Content Warning This story contains sensitive topics and explicit scenes from Chapter 9 onward. Please read with care. ⚠️ Romance with explicit content - Chapters 9, 10, and 12 (Mira & Vessel). Disclaimer This is a fictional story inspired by the aesthetic and concept of Sleep Token. It has no connection to the real people behind the masks. Names, traits, and events are made up. Please respect the band members' privacy. This is a work of imagination - not a portrayal of real lives. Note on Language Originally written in German. Mira's inner voice reflects that. Dialogues with the band are in English. While this version is fully translated, I hope the original tone and emotional atmosphere remain intact. "The Shadow We Worship" A Sleep Token Fanfiction A fleeting livestream. A strange message. And an encounter with a masked stranger that changes everything. Mira leads a quiet life - caught between art school, her sketchbook, and the noise of the big city. Until one day, a mysterious stranger reaches out to her. He wears a mask. He reveals almost nothing about himself. And yet something about him pulls her in. It begins with a mask she designs for him - and ends in a storm of intimacy, obsession, longing, and something greater than both of them: a supernatural presence that has been watching her all along. Caught between reality and delirium, between desire and danger, Mira is drawn into a world where art is sacred, love demands sacrifice - and shadows speak. A story about control and surrender. About two people who recognize each other long before they meet. And about the darkness that shapes us - if we let it.