Chapter 3: Chapter 03 : "The Blessing of Shadows"
Jack is still pinned beneath the spider-like creature. Its eight legs firmly restrain his limbs, and the air grows heavier—as if the world itself is suffocating under the weight of the moment.
The creature stares into Jack's face with its glassy eyes, then tilts its head slightly... Suddenly, it extends its long tongue toward Jack's chest. It doesn't touch him, but stops a hair's breadth away, and begins to mutter strange words:
CREATURE (in whispers like the crackling of shattered glass):
"Nishata... Ourem... Zakh Tareem... Open the gate..."
A faint green light begins to glow from Jack's chest, emanating like strands of luminous smoke—something is being pulled from within him. Jack trembles violently, a silent scream trapped in his throat.
The girl watches in awe, a strange curiosity painting her face. She steps forward softly, leans over Jack, and gently places a finger on his cheek.
GIRL:
"Strange... I've never seen a soul change colour like this before. There's something... too human in it. And far too divine."
JACK (in broken breath):
"What... are you doing to me? What is this... pain? What's happening?!"
CREATURE (calmly):
"I'm gathering... the fragments your grandfather left behind. You are the final vessel... and blood is a faithful courier."
JACK (screaming):
"What does my grandfather have to do with this?! Who the hell are you?!"
GIRL (chuckling lightly): "
You won't understand now... but he will. The time will come, maybe seconds before you die... or moments after."
Suddenly... a deafening sound echoes through the corridor—as if something massive is being dragged across stone.
SSSSSHHHHHKKKKHHHH... SHHHHHKHHHHH...
Like a giant sword scraping over marble.
The spider-creature halts the soul extraction immediately. It lifts its head as if it just caught the scent of death.
The girl freezes, her eyes widening, her smile vanishing for the first time. Silence engulfs everything.
JACK (gasping):
"What... what is that sound?"
CREATURE (whispers, trembling):
"...It's... him."
GIRL (in a sharp, panicked voice):
"That's impossible... He shouldn't be back yet... We haven't finished the summoning..."
Heavy footsteps thunder... One... after another... each step like a hammer on stone. The sword-dragging sound persists—dragging with it what feels like the entire past.
Jack tries to turn, but the creature is frozen.
As if the greatest fear in this world has just stepped through the corridor.
Silence holds tight.
The sword's scraping grows louder... the footsteps draw closer...
Then, without warning—The side wall explodes in a burst of shattered rock.
Through the hole emerges a massive creature, towering close to the ceiling, every muscle crackling with power. It wears a torn plastic sack over its head, ripped at the eyes, which gleam like a crocodile's. Its nose is long, a cracked wooden beak, and its mouth bears the fangs of a starving lion.
The monstrous figure growls—and without a word of warning—
It reaches out with a massive hand, grabs the girl like a rag doll, lifting her effortlessly. She struggles, tries to scream, but his voice comes first:
CREATURE (in a deep, soul-chilling tone):
"For lust... and seduction... there is a price that shall not be delayed."
SNAP.
He breaks her neck with just two fingers. Her body goes limp in his hand. He drops it like discarded trash.
SPIDER CREATURE (screaming):
"No! You have no right! This isn't your turn!"
The response comes instantly.
The monstrous figure moves faster than thought.
In the blink of an eye, he is behind the spider creature.
He severs all eight legs in swift, unseen slashes.
Then drives his enormous sword through its back, the blade bursting from its chest, spilling green sludge like rotted soul broth.
CREATURE (voice like hell itself speaking):
"For the stolen souls... a debt must be paid... even after death."
The spider creature collapses, lifeless, without a sound.
But the nightmare isn't over.
Jack, still lying on the floor, stares in shock—unable to run.
The creature looks at him in silence, steps forward, raises its sword...
JACK (in a whisper):
"Who... are you?"
No answer.
One strike.
Jack's head flies through the air.
Blood spills from his neck like a sorrowful fountain, his final gaze filled with shock, pain, and unanswered questions.
The creature turns, walking away into the shadowed corridor..
The sword drags again, scraping stone.
His voice echoes behind him, calm and distant:
"But you... you are a piece of the Conjoined One."
A circular room, its ceiling so high the eye cannot see its end. The walls are adorned with ancient, living carvings that move slowly as if breathing.
In the centre, an old metallic surgical bed stands, surrounded by strange medical devices: tubes, glass tanks filled with blue fluid swirling with unknown life, instruments whispering in foreign tongues.
An elderly man sits in a chair made of polished bone. His face is wrinkled, his eyes dim as if they've seen thousands of lifetimes. An oxygen tube feeds his breath. Two women, dressed in nursing garb etched with arcane patterns, tend to his wounds and monitor his vitals.
Beside him stands a towering creature with three heads—each bearing distinct features:
– A child's head with innocent eyes
– A man's head, cracked and fuming
– A woman's head, whispering soundlessly
The central head speaks in a hoarse tone:
MIDDLE HEAD: "
The signal has been confirmed, sir... Jack entered the house."
OLD MAN (faint, raspy voice):
"At last... my bloodline has not failed me."
ANGRY HEAD:
"But he did not enter willingly... He was dragged in."
WOMAN'S HEAD (a whisper only they hear):
"Sindou is breaking boundaries... He killed the girl... destroyed the Conjoined One..."
CHILD'S HEAD (tearful eyes):
"Sindou... scares all of us. He's not what he once was."
OLD MAN (to the nurses):
"Bring me Sindou's file... and tell the Council I'm convening tonight. If we don't stop him, he will shatter the balance."
FIRST NURSE (bowing):
"Yes, sir. But what about Jack? Shall we tell him the truth?"
OLD MAN (slowly):
"No… Let him discover it himself.
The house has accepted him… Now we will see…
Is he worthy of the blessing…
Or just like the rest."
ANGRY HEAD:
"He's weak! His head was severed before he even knew who he was!"
WOMAN'S HEAD:
"But he didn't die… not yet. He's part of the Conjoined One now… and no one returns the same."
CHILD'S HEAD (fearfully):
"Will he hurt us?"
OLD MAN (gazing into a bubbling tube):
"He won't harm anyone…
Unless he chooses truth over illusion.
Then… he will bring back what was stolen centuries ago."
ANGRY HEAD (growling):
"And Sindou? Who will stop him?"
OLD MAN (eyeing the tank deeply):
"Jack… Jack will.
For one blessed by the house… is not easily broken."