The Works of 24

The Works of 24 are a collection of three works, all distinct from eachother and covering different topics, written by the author only known as 24. Thought to be written during an earlier time, the earliest references to them are seen in the late bronze age. The works are:

- The Newcomer: A short story where three people discuss creepers.

- The Stranger: A poem about a simple man who gets raided, and eventually defeats his tormentor.

- The Summoning: A story of an /x/periment summoning a succubus.

They are phrased as links written into books usually, leading to pastebins of the text. [see below]

   Transcripts of all 3 Works are below in their original forms.

### The Newcomer

A tale by 24.

Foreword: I originally wrote this book in 2017 on a foreign MC server. I greatly simplified my writing to make it easier to understand for ESL readers. The characters in the story are basically the two people I was playing with at the time, and myself.

Enjoy.

Creepers are troublesome. Last night, a creeper exploded in one of my farms. But how? Creepers only explode near people, right?

Creepers really are troublesome.

The damage to the farm was bad. All the crops were destroyed! But the explosion only destroyed a small amount of the field... So why were all the crops missing..?

"Jeez, creepers really are troublesome!"

Ah, my friend came. She said what I was thinking. I turned around to greet her. But behind her was-..!

"Look out!"

Creepers really are troublesome.

Luckily, she survived the explosion. As expected of her, she's strong. Even though she cried a little afterward...

I was repairing the explosion crater when I heard strange noises.

うおおお！人間！人間でしょうね！ね、こっち向いて！僕も人間だ！敵じゃないよ！

My friend and I looked at each other. "...Eh?"

うあああ、奇跡だ！やっぱり他人がいる。一人じゃない！

"Um..."

I couldn't understand this foreigner because he was speaking English. He seemed excited. I don't know why. Are all foreigners like him?

"Who are you? Why are you here," I asked. I didn't trust this guy.

「Sorry, my Japanese is bad. I don't really understand it. Anyway, nice to meet you! I heard an explosion and crying, so I came here. Did a creeper explode near someone? Ahahaha!」

I really don't like this guy!!

「Well, that's okay.」 He started helping us repair the crater. 「Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I'm not perfect either.」

This guy... Maybe I misunderstood him? He also gave us bread. How kind!

「I made this bread from wheat I found last night.」 Eh? 「I was blown up by an enemy, so I had to run away after I found that wheat.」 Wait...

That was my farm, you idiot! This bread is made from my missing wheat! Give me back my kind words!!

He smiled and bowed. 「Starting from yesterday, I live nearby. Please take care of me!」

Ehh?! I don't want to live near a foreigner! 「Ah! Um!」 "Huh? What is it?" 「Um! It's..! How do you say..?」 "If you want to say something, just say it!"

I was too late to understand what he was trying to say.

The creeper behind me exploded.

「I remember now! The word is 「Creeper!」 Yay, my Japanese is getting better!」

The word "Creeper" is the same in English and Japanese, you idiot!

Nevermind creepers, foreigners really are troublesome!!

### The Stranger

A poem by 24.

-I spotted a man coming down my home's path

-His weapon unsheathed, face contorted with wrath

-In just a few moments my life would end

-He'd stick to the path and around the bend

-My house would be found and destroyed for fun

-I'd respawn with only one option: to run

-Before this could happen I chanced to shout

-"Hello, stranger! Please wait; hear me out"

-"I'm but a new player with nothing to give"

-"Is there any chance that you might let me live?"

-Without hesitation he hacked at my limbs

-I tried to escape but he lashed out again

-In no time at all he had rendered me dead

-I woke roughly 10 chunks away in my bed

-I yelled and I cursed and I grabbed all my gear

-And just in time, for the stranger was near

-His flint and steel set my poor home alight

-But while occupied I fled into the night

-I started again, quite a distance away

-Creating another new base as I prayed

-To never meet someone like him once again

-But just as I finished my animal pen...

-I spotted the stranger inside of my base

-His weapon unsheathed, greed etched on his face

-In just a few moments my home would be raided

-And I would be killed, again degraded

-My base would be ransacked and wrecked for fun

-I'd respawn with only one option: to run

-Fearing the worst, I proposed a deal

-"Don't open that chest; you don't need to steal!"

-"I'll give you my items; I don't want to die"

-"I'll show you a stash that I've hidden nearby"

-The man sheathed his sword and I led the way

-Relaxed since my fears had been all but allayed

-He stared at my chests and I turned to leave

-But once again, I'd been too naive

-A sword in my back sent me back to my bed

-I screamed and I swore I'd one day have his head

-But for the time being I had to make haste

-I ran far away to construct a new base

-I thought and I planned and I plotted and dreamed

-I traded and grinded, I worked and I schemed

-In hopes that I might meet this stranger once more

-Until, months later, outside my front door...

-I spotted a foe coming down my fort's path

-His weapon unsheathed, face contorted with wrath

-In just a few moments my plan would begin

-He kept coming closer, I saw with a grin

-If I was attacked and somehow outdone

-I'd respawn with options, more options than one

-Such time had passed, he thought I was new

-I was the stranger from his point of view

-I called out, "Hello! Would you like to trade?"

-He had no idea he was getting played

-One glance at my gear and the fortress I'd made

-Quickly convinced him to postpone his raid

-Upon my instructions (while covering a chortle)

-We walked through an irregular nether portal

-We emerged on a narrow, dangerous ledge

-And the stranger risked a glance over the edge

-I silently snuck up and pushed from behind

-Sending him falling to die, he'd soon find

-But one look below proved the job wasn't finished

-My prey survived but my hopes weren't diminished

-I turned and I jumped in the other direction

-(Landing on slime blocks, upon brief inspection)

-I spun one more time and I rushed toward the guy

-Aware of the psychotic gleam in his eye

-He placed a bed, as I thought he might

-The ensuing blast marked the end of our fight

-His health decreased, but so did mine

-It looked like this was the end of the line

-As the dust settled he asked, "u mad??"

-I told him to read the death messages in chat

-He searched in vain and saw only his own

-He typed, "wtf," and he started to groan

-I smiled as his smugness turned into despair

-His words before quitting: "i dont fuking care!"

-He still doesn't know how I lived that day

-But since he ragequit, I might as well say:

-Because I was ready, I had the last laugh

-My armor shielded me mostly from blasts.

### The Summoning

A tall tale by 24.

The preparations were complete. If /x/ was right, this was bound to be the most eventful night of my life. I leaned against the counter in my dimly lit bathroom and took a deep breath to steady my nerves, careful not to disturb the meticulously arranged candles and makeup. My hands trembled with anticipation as I recited the incantation:

"Light as a feather, flat as a board. Light as a feather, flat as a board. Light as a feather, flat as a board!"

I waited about a minute, but nothing happened. Had I done something wrong..? No, I was certain I'd followed every detail to the letter. This ritual must've been another hoax. I snuffed out the candles and went to bed frustrated, but refused to let this setback diminish my belief in the paranormal.

That night, I dreamt that the electronics in my modest home went haywire. The lights, the kitchen appliances, everything - they turned themselves on as I approached, only to shut off soon after I left the room. Putting aside my garage, which I couldn't enter for some reason, my bedroom was the last to be disturbed. I drifted inside to slide back into bed, but was surprised to see my own slumbering body.

A sense of dread hit me like a truck. If that was me on the bed, then whose perspective was I experiencing, and what did this thing want with me while I was defenseless? "Wake up," I shouted desperately. This had the unnerving effect of making my slumbering self whisper, "Wake up..." which elicited a throaty chuckle from the entity above me. I tried to struggle but my body remained immobile, paralyzed. I was practically in tears from the panic attack I was having. Just as I - or rather, the thing that was not me - leaned in close to my face to do something unspeakable, its point of view shifted lower to the ground, then lower still, and everything went black.

I awoke with a start, sweating and panting as if I'd just run a marathon, to see faint rays of sunlight streaming through my window. I saw nothing out of place at my bedside, let alone a monster, so I rolled out of bed and made a beeline to the bathroom, still tense and uncharacteristically alert for this early hour of the morning. My blood ran cold at the inexplicable mess that greeted me.

Some of the candles had been knocked over, and "ƎIᗡ" was written in red on my bathroom mirror. I found a tube of lipstick between the tub and the toilet, like it had been hurled there. I should mention that I don't have any pets or roommates who could've done this. Even worse, the lights in the bathroom wouldn't turn on; I was only able to see the mess thanks to the minimal sunlight coming through my bathroom's - no, my HAUNTED bathroom's - skylight. A quick search of my home revealed that none of the electronics would turn on, aside from the ones in my room, which included my computer and modem. With nowhere better in mind, I asked 4chan's paranormal board for electrical & supernatural advice.

After getting distracted by an astrology thread, a flat Earth thread, and The End Is Near thread #4,506 for awhile, I laid out what had happened in the Succubus General thread.

Anonymous

did you try restarting your pc

OP

Haha good one lol but seriously my bathroom is haunted

Anonymous

I want reddit to go

SkepticAnon

Pics or you're lying.

I uploaded a picture of the cursed mirror with the smeared lipstick writing. I didn't notice at the time, but my reflection was freakishly distorted, like my eyes had been replaced with black pits, and my mouth hung agape, unnaturally wide.

The ghost mirror must've been broken, just like my other appliances.

SkepticAnon

I dunno, seems fake to me.

Anonymous

repost this or your mother will die tomorrow

I uploaded two more pictures showing the candles that had been knocked over and the tube of lipstick that had been thrown across the Lavatory of the Damned, then reminded everyone that I live alone and was asleep at the time.

SkepticAnon

Whoa... A real closed room mystery. That could only have been done by something not of this world.

OP

I know! What do I do?

Anonymous

repost this or your mother will die tomorrow

After half a day of intelligent discussion, we realized that "ƎIᗡ" might not be Reptilian runes, but "DIE" written backwards. Since that's the German word for "the," we now know I'm dealing with a German mirror spirit - A.K.A. a doppelganger. One guy said it's a poltergeist telling me to die, but that's stupid. Poltergeists are American, not German (duh, the 1982 Poltergeist documentary?), and if it was German, how could it have come all the way to America without a passport? We think a gateway between our reality and the mirror world has been opened, and will only close if the doppelganger shuts it voluntarily. Or if I manage to utter its unpronounceable name, Rumpelstiltskin, in its presence. Whichever comes first.

Having forgotten to ask for electrical advice, but still satisfied with these leads, I posted a certain message so my mother won't die tomorrow, ate a quick meal, and went to bathe in The Restroom That Came From Hell. Since the lights were out, I lit the ceremonial candles, then cleaned up the doppelganger's mess before hopping in the shower. Just as I finished showering and turned off the water, I heard something: a woman's voice, faint as though far away, coming the other side of the curtain. I froze in horror, listening intently. Her enraged voice was getting closer by the second. She was cursing up a storm that would make a sailor go, "Eh, two outta ten. Ya oughtta use more than just F bombs and 'idiot.'" I dried off, wrapped a towel around myself, and glanced at the mirror just in time to see the doppelganger emerging from it. She immediately shouted, "I am NOT flat as a board!"

https://m0e.me/o4t

"Runglebiltskin!" I screeched in terror, forming a crucifix with my fingers. For some reason, the doppelganger just gawked like she didn't know whether to punch me or pity me. But she soon broke the silence by asking, "What kind of moron repeats a summoning ritual after the first one ended with 'DIE' written on his mirror?"

"What? I didn't do the ritual again." She pointed impatiently at the lit candles and makeup.

"I just lit those so I could see in here! The lights are out."

"So why are they arranged in a pentagram?"

"You made a mess of it last night, so I cleaned it up. Simple as." The woman slapped a hand to her face and groaned.

"Look, I can't stay long, especially since I didn't get what I came for last time." Her hand shot out with lightning speed and gripped my arm harder than I would've thought possible for one as petite as her. "Take me to your garage. NOW." Confused by her demand, but feeling it was best not to piss her off further by questioning it, I did as I was told. Along the way, I felt her grip begin to loosen. "Well, here we are," I mumbled, standing hesitantly before the doorway. "Open it."

"Can't you," I asked thoughtlessly. An annoyed glint in her eye compelled me to open the door, and fast. That's when I noticed: she was gradually turning transparent. She quickly brushed past me, heading straight for the electrical subpanel. The more she faded away, the more she sunk into the ground with each step. Before I could ask what she was doing, she leapt at the panel and thrust a hand into it. I had to avert my eyes to keep from being blinded by an explosion of light and sound.

Hiding behind the thick, metal door to my garage as I was, I was spared any real harm, but my subpanel was scorched beyond recognition. The doppelganger was as solid as ever, and she sighed contentedly as if she'd just finished a gourmet dinner. "That'll do," she murmured to herself, sauntering past me as if I wasn't there. I mustered the courage to ask, "Hey! What the hell did you do to my garage," just as she reached my front door. Her tone was one an adult might use when explaining something obvious to a child. "It was either that or take your soul, and despite everything, I decided to be generous. Not that it's my problem, but you should get your magic lightning box examined by an expert. Now so long, and thanks for the delicious meal!"

Before she disappeared into the night, I miserably muttered, "Rumpled pig pen..." to prevent her from returning.

Since then, I've come to better understand what happened. The woman hadn't been a doppelganger after all.

She was a succubus, and she drained my energy.