9:37 PM.
The streets of Shiamgir were almost empty.
Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked.
The electric wires above gave off a faint zzzztt… zzztt… sound.
The streetlight flickered. Tick… tick…
Ryan Raaz was walking home with his headphones on.
Music played softly — the bass thudding in his ears. Thum… thum… thum…
And yet…
He heard it.
That vibration.
Hummmmmmmmmm…
Like an invisible engine running inside the air itself.
Ryan stopped.
Music off.
Headphones lowered.
The air suddenly felt heavy.
He exhaled —
And mist escaped his mouth.
It wasn't cold.
But the ground beneath him made a faint crrk… crkk… sound, like thin ice forming.
"Not again…" he muttered.
The world in front of him began to distort slightly.
The air beneath the streetlight twisted.
Fsssshhh…
Like fabric being torn apart.
A thin black line stretched across empty space.
Tick.
It trembled.
Tak.
Then—
KRRRRRRAAAACK.
Reality split open.
Pain shot through Ryan's skull.
Thump… thump… thump…
His heartbeat pounded inside his ears.
Flash.
Two seconds into the future.
He was running.
Concrete shattering.
Blood dripping onto the pavement — tip… tip… tip…
Flash gone.
Back to the present.
The crack fully opened.
Darkness seeped out first.
Then a shadow fell onto the ground.
The shadow moved.
It rose.
It stood upright.
It looked human…
But its joints adjusted in the wrong places. Crk… crk… crk…
Its face was smooth.
No eyes.
No nose.
No mouth.
Just a vertical crack.
That crack slowly widened —
kkkkkkkk…
Inside wasn't darkness.
Inside were stars.
Like its mouth held a small universe within it.
The hairs on Ryan's neck stood up.
"Shade…" he whispered.
The creature tilted its head slowly. Tak.
Without moving its legs, it glided forward.
Wherever it passed, the ground responded—
sssshhhhhh…
Concrete whitened. Frost formed.
Ryan's future glimpse flashed again—
Jump right.
Now.
He threw himself to the right without hesitation.
The next second—
WHOOOOOOSH.
The Shade's arm sliced through the air where he had been standing.
It touched the concrete wall—
CRRRRRSHHHHH.
Part of the wall disintegrated.
Not broken.
Erased.
Ryan's breathing quickened.
This wasn't random.
It was targeting him.
Darkness crept into the edges of his vision as his eyes began turning black.
Echo Sight was overloading.
Another flash—
If he ran…
The creature would head toward his house.
Toward his mother.
Ryan froze.
"Don't you dare…"
The crack across the Shade's face widened further.
The stars inside it shifted.
Then a voice came out.
"…You… see… us…"
It wasn't one voice.
It was layered.
Like multiple whispers speaking at once.
Ryan's heart skipped a beat.
This was the first time…
A Hollow entity had spoken directly to him.
Behind him—
FSSSHHH.
Another fracture opened.
Then another.
CRK.
A third.
The air grew heavier.
The streetlight burst.
POP.
Darkness swallowed the street.
Three more shadows emerged.
And from somewhere far away—
A deeper vibration.
Older.
Watching.
Hummmmmmmmmmmm…
Ryan's eyes turned completely black.
A thin line of blood slid from his nose.
Tip.
He slowly straightened.
Inhaled.
"Fine…"
The air around him began to tremble.
"Let's try something new."
Space around him bent slightly—
And everything went silent.
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