Adrian Blake didn't sleep that night.
Not even for a minute.
He sat on the edge of his narrow bed, staring at the faint gray light leaking through the curtains of his small apartment window.
London looked normal again.
Too normal.
Morning traffic crawled through the streets below. People walked along the sidewalks with coffee cups in their hands, rushing toward offices, buses, and trains.
No monsters.
No living shadows.
No voices whispering inside their heads.
Adrian rubbed his face with both hands.
"Okay," he murmured quietly.
"Let's go through this logically."
He had always relied on logic.
History might be full of myths, but Adrian preferred facts.
Evidence.
Reality.
But last night—
None of it made sense.
He slowly raised his right hand.
The mark was still there.
A black circular symbol etched into his palm, surrounded by thin, jagged lines that twisted like ancient runes.
It looked almost like a tattoo.
Except Adrian knew he hadn't gotten one.
And tattoos didn't burn themselves into your skin in the middle of the night.
He touched it carefully.
The moment his finger brushed the symbol—
A faint pulse traveled through his hand.
Like a heartbeat.
Adrian pulled back instantly.
"Yeah… that's definitely not normal."
For several minutes he simply stared at the mark, half expecting it to disappear.
It didn't.
The voice from last night had also vanished.
For now.
Which somehow made things worse.
Adrian stood up slowly and walked toward the bathroom mirror.
The person staring back at him looked exhausted.
Dark circles beneath his eyes.
Hair slightly messy.
But otherwise—
He looked completely normal.
"Congratulations," he muttered to his reflection.
"You either survived a supernatural encounter…"
He paused.
"Or you've officially lost your mind."
A faint laugh escaped him.
It sounded hollow.
Adrian grabbed his jacket from the chair and headed for the door.
If he stayed in the apartment any longer, he was going to spiral into madness.
He needed fresh air.
Answers.
Or at least coffee.
Lots of coffee.
The morning fog had thinned slightly by the time Adrian stepped onto the street.
But it still lingered in pale strands between the buildings.
London's famous mist.
Normally it felt atmospheric.
Romantic even.
Now it made his skin crawl.
Adrian shoved his hands into his coat pockets and began walking toward the nearest café.
People passed him without a second glance.
A woman talking on her phone.
A delivery driver unloading boxes.
Two students arguing about exam schedules.
Normal life.
Adrian exhaled slowly.
"See?" he whispered.
"Everything's fine."
Then something moved in the corner of his vision.
Adrian stopped.
A shadow flickered across the wall of a nearby building.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
He turned his head.
Nothing.
Just a brick wall and a parked car.
Adrian swallowed.
"Okay… maybe everything's not fine."
He forced himself to keep walking.
The café was only a block away.
Warm light spilled from its windows, and the smell of roasted coffee beans drifted through the air.
Adrian stepped inside.
The bell above the door chimed softly.
For a moment, the normalcy of the place almost made him forget everything.
People sat at tables with laptops.
A barista worked behind the counter.
Soft jazz music played in the background.
Adrian ordered a large coffee and sat near the window.
His hands were still shaking slightly when he picked up the cup.
"Get a grip," he muttered.
"You fought a monster. That's all."
He froze.
"That's all?"
Adrian stared at the coffee.
He had just said that sentence like it made sense.
The door of the café opened again.
The bell chimed softly.
Adrian barely looked up.
Until the temperature in the room dropped.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to notice.
Like someone had opened a freezer nearby.
Adrian's head lifted slowly.
A woman had entered the café.
She looked to be in her mid-twenties.
Tall.
Black coat.
Dark hair falling over one shoulder.
Her posture was straight and confident, the kind that made people unconsciously step out of her way.
But what caught Adrian's attention were her eyes.
Sharp.
Focused.
Scanning the entire room in seconds.
Then they landed on him.
Adrian's chest tightened.
She walked straight toward his table.
Every step calm and deliberate.
Adrian blinked.
"Uh… can I help you?"
The woman stopped in front of him.
For a few seconds, she simply studied him.
Her gaze dropped to his hands.
More specifically—
To the mark on his palm.
Adrian instinctively tried to hide it.
Too late.
Her expression hardened slightly.
"Well," she said quietly.
"That explains the disturbance."
Adrian frowned.
"I'm sorry… what?"
She pulled out the chair across from him and sat down without asking.
Adrian stared at her in confusion.
"Do I know you?"
The woman leaned forward slightly.
Her voice was calm.
Cold.
"My name is Evelyn Cross."
She paused.
"And you… Adrian Blake…"
Her eyes narrowed.
"…did something very dangerous last night."
Adrian's heart skipped.
"How do you know my name?"
Evelyn ignored the question.
Instead, she looked around the café briefly.
Satisfied that nobody was paying attention, she lowered her voice.
"You opened a seal."
Adrian felt the blood drain from his face.
"…What?"
Evelyn's gaze dropped to his hand again.
"The mark," she said quietly.
"That's not a tattoo."
Adrian's fingers curled instinctively.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Evelyn leaned back in her chair.
For the first time, a faint smile touched her lips.
Not a friendly one.
More like someone watching an experiment unfold.
"Of course you don't."
She tilted her head slightly.
"But you will."
Adrian pushed his chair back slightly.
"Look, I think you have the wrong—"
Evelyn suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Her grip was fast.
Strong.
Before Adrian could react, she turned his hand upward.
The mark was fully visible now.
The moment she saw it—
Her expression changed.
The faint amusement vanished instantly.
For the first time since she sat down, Evelyn Cross looked genuinely shocked.
"No…" she whispered.
Adrian blinked.
"What?"
Evelyn stared at the symbol like it was something impossible.
Something that should not exist.
Then she slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"You didn't just open a seal."
She released his hand.
Her next words sent a cold chill through his entire body.
"You woke the Abyss."