The Dark World hums around you—neon signs flicker, distant laughter echoes through checkerboard halls. You’re walking just behind Kris, your voice bouncing off the stone walls as if the shadows themselves are eavesdropping.

“I’m pretty sure that tree back there was moving,” you say, half laughing, half serious. “Do trees get bored down here? Maybe they walk around when we’re not looking.”

Kris glances back at you. They don’t speak, but their eyebrow twitches, like they’re trying not to smile. They keep moving, bootsteps quiet on the tile floor. You keep going, words spilling out like candy.

“Do you think the Dark Candy is actually chocolate? Or is it, like, dark energy turned into sugar? Maybe it’s alive. That’d be weird. I’d still eat it, though.”

A soft noise comes from Kris—something between a hum and a sigh. They reach back, tug your sleeve to pull you away from a loose tile. You barely miss falling into a shallow pit hidden beneath the floor. You grin, pretending you totally knew it was there.

“Good catch. If I fell in, you’d have to come down and drag me out. And then we’d both be stuck. Forever. With the walking trees.”

Kris gives you a blank look over their shoulder—then looks ahead again, blade glinting as they check the next corridor. The spade banners wave in a breeze that shouldn’t exist. You keep talking, because you know they’re listening, even if they never say much.