"Come closer. Turn around. Don't look."

"What? I don't understand, what is happening?" Basil said, confused.

"Come closer. Turn around. Don't look." An unknown figure now imposed upon him with authority, and Basil followed the order instinctively.

"Don't. Move." the figure now whispered in his ear. "Don't stare into the black, or it will stare back at you. Don't stare."

Basil wanted to respond but couldn't mutter the words. He was powerless. There was a deep feeling of despair and fatalism, pure dread of what was inevitable.

The darkness around him was enourmous, a suffocating void that seemed to pull at his very mind. He felt a cold sweat break out on his skin as he tried to gauge the size of the darkness. It wasn't just an absence of light; it was active, a malevolent force that seemed to consume everything.

He sensed nothing in the blackness, he tried to see or make sense of it, but it felt like this was impossible. His mind was failing and he slid into a panic. He was not able to think anymore. He tried to come up with thoughts about what he witnessed, but ... nothing. An empty mind being sucked of content. Only a creeping sensation that made his skin crawl remained. It was as if the darkness was less than nothing, writhing and undulating with an empty purpose. An empty purpose the blackness was filling by sucking out everything else, matter and mind, it ran into. He could hear whispers in the void, fragmented and indistinct, but filled with a malevolent intent that chilled him to the bone.

In a deepening panic and hopelessness, almost as if he started floating to nothingness, an unknown figure, a young woman, stepped closer. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and her touch was gentle, almost comforting. "You're not alone," she said softly. There was a warmth in her voice that contrasted sharply with the oppressive darkness.

It shocked him instantly, he yelled loudly at the darkness, "You will not take me with you!"

Basil felt a slight easing of the dread that gripped him. The woman's presence, though mysterious, brought a semblance of calm to his turbulent mind. He sensed that she was special, though he couldn't explain why. Her words and touch anchored him, preventing him from being completely consumed by the void.

But the darkness persisted, its malevolent force growing stronger. It began to coalesce, forming a shape that Basil could barely make out in the inky blackness. It was an entity, vast and incomprehensible, a swirling mass of nothingness that seemed to draw everything toward it.

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The whispers grew louder, more insistent. "Come closer," they seemed to say, "come closer and see."

Basil felt an irresistible pull towards the entity, a force that seemed to tug at his very soul. The young woman's grip tightened on his shoulder, her presence a beacon of light in the surrounding darkness. "Don't look," she whispered again, her voice trembling slightly. "If you look, it will know you."

He fought against the pull, his mind screaming in silent terror. The void seemed to pulse with a dark rhythm, a heartbeat of the abyss that threatened to swallow him whole. He could feel his strength waning, the edges of his vision darkening as the entity's pull grew stronger.

The young woman moved closer, her breath warm against his ear. "You must resist," she said urgently. "You are stronger than this. Do not give in."

The entity's shape became more defined, its edges blurring and shifting as if it were an immense object as large as the sun. Basil could feel its gaze upon him, a formless, hungry stare.

In the midst of this chaos, the young woman's voice was a lifeline. "Hold on," she whispered, "I am here with you."

Basil clung to her words, drawing strength from her presence. The darkness seemed to push harder, as if aware of his resistance, but he held firm. The void was vast and terrifying, but he was not alone.

The struggle continued, the struggle between pure nothingness and a pitch black sky playing out in an undefined space. The entity, its presence an oppressive weight on his soul trying to draw him in, but Basil fought back with every ounce of his will.

"Don't look," the young woman repeated, her voice now a soothing mantra. "Don't look, and it can't take you."

Basil focused on her words, letting them guide him. The darkness was relentless, but so was his determination. He would not be consumed by the void, not while he had the strength to resist.

This glimmer of hope, the voice he heard. As long as that voice remained, Basil knew he could endure.

Basil shook awake, his heart pounding and sweat dampening his brow. He blinked, disoriented, the echoes of the nightmare still vivid in his mind. The oppressive darkness, the malevolent whispers, the young woman's comforting presence—all felt too real. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.

Samuel, who was tending the fire nearby, noticed Basil stirring. "Morning, sleepyhead," he said with a grin. "I've never seen someone sleep so well. You looked peaceful, almost like you were in a deep, dead sleep."

Basil forced a smile, the irony not lost on him. "Yeah, it was... quite a night," he muttered, still shaken by the experience.

The rest of the camp was bustling with activity as the group prepared for the final leg of their journey. Walther approached Basil, noticing his pale complexion. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern etched on his face.

Basil nodded, though the memory of the nightmare lingered. "Just a bad dream," he said. "But I'll be fine."

Walther patted him on the shoulder. "We're close now. I can feel it. The Auspex's library is not far."

Basil took little comfort in the assurance. As they broke camp and continued their journey, he couldn't shake the feeling that the nightmare was more than just a dream. The young woman's voice, her presence—it all felt too significant to dismiss.

The path continued to narrow and wind through the dense forest, but there was a subtle change in the air. It felt lighter, the dense atmosphere lifting as they moved closer to the end of the path. The trees began to thin, and the foliage was less dense, allowing more sunlight to filter through.

As the afternoon wore on, they reached a rise in the path, and Walther pointed ahead. "Look there," he said, his voice filled with excitement.

Basil squinted, following Walther's gaze. In the distance, partially obscured by the trees, was a faint glimmer. It was the Auspex's library, its towering spires catching the light of the setting sun.

"We're almost there," Basil said, a sense of relief washing over him.

The group quickened their pace, the sight of their destination renewing their energy. The path became clearer, and the air seemed to be breathable for the first time in days. It was as if the library itself was aware of their approach, welcoming them with open arms.

Basil's thoughts drifted back to the nightmare. The young woman, her comforting presence, the warning about not looking into nothingness—what did it all mean? He felt a strange connection to her, as if she were a part of whatever they were trying to solve.