Chapter 1: The Night Awakens
Adam had never felt the city so quiet. The usual hum of traffic, the flicker of neon signs, even the distant chatter of late-night pedestrians—all of it seemed to vanish. The darkness around him wasn't normal; it felt thick, almost alive, pressing against his skin like an invisible hand.
He walked faster, his boots echoing down the empty streets, but the sound didn't bring comfort—it only reminded him of how alone he was. A faint breeze whispered past, carrying a cold that didn't belong to the season. Adam pulled his jacket tighter and glanced at the shadows around him. That's when he noticed it: the edges of every shadow were trembling. Not from wind. Not from light. Something else. Something watching.
A flicker of movement caught his eye. Across the street, a shadow separated from the lamppost it had belonged to, stretching unnaturally. It slithered across the asphalt, elongating like liquid smoke. Adam's heart raced. "No… that's impossible," he whispered. But his own shadow began to twitch in reply, jerking as if it had a mind of its own.
Panic surged through him. He ran, turning corner after corner, hoping to escape whatever nightmare had come alive. But the shadows were faster. They danced along walls, climbed poles, and merged into shapes that defied logic—figures with glowing eyes, sharp edges, moving silently but deliberately.
Adam ducked into an alley, gasping for breath. He pressed his back against the brick wall, trying to make himself small, invisible. The alley was darker than anywhere else, a black pit between the taller buildings. But even here, the darkness wasn't empty. He could hear soft whispers, voices without mouths, echoing in his ears.
Then he saw it—his own shadow, detached from his feet, crouching like a predator. Its edges pulsed with a dim, malevolent light. Adam froze. Every instinct screamed to run, but his legs wouldn't move. The shadow tilted its head, and for a moment, Adam thought he saw himself in those glowing eyes, twisted, angry, alive.
A sudden scrape of claws—or was it the sound of fingers on concrete?—made him spin around. More shadows emerged from the corners, pooling like black water. They flowed toward him, slow and deliberate, yet their movement carried the weight of inevitability.
Adam's chest tightened. This is no ordinary night. Something has broken free. His mind raced for answers, for a way to fight back. But the shadows didn't wait. They surged, and as one licked at his feet, Adam realized the terrifying truth: he couldn't outrun what was once a part of him.
A whisper came, soft and terrible, crawling under his skin:
"We've been waiting… Adam."
Adam screamed.
And then… darkness swallowed him completely.