Chapter 3: CHAPTER 3: THE HOLLOW ECHOES
* it was morning time, Damian looked down at the remnant of the alchemical circle now scorched into the floor and the body of the dog was still there," oh it died again",he said to himself as he stared at it. Something was off about the dogs second death, it was drained off all its body fluid. The ritual was not just a failure, it was a nightmare and Damian knows that this was only the beginning of the price he has to pay for meddling with forces beyond his understanding. Damian hasn't slept for days after the night of the ritual, nightmares became a daily routine for Damian Everytime he closes his eyes to sleep. He hears the faint scratching of claws against the glass of his window, he feels the cold breath of something hovering just out of site over and over again, Damian became scared to sleep. He went back to his late grandfather's journal and learn more about alchemy as that was his only option. The familiar estate now feels odd, every creak of the floorboards and rustle of the wind sends chills down his spine. The creature though unseen is always present, it's malevolent energy lingeres around like a parasite, feeding on Damian's fear and confusion.
The guilt of what he has done is suffocating, he continues to dig deeper, spending hours in the dark lab pouring over his grandfather's alchemical texts, desperate to find a way to undo the ritual perhaps banish the creature. The creature left the dogs body because it was too rotten and not a suitable body to posses, it was patiently taunting Damian trying to make him run mad out of regret, confusion and frustration because only at the point of death can it displace Damian's soul and take possession of his body, but this entity had other plans in mind, seeing that Damian will not succumb to madness rather he clings to life. The more Damian reads the more he realizes that his grandfather had faced similar horrors and failed to contain it. This entity that Damian summoned doesn't simply exist in the shadows anymore, it moves around the mansion, leaving trace of its presence, making Damian aware of its unholy presence. Things in the mansion moves when Damian is not looking, objects change forms, picture frames are turned upside down by this creature. The whispers, faint and disjointed like voices of the creature kept disturbing Damian, each time the voices became louder and eerily familiar.
One evening as Damian sits in his study, he catches a faint smell of decay, thesame scent that filled the room during the ritual. He turns to see a muddy paw prints trailing across the tilled floor leading to the window, but when he opens it there was nothing there. Yet as he looks out into the night he feels eyes watching him from the darkness. Damian, confused but determined to uncover the secrets of his late grandfather's work searched for answers, trying to find out the connection of tgis creature to the failed ritual, he digs even deeper into the journal, he finds a cryptic information that suggests that the creature was not an accident, it was the end product of the resurrection ritual, the ritual was not meant to keep the entity in the body of a dead creature neither was it made to fully bring back the dead. This was a mistake made by his grandfather, perhaps he could not finish it out of fear of this outcome or he couldn't perfect the ritual before his death, these thoughts filled Damian's heart. Damian's now understood that his grandfather was obsessed with creating an alchemical vessel, a container that would house not just a lost soul but otherworldly entity like the one now present in the mansion. Damian's attempt to bring the dog back to life had inadvertently called a malevolent force that was bound to the circle but is now set loose in the mansion. Damian filled with negative thoughts kept wondering how these horrifying rituals and tests a basic form of alchemy. One night, Damian is awaked by a sound, it was the same voice calling to him from the far reaches of the basement downstairs, he follows it through the dark hallways, his heart pounding in his chest, the closer he gets to the source of the voice it seems to mimic familiar voices, the barking sound of the dead dog, voices of people from his past including his own voice could be heard as he moved closer. He kept walking in the direction of the sound until he got to the entrance of the lab, the door slowly creeked open, it's as if the creature is inviting him in, Damian took the invitation and stepped in.
* inside the lab is unnaturally cold, the once dormant symbols on the floor begin to glow faintly again, at the center of the room a shadowy figure of the creature could be now be seen by Damian, it's form becomes more define, having the shape of a human. The creature moves to towards Damian, it's eyes glowing with hollow green light. Damian legs became weak and useless as he stumbles back in fear, he tries to crawl away out of the lab but the door closed quickly as if it was told not to let Damian out of the lab. The low echoing voice of the creature caught Damian's attention. frustrated and confused, Damian turned and faced the creature,"what do you want from me!!!", Damian cried out, the creature listen but did not give a reply. The silence and cold weather inside the lab was uncanny as the entity began to speak words not in English but in Latin words and for some unknown reason Damian could clearly understand it. The creature did not attack him directly instead it called him there to make a bargain, it made its intentions clear to Damian, he needs Damian help to help to complete it's crossing into the world of the living, it told Damian that if he could help him with that simple task,he would give damian power,knowledge and the secrets to alchemy. But if Damian was to refuse it's offer the entity warns Damian that the consequences would be life threatening.
Damian was left trembling, all alone as the entity disappeared, he stared into thin air as he knows that his next decision could either doom or save him.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone