Chapter Text
Emily rushed through the empty streets with her luggage in hand. She was late for the train.
A few days ago, she received an ornate letter with a ticket to the “Eden Express”, a mysterious train she had never heard about before. The message was simple. “Find your father.”
When she was a child, she lost her father. He mysteriously disappeared one day, and while she spent years looking for clues, it was to no avail. This was her first clue, the first sign that her father was even real, that she hadn’t dreamed all those times he would sit right next to her and tell her stories of civilization before the war; she missed those times. She had a bad feeling about the letter; it didn’t have a sender or any kind of information aside from directions to the Eden Express, but she yearned to know what happened to him; it was her last wish.
She arrives at the location, an abandoned train station on the outskirts of the city, and the faint glow of the moon paints the place in an eerie light. She was told to wait until a train came, so she did. Completely alone, in the middle of nowhere, no one to see what could become of her…
In a few moments, she hears a train whistle, making her hair stand on the back of her neck. She felt her heartbeat fasten with anticipation.
The train had arrived, just as the letter said. She glances at her clock, it is 3 AM, the witching hour. In the city, there were strict regulations, one of them being a curfew at 10PM, she felt a little bit of anxiety by being out so late, it felt like there could be cameras pointing at her at any moment, waiting for her to make a mistake and end up in the claws of the police.
She wasn’t an anxious person.
Looking around with a wary glance, she makes sure there aren’t any sort of traps before making her way to the train's door. It opened slowly, so slowly that she was reconsidering every single choice she had made leading up to this, her stomach churned with the thought of what would happen next.
As she steps inside the ominous train, she notices that there is no one there, as if it were a train waiting only for her. This thought didn’t comfort her at all, instead, making her even more anxious, enough for her to feel bile coming up her throat.
The doors close behind her, making her jump in surprise. Then a deep voice echoes from the hidden speakers. "Welcome aboard the Eden Express," the voice says. "You have a singular purpose here, Emily. Find your father."
Swallowing hard, Emily can feel the anxiety running throughout her whole body as the train begins to move. Looking outside the window, she realizes how the whole landscape has become more and more twisted. She never saw stars in the main city, no one could see them at this point, but the moment her eyes looked at the sky outside, she could see the sky becoming more and more colorful, having countless stars across which changed color and shape to the point she felt eyestrain.
The voice continues, "You are not alone in this journey. Others have received invitations that they couldn't refuse. You may find allies in unexpected places; together, you shall find the truth which you seek."
As the speakers fell silent, Emily clutched her belongings. She shouldn’t be here, she should have stayed home and worked a 9-5, even paying rent seemed much more of a good idea than being on this train, but sadly, it was too late.
Suddenly feeling very dizzy and faint of heart, she fell as she tried getting up, the drowsiness filling her whole body... as she fell asleep.
-
Emily woke up in her bed.
"So it was a dream after all..." She mumbles as she stretches, but then she realizes that there's something wrong.
"H-huh? Where am I?" She couldn't help but notice the room was overly large, with green walls and old-fashioned decorations; this wasn't her room.
Panicking, she gets out of bed and looks at her surroundings. There were a lot of paintings depicting butterflies, everything looked quite expensive too, with gold decorations adorning the whole tapestry, it looked straight out of a movie set... But she did not recognize this place.
On a table, there lies a letter alongside her suitcase. Emily curiously took the letter, which was in the same format as the invitation she received.
“Welcome to Eden, Emily. You must be confused, however, everything will get clearer with time. Once you finish reading this, please go downstairs to the living room. I shall explain everything then.” The letter said. She had a bad feeling about this… However there seemed to be no other option than to follow the letter’s directions. If the first letter didn’t kill her, then this one couldn’t either.
She looks through her luggage and changes clothes, but notices that she couldn’t find her phone anywhere… They must have taken it while she was asleep. She started to wonder if this was some sort of sick and twisted reality show, where they trap her alongside other people to do indecent acts and fight the whole time.. Entertainment for the rich wasn’t what she was expecting by walking through that train door, but she couldn’t help but think that it was a horrible joke to involve her father in the equation if that was the case. Emily goes to the door and tries to be brave, opening it, expecting to find a million cameras staring at her and people laughing way.
However, what she found certainly didn’t seem like a reality TV set; instead, she found a long hallway, which was even more confusing than the room she woke up in. Full of intricate patterns, the hall gave a Victorian kind of vibe, but alongside that, it was also full of paintings she swore moved. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she walks through the hall like a child scared of the dark. She spots a large staircase at the end, and beside it were some spiral stairs which didn’t seem to end, but it was the only way to get somewhere, anywhere.
Each step gets harder than the last. It wasn’t her physical health that was failing, but it felt like the stairs were never-ending. For each she went down, there was another, and another, and another.
After what felt like hours, she reached the bottom. As she panted, she finally saw a door that seemed to go to a normal place. Emily then walks up to a big door and opens it. Half expecting nothing more than a mirror maze or another carnival attraction, because that was the closest thing she could think of when describing this place.
As she opened the door, she noticed that it was a dining hall. Looking around, trying not to be seen, she spots some oddly dressed people talking amongst themselves, giving her a sense of relief that she wasn’t completely alone. However the feeling quickly faded as she realizes they might be kidnappers or something of that sort, she turns around and tries leaving, however someone spotted her before she could make her escape.
“You, c’mere.” A gloomy-looking man dressed in an old-fashioned way beckoned her over. His dark skin and hazel eyes made him quite attractive, but she could immediately see that he either hated everyone or just had a resting bitch face. This guy was not good news. He sighs at her reluctance. “You can’t just wander around ‘ere, you’ll get lost.” Then he mutters, “And I doubt you’d be able to find a way out on your own.”
Emily approaches cautiously, anxiety filling her body. “W-Who are you? Why have you sent me here? Are you the one who sent that letter?” She panics with a trembling voice.
The man groans in annoyance, knowing that this would happen. ”Quit your yappin’, we’ve been in your same situation way longer than you. Just calm down for a moment, gosh.” The man rolls his eyes. Despite the harsh tone, Emily felt a little comforted to know she had allies.
“See? Not that hard.” The man said. “I’m James, not that it matters much. Welcome to hell.” The man shakes her hand roughly, now that she’s calmer she takes time to inspect her surroundings. James is quite tall, looks to be around his 30s, has brown hair and a beard, he looks like he was straight out of an old cartoon. There were other people around the big table in the center, all looking straight at her.
“U-um, I’m Emily Rott. Nice to meet you, sir.” She says with little enthusiasm as she curiously looks at the other people.
James looks towards the other people too, and with a tone that was milder than before he says. “Well, nice to meet ya too, miss Emily Rott. Now go introduce yourself to the little freaks, yeah?” He said while going back to the table.
A chubby girl with puffy curly blonde hair approaches her energetically. “Hello, hello, dearest Emily! I’m Sona Muse, I looove singing over anything else in the world!” She took her hands and pulled her towards the table on one of the two seats that weren’t taken. “You must be sooo scared, but don’t worry, I’ll gladly help you!”
“Um, thank you miss Sona.” Emily hesitated and sat down. In front of her there was an envelope.
“Please don’t call me miss! It’ll make me feel old, you understand?” She excitedly sat down. “Alright then, let’s introduce you to everyone!” She points to a woman in her 20s or 30s with some sort of nurse cosplay and bright hair. “That’s Ling!”
“Hello there, Emily. I’m Ling Hart, I’m a nurse hee hee. And this here is my husband, Dr. Liebe Hart, don’t get too close to him, alright~? Hee hee.” She laughed eerily. At her side, there was a very tall man with bright pink and black hair; he had a lot of bandages around his head and seemed to be cosplaying as a zombie… Very eccentric people. “Come on, love, introduce yourself, don’t be rude~"
Dr. Liebe looked at her with no interest. “I’m a doctor… so if you ever get hurt please come to me and my wife…” He looks at Ling and gives her a kiss.
“Aw, dear! Not in front of newbies, hee hee~" She says but kisses him back anyways. They seemed to be in their own little world.
She turns around to see two twins looking directly at her, they have a bit of an unsettling aura. The girl notices her looking and smiles. “Hello, miss, welcome! I am Myst!” She takes her brother’s hand. “He says that he’s Reus! He’s shy, so don’t worry if he doesn’t talk~"
She seemed quite bubbly, yet it still made her a little nervous. While Reus made her completely unsettled with that dead stare…
Finally, she turns to a person dressed as a medieval knight. “Greetings, how art thou doing? I am Charlotte, a servant to the Almighty.”
‘These sure are some weird people, but they don’t seem to mean any harm…’ Emily thinks as she awkwardly waves at Charlotte. ‘James said something about being here for a while… I just wonder what I got myself into’ She thinks with little hope, now this place didn’t seem like just a joke.
Suddenly, they hear a tune come from some hidden speakers.
“Welcome, welcome all to Eden.” They all turned to a screen where there was a hooded figure. “Emily! Glad you could make it.” The ringmaster said. “Now, since everyone is here, I shall give you your objectives for the day. If you please take a glance before you, you’ll find a letter directed at you, There is your secret objective. If you fail to finish the objective in time, there will be a punishment. We all know the price at this point, right?” They cough. “As you explore the mansion, you will uncover clues and puzzles. Solve them, and you shall find pieces of your past, your desires, and your destiny. The objective is simple: survive and uncover the truth.”
“Once you embark on this journey, there is no turning back. Eden is a place of wonder and danger, where your lives may hang in the balance. But do not despair, for there is a reward for those who succeed—a wish granted, a mystery unraveled.” He continues.
The figure's voice takes on a slightly ominous tone as they conclude, "Now, venture forth, my dear guests. Your journey begins, and the show is about to start. May you find your way to salvation or be lost forever in the wonders and horrors of Eden."
The screen goes dark, leaving the group in silence, their minds abuzz with questions and uncertainty.
The room never felt as cold as it felt now, nobody spoke, they all exchanged nervous glances as they took the letters to know their secret objective of the day.
Emily slowly uncovers the letter and reads what it says in her head:
“Dear Emily,
Since you are new I will go easy on you. You shall make a bond with anyone you see fit, then, you shall go to room seven alongside that person and solve the puzzle together, the reward will be a small hint of what you most desire.
Kind regards,
Discord.
PS: You shall not tell anyone what your secret objective is.”
As she finishes reading, she is relieved to know that her objective was quite easy. She just needed to get to know someone, right? She glances around the room to think who’d be ideal to be her partner for the day.
It couldn’t be Dr. Liebe or else she’d have to deal with Ling’s apparent jealousy, besides, he didn’t seem to be interested in her anyway. It couldn’t be Ling either because she wouldn’t separate from Liebe.
The twins creeped her out, so that was a no. Charlotte and Sona were already talking to each other, so they couldn’t be either.
All that was left was James.
She approaches him slowly. "Um, sir, would you mind if you showed me around?" Asked Emily, she wasn't much of a talker.
James, who was sitting in silence, fiddling with his letter, sighed. “Fine, not like I have anything better to do.” He walks towards her, “Follow me."
She does as said, following him closely but still maintaining distance.
"Over 'ere is the kitchen, you see those shadow people? They are the maids, ask them to make you something and they will." She glances at the kitchen and indeed there were some shadows dressed in conservative maid outfits. "Don't be afraid, they don't feel nothin'"
They continue exploring the mansion, they went through a big bathroom and bath house, it also had a lounge full of entertainment, and finally-
"Here's the door to hell, that's how we call it, it's where you'll be spending the majority of your objectives. You read your letter, right? Don't tell me what it is, but 'ere you'll find the door with the number, it goes on forever, so you can easily get lost there, once you go in, you can't get out."
She sticks her head through it and suddenly feels someone pushing her inside
"Welp, see ya later," James says as the door closes.
-
Emily desperately tries to get the door to open, she cries out for help, yet no one seems to hear her. She screams, she pleads, she scratches the door with all her might, yet no one came. No one.
She curled up in a ball, nobody would help her; she was all alone. This was a mistake, there couldn’t be any reason why this could be happening. What did she do to get this horrible karma? It just wasn’t fair. All she wanted is to know what happened to her father… Her father always told her not to be afraid of the unknown, that everything happens for a reason. So this must be simply another challenge to phase.
James… He mustn’t have intended to leave her here forever, right?
As time goes by, she gets calmer and looks at her surroundings. It was a giant hall full of doors, she couldn’t see where it ended, it just went on and on…
The doors were all different styles, and each one of them had a number on it. She gets off the floor and wanders around the hall.
“The letter said something about room seven, right…?” She mutters to herself. She didn’t have a companion, but she should be able to solve whatever puzzle is inside alone.
She takes a deep breath and opens room seven. Inside it looked like a modern hangar, there were a lot of machines, the faint sound of beeping filled the quiet room.
In the middle of the room, there was a box with intricate patterns, she went towards it, was this the puzzle?
She touches one of the buttons and a compartment opens up, inside there is a clock counting down. The beeping got louder, meaning it came from here. ‘Hmm, is there a time limit?´ she thinks to herself.
She keeps pressing buttons and finds herself entranced at the mysterious objects she finds, a lot of greek lettering adorned the puzzle, there were also a lot of lights that mesmerized her.
Time flew by and she didn’t even think about James. After a while the beeping went even louder, which worried her.
She looks at the timer, there were only a few seconds le-