This is a fan-fiction and non-canon to the story of Dark Deception.

Ding.

The elevator had arrived at its destination. As the doors parted, the young 20 something girl - cautiously standing inside, was greeted by the sight of a dilapidated hotel floor. Floral wallpaper thick with mould hung from the walls, lights flickered up and down long hallways that crept into darkness. A thick musty stench hung in the air. Directly before her a tall statue loomed. The statue resembled a demonic angle - a muscular masculine form, with bat like wings spreading from it’s back and its arms held high above the stump of a neck - no head to be found. These arms held up a glowing purple orb. The girl stepped out of the elevator and cautiously approached, transfixed by the orbs mystical beauty.
The girl had an emo appearance. Thick make up, a bunch of piercings, short dyed-blue hair. Army boots, torn jeans, a studded belt, a black T-shirt with a punk band logo emblazoned upon it. Typical girl with attitude. Her face looked fearful and uneasy. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
As the girl stepped closer, she noticed a collection of golden skulls formed around the statue base… they looked human, were they real? If so who did they belong t-

Ding.

The elevator door began to close. The girl dashed to stop it, regretting her zealous actions. Too late. The door closed tight before she could jam her hand between it’s gap. What made matters worse - there was no call button, she was trapped… at least until her task was complete. Her name was Mary and she had entered this nightmare through a portal in a ballroom, a portal opened by a strange woman dressed in black. The woman was middle aged, perhaps in her early 50s, with striking white hair and a gothic appearance. This woman had introduced herself as Bierce. If Mary had to put a label on Bierce, she would have dubbed her ‘witch-like’. Not the grotesque looking witch one might recall from watching movies such as The Wizard of Oz, no - this woman was rather attractive, yet she possessed magical properties. Not only had Bierce heeded Mary’s call when she screamed into the limbo like void she awoke in, after foolishly taking her life in a moment of desperation. She also promised to return Mary’s soul to the land of the living in return for a teensy tiny favour. This request was the reason Mary now found herself alone in the dimly lit halls of this hotel. A hotel that seemed at once alien but also quite familiar to her. Had she visited a place like this before? A vague memory flickered in her head but was interrupted as Mary took in more of her surroundings. Looking past the statue and into the gloomy darkness of the halls branching off from the elevator lobby, Mary noticed line upon line of purple floating shards. These shards were translucent like stained glass, and almost gem like in their appearance. They looked like crystals and within each of one - dust like particles floated. Mary made her way past the statue and over to the nearest shard, faint whispers could be heard emanating from within. Although she couldn’t make out what these whispers were trying to say. Bierce had mentioned these shards, the souls of those unfortunate enough to complete her task were contained within them… apparently. Bierce had instructed Mary to collect up the soul shards and return them to the statue to form a piece of a ring alter. The ring alter was a device known as ‘The riddle of Heaven’ and this contraption was located at the centre of Bierce’s ballroom, the hub from which the portal Mary had stepped through was found. Bierce had informed Mary that if they worked together to rebuild this alter, then they could both get what they desired.

Mary hadn’t been told how to collect up these shards, however Bierce had given her a tablet like device to help locate them. The tablet contained a digital map of the entire floor Mary was stranded on and as she powered it up, the shards in the hallways to her left and right intermediately showed up. Scrolling around the map with the tip of her finger revealed hundreds of soul shards. 288 to be precise as the counter at the top of the tablet noted. ‘’I better get started’’ Mary thought. ‘’That way I can get the hell out of here’’.

With this thought came a horrifying noise. It was distant but echoed across the entire floor. The noise was hard to describe but sounded like… the shriek of a monkey. A chill shot up Mary’s spine, why would a monkey be loose in a hotel? It sounded like the plot for one of those B-grade 90s comedy films… but this didn’t feel funny. As these thoughts swirled in her head, Mary came to another chilling realisation. It wasn’t just a shrieking sound, there were several sets of loud foot prints, all moving quickly towards her and becoming louder and louder by the second. Something was tracking her down and fast.

Mary stood back up and bolted down the hallway to her right, she had no plan, no real idea where she was headed, but at least this particular path didn’t seem to be occupied by anything sinister. ‘’Move away from the noise and don’t stop until you have everything you need’’ Mary mused as she pelted forward.
She ran toward the first set of shards floating before her, as she neared them they flew toward her and into the very tablet she held in her trembling hands. How this happened was a mystery - ‘’perhaps something to ask Bierce if I ever make it back to her’’ Mary thought. The shards would seemingly break down into particles and their essence absorbed into the digital device, just before Mary could make contact with them. It was clear this was no ipad, rather a spirit trapper of sorts with a modern twist. Nothing was as it seemed in this alternate dimension.

The footsteps grew closer, snapping Mary from her trance. She had a mission - collect the shards and get out. One thing for sure - she didn’t want to find out what was in pursuit.

The problem was these hallways all looked the same, they seemed almost never ending. If it wasn’t for the map this would be an impossible task. The shards continued to break down and shoot into the tablet and Mary could see a total at the top of the screen gradually counting down as they did. She also noticed beads of moisture dropping onto the screen and running down it, she was drenched in sweat. These hallways were hot and humid and reeked of damp and death. But despite her body exhibiting signs of exhaustion from constantly rushing around, Mary realised in that moment yet another oddity - she wasn’t feeling tired, nor out of breath. In the real world a short jog around the block would have brought her to her knees, she had always been a party girl - drinking and smoking to the point where any kind of exercise would render her out of breath fast. But in this world, wherever this world was, this exhortation simply didn’t creep up on her - no matter how hard she pushed herself. Still she felt the heavy, dirty sensation of her sweat drenched clothing gripping her body, the oppressive heat and revolting thick air filing her lungs with every bound she made.

A door flung open just in front of Mary, knocking her to the floor. From within the darkness of the room behind this door a pair of giant plate sized eyes emerged. They looked almost cartoon like, a yellowed eyeball with a pure black pupil that looked up and down until both eyes locked onto Mary as she lay helplessly on her back - in a daze. The door creaked as the owner of the eyes revealed itself. Just as Mary suspected, the shrill noises indeed belonged to a monkey but not as she had imagined. The monstrosity emerging from the room to her right was a giant version of the classic symbol monkey toys she had played with as a child. Her father had gifted her the toy, it was about the only nice thing he had done - the good for nothing -
No time for this now, Mary clenched at the wall and pulled herself up. The symbol monkey emerged fully from it’s hiding place, it seemed calm and curious - studying Mary up and down. Each of it’s hands were made from blood soaked blades as long as a grown man’s arm. The monkey towered above Mary, she stood at around 5ft 4 and this terrifying creature must have been at least two feet taller. Suddenly the monkey screeched and swung one of it’s blades toward Mary’s head, she ducked and side stepped out the way indistinctly and the knived hand pierced the rotten wall where she had stood. The monkey screamed in gut wrenching distress, it’s blade wedged firmly into the woodwork. At that moment the second monkey in pursuit caught up, speeding round the corner behind Mary. Luckily, her new tormentor was blocking it’s path - still struggling to free itself from the wall. Splintering wood flying everywhere as it twisted the bladed hand manically. The second monkey began assisting, slicing at the wood work and breaking apart the wall panel.

It was time to get out of there. Mary quickly turned her back on the thrashing apes behind her and set off up the hall. 156 shards remained - ‘’you can do this’’ she thought to herself, filled with new-found determination.

Rushing forward she focused her eyes on the purple glow of each upcoming shard, referencing her mini map to be sure nothing had been missed. She didn’t want to have to double back, her attackers wouldn’t be trapped forever.

‘’Do try to avoid getting yourself killed, dear girl’’

It was Bierce, her voice emitting from within the tablet. ‘’This thing is pretty functional’’ thought Mary - not only a map, soul carrier and tracking device but now a communicator too. It was a relief to hear Bierce’s voice, even if it was for a snarky remark. It was enough for Mary to be reminded she wasn’t alone down here, someone was cheering her on and awaiting her return. There was a way out of this nightmare and with just 72 shards left, the end was in sight.

Bierce continued ‘’When you’re finished messing around with those dreadful monkeys, and you have all the shards I shall open the portal for you. But be ready to face Malak, he’ll zero in on your location once you’ve rebuilt the shard piece’’.

Malak… a name Mary had heard once before. Bierce had mentioned the name Malak while gesturing toward a staircase at the back of the ballroom, where a gigantic veiny eyeball, quivered and pulsated as it watched the duos every move.

‘’He wants to stop me from completing the ring alter’’ Bierce had said.
‘’if you help me rebuild the ring alter using the soul shards hidden behind these nightmare portals, then Malak’s infinite power will be mine, and with that in my possesion, I can turn back time in regard to your unfortunate demise… so, do we have a deal?’’

Now, running through the halls of this murder monkey infested hotel, Mary thought perhaps she would have reconsidered Bierce’s offer. At least while in limbo all she had to deal with was her own self loathing. She took in her surroundings as they blurred past, once again this place just felt all too familiar but her memories seemed to be lost in this place.

Before Mary could focus on this notion the footsteps started up again, right behind her now. The bone chilling screeches of the monkeys seemed to be coming from the very walls themselves. Plaster fell, lights flashed on and off and the entire floor of the building rumbled as if the very earth was about to give way. The noises swelled as if water in a balloon about to burst at any moment. Then suddenly an eruption of exploding plaster and splintering woodwork. Mary gasped and swung around, halting in her tracks. She was greeted by a horrifying sight. Three more monkeys had burst from the rooms directly behind her and their eyes glowed bright red. They seemed angry now, almost as if they could sense Mary was close to completing her task and stealing the souls they guarded.

‘’They’re all worked up in a frenzy. RUN!’’ - Yelled Bierce over the communicator.

Mary suddenly felt something taking over within her. A powerful occult energy. She looked down at her hands as they began to glow and electrify with red luminance. This felt… liberating, like a super power… could this be the gift Bierce had bestowed upon her before Mary had entered the portal? Bierce had Mary touch the ring alter and accept it’s gift, she had felt this same feeling of supernatural energy enter her body upon doing so. However it had laid dormant… until now.

As the murder monkeys rushed to impail her, Mary pushed forward with all her might and as she did so a burst of electric energy blasted from her feet and sent her flying down the corridor at the speed of light. The monkey’s left, quite literally, in her dust.

The murky hotel corridors flew past. Shard energy gathering at such a rate that it turned the air around Mary bright purple in a trance like haze. The tablet counted down as Mary sped through the winding corridors. 35, 28, 23, 16, 9, 5 - almost there only a few shards left.

Abruptly the rush ability cut out and Mary was thrown from her feet, hurtling through the wooden door frame before her. As the dust settled, Mary pulled herself up, covered in broken wood and grime. Coughing and spluttering in the aftermath of the accident, Mary’s eyes grew accustom to the dim light of the room and she felt a sudden dread wash over… this room was familiar too.
And this time she remembered exactly why.

This room existed within a rundown hotel located in downtown Los Angeles. The building was a hot spot for the lowest of the low. Pimps, dealers, criminals looking for a place to keep their heads down. It had also been a prime hangout for drug addicts, mainly due to the no ID required policy and low price of entry. Mary and her boyfriend Samuel would often crash out in one of the upper floor rooms. It was a dive, but it was their dive - a room in the hotel meant a place to shelter from the harsh outside world and shoot up. Losing themselves to the short term relief of a heroin fix.
And it was this particular room she now found herself, where the catalyst leading her to this nightmare realm had occurred.
Everything was in it’s place. The lumpy mattress in the corner, covered in stained bedsheets. The needle, rusty spoon and rubber piping laid out beside it. And the outline of a young man’s body in the centre of the room. The walls were different though… covered in graffiti. Sentences spray painted everywhere both mocking and reassuring Mary, but all reminding her of that fateful day, where Samuel had overdosed on a syringe she had prepared for him.
‘It’s wasn’t your fault’ ‘He was weak’ read two more forgiving remarks.
‘You killed him’ ‘He trusted you’ read two more condemning ones.

Mary had left this room a shell of her former self. Samuel was all she had and now he was gone, in part because of her rush to calm him down that day. She had slunk off to the apartment of a friend later that day and, in a moment of desperation, consumed the rest of her stash. ‘’I’ll be with you soon Sam’’ she thought as she injected her final fix.

But Samuel was no where to be found. Instead after screaming into a black, lifeless void for what felt like an eternity it had been Bierce who heeded her call. Now as if pranked by a sick joke from the devil himself, Mary found herself standing in the one place she prayed never to return.

The screeching of monkeys bombing up the hall behind her snapped Mary out of her misery. That’s right - she had 5 shards to collect and they were just on the other side of this cursed room. If she could just reach them, perhaps she would see Samuel once more. Could Bierce really rewind time and undo all that pain and suffering? It was a gamble Mary was willing to take. Three Monkeys reached the room and began pushing against the door frame. Their knived hands swiping at Mary who stood just out of reach. The Monkeys were slightly too big to fit through the gap of the door frame, but in a few moments that wouldn’t matter, as their immense weight and size was causing it to warp and buckle. This wall wasn’t going to hold for long.

Mary’s eyes darted about the room wildly - there must be an exit somewhere. It can’t be for nothing. Sure enough beside the mattress a large crack ran up the plasterboard from floor to ceiling. Mary knew the weak walls of this room all too well, easy to tear down and break. She remembered a police raid where the a swat team used this very tactic, bursting through the wall to secure a number of armed criminals on the floor below. Samuel had joked - ‘’who needs a TV when we get to experience real crime movies every day’’. She missed his strangely optimistic sense of humour.

The monkeys splintered the door frame and it bulged open, they pushed through a little further - their knives cutting at Mary’s T-shit and tearing it to ribbons. She shoulder barged the wall - HARD. It bent inwards. Another firm push would do it. She could feel the hot stench of the Monkey’s breach on her back and she pulled toward them to slam the wall one more time.

BOOM.

It worked, Mary fell through the back of the room and landed in on the floor of the corridor behind it. She snatched up the tablet and just as it promised, all five remaining soul shards floated up the hallway to her right.
The murderous monkeys smashed through the door way and hurled themselves against the weak plasterboard wall. Mary ran as the wall exploded and three frenzied monkeys came tripping into sight. She reached the soul shards 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - done!

As she collected the final shard Bierce’s voice startled her as it spluttered over the tablets communicator. ‘’That’s all the shards! Deposit them at the statue by the elevator. Then I’ll open a portal for you to escape my dear!’’ Bierce for the first time sounded genuinely concerned. Not for Mary’s health it would seem, but for the safe return of the soul shards.

The elevator was way over on the other side of the hotel. The monkeys were gaining ground, their frenzied fury allowing them to pitter patter faster than ever before. Mary felt that strange supernatural sensation brewing inside her once again. Maybe it was emotional stress, perhaps the euthoria of finally collecting every shard and knowing the end was in sight, or simply pure adrenalin. Whatever the cause, that red electric glow and feeling of incredible power took hold of the young girl once more and she launched herself down the hall at super speed. The sound of the monkeys fading with every step she took.

Mary checked the tablet as she ran, the elevator and statue should be right around the corner. Her speed boost suddenly cut out and she almost went flying head of heel. ‘’I’ll never get used to that’’ Mary said to herself. She’d have to jog the rest of the way, no matter - those monkey’s were long gone. But wait.. what was that?

HEAVY BREATHING

Mary turned her head in the direction of the heavy breathing which grew louder and more raspy by the second. At the far end of the hallway a thick black smog began to form and from it emerged a demonic looking phantom. A gigantic hooded ghoul, with glowing red eyes, sharp teeth and claws, and a long flapping cape. It was Malak.

‘’Another one of Bierce’s little puppets. It’s time I cut your strings’’ Malak proclaimed.

Mary had no time to retort. She was so close to that statue. All she needed was to deposit the shards, grab the piece of the ring alter and escape through Bierce’s portal. So she ran. Malak hot on her trail.

‘’Whatever she promised you, I can assure you it isn’t worth the price you’ll pay’’ continued Malak. Unphased by the chase.

Mary span around a corner and saw that odd statue just at the end of the hall. She made a mad dash for freedom, but as she did one of the many doors in front of her swung open and a rush of warm dark smog wafted out. Darkness surrounded Mary. She felt powerless as a lifetime of sins came rushing back to her and sapped the very energy from her soul. Suddenly a shooting pain in each shoulder blade, the sound of ripping flesh and the warm, wet sensation of blood soaking into her clothing. Mary screamed out in agony as Malak appeared from the smog and lifted her into the air with his clawed fingers. His face lit up like a jack o lantern in the darkness as he snarled…

‘’And now you will live an eternity of pain and regret. Trapped within MY nightmare portal. You will serve as a reminder for future explorers. Never try to make a mockery of a demon.’’

Malak wrapped his cloak around Mary and absorbed her soul. She felt the scream of a thousand twisting voices as the souls trapped within the tablet freed and returned to their imprisoned shard like state once more. In that moment she realised you can’t cheat death and you most certainly can’t cheat the devil. Perhaps all of this had been planned, perhaps this was her own personal hell. To be given hope, shown ones most painful memories, and then have everything ripped away at the 11th hour in agonising torment. Whatever the truth… all she knew now, was darkness.

Mary opened her eyes. Around her particles of light floated in a purple radiance. Was this heaven? Had she escaped Malak? Had Bierces plan actually worked? Everything sounded muffled and distorted. Mary looked down at her body… or at least where it should have been. There was nothing. She simply existed. What was this? As Mary’s mind made sense of it all a terrifying realisation crept up on her. This was a prison, she was trapped within a soul shard. Through the thick translucent shell of her new home, Mary could see the statue. She had been so close to escaping, but Malak had out played her and now she had become his eternal slave. Beyond the statue was the elevator. The light above it’s doors lit up.

Ding.

As the doors parted a man stepped out. He was middle aged, ruggedly handsome and wore a smart suit and tie. This man seemed to be an official of some kind, perhaps a lawyer… he had that look. Mary had used the services of such people many times during her time on earth. Some had been helpful… others not so much. Maybe this guy was one of the helpful ones.
Mary screamed out for help. But the man didn’t so much as glance in her direction. Of course he didn’t, Mary remembered how faint the calls of others had been from within these shards. Barely audible even when she placed her ear right up against them… and even then, she had no idea what these miserable souls were trying to say.

This man held a tablet which he now lifted as a familiar voice provided instructions.
It was muffled but Mary knew immediately who this voice belonged to - Bierce.

‘’Here you’ll need this. It can detect each shard’s location. It was left by the last guest to disappoint me here. A very clever girl… just not a very fast runner.’’