The apartment was silent, save for the faint hum of the fridge and the soft patter of rain against the windows. Williams sat cross-legged on the floor, the strange card lying in his palm. He hadn't touched it since the morning.
But he couldn't ignore it.
The gray surface reflected no light, no shine. It was as if the material drank in every ray of the lamp above him. The silver lettering shimmered faintly, moving when he tilted it—though he wasn't sure if that was real or if his eyes were playing tricks.
He brought it closer, squinting.
The words looked different now. Not entirely changed, but stretched, distorted—like symbols half-hidden beneath the simple inscription. Curves that weren't there before. Lines that only revealed themselves when the card caught the right angle of light.
Williams rubbed his thumb over the surface.
It was cold. Too cold.
And then—
"To step into mystery is to resonate, transform, and ascend."
The phrase rippled through his mind, louder than it had the first time.
Almost without thinking, he whispered it aloud.
The room shifted.
The hum of the fridge dulled. The rain outside grew distant, hollow, like it was falling in another world. The shadows in the corners deepened, thickening as if they had weight.
His breath caught.
The air pressed against him, suffocating, as the card began to glow. Not brightly—just a soft pulse of silver, like a heartbeat.
Williams' hands trembled. He tried to let go, but his fingers wouldn't obey. The card clung to his skin, refusing to leave.
"Wh-what's happening…?" His voice cracked.
And then came the whispers.
Soft at first. Then louder. Echoes inside his skull, layered, overlapping.
"Wither…"
"Decay…"
"Living flesh…"
"The starless dark…"
Each phrase struck him like a hammer. His chest convulsed, his pulse racing until he thought his heart might burst. He clutched his head, gritting his teeth as images flickered across his vision—shadows slithering across endless landscapes, corpses blooming like flowers, stars burning out one by one.
And then the pain began.
His body buckled, a scream ripping from his throat as black veins erupted across his arms. His fingers spasmed, nails elongating into sharp, bone-like points. His skin bubbled, blistered, splitting open as if something beneath struggled to crawl free.
He collapsed onto his side, writhing.
This wasn't pain. Pain was human. This was something deeper—an attack on the very story of his body. His bones shifted, spine arching unnaturally, mouth stretching too wide as if it was trying to unhinge.
Williams slammed his fists against the floor. "STOP! STOP!"
But the whispers drowned him out, pounding in his skull, relentless.
"Resonate…"
"Transform…"
"Ascend…"
His vision blurred. His reflection in the dark glass of the window twisted—showing not him, but a hunched, monstrous silhouette with too many limbs, hollow eyes, and a mouth that stretched from ear to ear.
His jaw cracked open. He could feel his tongue splitting, writhing.
"No—no no no—"
And then the card blazed.
A searing silver light exploded from it, filling the room. The whispers cut off. The air shuddered, trembling with force. Williams felt himself being yanked back, as though invisible chains hooked into his soul and dragged him away from the edge.
His body snapped back to normal. The black veins receded. His nails shrank. His skin stitched closed, smooth and pale once more. The grotesque image in the glass vanished, leaving only his sweat-soaked reflection.
He collapsed to the floor, chest heaving, the card clattering from his fingers. For the first time, it let go.
The glow dimmed, then died entirely. The apartment returned to silence.
Williams lay there for a long moment, trembling, his breaths ragged. His clothes clung to him, drenched in sweat. His throat burned raw from screaming.
Slowly, shakily, he sat up. His gaze drifted to the card lying on the floor.
It looked ordinary again. Just a dark gray card with silver text. Innocent. Lifeless.
But he knew better.
His hand quivered as he reached out to touch it, then stopped. His instincts screamed at him not to.
And yet… curiosity clawed at him.
The whispers had stopped, but one phrase still rang clear in his mind. Not faint, not broken, but sharp. Burned into him like a brand:
"Resonate. Transform. Ascend."
Williams pressed the heel of his palm into his forehead, trying to steady his thoughts.
"What the hell… is happening to me?"
He staggered to his feet, gripping the edge of his desk for balance. His legs wobbled, threatening to give way. He glanced into the mirror above the sink.
And froze.
His eyes.
The irises shimmered faintly—not just blue, not just ringed in green and pink. For a fleeting instant, silver ripples coursed across them, like moonlight on water.
Then it faded.
Williams backed away, heart hammering, unable to tear his gaze from his own reflection.
He didn't look human anymore.
Not entirely.
The card lay where it had fallen, silent and dark. Waiting