The air grew heavier. The unseen weight pressed down on him, and the entity within stirred again. It was growing restless. He could feel it shifting in response to something, though it did not speak to him. It had never truly spoken, not in a way he could understand. It communicated through sensation, through the way the world responded to it. And right now, it was bracing for something.
The first sign of movement came from his periphery. The shadows stretched unnaturally, pulling away from the buildings and spilling onto the streets like ink. They did not form into creatures this time. Instead, they rippled and undulated, moving with unnatural purpose. They were not attacking . They were guiding .
Jude stopped, watching as the darkness rearranged itself before him. A path was forming, not one he had chosen but one that was being offered. The entity within him pulsed again, but it did not resist. It was allowing this.
