A thorn-riddled vine lay across the threshold, as some sort of guardian for the tower. The sharp edge of each thorn a small warning for the danger beyond this point. 

With my heart rumbling in my chest, I inhaled a deep breath and took a careful step over the thick girth of the vine. In realization that it could not stop me, it began to slither under the stone bridge, like a snake who had lost a battle. 

I gave myself a fleeting moment of satisfaction as I turned my eyes back upon the tower. A commanding presence amidst the dreary evening sky. With a mundane backdrop of thick fog and a bushy pine forest, it stood proud against the scenery. The eerie silence of the fog blanketed the surrounding area, even quieting the usual symphony of forest creatures. Tension rolled with the fog as jagged rocks penetrated from the entrance. 

Something like nerves bunched in my stomach as I looked at the very top of the tower. The light in the windows is a stark contrast amongst the shadowy tower. The light did not fight the dark however, but seemed to call to it. To beckon it. Like a lighthouse of darkness. 

Despite the intimidation I felt, I clenched my fists at my side. I inhaled another breath, mostly to keep the thoughts at bay. I knew the things that I had gone through, the trauma I had experienced. Vivid flashbacks of _that _night flashed in my vision as sweat formed across my brow. The people that did those things to me…

They would pay. I would make sure of it. 

I exhaled, my breath forming a small cloud upon its exit. It drifted towards the top of the tower, beckoning me along with it. So I listened, and took another step forward. 

As I approached the door, goosebumps fluttered down my arm as the temperature dropped. The door lay in front of me, a decrepit array of rotting wood and rusted metal. I reached for the handle as the coppery scent of rust tickled my nose. 

Right in the middle of the door laid a once-golden name plate, now so feeble and brittle the name was barely legible. But I knew what it said;

_Demon Alastair Hawthorne_

_ Avenger of evil deeds_

I threw the door open as the hinges hissed with crusted tension. A stone staircase greeted me, crumbled leaves and dust caking the sides of each step. I set my foot on the first step, and made my slow ascent into madness.