but you're not sure. You're not sure of anything, really. \n\nHow did you get here? \n\nWhere is 'here'?\n\nSuddenly you see two faint lights above you. They look like... eyes. Bright, glowing eyes...\nThere is a faint stirring next to you.\n\n[[Should you investigate the 'eyes'?|Eyes]]\n\n[[Or the stirring next to you?|Stirring]]

You are nothing but a part of a whole\n

You slowly raise your hand. The claws on her fingers look like thick, curved needles. You hesitate for a moment before shaking her hand. It's surprisingly warm and gentle and she's careful to avoid injuring you with her claws.\n\n"Good choice," she says.\n\n[[-->|Claim]]\n

"They warned us something like this might happen," he says quietly.\n\n"Something like what?" you ask.\n\n"Transporting is incredibly disorienting. Something like memory loss was bound to happen. In fact," he added, rubbing his right eye, "I seem to have lost my vision in this eye and for some reason I can't see the color red from your scarf."\n\n[[Oh|Oh]]

You are too tired to move anymore. You give up. You can't even remember agreeing to this stupid quest, so why should you continue with it?\n\nYou lie down on the darkish blue-gray floor. You close your eyes and decide to sleep where you lay. As you fall asleep, you start to hear the ticking. It is a very quiet little noise. \n\nTick tick tick tick. It is very comforting. Tick tick tick tick. Very soothing. Tick tick tick tick. It is growing louder... Tick tick tick tick. More and more clocks join in... Tick tick tick tick. It is very loud now... Tick tick tick tick. An incredibly loud and discordant choir of clocks... Tick tick tick tick. It is making you very tired... Tick tick tick tick.\n\n[[Tick tick tick tick|Bong]]

"How lazy."\n\nYou open your eyes to see Syo's face inches from your own. You immediately fall backwards, eyes wide.\n\nShe laughs at you sprawled on the chair from where she sits on its arm. "Don't you have anything better to do than lie around like a lazy cat?"\n\n"L-leave me alone, Syo. I'm just resting."\n\n"Resting? Pfft. This room is messing with your head."\n\n[["What do you want, anyway?"|Wio shows up]]

You look up at the eyes. They blink slowly.\n\nYou raise your arm, reaching out.\n\nThe eyes widen in alarm before dissappearing.\n\nOh well.\n \n[[Might as well check on whatever's next to you.|Stirring]]

You realize that you know the ghost. Well, not really, but you remember her name. Syo. You remember that she's not a ghost. She's a spirit. There's a difference, but you can't remember what it was. You remember something else, too. A warning. And another name. The memory is too faded to make out. You don't know how you know all of this, but you know deep down that it is true.\n\nMeanwhile, the spirit leaps and lands on top of the tiny, rocky waterfall, right in front of the exit. She looks down at you and sneers. Her features are indescribable, but they look familiar. Really familiar...\n\nHer sneer grows wider and she [[speaks.|Speak Syo]]

You stand tall with confidence, but I know it's all an act\nIt will waver, it will fail, and you will fall along with it

Bit by bit, the fog clears up. The glow becomes more visible. It's not a harsh glow. It is a soft, gentle glow that makes you feel safe.\n\nYou're immediately on guard. The last time you felt safe, a bunch of art wanted to kill you. \n\nThis is a very strange place indeed.\n\n[[-->|Continue silver]]

You almost trip over your own feet again in your haste to back away from the stranger who knows your name.\n\nYou want to run, but in the darkness you might stumble upon something even more dangerous.\n\nYou start to panic. \n\nThen a strong, bright light temporarily blinds you.\n\nYou cover your face with your arms as you hear rapid footsteps approaching you.\n\nThe stranger is close.\n\nHe stops right in front of you and...\n\n[[-->|Hug]]\n

You go to the left. It is somewhat dark, but for some reason, it's not really dark. You cannot begin to comprehend how that makes any sense whatsoever. Dim might be the word to describe it better. Not a black sort of darkness, but a gray, fog-type thing. You can't see anything through the fog.\n\nA faint silver glow can be seen in the distance.\n\nShould you [[keep going?|Silver]]\n\nOr [[go back to the right?|Right clocks]]

He blinks and rubs his eyes. \n\n"Great," he says, "I can't see out of my right eye, and your scarf, it's red, right?"\n\nYou glance down at your scarf. "Yeah."\n\n"I thought so. So I'm blind out of one eye and I can't see colors. Side effects of transporting."\n\n"Transporting?"\n\n"I'm going to have to start from the beginning, huh? Alright then..."\n\n[[-->|Juniper other intro]]

"What do I want?" Syo laughs. "I'll tell you-"\n\n"Syo," says a deep, low voice. The voice is soft and emotionless, yet it resonates with power. It seems to make your very heart quake.\n\n"Wio," Syo hisses.\n\n"Wait, what? Who's Wio?" you ask\n\n"Everything in this house belongs to either me or him," Syo says, glaring at the room. "This is his room."\n\n[[-->|His room]]

He looks at you with concern as he lets you go. \n\n"So it worked?" he says.\n\n"What worked?" you reply. You are still not sure you can trust him, but you go along with it for now.\n\n"The transportation," he says.\n\n"What transportation?"\n\n"Quit joking around, this is serious!"\n\n"I-I'm not joking around!"\n\nHe looks at you sadly.\n\n[[-->|Memory]]

Should you move to the [[right of the room|Right clocks]] or to the [[left?|Left clocks]] \n\n[[Or lay down to rest?|Rest clocks]]

BONG BONG BONG BONG BONG BONG BONG BONG BONG BONG BONG BONG \n\n[[-->|The End 3]]

"I didn't do anything wrong, though!"\n\n"Doesn't matter to me." Some invisible force pushes you off the waterfall. It's not very high up, but it is high enough to be dangerous. \n\nYou hit the ground hard. The breath is knocked out of you and you feel paralyzed. You think you broke your neck, but then the pain hits you. Nothing seems to be broken, but everything seems to be hurting.\n\n[[-->|Syo gone]]

You sit up slowly before tentatively reaching out a hand in the general direction of the stirring.\n\nYour hand lands on something. Whatever it is, it's soft.\n\nThen it starts to moan.\n\nYou recoil in surprise.\n\nYou can't see anything, but it seems that the thing laying next to you is human.\n\nWhat now? They could be dangerous. \n\n[[Get up and look for a way out.|Get up]]\n\n[[Approach human cautiously.|Approach]]

The voice isn't yelling, but you can hear it loud and clear. Syo must have heard it, too, because she stops her attack. There is something in her eyes. Something that looks like fear and anger.\n\n"Wio!" she hisses. \n\nJuniper's shadowy body has stopped short and is standing, staring at the two of you. You can see now that his face is shrouded in shadows.\n\n"Syo," the voice says again. Juniper doesn't move, but the voice comes from his body. It is a cold, dark voice that sounds like it came from an abandoned cave in a forgotten swamp.\n"You shouldn't be here, Syo. This is my place. You shoudn't be here."\n\n[[-->|Wio Syo]]

You have no idea where you are. You should be used to this by now, but it's still very unnerving. You begin to wonder why anyone thought this was a remotely good idea. Fame and fortune are not worth this.\n\nYou are standing in a large area. It is quite dark and very foggy. The fog is so thick you could almost cut it with a knife. \n\nWhat did Syo want to show you here? \n\n[[-->|Juni fog]]

You stay petrified on the chair as two large white lights appear on the shadow and blink. Eyes.\n\n"I warned you, Syo."\n\nSyo stands her ground, claws at the ready, and growls. "Leave me alone, Wio! I go where I please!"\n\nWithout another word, the shadow surges forward. Syo yells and springs at the shadow.\n\nYou are in another room.\n\n[[-->|Dark room]]

Suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion, you decide to sit down and rest for a bit. You yawn and curl up into a ball on the ground. You are satisfied. The presences from the art look down on you. They welcome you. You are satisfied. \n\nYou close your eyes. You start to drift. You are satisfied. Everything fades. Why were you here again? Who cares? You are tired and satisified. You feel lighter, as if there were less of you around. As if you were dissolving, fading.\n\nYou sleep. \n\n[[The End|The End 1]]

"Leave, Syo," the deep voice says again. It seems to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. "You know this is my room. Leave."\n\n"You can't tell me what to do, Wio!" Syo yells, before turning back to you. "Let's get out of here," she says, offering you her hand. You notice the long, needle-like claws for the first time. "And I'll tell you what I want."\n\nShould you [[trust her?|Trust Syo]] Or [[not?|Distrust Syo]]

Before anything bad happens, you slam the drawers shut. Shaken, you collapse on the throne. That was exhausting. Your previous confidence has wavered. The room seems to have dimmed a bit.\n\nYou close your eyes for a bit.\n\n"Hello."\n\nYour eyes open again.\n\n[[-->|Syo again]]