Darkness.
Cold that seeped into his bones.
Loneliness so vast it echoed.
And the unmistakable sensation of falling—endlessly…?
Those were the first fragments of awareness that reached Will before his cerulean eyes finally fluttered open. Only then did he realize the truth of it: he was plummeting without pause through an expanse of shadow and frost, utterly alone, suspended in a boundless void. Nothing surrounded him—nothing at all—except a swirl of vibrantly colored butterflies drifting freely around his descent. Their wings shimmered with flecks of glitter, each one wrapped in a soft, radiant glow that set them apart from the darkness, rendering them impossibly beautiful. The sight was so mesmerizing, so gentle against the bleakness, that it coaxed an innocent smile onto Will's face, even as he continued to fall all the way down below.
He didn't understand any of it.
Why was he falling like this?
Where was he even falling to?
Yet in that moment, none of those questions seemed to matter. Drawn by instinct, Will extended his small hand toward the nearest butterfly. The instant his fingers brushed its delicate wings, the creature flared with a vivid blue radiance—so bright it bled into a blinding white. The light was warm, almost comforting, and yet painfully intense, forcing Will to squeeze his eyes shut once more as the brilliance overwhelmed his still-groggy vision.
And the moment he opened his eyes again, the world had changed. He now stood in a quietly beautiful garden, muted in color and atmosphere, where the chill was gentler than the endless cold he had been falling through. As he took in his surroundings, he realized he was crouched behind a large bush overflowing with blue roses—and it wasn't an isolated sight. The space around him unfolded into a vast garden filled with countless bushes bearing the same blossoms, each one echoing the same shade and design, as though the entire place had been shaped around a single, deliberate theme.
It was a chilly evening, though before he could dwell on the reason he was there at all, a sharp, hushed "Psss!" sounded from his right. When he turned toward it, he found his best friend there—light pink hair catching what little light there was, two bunny-like front teeth showing as she flashed him a bright, familiar smile. She leaned closer and called to him in a whisper.
"Will? Are you alright? You fell pretty hard earlier. Is your head okay? And when are we going to move? I'm literally getting nervous just sitting here and waiting."
As he listened to his friend voice her concerns, a smile slowly curved across his face. His memory finally snapped into place—why they were there, what they were doing, and what had happened just before they slipped into hiding behind these enormous bushes.
With that realization came a bright smile and crescent-shaped eyes as he answered, "Charlotte, thank you for worrying, but I'm alright now. There's no need to be concerned." As the words left him, a cold breeze swept through, ruffling his short, straight, soft blond hair and lending him an almost princely air. The sight made Charlotte flush with shy happiness before she returned his reassurance with an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Will hummed thoughtfully as his gaze drifted forward, settling on the sight of a massive, armed capybara standing guard outside the castle gates, a shield braced at its side, and a sword clenched firmly in its grip. But as he took in the scene more carefully, he realized there were four in total—two still upright at the front, posted at the entrance, and two more already brought down by them earlier. Even so, Will counted the fallen ones as lingering threats; there was no telling when they might awaken and disrupt their carefully calculated, sophisticated plan.
Will hummed once more before turning toward Charlotte, who was thirteen, two years younger than him. At fifteen, Will was the eldest, while Charlotte ranked second among their small band of adventurous friends.
"Charlotte, did Oliver and Olivia make it inside? And what about Alvin and Iris—did they succeed with their part of the plan?" Will asked gently, his eyes flicking to the pink bunny she clutched in her hands as though her life depended on it.
She nodded before answering in a hushed voice, "Yeah, Olivia and Oliver did. But I'm not sure about the others. All I know is that Olivia and Oliver won't make a move until we get inside. You know Olivia trusts you, Will. She won't do anything without confirming it with you."
As Charlotte whispered this back to him, a wave of nostalgia washed over Will. The warmth of their shared friendship settled in his chest, and he realized once again that, as the eldest in the group, it was his responsibility to ensure everything went smoothly—after all, everyone trusted him completely.
Will let out a quiet sigh before turning back to Charlotte and whispering, "Alright then, let's move now. Charlotte, release the fusion bombs."
She responded with a firm thumbs-up, then took out four vividly colored spheres from her duffel bag, each one churning with swirling magical substances inside. With practiced ease, she pressed a button on them and rolled the glowing orbs across the ground toward the guard rodents.
The guards glanced down in confusion as the strange balls came to a stop at their feet—and by then, it was already too late.
The spheres erupted in a sudden, fiery explosion, the blast consuming and melting the rodents in its wake. Without a moment to waste, Will and Charlotte hurried toward the castle entrance, moving fast before any other rodent could arrive to investigate the thunderous sound unleashed by the bombs.
They rushed into the castle halls, where the floors stretched out in a stark checkerboard pattern of black and blue. On and on they ran—and then, without warning, they found themselves caught, ensnared in a trap.
Suddenly, the floor beneath their feet vanished, replaced in an instant by a massive checkerboard that rose up from below. One by one, enormous game pieces began to materialize—forming ranks both ahead of them and behind them, hemming them in.
Will barely had time to register what was happening, already realizing they would be forced to play the game through until checkmate—when his thoughts were violently interrupted. A knight lunged forward without warning, its blade sweeping toward him. Instinct took over, and he hurled himself to the left across the board just in time, narrowly avoiding being sliced open.
"Charlotte!"
Will shouted her name, and she slammed her hands down onto the board. In response, a surge of electric pink force burst from her palms, racing through the checkerboard and cracking it apart along with the towering pieces. She pushed deeper into her power—her eyes shifting from forest green to glowing pink—as she crushed everything in sight, the board itself shattering into countless broken fragments.
Will beamed at her, relief and pride clear on his face. She had gotten them out of the deadly game without either of them being hurt. Without slowing, they resumed their run, heading straight for the main royal throne room, where the true opponent awaited them.
The instant they reached the royal blue double doors of the castle, they didn't hesitate for even a second. Together, they shoved the heavy doors open and rushed inside, entering a grand chamber where the Queen sat upon her throne. She was dressed in black, her long, wavy blue hair cascading down her shoulders, her eyes dark as night as they fixed onto the intruders.
"Oh, little survivors…" she purred. "I'm curious how you tiny chipmunks managed to make it through all the boggy traps installed throughout the castle. Still, I must admit—I'm impressed as well. Well done. However, your little moment of happiness ends right here."
No sooner had the words left her lips than she unleashed her power. Massive tree roots burst violently from the marble floor, winding upward as blue, poisonous roses bloomed along their length. The living vines coiled tightly around both Charlotte and Will, binding them in place as they struggled desperately to break free from the crushing grip.
"Any last words?" the Queen asked coldly, her gaze settling on Will and Charlotte as they fought against the restraints.
However, Will answered her not with fear, but with a shout.
"Yes! Show me your darkest fears, Queen of Hatred!"
The moment those words rang out, the Queen froze—her body seized in sudden paralysis. In that instant, Will slipped into her mind, awakening the hidden psychological power he possessed. Within her head, he could summon and command the deepest fears lurking in her consciousness—or, if he chose, he could wield that same mind-shaping ability to bring calm, peace, and rest to a tormented soul.
In the blink of an eye, Will found himself standing in the middle of a bustling marketplace, chaos rippling through the air as some kind of ruckus unfolded around him. Cold wind cut against his skin, making him shiver; he was dressed in nothing more than a loose white button-up, light brown shorts, and white shoes paired with white ankle-length cotton socks—the same simple attire worn by the rest of his six-person group.
As he moved forward through the crowd, a horrifying sight revealed itself. The Queen was bound tightly to a wooden pole, flames licking upward as the people set her ablaze. They laughed openly, reveling in her suffering, while she wailed and sobbed, screaming desperately for someone—anyone—to save her as she burned alive.
Although Will possessed the power to save her, he chose not to. In his mind, she was an irredeemably evil woman—one who delighted in consuming children—and mercy had no place here. Instead, he drew out the deepest, darkest fear buried within her and dragged it into the open.
The Queen's mind shattered under its weight. She lost all sense of reality, utterly convinced that she was burning alive—that the flames were real—despite the truth that it was all a hallucination, a nightmare meticulously triggered and sustained by Will's mysterious power.
Will drew in a sorrowful breath as the Queen wailed and sobbed, her own roots curling around her in a futile attempt at protection—yet nothing could shield her from Will's power.
"Charlotte, let's go. We need to find the other kids," Will commanded. Together, they left the throne room, sprinted down the hall, and slipped into a basement hidden behind a blue velvet curtain with no door at all—something Will immediately recognized as Oliver's handiwork.
As they hurried down the steps into the darkened basement, they came face to face with the brunette fraternal twins—Oliver and Olivia. The moment they saw one another, all four rushed together, wrapping each other in a tight embrace filled with relief, happiness, and shared joy.
After a moment, Will pulled back from the hug and looked at the twins. "Are you both okay?" he asked.
They nodded, and then Olivia spoke, her blue eyes shimmering with tears she hadn't yet let fall. "We saved them… but there are only four left out of fourteen. Ten of them lost their lives before we could get here."
Will mirrored the same expression of pain and sorrow that clouded Olivia's face before he spoke. "That's alright. We did everything we could," he said quietly. "After all, we're also… just kids. We're bound to lose more than we save, so we have to hold on to happiness for those we managed to protect."
Olivia nodded, lifting a hand to wipe away a stray tear. Then she turned toward Oliver, who gave a firm nod in return before addressing both Charlotte and Will.
"I just received a message from Alvin," Oliver said. "He says the map has been secured without any trouble, and now he and Iris are waiting at the nearest hill—the one we chose as our meeting point from the beginning."
Will nodded at the news before replying, "Great work, everyone. I'm really proud of you all. Now let's get the children out—safe and sound."
Olivia, Oliver, and Charlotte nodded back at him with bright smiles before dashing off, moving quickly through the space as they freed the remaining children from their cells. One by one, they helped them upstairs toward safety, while Will scooped a four-year-old girl into his arms and hurried up alongside the others.
The moment they reentered the castle halls, the structure began to crack and crumble. The Queen's mind had been devastated to the point of collapse, and with it, the castle—said to have been formed by her power—started to fall apart as well. Though the halls were lavishly decorated and richly festooned, no one would have guessed that beneath all that beauty, the castle itself had been created from the boundless roots of a single, colossal tree.
So they ran—without stopping—until they finally burst free from the castle and witnessed the entire kingdom of the Queen of Hatred collapsing in on itself. With no time to spare, everyone sprinted breathlessly toward the agreed meeting point: the cliff that overlooked the land, perched at the edge of the nearest magical forest behind the kingdom.
They crossed into the forest safely, entering a world alive with wonder. Flying pink and blue jellyfish drifted through the air, cabins built for friendly, talking rodents dotted the paths, and creatures like deer, tigers, and lions roamed peacefully alongside countless others. Some of the beings defied all description—monster-like animals, unlike anything recorded in the books the children had ever read. Lacking names or knowledge, the kids simply accepted what they saw, choosing to adapt, survive, and learn everything little by little as time went on.
At last, without any further trouble, they arrived just in time. Once everyone reached the cliff, they gathered together and embraced one another, relief and triumph weaving through the moment. It had been their first successful mission—and many more awaited them on the path ahead.