Ryu stepped out of the shop, the heavy door creaking on its hinges. The door slammed shut behind him, slamming like a judge's gavel, signaling that something was definitely done behind him. He squinted, trying to adjust to the pale yellow light of the street. He held on tightly to his pocket watch. But it was the grip of someone carrying the weight of an unknown burden, not of someone who had won a victory.
Inside the shop, the carpenter remained where he was, motionless with a smile slowly spreading across his face as the door closed. The old wooden floor in the room creaked slightly as if sensing the weight of his feet. The antrikacı slowly clasped his hands behind his back, as if a puppeteer had planned everything perfectly.
His eyes wandered to the dark corners of the shop. His face was somber, but there was a gleam of triumph in his eyes. Without bothering to suppress the rising feeling of satisfaction within him, he whispered:
"A kid... a kid. Even I didn't belive that I cannot deceive him so easily."
His voice bounced off the shop walls like a suspended shadow and bounced back. His fingers reached for a hidden compartment beneath the counter. A slight tingle ran through his fingertips as he touched the cool surface of a dusty, cracked, red rotary phone. The phone rose from its place, making a metallic sound under the weight of the years. The click and click echoed through the empty shop as each number was dialed.
The first sound that came from the other end of the line was a deep, muffled breath. Then, a voice that chilled even the coldest wind of the night echoed:
"Speak up."
Sweat began to pour from the antricist forehead. His fingers gripped the edge of the phone tightly, as if the sound would pull him away if he let go. He swallowed hard, trying to clear the lump in his throat before starting to talk.
"I think I found something about the pocket watch you asked about. It was in the hands of some little kid."
The voice was silent for a long time before answering. As the antricist listened to the silence on the phone line, he could feel the irregular echo of his own heartbeat. At the end the voice returned back.
"Follow."
The phone call turned off with a click sound. İt was about to fall of from the antricist hand. His body drenched in sweat, buried in the darkness of the shop. His eyes were fixed on the box that looks like a dark shadow between the shelves. His face that was drenched in sweat suddenly started smiling. "It will finally start."
...
When Ryu finally arrived to his shelter that was between two trash containers, the darkness of the night was descending upon him like a beast. The gray texture of the city looked even paler after the rain that had spread throughout the night.The air was heavy and gloomy; clouds had completely obscured the sky, and the city lights were lost in shadow.He pushed aside the wooden paneling and entered. The darkness of the shelter overshadowed even the gloom outside.
The moment as he entered the smell of sharp dampness and rotten wood reached him. İnside of the shelter was a forced effort to survive. The floor was covered in patches of mud and stones, and a thin sheet had been spread over it to conceal it. The boards groaned with every gust of wind, swaying as if they were about to collapse at any moment. The cold that accompanied all of this was penetrating to the bones.
Ryu dropped his exhausted body onto the blanket in the corner. He took a deep breath, trying to adjust to the cold. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the old pocket watch he kept there. At that moment, a new heaviness filled the darkness of the room. The watch's metal surface gleamed in the dim light of the shelter, but this glow seemed threatening, not comforting.
"Damn it. I stole this thing on a whim," Ryu grumbled. But he couldn't tear his eyes away from the watch. His fingers traced its smooth surface, a feeling of unease squeezing him like a snake around his neck.
He slowly opened the clock's cover. The gears inside were motionless, but he had the feeling that an eye was watching him. As he was examining the clock's details, his finger accidentally hit the wood, causing a small cut. A small drop of blood rolled onto the glass of the watch.
"Ah! What is that?" he shouted.
"Tch, today is my unlucky day I guess." thought Ryu. Moving his eyes again to the watch.
The blood droplet that fell on the watch's glass, It had a silent effect, like a wave crashing into a lake.
Tik! Tak! Tik! Tak!
The gears suddenly began to turn with a high-pitched whine. The wind that swept through the room shook the shelter's roof, creating a thin hum through the wood. Ryu wanted to let go of the clock, but his hands felt as if they were glued to it. No matter how hard he tried, his fingers wouldn't loose.
A fog suddenly enveloped him. First, it crept around the corners of the shelter, then slowly thickened, obscuring his entire vision. The cold, dark atmosphere of the shelter was lost in the dense gray. The fog rose up around him like a wall. His breath caught; a deep darkness was constricting his chest.
"What's going on?!" he shouted, but his voice was lost before it could echo in the void.
He closed his eyes tightly. He felt a strange energy in the mist. A coldness spread from his fingertips to his entire body, trying to take over him.
"What's going on!? I can't see anything!" Ryu began to question.
"Did I got kidnapped?!" Ryu couldn't help but think.
When Ryu opened his eyes, the darkness surrounding him was so dense and suffocating that it was hard even to breathe. He rubbed his eyes, but his vision was still lost in the fog. A light dampness dangled from his face, sticking to his skin. The ground was cold and smooth beneath his bare feet, giving him an eerie feeling, like the surface of a frozen lake rather than stone.
"What is this place?" Ryu asked himself, trying to walk slowly as he quickly glanced around.
The fog was moving around. Or maybe it was alive. With every step he takes the fog surroundings his legs, as if it was trying to wrap him instead of pulling him back. Every whisper he heard was stuck in his ear like a needle, and the words echoing in languages he did not understand were piercing his mind and making him shiver.hing and stalking Ryu like a creature.
He moved forward, squinting. The only thing visible in the mist was a vast, dark void. But as he quickened his steps, a structure appeared in the distance... no, a palace. But this palace was not a spectacle of splendor, but like the ghost of a nightmare.
"What is this place? It's like a palace... but a hidden palace," Ryu thought.
The walls seemed to be made of darkness itself. The smooth, black stone seeped a liquid from them, like tears, only these tears were black and emitted a putrid smell as they hit the floor. The symbols carved upon it were too complex for the human mind to comprehend. Just looking at them confused Ryu, unconsciously creating a throbbing pain in his spine.
The seemingly large, heavy doors swung open on their own, without any force. The creaking sound coming from behind them wasn't just the sound of a mechanism, but the anguished cry of a being. Ryu involuntarily took a step back.
Great columns seemed to reach into the sky, but there was no ceiling; only when he looked up did it seem as if the void itself were staring back at him. Occasionally he heard voices that came from nowhere but echoed from everywhere. They were like the cries of spirits or the echoes of some cursed song.
The stone floor created a melody that echoed with Ryu's every step, but it wasn't the beat of a drum; it was a funeral march. The fog around him was thicker here. It wrapped around the pillars, licked the stone walls, and was in constant motion. Ryu thought he saw dark shadows twisting and staring through the mist. But when he turned to look, there was nothing. A little further on, he came upon a larger chamber.
A round table stood in the center. The table's surface appeared to be polished black stone, but as he got closer, he noticed a fluid stirring on its surface. For a moment, Ryu thought it wasn't just stone, but something living. Six great thrones surrounded the table. Each one was massive, intimidating, and gazed down at him like a living being.
"Is this... like a meeting room or something?"
Ryu thought for a long time. The idea of here being a gathering room fits perfectly.
"What's really going on here? And how did I get here?" His eyes drifted to the pocket watch in his hand. "This watch! I came here when the blood flowing from my finger hit the watch, I knew this wasn't an ordinary watch!" Ryu's intuition proved correct, but his momentary enthusiasm was short-lived, and he quickly remembered to be cautious and tried to think.
"I came here with this watch, and the moment my blood touched the watch, it teleported me here, so maybe I need my own blood again to go back?"
As Ryu tried to find a way to return, he remembered the man whose watch he stole.
"So did this man was coming here too?" he murmured. His eyes suddenly fixed on the table.
When Ryu got closer to the table the voices suddenly stopped. The atmosphere fell silent for a moment, but this silence was not filled with peace but with a threatening tension.
"What... is this feeling?" He spoke in surprise and fear.
At that moment, darkness began to move around the table. First a shadow... then another... and another. Five silhouettes suddenly appeared around the table. Seeing them, Ryu was suddenly filled with fear. "What are these?!" he thought to himself.
None of the silhouettes had clearly visible faces. Each was a deep shadow, but their shapes were human. Some were tall and slender, others broad-shouldered and massive. But they had one thing in common: each of them, with their presence, weighed down like a mountain on Ryu's shoulders.
""What's with this power?! It's like my body is going to be crushed as soon as it just appears," Ryu said.