The puppet's wooden mouth split even wider, cracking at the edges. Thick, black-red blood began to gush out from the widening seam, and it poured in streams that made the sight almost unbearable.

Tiana and Chantelle instinctively drew closer to each other, a bone-deep chill gripping them. A shared, unspoken fear filled the air—something terrible was about to descend.

The puppet chuckled. "Stanley, I've waited for you here… in this cursed Underworld Kingdom of the Dead… for 100 years. From th