Chapter 1: Act 1.1 Black Lotus
Thum-Dump
Thump-Dump
The sound of the loud heartbeat was so intense that he could feel it echoing through his head. The silence was deafening, like needles pinning deep into his heart. The pain grew as the heart beat even more loudly.
Pit-a-pat
Pit-a-pat
He stepped forward, clutching his heart. The sound of his wild breathing resonated with each step he took. His legs moved on their own; no matter how hard he tried, it was like a subconscious action he couldn't control.
He denied it; he tried to resist but still kept walking towards it.
Walking towards that maroon, wooden door, its base crumbling and cracks spreading through the structure, yet its presence was so overwhelming that everything except the door was like a blank, empty void.
'No, no, not again!' He screamed inside, desperately attempting to get away from the structure, but no matter how hard he tried, he kept walking towards it like an invisible force was pulling him there.
One step at a time.
'Not this…not this place again!!'
His internal screams remained captive in his throat as if his soul were a prisoner in his own body. Like a puppet bound with strings, all he could do was watch and experience.
Thump-thump
The heartbeat. A sense of stillness hung cold in the air. The subtle sounds he couldn't hear, slowly became clearer as he walked closer.
The sound of dripping blood from the base of the door, falling through the stairs, coloring the vintage gray structure in red.
Tap
Tap
Tap.
Everything sounded in sync—a harmony in the eerie.The sound grew louder as the door came closer. Uncomfortable noises of tearing flesh, butchering skin, and crackling bones, like an animal devouring its food.
"Run.."
"Run away…"
"Run as far as you can…."
Voices whispered in his head. He tried to struggle, but the body didn't move. Similar memories began to flash before his eyes, like Déjà vu, as if he had been there, not once, not twice, but several times.
The memories played like a broken tape on repeat, warning him of what lay ahead. He clenched his jaw so hard it sent a stabbing pain up his temples, hoping that if it was a nightmare, the pain would wake him up.
Everything was too authentic. The fear, the disgust, the creepy noises. The foul odor of rotting corpses made his guts swirl.
'It's all in my head, it's... it's just a nightmare,'
'Come on'
'Come on'
'Come on…SNAP OUT OF IT!!.'
He tried to convince himself that everything was in his head, but deep down, he knew it was all too real for a dream.
"Yad Bhavi─Tad Bhavanti"
"Yad Bhavi─Tad Bhavanti"
"Yad Bhavi─Tad Bhavanti"
A series of unknown texts appeared on the ancient door, like golden runes carved into the very essence of this world. His hand slowly lifted, reaching up the otherworldly texts.
'Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it!' His cries remained silent as the hand pushed the door open.
With a crackling sound, the huge gates moved slowly, opening inward. Revealing an even more foul stench of rotting corpses, almost suffocating.
The room beyond was shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by flickering torches that cast eerie shadows on the walls. The stone walls were rough, crumbling, and covered in layers of grime and moss, giving the impression of an ancient underground chamber long forgotten by time.
As he stepped inside, a wet sensation was felt on his bare foot. He looked down, only to see the red essence wetting his sole. It was the same red liquid dripping from the crumbling door; it was blood—fresh, warm human blood.
His legs stuttered, and his eyes opened wide. An instant chill ran down his spine. His mind— a complete blank; he didn't know what to do anymore.
'Someone.. take me out of this horror.'
'Someone.. please break this nightmare.'
'What did I do to deserve this?'
'Why is this happening to me?'
"WHYYY?"
All he could do was plead for help. In his mind, he was forced to witness this same nightmare, the same scene, again and again and again and again.
His body betrayed him, muscles tightening as his head began to tilt upward, slowly, drawn to the source of the dark, dripping blood above.
It was a stone altar in the center of the room. Obscured human-like figures dressed in tattered clothing stood around the altar, their faces obscured by shadows; their movements were slow, ritualistic, synchronized, and deliberate down to each step, as if they were performing some ancient dance.
The dance was anything but graceful; each motion was stiff, almost mechanical, yet it carried a strange charm that made it impossible to look away. And that source of charm was a woman.
That woman at the center of the room was the focus of their attention. Her dress, a long, flowing white robe, slowly turned red, soaking the blood below. Her hair was matted and unkempt, and her skin was cold white as paper. Unattending his presence, she kept feasting on the corpses before her.
The sickening sound of her feasting, each tear and slurp reverberated in the cavernous space—a symphony of horror that decorated the night.
A heavy lump formed in his throat as he struggled to watch the scene before him. Even after experiencing this so many times, there was one question he would ask again.
'Why.. Just why is this happening?'
'How can someone be so cruel?'
'Are they even humans?'
He didn't know if it was his plowing or another plot of this nightmare, but suddenly he gained control of his body, like the strings tied to him were cut off. He stumbled back, his back hitting against a table.
It was a white vase with withered yellowish flowers that fell to the ground. Each of its yellowish, withered flower petals—flying in the air. The vase shattered against the ground into thousands of small pieces that scattered everywhere.
"KanGG!!"
The sound was like a dropping hammer in an ice castle, shattering through everything at once.
The dancing figures stopped their movement, standing still, frozen like wooden puppets with their strings broken. Their heads slowly turned, and their eyes were empty, like a void.
The women in the center stopped feeding. Despite her head turned the other way, her sinister smile was visible through her long, black hair. Suddenly her face turned, her crimson eyes looking through the soul.
Thump- Dump
His heart began to beat rapidly, and this time he ran for his life. An omnipresent laughter continued to sound behind him, getting closer and closer with each passing second as he continued to run in the darkness.
Was that an illusion or a horror? He no longer cared; he just continued to run.
In his mind, he was sure that if he got distracted for a single millisecond, his body would turn cold.
The red door was in view again, this time not like a haunted gate but as a salvation he needed to attain. He ran, with only one thing on his mind.
Grab the door─pull the door
Grab the door─pull the door
He extended his arms millimeters away from the door, and just as he was about to reach it and touch the handle, he felt an unknown force pulling him behind.
Before he could understand what had happened, a sharp pain was felt in his body, and his vision turned blank. His breathing stopped, and the loud thumping of the heartbeat that had accompanied him so far was not there anymore.
"Yat bhavi─Tat Bhavanti"
"Yat bhavi─Tat Bhavanti"
"Yat bhavi─Tat Bhavanti"
A series of golden letters appeared in the dark world, revolving around and surrounding everything, slowly fading into the golden light.
His eyes snapped open; greedy for his meager life, he breathed air as much as he could. His hand pressed against his chest to feel the thumping heartbeat once again.
Huff... Huff...
Ashay looked around, slowly calming down.
He noticed the surroundings of his room. Bathed in dim fluorescent light, he stood up and opened his window, only to be welcomed by a smooth, cold breeze.
The weather outside was gloomy, and the sun was surrounded by clouds, making it difficult for the sunlight to reach the world.
Gradually, Ashay gained his composure. He somehow walked to the sink and washed his face numerous times.
"That darn nightmare...again!" He gritted his teeth, his voice almost trembling in frustration. This wasn't the first time Ashay had this nightmare. This nightmare was not the only thing that haunted him.
Ashay closed the tap as he looked at his face in the mirror. And just before his eyes, a blood-red message was carved on the mirror's surface: "DONT GO!"
It's been two years since he first got this nightmare, and since then, he could see some messages that were invisible to other's eyes.
Normally, these messages are hard to understand or find meaning for. But sometimes the messages linked to events that were about to happen in the near future. Something that will directly or indirectly affect Ashay's life.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone