Leonard's steps were unsteady as he moved through the swirling purple mist. The air felt heavier with each breath, pressing in on him from all sides, making it harder to move. He felt as if the very fabric of reality was unraveling around him, and there was nothing he could hold onto.

The whispers became louder, more insistent, echoing in his mind like a hundred voices shouting at once. You are not in control. The shadows will consume you. But it wasn't just the words—they were accompanied by an unbearable sense of impending doom, a feeling that something monstrous was watching him from the darkness.

Despite the terror rising in his chest, Leonard continued moving. It was the only thing he could do. The flicker of light ahead beckoned him like a distant star, something that promised clarity, or at least, an end to the suffocating unknown. He needed to reach it.

With every step, the whispers grew more intense. Embrace the Abyss. They repeated the words over and over, like a chant, urging him to surrender to whatever force had dragged him here. Leonard's heart pounded in his chest, his fingers still gripping the all-seeing eye pendant as if it were the only thing that could anchor him in this madness.

But the pendant was doing something else. Leonard felt it pulling at him, tugging him closer to the light, as though the artifact itself were guiding him toward some unseen purpose.

He fought the pull, but it was futile. The shadows—now stretching out around him—seemed to lean toward the pendant, as if drawn by its power. They flickered and swirled, and for a brief moment, Leonard caught sight of shapes moving within the shadows—figures he couldn't fully make out but could feel all the same. They weren't human, he realized. They weren't even alive in the way he understood. They were something else—ancient, alien, and hungry.

The darkness around him seemed to breathe, as if alive, and Leonard's pace quickened. He didn't know why, but he knew he had to reach the light. If he didn't, the shadows would consume him, and something worse would happen.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of moving through the oppressive mist, Leonard reached the light. But it wasn't a comforting glow. No, it was an eerie, pulsating light, like the flicker of a distant star—but closer, far too close.

There, in front of him, stood three enormous shadows, their shapes swirling and shifting like smoke. The darkness around them seemed to bend in on itself, distorting reality, as if their very presence was warping the world.

These were no ordinary shadows. Leonard could feel it in the pit of his stomach. They were alive—alive in a way that felt wrong, unnatural. Their forms pulsed with a strange, crimson light, and despite their lack of discernible features, he could feel them watching him, waiting.

The whispers grew louder again, but this time, Leonard couldn't make out the words. They were too garbled, too distorted by the overwhelming presence of the shadows. But the sensation that they were calling to him—that they were waiting for him to do something—was undeniable.

Stolen novel; please report.

The pendant around his neck grew colder, and Leonard's fingers tightened instinctively. He couldn't understand why, but he felt the need to touch one of the shadows, as though it held some answer, some piece of the puzzle that had been unfolding around him ever since he first donned the necklace.

Without thinking, he reached out.

The instant his fingers brushed against the nearest shadow, a sharp jolt shot through his body. It wasn't physical—it was mental. A flood of visions—fractured and disjointed—rushed into his mind. He saw flashes of a regal palace, grand and imposing, with towering spires that seemed to scrape the sky. There, in the heart of the palace, was a woman. A princess, her features delicate and radiant. Her long blue hair flowed like a river of midnight, and her piercing red eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the study she was in.

She was beautiful—no, more than beautiful. She exuded power, strength, and grace. Her delicate fingers traced the lines of a book, flipping through the pages as she read with deep focus. But there was something about her that caught Leonard's attention—something in the way she held herself, in the way her eyes scanned the pages, as if she already knew the answers before she even read them.

She was unlike any other woman he had seen, yet there was an undeniable familiarity to her presence. She wasn't just some noblewoman, Leonard realized. She was the second princess of the Empire—the very one whose name had been whispered in the streets, whose beauty and intelligence were spoken of with reverence.

But there was something more to her than just her beauty or her status. Leonard could feel it—something powerful, something dangerous. And yet, the vision shifted.

He watched, helpless, as the princess stood abruptly, her eyes wide with surprise as she glanced toward a door that had opened without her knowledge. Her breath caught in her throat. Leonard could feel the tension in the air, the heavy silence broken only by the soft sound of her breathing.

Then, as quickly as the vision had come, it was gone.

Leonard's body jerked backward, as if the vision had physically ejected him. The shadows around him flickered violently, and for a moment, he felt as if they were about to consume him whole. His heart hammered in his chest as he stumbled backward, away from the flickering lights. He could still feel the weight of the princess's gaze, like a brand seared into his soul.

But it wasn't the princess he feared now—it was the shadows.

The Abyss itself seemed to close in around him, its whispers louder than ever. Embrace the Abyss, they hissed, their voices crawling under his skin. There is no escape. No turning back.

Leonard's mind spun with a thousand thoughts, none of them making sense. The princess—the shadows—the pendant—he couldn't piece it all together. And yet, there was something in the air, something tangible, that made him feel more helpless than he had ever felt in his life. His connection to the pendant, to this world, was deepening, pulling him into something far beyond his understanding.

Was this his destiny? Had he been chosen? Or was this some cruel joke, a path he had walked unknowingly until now?

The darkness seemed to close in tighter, suffocating him. But as the shadows reached out to claim him, Leonard caught one last glimpse of the light—the flicker of the vision that had been burned into his mind. The princess's eyes.

And for just a brief, fleeting moment, Leonard wondered if he was truly the one chosen to confront whatever darkness lay ahead.

And if so, what would it cost him?