Julian emerged from the shadows, his pale blue eyes burning with malevolent intensity. The very air thickened at his presence, pressing down on Ethan, Lena, and Alex as though the atmosphere itself had been poisoned. The courtyard that had seemed vast only moments ago now felt suffocating, its walls closing in with a heartbeat that wasn't their own.
"Your curiosity seals your fate, Ethan," Julian declared, his voice dripping with malice. "You shouldn't have dragged them into this. This path was meant for you alone. Now, your friends will descend into the abyss with you."
His words were knives, sharp and deliberate, meant to cut deep.
Ethan's jaw tightened. He stepped forward instinctively, shielding Lena and Alex with a resolve that surprised even himself.
"We won't let you unleash that horror," he vowed, though the tremor in his voice betrayed the weight of his fear.
Julian sneered, a sound that carried like venom across the courtyard.
"You?" His laughter cracked like glass. "You're nothing. Nimrod's might is beyond you. You have no power to withstand the darkness I have welcomed into this world. Your planet will bow, and your names will dissolve into ash."
The ancient runes carved into the courtyard walls flared brighter, pulsating in rhythm with Julian's words. The eerie glow stretched across the stone, crawling like veins of fire. Ethan, Lena, and Alex felt the vibrations beneath their feet—something massive, something older than time itself was stirring awake.
Lena's eyes widened, terror twisting her voice into a whisper.
"The symbol… it's feeding on us. It's growing."
Alex nodded quickly, his breaths shallow. "We have to stop it. If it grows any stronger—" His voice broke. "We'll all be swallowed."
Ethan bolted toward Julian, desperation fueling him. But as soon as his hand reached out, Julian vanished into smoke, reappearing behind them with a mocking laugh.
"It's too late, Ethan," Julian gloated. "You've already set it free. The wrath of the symbol cannot be undone. Nimrod stirs, and with him comes Eternal Night."
The ground quaked violently. Cracks zigzagged across the courtyard floor, glowing like molten scars. Ancient structures groaned as if alive, stone shrieking as it buckled and fell apart. Tendrils of black mist slithered from the symbol, wrapping around the trio's ankles and wrists like living chains.
"You cannot escape it," Julian thundered, his voice no longer just his own but layered with something deeper, something ancient. "The Eternal Night descends—and there will be no dawn."
Then—blinding light.
The runes exploded in a searing flash, consuming their sight. Ethan screamed, blinded, his body writhing against the unseen force pulling him inward. Lena clawed at the air, her hand brushing Alex's before being torn away again. Alex's voice echoed in the chaos, lost to the roar of breaking stone and shrieking winds.
And then—silence.
When their vision returned, the courtyard was gone. They stood in an endless expanse of darkness, where stars flickered faintly like dying embers struggling against suffocation. The ground was neither stone nor earth—it felt like solid shadow, absorbing their every step.
"Nimrod's realm," Ethan whispered, the words barely escaping his throat.
Lena shook her head in denial. "No. No, this isn't real. It can't be."
Ethan swallowed hard. "It is. There's no other explanation. The symbol was the key… and now we're inside."
The emptiness pressed down on them, vast and infinite. A faint hum vibrated through the air, growing louder the more they breathed. Whispers slithered around them, too quiet to understand, yet sharp enough to sink into their bones.
"We're doomed," Alex muttered, his voice breaking under the weight of despair.
Julian's laughter erupted, echoing across the void like thunder rolling across an endless sky. The sound bent in all directions, impossible to pinpoint, as if the darkness itself was laughing.
"Indeed, you are," Julian's voice rang out, booming with cruel satisfaction. "Welcome to Nimrod's cradle—the Eternal Night that will stretch across your world until nothing remains but silence."
Ethan turned to Lena and Alex. They were pale, their eyes wide, their fear unmasked. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if Julian was right—if he had dragged them into something far greater than all of them combined.
The realm itself seemed alive. The "stars" blinked like eyes, watching them. The ground shifted, breathing beneath their feet, sending ripples of shadow outward. Shapes moved in the periphery—towering, grotesque silhouettes that dissolved whenever they tried to focus.
"Keep moving," Ethan whispered, though he didn't know where. He only knew that standing still felt like surrendering.
Together, the three fled into the endless dark, their footsteps swallowed instantly by the ground. The more they ran, the more the realm twisted. Paths curved back upon themselves. Distances stretched endlessly. The void itself seemed to enjoy their struggle, trapping them in a maze without walls.
Julian's laughter followed, never closer, never farther—just everywhere.
Ethan's mind began to fray. His thoughts scattered like leaves in a storm, every whisper tugging at his sanity. He couldn't think straight. His body moved on instinct, but his mind… his mind was going blank.
"Don't stop!" Lena cried, clutching Ethan's arm as his legs faltered.
But Ethan barely heard her. The whispers were louder now, drilling into his skull. They weren't words, but emotions—hatred, hunger, despair. His vision blurred, and for a terrifying moment, he wasn't sure if the ground beneath him was real or if he was falling into endless void.
Julian's voice thundered once more, booming with triumph:
"You cannot fight what has already consumed you, Ethan. Nimrod awakens. And with him, hope dies."
Ethan stumbled, his body trembling, his mind blank. The darkness closed in, and for the first time since this began, he feared not just losing his friends, but losing himself entirely.