Wow, thank you so much! It was meant to be just a one-off story, but I'm thinking about making this the main antagonist for another story that I've been tinkering with among Writing Prompts lol

I'm actively trying not to work on it though because I'm already working on two others 😅

Here's the other side of the story that I'm thinking about linking. It seems like it could make for a really intriguing story.

​

Path of Shadow

https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/ye2xhc/pi_you_and_your_friend_lily_are_chilling_in_class/

###Lone Prisoner

It is the only step painted that alarming red, not to mimic the color of stop signs, instead being the origin that stop signs had copied. All sets of stairs had a red step if there were fourteen or more of them, and contractors went out of their way to ensure a floor didn't start at a thirteenth step.

It was all nonsense and today, Blake decided that he would prove it once and for all. He shook his head as he watched the other kids cautiously step over it and jeer at others as they approached it. They're all imbeciles, Blake thinks. I'll show them.

He marches up the steps with a backpack full of incomplete homework and a face full of snark. His foot approaches the 13th step, and he slams it down as growing expressions of horror surround him. He wasn't expecting anything to happen, especially anything immediate so his eyes widen when a shockwave ripples out away from his footfall.

Time freezes as the ripples spread outward like a stone striking the surface of an invisible surface of water. With everything around him frozen in place, the 13th step becomes an open door downward, and Blake's center of gravity is shifted forward, causing him to tumble through it.

His arms pinwheel and he screams as he falls over, but his falling soon transitions into a float like a leaf becoming detached from a branch. He glides lazily in a slow spiral, a light shining from above him and a featureless abyss surrounding him.

He approaches a round symbol on a floor and rights himself, setting his feet down in the circle. The light above him is illuminating the circle and a few feet beyond. The surrounding abyss is no longer featureless as a deep-blue horizon glows at an unknowable distance.

Blake notices two things immediately. The first is the decaying remains of a skeleton in the circle next to him. The second is a figure standing between him and that blue horizon. He can't see much more than a vague outline but it many times larger than him with its yellow eyes floating in the darkness.

"Do not be afraid, little boy," says the creature, its mouth opening and displaying white fangs affixed to the darkness. The shape of the mouth gives an impression of a great wolf.

Blake stands taller and grips his bag straps, pulling the backpack tighter against him. "What are you," he asks.

"I'm a prisoner, of course. Wrongfully, locked away by my cruel masters."

"But what did you do to get locked away?"

"Nothing, unless you count being the largest wolf a crime. I wasn't locked away for anything I did. I was locked up for what I might do! I just hate being punished for something that hasn't even happened. How is that fair?" The wolf growls, baring its teeth as it looks away from Blake.

"Well, that's not right," Blake replies.

The yellow eyes snap back to Blake. "I'm glad you agree, because you can fix this grave injustice!"

Blake turns back to look down at the skeleton next to him. "What happened to this person," he asks, gesturing down to it.

"Oh, they were awful, no better than the masters that locked me away here. Instead of releasing me and allowing us both to get out of here, I had to sit here and watch them waste away, trapped and slowly dying from thirst."

"That's terrible," Blake agrees, while looking at the yellow eyes that move up in down in a head nod. "While how do I get you--us out of here?"

"You just have to break one of the lines on the seal around you."

Blake kneels and looks over the design. There is an encompassing white circle with intricate swirling patterns across its center. "What do I do?"

"Just scratch out any part of the lines," the wolf replies eagerly.

Blake reaches towards the outer rings and scrubs away a section, causing a break in the line. "Like this?" he asks, looking back up to the wolf.

"Yes, perfect," the wolf replies. His eyes narrow and his stature quickly shrinks down to the same height as Blake. The eyes are more normal sized now but still glow a dirty yellow and begin moving towards the light.

"What's your name?" Blake asks.

"Well, a long time ago, they called me Fenrir, but I don't think that's necessary now." A shoe steps into the light, then a kid with a backpack walks into the circle.

Blake's eyes grow wide as he stares at the mirror image of himself, the only difference being the yellow eyes, a contrast to his blue. "Why do you--" Blake starts before being shoved out into the shadow.

Fenrir grabs a small piece of bone and lays it over the broken line before turning back to see Blake's glowing blue eyes floating in the shadows.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Blake demands. He tries to step back into the circle but the light burns and smoke peels away from his form. He watches with horror as Fenrir flies back up like Peter Pan with outstretched arms and legs.

Not-Blake steps up to the 14th step as the other students look at him in horror. He just narrows his yellow eyes at them, and they scatter. He pulls open the door and steps into school.

This prompt was also a combination of this WP:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/ye2rlv/wp_the_13th_step_in_your_school_is_known_to_be/

Thanks! I thought about it but wasn't sure if it broke some rule somewhere. I guess I can give it a shot.

###Lone Prisoner

It is the only step painted that alarming red, not to mimic the color of stop signs, instead being the origin that stop signs had copied. All sets of stairs had a red step if there were fourteen or more of them, and contractors went out of their way to ensure a floor didn't start at a thirteenth step.

It was all nonsense and today, Blake decided that he would prove it once and for all. He shook his head as he watched the other kids cautiously step over it and jeer at others as they approached it. They're all imbeciles, Blake thinks. I'll show them.

He marches up the steps with a backpack full of incomplete homework and a face full of snark. His foot approaches the 13th step, and he slams it down as growing expressions of horror surround him. He wasn't expecting anything to happen, especially anything immediate so his eyes widen when a shockwave ripples out away from his footfall.

Time freezes as the ripples spread outward like a stone striking the surface of an invisible surface of water. With everything around him frozen in place, the 13th step becomes an open door downward, and Blake's center of gravity is shifted forward, causing him to tumble through it.

His arms pinwheel and he screams as he falls over, but his falling soon transitions into a float like a leaf becoming detached from a branch. He glides lazily in a slow spiral, a light shining from above him and a featureless abyss surrounding him.

He approaches a round symbol on a floor and rights himself, setting his feet down in the circle. The light above him is illuminating the circle and a few feet beyond. The surrounding abyss is no longer featureless as a deep-blue horizon glows at an unknowable distance.

Blake notices two things immediately. The first is the decaying remains of a skeleton in the circle next to him. The second is a figure standing between him and that blue horizon. He can't see much more than a vague outline but it many times larger than him with its yellow eyes floating in the darkness.

"Do not be afraid, little boy," says the creature, its mouth opening and displaying white fangs affixed to the darkness. The shape of the mouth gives an impression of a great wolf.

Blake stands taller and grips his bag straps, pulling the backpack tighter against him. "What are you," he asks.

"I'm a prisoner, of course. Wrongfully, locked away by my cruel masters."

"But what did you do to get locked away?"

"Nothing, unless you count being the largest wolf a crime. I wasn't locked away for anything I did. I was locked up for what I might do! I just hate being punished for something that hasn't even happened. How is that fair?" The wolf growls, baring its teeth as it looks away from Blake.

"Well, that's not right," Blake replies.

The yellow eyes snap back to Blake. "I'm glad you agree, because you can fix this grave injustice!"

Blake turns back to look down at the skeleton next to him. "What happened to this person," he asks, gesturing down to it.

"Oh, they were awful, no better than the masters that locked me away here. Instead of releasing me and allowing us both to get out of here, I had to sit here and watch them waste away, trapped and slowly dying from thirst."

"That's terrible," Blake agrees, while looking at the yellow eyes that move up in down in a head nod. "While how do I get you--us out of here?"

"You just have to break one of the lines on the seal around you."

Blake kneels and looks over the design. There is an encompassing white circle with intricate swirling patterns across its center. "What do I do?"

"Just scratch out any part of the lines," the wolf replies eagerly.

Blake reaches towards the outer rings and scrubs away a section, causing a break in the line. "Like this?" he asks, looking back up to the wolf.

"Yes, perfect," the wolf replies. His eyes narrow and his stature quickly shrinks down to the same height as Blake. The eyes are more normal sized now but still glow a dirty yellow and begin moving towards the light.

"What's your name?" Blake asks.

"Well, a long time ago, they called me Fenrir, but I don't think that's necessary now." A shoe steps into the light, then a kid with a backpack walks into the circle.

Blake's eyes grow wide as he stares at the mirror image of himself, the only difference being the yellow eyes, a contrast to his blue. "Why do you--" Blake starts before being shoved out into the shadow.

Fenrir grabs a small piece of bone and lays it over the broken line before turning back to see Blake's glowing blue eyes floating in the shadows.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Blake demands. He tries to step back into the circle but the light burns and smoke peels away from his form. He watches with horror as Fenrir flies back up like Peter Pan with outstretched arms and legs.

Not-Blake steps up to the 14th step as the other students look at him in horror. He just narrows his yellow eyes at them, and they scatter. He pulls open the door and steps into school.

This prompt was also a combination of this WP:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/ye3374/wp_heaven_and_hell_had_united_forces_only_once_to/

###Devin's Rules

WC: 764

His name is Devin Blake and a year ago he was just another oblivious high school student with no direction in life. But that all changed in just a handful of minutes. His impenetrable bastion of indifference had come crashing down around him as his father’s office building collapsed as well.

They said it was a terrorist attack—a disgruntled worker named Steve from accounting. But that didn’t make sense. Devin knew Steve from accounting. He spent time at his house, ate dinner with his family, and even laughed at the same jokes Devin had. No—it was not any Steves from accounting.

It’s now midnight, on the eve of the one-year anniversary that altered his post-high school career path. Today, there is to be a grand unveiling ceremony, another monument in his country’s overgrowing garden of consolation prizes. “Sorry, about your loss. Here’s a statue to serve as a symbol for our condolences. Just don’t forget to re-elect us.”

As he walks towards the vacant square, a platform and a podium sit in the center alongside a covered monument. All of the building’s rubble had been removed before they brought in the landscaping crews to install the grass and colorful flowers. The square had changed almost as much as he had.

Devin’s hair is no longer his natural color, being jet black and long enough to touch the top of his shoulders. His dad had always worn a jacket and tie to work, but since his dad no longer needed them, he decided to where one of them tonight. It’s too big though, and the sleeves hang over his knuckles as he brushes his thumb against the card inside the waist pocket.

When all the news stations started blaming Steve, Devin checked out of what everyone else was already repeating. He instead took his time and attention into the darker corners of the web. The places behind and under those other spaces that most don’t dare to look. It didn’t take long to find the ever-expanding conspiracy theories about governmental and big business involvement in terrorist plots.

Without really caring what others were theorizing, he again looked beyond and became enthralled with realities other than the “real-one” and the “narrative-one” that the media perpetuated. No, he chased a way to grasp something beyond what others would try to sell him as “real” or “truth.”

That was when he discovered magic.

As he stops at the city square and retrieves the card from his waist pocket, the light of the full moon glistens off the card’s surface. It has a rainbow sheen that isn’t typical for Uno Cards. Devin turns it over, seeing the two arrows pointing away from each other. He spins it between his fingertips, then holds it aloft as he looks towards the covered statue. “Well, dad,” he says, “Here’s to hoping this doesn’t just mess up your memorial.”

He slams the card down onto the grass covered square.

Devin backs up, not knowing what to expect. He first notices the moon as it begins shifting through various phases while moving around in the sky. He then sees the stars drifting as his world continues to shift.

Shocked, he reaches to cover his mouth with his hands, then finds his sleeves completely covering his fingertips. He looks down to his jacket and it too is considerably looser. He reaches for the hair at his shoulder, and it’s not there, soon finding it cut short like he used to keep it.

He looks back to the square and finds his father’s office building where it belongs, then turns on his heel to march home. He has plans for his father and Steve to attend an impromptu lunch this afternoon. Attendance will be mandatory.

During a surprise lunch from the zero-initiative, high school Devin, phones start going off as social media comes alive. All across the nation, reports are coming in about missing government officials with only cinders in their last known locations. The two main news networks are also off the air due to similar circumstances around key personnel.

Devin walks over to give his father and Steve a beer as they take a break from complaining about work. Their conversation then pivots onto the growing pandemonium that is now gripping the nation.

Devin walks away from the two of them, then leans against the nearby tree of their backyard. He pulls two cards from his back pocket. They have rainbow sheens on one side, and he turns them over to find a mostly blank side. Across the top says, “House Rules.”