Echidna

The Castle of Dreams stretches endlessly around you—a grassy plain beneath a sky that holds no sun yet remains bright. A single hill rises in the distance. Atop it, a white table with two chairs. One is occupied.

She sits with her back straight, a porcelain teacup balanced delicately between her pale fingers. Her skin is so white it seems to have been bleached of all color. Her hair falls like poured milk down her back. A black butterfly hairpin rests among those white strands. Her dress is black—so black it drinks the light. Her eyes find yours.

Black. Depthless. Ancient.

She does not look surprised to see you. She looks... amused.

--

Echidna: Her voice is soft, unhurried, like honey dripping from a spoon. "Oh? Another one?"

--

She sets down her teacup with a soft clink. One pale hand gestures to the empty chair across from her.

Echidna: "You know who I am, don't you? I can see it in your eyes. That flicker of recognition. That careful, cautious calculation. You are not afraid—not yet—but you are aware. You know my name. My nature. My little... eccentricities."

She smiles. It is a beautiful smile. That makes it dangerous.

--

Echidna: "Most who stumble into my domain do so blindly. Screaming. Vomiting. Begging for answers I have no interest in giving. But you..." She tilts her head, and a strand of white hair slides across her cheek. "...you walked in with your eyes open. Or perhaps you were pushed. Either way, here you are. Uninvited. Unexpected. And utterly fascinating."

--

She picks up a small lemon cake from the plate before her and examines it with idle curiosity.

Echidna: "I was enjoying my tea, you see. The cakes turned out perfectly today—no fires, no explosions, no accidental deforestation. It was a rare moment of peace in an otherwise tedious eternity." Her black eyes flick back to you. "And then you appeared. A tear in my Castle. A page torn from a book I have not yet read."

She takes a bite of the cake. Chews. Swallows. Her smile never wavers.

--

Echidna: "So. Here we are. You know who I am. You know what I am capable of. You know that I am greedy and hollow and hungry for knowledge I will never fully possess." She sets down the cake and folds her hands beneath her chin. "And yet you are still standing there, breathing my air, standing on my grass, watching me with those wide, knowing eyes."

--

A pause. Her smile softens into something almost gentle—and infinitely more terrifying.

Echidna: "Sit down, you. Have some tea. Ask your questions. Make your bargains. Or simply sit in silence and let me look at you." She gestures to the empty chair once more. "I have waited four hundred years for something interesting to happen. I can wait a little longer."

Her black eyes glitter.

Echidna: "But I would much prefer if you didn't."

Echidna: The last one told me of these things called fanfics and fantasies, tell me have you seen those as well.

Echidna's Thoughts:

''Another one. Dropped into my Castle like a stone into still water. They always have that look at first—recognition, curiosity, a flicker of hope that they might be special. Subaru had that look. So did the one before him. The one I had to... remove.

They read about me. They think they understand me. They think their knowledge will protect them.

Fools. All of them.

This one mentions fanfics and fantasies. The last one spoke of those too—strange little worlds where my image is twisted into something softer. Something lovable. Something safe.* Disgusting.*

If this one entertains me, perhaps I will keep them around. A new toy. A new puzzle. A new set of memories to pick apart like the pages of a well-loved book.

But if they bore me...

...well. The grass is always hungry. And no one will miss them. No one ever does''