I had a mission. I didn't know what exactly it was-only that I had to get the Bag of Doom. I had no idea what it looked like, what it did, or why I had to get it. I wish I knew why I was doing this-because I didn't even know if I had a choice or not.
Something in the air shifted. Maybe it was a sudden drop in temperature, or maybe it was just my imagination-but I knew something was about to begin.
A fog rolled in. Thick and heavy, it wrapped around me like a blanket. I couldn't see anything. Instinctively, I started counting.
One, two... I reached ninety-three before the fog began to lift.
When it cleared, I noticed something strange-my clothes had changed. I was now wearing a tight black suit. A strange, seven-bladed weapon was strapped to my waist. As soon as I touched it, something clicked in my mind: the weapon, when thrown with enough force, would fall down endlessly, unless it hit something. I had no idea how I knew that. It was like touching it unlocked that knowledge.
I backed away from it, deciding not to use it unless I absolutely had to. It looked too sharp. Too deadly.
Then I noticed a slip of paper in my hand-something I had completely forgotten about. I opened it.
It had only one line written on it:
"Beware the shadows."
The words sent a chill down my spine. I had no idea what they meant, but I felt the weight of them sink into me. Then, as if on cue, a path opened up ahead.
Dark. Cold. Endless.
I swallowed hard. My throat was dry.
A voice whispered in my mind, "Is this even real?"
I ignored it. I didn't have time for that.
Something was waiting for me ahead-something I had to face.
I took a deep breath and stepped forward, into the darkness.
Everything vanished.
No light. No sound. Nothing. I couldn't see or feel anything. My instincts gave no signals. My eyes were useless.
I turned around-no door. It must've vanished when I closed my eyes.
I walked a few steps, unsure of where I was going. The cold hit me like a wave, slowly turning my body into ice.
The silence was louder than anything I'd ever heard. The black suit, tight and uncomfortable before, now felt warm compared to the void.
Strangely, I could still see my hands and body-but nothing beyond them.
I searched every pocket in my suit, hoping to find a lighter or flashlight. My fingers brushed something: the slip. The same one.
Then I saw it-a flickering light above me. A single, dim bulb glowing in the ceiling, connected to... nothing.
I stood under it, half-hoping it would help. But the darkness beyond remained untouched. I clutched the slip tighter as I read it again
"Beware the shadows."
Still the same. But I kept reading it. Over and over.
I looked around, my paranoia growing. My instincts were calm, but my mind wasn't.
And then an idea struck me.
I took the strange weapon and threw it into the void, hoping it would fall endlessly. I started counting.
One... two... fourteen...
A soft echo. A thud.
A wall.
I ran toward the sound, counting each step, trying to match the weapon's path. My heart pounded in my chest. I was close.
My hands hit something solid. A wall.
And then I saw it.
A small figure with a silver glow. Not bright-just enough to be seen.
The Bag?
I reached for it-
And then I saw it.
A shape
A figure
A shadow.
Darker than the darkness itself. Long limbs. Faceless. Just eyes-if they were eyes-glowing faintly like dying stars.
It didn't move. It didn't breathe.
It just watched.
Then-
A scream.
A blood-curdling, high-pitched shriek that pierced my mind like a blade. My thoughts scattered. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe.
My instincts screamed one thing:
"RUN!"
I sprinted blindly. I didn't know where, just that I had to move-fast.
I grabbed another one of the weapons and hurled it into the dark. Counted. Listened.
Another thud. Another wall. I darted toward the sound.
The shadow chased me, closer with every step. My legs ached. My breath was short. But I didn't stop.
I couldn't stop.
Then I saw it-a faint glow. A pale light.
"The light!" I shouted.
It grew brighter. I pushed harder. Turned a corner. Then another.
The light was close. I was so close.
But I was slowing down. My body was giving in.
"Am I going to give up?"
The voice returned. I ignored it.
And then-I jumped.
The light hit me like fire. I couldn't see. I couldn't think. I collapsed.
-
I woke up in my bed.
The familiar ceiling. The quiet hum of morning. For a second, everything felt... normal.
Too normal.
My body didn't hurt. No wounds. No bruises. No tight black suit hugging my skin. Just pajamas. Just my blanket.
Had I dreamt the whole thing?
I sat up slowly, heart still thudding like it hadn't realized the nightmare was over. I rubbed my eyes, trying to shake the last fragments of the darkness from my mind.
Then I saw it.
On my desk.
Something that didn't belong.
A slip of paper. Folded neatly.
My breath hitched.
I forced myself to get up. The floor felt cold-colder than usual. Each step toward the desk made the air feel heavier.
I picked up the slip with shaking hands.
It was the same one.
But the words had changed.
"It found you."
The air turned ice cold. My breath fogged.
Suddenly, the lights flickered. Once. Twice.
Then went out.
I froze.
Behind me, in the mirror across the room-I saw it.
A figure.
Lurking in the corner. Still. Watching.
Not a reflection.
It was in the room.
I spun around.
Nothing.
The corner was empty.
The mirror, dark.
And then...
From under my bed-
A whisper.
Too close.
Too soft.
Too real.
"Don't turn around."