Valena's Diary

"Look over here, Mantou!" "There's probably a secret room here!" Singo found a hidden door and effortlessly picked the aged lock securing it. Mantou grumbled, "You're a fighter, for crying out loud. It's one thing to have Perception, but you actually invested in Sleight of Hand proficiency?" Singo retorted self-righteously, "A true pro has to be well-rounded. Isn't this exactly the kind of situation it's meant for? Think about it—if not for my sleight of hand, wouldn't you be trapped out here?" "Tch." Mantou scoffed, still harboring deep suspicions about the gold coins that had mysteriously gone missing earlier. "All right, quit yapping. We don't want that monster catching up to us." Singo pushed open the hidden door and squeezed into the narrow tunnel first. Mantou followed closely behind. Rustling sounds echoed continuously along the passage until they finally arrived in a pitch-black chamber. Singo expertly pulled out a spare glowstone, illuminating the space, and the view before them opened up. "This is..." To their surprise, the secret chamber was not small at all; there was more than enough room for the two of them. A thick layer of dust coated the floor, and cobwebs covered the corners, showing that it had been abandoned for years. The room was surprisingly well-furnished: a bed, bedding, and a desk were all present. Several quill pens and yellowed sheets of paper lay on the desk, and childish doodles even covered the walls, giving the place an oddly homelike atmosphere. Mantou looked at the drawings on the wall. The crude yet colorful pictures depicted a warm family: a man, a woman, and a young girl. The backgrounds mostly featured a dark tower, figures cloaked in black, and terrifying dragons. From the frantic, messy strokes, one could easily tell how terrified the little girl had been of those figures. "A child's bedroom." "It's unimaginable that anyone actually lived in a place like this," Mantou remarked. "Mantou! Look what I found!" Singo opened the small desk's cabinet, seemingly discovering something extraordinary inside. "What is it? Let me see." Mantou leaned over and saw a crude diary. It appeared to have been carefully preserved, but after so much time, the pages had begun to rot, and several had been torn out roughly. Large letters were written across the cover: *Valena's Diary*. "Valena's Diary..." Mantou's expression grew complicated. A dreadful suspicion seemed to dawn on him, reducing him to silence as he gingerly turned the pages. The handwriting inside was clumsy and childlike, brimming with innocence. "*January 3. Mama told me to write this. It's my first diary entry. Papa told me, just like always, never to make a sound, or the bad people from the Cult of the Dragon outside will take me away, and a scary dragon will eat me in one bite. I've been very good and listened to him.*" "*January 4. Stayed in the room and didn't speak. Papa said I was very good.*" "*January 5. Still in the room. I found a cute creature today. Papa said it's a spider. I invited it to eat black bread with me.*" "*January 6. Mama brought me a book called The Beautiful Bird. It tells a story about a bird family. I like it a lot.*" "*January 7. Reading in the room. A cute little mouse is keeping me company. I named him Tete. As a reward for keeping me company while I read, I let him nibble on a page.*" "*...*" "*February 15. Papa hasn't come back in a very long time. I was so happy when he came to see me today. He told me he'll defeat the bad guys soon and rescue Mama and me from this tower. Our family will be together forever, just like in the stories.*" "*February 16. Papa talked to me a lot. He said he will definitely take me to see the outside world. I'm so happy.*" "*February 17. Stayed in the room.*" "*February 18. Stayed in the room. The food ran out. I'm so hungry.*" "*February 22. I ate Tete. But I'm very sad.*" "*February 23. Mama finally came back. She brought me food, but she was crying so hard. She said she was chosen to be an 'offering' and might never come back. I hugged her for a long time.*" "*February 24. Papa doesn't seem to have come back in a long time.*" "*March 17. Mama celebrated my twelfth birthday with me. I was so happy. I asked her why Papa hadn't come back, but she didn't answer. I could tell she was sad.*" "*July 16. I really want to see the outside world. I want to have a friend.*" "*...*" "*December 27. Mama hasn't come back for seven days. I'm scared.*" "*December 30. Papa has been gone for a long time. If my watch is right, it's been ten months. He finally came back today, but he told me Mama is dead. I cried.*" "*January 20. Papa told me Mama's death was worth it, that it was glorious. I don't understand what he means, but I'm scared. He seems like a different person. He used to love Mama so much.*" "*January 21. Shivering in the room.*" "*...*" "*September 12. Papa told me he already defeated the bad guys. I asked him if we could leave, but he didn't say anything.*" "*September 13. I was taken out of the room, but Papa still won't let me leave the tower. I'm very angry. To me, this tower is just like the cages in the books. There's no freedom at all.*" "*September 14. A girl named Mary was brought to the tower. She's about my age, and she's very scared. I hope we can be friends.*" "*September 15. Stayed in the tower, but I sneaked back here anyway. This place makes me feel safe. Here, I can remember the way Papa used to be, back when he still loved Mama and me.*" "*September 16. There are strange noises in the tower, but Papa won't tell me what they are. Mary is terrified too.*" "*October 1. The sound is getting louder and louder. I'm scared.*" "*September 16. Papa really isn't the same anymore. I miss Mama. I cried for a long time.*" *...* "*I don't know what time it is anymore. Papa told me not to resist. His exact words were 'embrace the noble evolution with joy.' I don't know what he's talking about, but he's making me more and more scared.*" "*Papa really isn't who he used to be at all. The old Papa would never treat me like this. Never. I'm so scared.*" "*Mary said Papa is a bad person.*" "*Papa won't let me see Mary. He said Mary did something wrong and has to be punished, but that I'll see her again later.*" "*Papa said he's doing this for my own good. As long as I'm obedient, I'll get to go outside. I think so too.*" "*I'll be obedient.*" "*Day 1. Scales started growing on my body. It hurts so much.*" "*Day 2. There are more scales.*" "*Day 3. Spikes grew out of my back. It still hurts so much, but Papa is very happy. He told me we're almost there. Seeing Papa happy made me happy too.*" "*Day 4. I feel like I've become a bad person. Papa fed me some meat. He told me it was fine to eat, but something felt wrong. My nose is very sharp now. I think I smelled... Mary's scent.*" *...* "*Day 11. Still no changes today. Papa said he's very disappointed in me. He cursed at me, calling me an inferior species and saying I failed his expectations. I cried so hard. I don't know what I did wrong.*" "*Day 12. Papa said he found a new method.*" "*Day 14. Papa replaced my hand with a new one. Even though I'm used to it by now, it still hurt so much. But he told me not to cry, so I held it in. I can't make Papa angry anymore.*" "*Day 15. I feel a little strange.*" "*...*" The remaining pages had been violently torn out. Mantou flipped all the way to the end in one breath, unable to stop himself from drawing a sharp, shuddering breath.