His body lay headless, blood trickling from his neck as if searching for something to embrace—yet it never touched the ground. It froze in mid-air, suspended drops of red glowing faintly with a green pulse, as though awaiting a command to move.
Then, without warning, the earth beneath him trembled again—not like a normal quake, but as if the universe itself was breathing with a deep, ancient sound. The soil cracked open beneath his corpse, yet did not swallow it. Instead, it absorbed what remained of him—his echo, his shadow, the faint scream still trapped in the air.
Jack suddenly found himself in a black void—no ground beneath him, no ceiling above. No directions, no boundaries. Only him… and his soul, torn apart, now gathering itself to stand again—hesitant, as if trying to remember its own features.
A transparent face appeared before him, glowing with a dim grey light. The voice it carried was not strange—it was painfully familiar.
It was his grandfather.
"Jack…"
The voice echoed through the space around him like an ancient prayer.
"If you can hear me, know this—your death was not an end… but a beginning. We are not born to live, Jack. We are born to finish what our ancestors began. The House chose you… and I agreed."
Jack screamed—broken from within, pierced by questions.
"Why?! Why didn't you tell me before?! Why did you let me die?!"
The grandfather replied calmly, like someone who knew that words don't extinguish anger—but plant in it the seed of understanding.
"Because death… is sometimes the only way to open the eyes."
Then, suddenly, the darkness vanished.
Location: A vast chamber inside the mansion, unlike anything of this world.
The walls were adorned with shifting carvings—like veins of living light.
The air was thick, laced with the scent of ancient metal… as though time itself was decaying within the room.
At the center sat an old man on a semi-medical bed, surrounded by devices whose function could not be easily identified. On his right stood two women dressed in pristine white garments, unmarked by any symbols. On his left stood a creature with three heads, all connected to one thick neck. Each head bore a unique expression:
One furious.
One serene.
And one—like a laughing child.
The furious head was the first to speak, its tone like burning embers:
"He's waking… His soul hasn't broken. Sindo failed."
The calm head responded in a voice that seemed to echo from afar:
"He's returned… but not as he was. He comes back carrying something else."
The childlike head smiled and winked at the nurses:
"He's beautiful now… I think he'll surprise us all."
The second nurse looked at a crystal screen showing Jack's spirit moving along lines of light.
"Spiritual activity is doubling… He's not just coming back as Jack—but as an heir… a successor."
The first nurse whispered, as if afraid the walls might hear her:
"But will he be able to face Sindo?"
The old man, who had been silent all this time, raised his gaze to the ceiling.
"The House has blessed him… but a blessing alone is not enough. He must choose."
A bitter silence followed—then the three-headed creature spoke in one voice, chilling in its harmony:
"And if he chooses chaos?"
The old man replied, his tone blending wisdom and dread:
"Then we'll have to stand against him… even if he carries my blood."
Jack slowly opened his eyes.
The light was soft—gentle on the eyes, caressing them like a mother's hand brushing her child's cheek after a nightmare.
He was lying on a wide bed, greyish-silver in colour. The fabric of the cover felt like silk, but colder—like it had been stitched from the shadows of clouds.
He looked around.
The walls were made of dark, polished wood, engraved with softly shifting patterns that pulsed like living veins.
In the far right corner stood a small wardrobe, its door ajar. Inside were all his belongings: his old clothes, books, wallet, and even faded photographs of him with his mother.
Beside the bed, on a sleek black glass nightstand, sat an elegant white cigarette box and a metallic ashtray with a soft shimmer.
He reached out hesitantly, took a cigarette, lit it.
The orange glow at the tip, the curling smoke rising—
It all felt terrifyingly real.
He took a deep drag, then exhaled slowly, whispering to himself in a hoarse voice:
"Did I… die? Or am I dreaming?"
He gazed at the ceiling, where lines of light were being drawn and erased—as if time itself was flowing across it.
"I'm sure… I saw my head get severed. I saw the blood. I saw that thing kill them.
So why am I here? Why does everything feel… normal?"
A soft knock at the door.
It didn't wait long before opening quietly.
The girl stepped in… the same one.
The same fiery eyes, the same mysterious smile. But this time, she wore a short white dress and carried a tray of elegant breakfast: bread, fruit, and a strange blue-coloured juice.
Behind her was him—
The spider-like creature the monster had torn apart earlier.
Now he walked on two legs, no extra limbs, and a face that was… almost human.
Even his overall form seemed less savage, as if someone had pressed a "modify" button on him.
The girl stood beside the bed, set the tray down in front of Jack, and smiled warmly.
"Good morning, Jack. Did you sleep well?"
He didn't answer. He simply stared at them like someone seeing two ghosts rise from graves the world forgot to seal.
"You..."
He whispered in a dry, cracked voice, "You were… dead. I saw your neck snap. I saw you get torn apart..."
The girl chuckled softly and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Jack. That wasn't the end—it was merely a correction… to a balance that had gone wrong."
The creature spoke next, its deep voice no longer hostile:
"What you saw was real, but it wasn't the whole story. This house has a dark side—a side that feeds on chaos and curses. Ever since Sindo escaped his exile… everything changed."
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Sindo? Who the hell is that now?"
The creature replied, eyes briefly glowing:
"Something born from within this house… but never meant to remain here. He was exiled, bound—until something happened… something that never should've."
The girl nodded, concern flickering across her face for the first time:
"It wasn't planned. It wasn't time. He broke free too soon, and this chaos… we weren't ready for it."
Silence crept into the room.
The smoke from Jack's cigarette danced in the air, forming circles that quickly vanished.
He spoke again, confused:
"And what does any of this have to do with me? Why did I come here? Why does it feel like you're… waiting for me?"
The creature looked at him, a mixture of respect and fear in his eyes:
"Perhaps… because your being here was no accident.
Perhaps… it was your arrival that stirred Sindo from his slumber."
The girl leaned in, whispering as she gazed deep into his eyes:
"Maybe, Jack… it was your presence that made this place come alive again.
You're tied to it more than you know."
Jack looked at her face, then the creature's, then down at his cigarette, now nearly extinguished.
He took one last drag, exhaled, and muttered:
"I don't understand any of this…
But if there's a dark side… where's the other side?"
The creature chuckled slowly, voice tinged with a chilling undertone:
"The other side?
Still asleep.
The real question is… do you want to wake it up?"
Suddenly—before Jack could utter a word—the bed beneath him shook violently, as if a miniature earthquake had been born in its depths.
"What the—?!"
The sentence never finished.
Two massive hands, covered in sleek black scales, shot out from beneath the bed. They seized his body in an instant, yanking him down with terrifying force. His head slammed against the pillow, and his body lifted off the mattress like a puppet caught in the grip of an invisible beast.
Jack (screaming):
"Let go of me! Get me out of here!!"
The girl screamed too, staggering back a step. Then she raised both hands, releasing a burst of glowing blue energy that crackled like lightning. It struck the arms with a deafening blast and the scent of burning—
But the hands remained unmoved.
The creature rushed forward, extended a long tongue like a serpent, touched the arm holding Jack, and spat out a thick, corrosive substance—a dark silver ooze, like molten fire mixed with mercury.
Still, nothing changed.
The hands kept their grip on Jack—stronger, deeper, as though they'd felt nothing
Then…
The entire room trembled.
A deep, grating voice echoed through the chamber—like metal scraping beneath layers of earth. Jack's heart shuddered.
??? (with a rough, guttural voice):
"Welcome home... Jack."
Everything froze.
The girl slowly lowered her hands, and the creature stepped back without a word.
The voice continued...
"Have you never asked yourself? Who built this place? Who designed your dreams and nightmares? Who wove your nights from ash?"
The hands began pulling Jack downward.
The bed split open from the centre—like a hungry mouth pleading for its prey.
"Jack…"
"You didn't come here by accident. This house chose you.
Your soul was calling to it before you could speak.
Your heart beat its name before you knew your letters."
Jack (shouting):
"Who are you?! What do you want from me?!"
The voice laughed, low and chilling, then said:
"Let me… give you a tour…"
"Not just through the house…
But through yourself.
Where secrets are stored…
Where memories are buried…
Where shadows are kept…"
Jack thrashed, kicking, screaming
But it was useless.
The girl (whispering, alarmed):
"This… this isn't the time… It's far too early..."
The creature (fearfully):
"The house… it's moving on its own. No one can stop it now."
Suddenly, everything was consumed by darkness.
The bed swallowed him whole, and Jack fell into it—
As if dropped from the sky into the hollow core of a meteor.
Before hitting the ground, he heard a new voice…Different—
But colder than any he'd heard before.
The voice (whispering slowly near his ear):
"When Sindo is by your side… we will never abandon you."
"Even if the entire universe does."