"This is stupid," Haru's voice spoke as several hands pressed into his shoulder blades, forcing him forward as his feet moved involuntarily. He grunted when the pressure on his back finally released, now turning his head to face the crowd of familiar classmates and their wide-spread grins. "There is no way it is real, so why force me at all?". His voice was dry but laced with the slightest arrogance as disobedience lingered on his tongue.
"Are you too afraid to try?", One voice spoke from the crowd, their tone mocking as people around them sneered and began to jest. Other voices echoed similar sentiments, each of them verbally pushing him toward the library doors.
Dark and thick, made of an older oak wood. They had an ancient musk, an unrelenting stench that tickled one's nostril when you got too close. These doors were infamous for opening wide to an older abandoned library on the college campus. It had since been left to rot, ignored and neglected by students and teachers alike due to..paranormal rumours. Those who had been unfortunate enough to wander into this library after dark were met with a cruel fate, an unforgiving spirit would strip them of their soul and leave an empty, greying husk behind. Haru had never been particularly spiritual, a faith in ghosts and the spooky unknown simply didn't reside with him unlike most. Which made him a prime target for stupid dares like this. People were determined to prove him wrong.
His palm grazed the cold handle of the door, clutching the metal material with a small frown creasing onto his lips. 'This is pointless' was a consistent thought that played on his mind but he pushed through regardless since he knew the faces around him wouldn't let up with their demand anytime soon. Their demands were simple; spend the entire night in the library without leaving before the sun rose to pour through the windows. It was simple enough, the only threat seemed to be the unending boredom Haru was sure he would face since he has never been the type to delve deeply into books but he wasn't the type to avoid challenges either. Curse his conceit..
With a soft nudge, the door eased and let out a bellowing creak as both of them widened ahead of him with one push. A musty and unkempt smell hit his nose, the obvious signs of lack of life and presence in a space that had been long abandoned lived in the dust and darkness that seemed to surround him. People behind him bellowed, cheering him further with each step he slowly took inside until he was entirely swallowed by the warm and thick atmosphere that wrapped around his mind and seeped into his chest. He turned back, watching the large doors pull to a fast close as they slammed shut behind him. The determined laughter, light-hearted mockery and applause came to a dampening silence as the sounds were completely blocked. Everything was eerily silent. Haru reached for the door, his slender fingers grazing against the ancient and untreated wood as the uneven and prickly surfaces dared to try to pierce through his skin.
*Ow.* Haru pulled his hand away, staring down at the sharp foreign object that stuck out of his finger. Using a well-kempt nail he reached for it, plucking it out of the thin layers of his skin with a slight wince as he felt the breath of relief he took tickle his nostrils. There was a small reddened spot where the splinter had implanted itself and he rubbed it soothingly, turning his back to the door as he stepped further into the library.
Books, endless books. Everywhere he turned, more books stared back at him in an endless labyrinth of knowledge and fairy tales he would never know. The shelves were dusty enough to make him cough and the books themselves looked like they might crumble to unfixable pieces if he held them without enough delicacy. Perhaps they had been here for years, even centuries, he couldn't say for sure. So many books, so many vast containments of knowledge left completely untouched due to such an insignificant rumour.
The idea of a person losing their soul, the very essence of their being, from simply residing in an old library over night was beyond unrealistic. Haru couldn't claim with blazing confidence that he believed in the existence of a soul, he just lives his life day by day without giving the unknown a moment of his mind. This dare felt entirely futile, and Haru was more concerned with finding a comfortable place to sleep amongst plastic chairs and cobweb-covered corners.
He explored the library quietly, his feet dragging against the carpeted material that was long worn by dust and thousands of feet piling onto it with each passing day. He perhaps even wondered what this library would have looked like in its prime. A clean and lively room, filled to the brim with bustling students and bitter librarians that grumbled whenever a person laughed just a little too loud. The soft clicking of fingers moving seamlessly on keyboards, bright blue screens illuminating the concentrated faces of people working hard. As his head steadily filled with imaginative fantasies he suddenly heard a loud thud that forced him out of his daze.
With a fast motion he turned his head, his heart clenching in his chest only for the pressure to relax when he noticed a book lying on the floor. It was open, its elderly pages pressed against the floor as it lay there lifelessly. Of course, it is just a book. Haru lifted his feet to walk over to it, cautiously plucking the book off of the floor as he curiously stared into the newly-opened page. An older scent invaded Haru's nose, the muscles in his face scrunching up as it seeped into his senses. It was unpleasant yet easy to ignore and he now let his eyes flow across the words on the pages as he observed with minimal enthusiasm. He knew he should just put the book back somewhere random, but something made him pause. A small, insignificant feeling was slowly gaining more strength in the deepest pits of his stomach, nagging at him to continue.
One page was entirely filled with words he could hardly read. Faded and lost to time, many words were entirely incomprehensible while others seemingly made no sense at all. Attempting to read it in its entirety would be like trying to cautiously tape together the torn pieces of shredded paper so you could see the finished art piece inked into the image. It was utterly hopeless. Despite that, the page beside it was much more cautiously preserved. Haru's eyes fell over an image, one that had been carefully sketched and colored onto the paper. It was just as vibrant as a newly-made sketch, the mixture of hues boldly presenting themselves on the page to display what looked to be a creature of some kind.
Dokkaebi. The name given to a species of malevolent spirits that would spend its days toying with humans in whatever way it desired. They lived to cause chaos, playing endless tricks on unsuspecting people for their own trifling amusement. They were said to use extraordinarily powerful magic to deceive and manipulate mankind in any way desired. Its appearance seemed to change often, although its original form was an unappealing demon. Red flesh, long, ridged horns that looked like they could pierce through your skin and entangled black hair. They were hardly tall in stature, smaller and mostly male creatures that lived to illute individuals. From what Haru slowly gathered from the soiled pages, this creature would watch our deeds and reward or punish people accordingly.
Haru slammed the book shut, his eyes rolling as he let out a weary breath. He barely paid the book any more thought, pulling several others to the side before slotting it amongst equally uninteresting titles. With a quiet ruffle he was able to dust his hands off onto his clothes, entirely unamused by everything he had read. The existence of a creature that would judge you and your experiences just seemed unrealistic and all of the anticipation he had felt withered away helplessly as he came to realise that the mysterious book was nothing more than a fantasy. The kind of story you would tell your children to get them to behave. He almost cursed himself for giving into the expectations thrust upon him by the people who dared him into this room. For just a moment, he almost believed that something might be here with him.
