CHAPTER 1 ————————- Iris ran throughout the labyrinth, when she suddenly skidded to a halt. The labyrinth began to slightly warp as a large creature appeared from a red book, runes from off the page surrounding it, the creature (known as a witch) grew in size, hovering above Iris as she stood, rod in hand. The witch looked like a beanstalk, but cartoonish with little red flowers that suddenly bloomed, revealing multiple realistic like eyes, Iris shuddered. "Time to get this over with." Iris leapt to the other side, dodging an attack from the witch. She blasted the glowing light from the glass rosebud on her wand as it slashed through the witch. As Iris floated little paper fairy familiars began to surround her, circling around and closing in on her. She quickly blasted them to ashes with the tip of her rod as it absorbed the energy into her rod, causing it to glow and dim back and forth. Iris glanced down “I just need more ti-AH!” The witch swung at her, flinging her on to the labyrinth wall, leaving a small crater. Iris winced, the small cut on her forehead was oozing with blood. She fell quickly aiming her rod at one of the book platforms and absorbing it. The glass rosebud on her rod suddenly began to glow a radiant pink color as the bud suddenly bloomed into a full rose, a shine coming from the inside. Iris pressed herself back against the wall and boosted herself up as she leapt for the final blow using her ability: Matter Manipulation. Iris landed a final blow as she zapped the witch, its screech echoed through the labyrinth. As Iris slowly floated down the labyrinth as it crumbled and faded away and back into the abandoned subway station she was in originally, a black gem known as a grief seed floated down as Iris caught it in the palm of her hand. Iris transformed back into her nightgown as she took off a pink jeweled ring from her finger as it transformed into an egg called a soul gem, taking the grief seed and inserting it into the dull gem, changing it back into its beautiful, vibrant pink color. Iris changed it back into ring form and slipped it back on her finger, she sighed exhausted, "That’s enough hunting for tonight, I should probably get home." As Iris biked home, she had the feeling something...someone? Was watching her...Iris placed her bike on the back wall and slowly opened the back door to find her mother asleep on the couch, beer can in hand. "Of course, the old hag’s drunk and out like a light.” Iris rolled her eyes as she shut the door and crept up the stairs as quietly as possible and up to her room, closing the door behind her and plopping herself onto her bed. She lifted her head up as she turned her head to her calendar, looking up at a large sticker written in pink marker with little stars next to it that read “Happy 14th Birthday!” Iris sat up on her bed, staring up at the note for a while before frowning and ripping the piece of paper off of the calendar carelessly before crumpling it up and tossing it into the empty trash can. “What a load of bull.” Iris scoffed and rolled herself into her blanket, yawning as her eyelids began to droop. As she closed her eyes, she noticed the shadow of a creature that looked like a cat of some sort before she drifted off to sleep.
