Beyond The Waning Light of Paradise

Chapter 15: Of Madness & Despair

Night had settled over Lonestar Manor, the sky a canvas of inky black, dotted with distant, cold stars. The ancient walls of the manor contrasted starkly with the endless void above, their marble surfaces dimly illuminated by the flickering lights within. All was silent except for the faint rustle of the wind through the trees—a silence that would have felt unnatural to the trained ear.

But the inhabitants of Lonestar Manor—Sullivan, Kael, Uncle Chen, Kaede, and Rowan—were oblivious to the creeping dread that slithered through the night. They were unaware of the thing that had been drawn to their home, its attention riveted on one individual alone: Silas.

A towering skeletal figure emerged from the shadows, looming over the grounds, its grotesque form half-concealed by darkness. The creature stood nearly a hundred feet tall, a grotesque mockery of a human form wrapped in tattered black rags. Its gaunt frame was sickly and skeletal, skin stretched over bones like a death shroud, the mottled grey of its flesh a testament to its unnatural existence. Where eyes should have been, there was only a smooth, unbroken expanse of bone. Its face, however, was dominated by a gaping maw filled with jagged, blackened teeth, shifting and writhing as if possessed by their own malevolent will.

A sinister silence surrounded the creature, broken only by the occasional rasping of its skeletal frame or the guttural rattle echoing from deep within its hollow chest. It moved with an eerie unpredictability, its skeletal limbs jerking and twitching as though controlled by unseen, malicious strings.

And then, it stopped.

The creature's head tilted slightly as if it were listening to something only it could hear. A moment later, it raised one of its long, claw-like fingers and pointed toward the manor.

Toward Silas.

The ritual had called something ancient, something that should have remained undisturbed. The energy released during the summoning had acted as a beacon, drawing this abomination to Silas like a moth to a flame. And now, the creature had come to claim what it believed was its due.

It moved with terrifying speed and silence, the ground beneath its feet barely disturbed as it advanced on the manor. No one saw it. No one heard it. It was as if the world itself conspired to keep its presence a secret.

Within the manor, Silas lay unconscious in his bed, his body still and peaceful, unaware of the danger that loomed just outside his window. The ritual had drained him, leaving him in a deep sleep from which there was no waking.

The creature reached the manor, its towering form leaning over the building like a predator inspecting its prey. With a single, smooth motion, it extended one of its bony hands through the wall of Silas's room as though it were made of mist, its taloned fingers curling around the sleeping boy.

There was no sound. No struggle. Silas simply vanished from his bed, swallowed by the darkness of the creature's grasp.

The manor remained undisturbed, and its inhabitants were none the wiser. The creature moved away as silently as it had come, cradling Silas in its grasp like a precious treasure. It carried him to the edge of the woods surrounding the manor, where the shadows were deepest, and even the moonlight dared not reach.

There, it set him down on the cold, damp ground, its skeletal face hovering inches above Silas's own. The creature's gaping maw opened wide, a foul, rotting stench filling the air as it whispered in a voice that was both maddeningly gleeful and horrifyingly malevolent.

"Mmmm, Nexus Ambrosia, it's a bit impure... but it smells fantastic! The same as last time!! Ahhh, what should I do... Should I peel his skin and eat him up... Should I break his bones and drink the marrow? Hmm, cutting his fingers and drinking Ambrosia sounds good as well... So many options. Ahhh, this is so lovely."