Several disappearances and unexplained events have been registered shorty after the commercialization of an ancient statue linked to some legends from a mysterious place called "Reich der Finsternis" in eastern Germany, there is no know route leadin...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Illusion or reality? – PART 1
Liz slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see Nick's impassive face or Anika's melancholic expression. Instead, she found herself in the middle of a forest, the trees towering up towards a sky covered with clouds bathed in a red halo. It felt like she had fallen into the underworld. She ran through the mist-shrouded forest, confused, calling out desperately for her colleagues. But there was no answer—only the infinite echo of her voice as the trees closed in on her.
Behind one of those towering trunks, where the fog thickened, a figure emerged, drawing closer until it became clear. He held a cigar in his hand and wore a brown coat and tie, maintaining his usual elegant composure.
"Miss Sharrow," Dr. Günther's voice called after her, his form becoming clearer with each step.
Liz instinctively reached for her gun and equipment, but they were gone. Instead, she found herself dressed in a long black dress that reached her ankles. As she touched her head, she realized her hair had grown down to her waist.
"This can't be happening..." she muttered, staring at her transformed hands. Her fingernails had grown long, forming sharp blades reminiscent of Ulrike's. "This... is an illusion," she whispered, her panic setting in as she closed her eyes.
"It's obviously an illusion, Miss Sharrow," Dr. Günther confirmed, puffing on his cigar. "But that doesn't mean it's not part of reality. At least, of your new reality."
Liz stared at him, confused. The scholar took a few puffs, though now the scent of smoke seemed to have disappeared entirely. She was breathing heavily, trying to regain control. He turned, walking away into the shadows of the trees. She barely moved a few meters before he reappeared, blocking her path. The girl froze, her heart hammering in her chest.
"I told you, wherever you go, I'll be there," he said, holding his cigar between his lips. "This is our world. Here, we are all one. There is nowhere to run."
Despair took over completely. She wanted to scream, but never before had she felt such crushing helplessness. She didn't know if there was anything she could do.
"No!" she screamed, falling to her knees. She rubbed her hands over her eyes, careful not to cut herself on her sharp fingernails. Her tears had turned to blood, and drops of scarlet fell onto her palms. She still couldn't understand what was happening.
When she opened her eyes again, the scenery had shifted. The nightmarish forest was gone, replaced by a suspended path cutting through a galaxy lit by purple and green lights. Abominable creatures swam among the stars as though they were moving through an ocean, and among them, Liz recognized the punishers.
"One of the most common mistakes of mankind is to believe that reality is limited to the tangible, to what we can perceive with our senses," Günther's voice echoed in the void. Liz saw him now, sitting in an armchair in the middle of the glowing white path. "There is an intangible reality, an abstraction where our ideas dwell. But we make the mistake of thinking this abstraction is separate from reality. Many philosophers have said that reality is what we think; you exist to the extent that you imagine it." He took another drag from his cigar. "With this premise, mankind created the idea of a supreme being they call God, elevating Him to the status of reality."
