Author's Note

  Yo guys! First of all thank you for clicking and giving my story a chance, this is my first time writing a web novel, and I'm honestly...Well, I'm just learning as I go (Using a tools to help me with vivid descriptions cause honestly I'm ass at it). While I am definitely NOT a professional writer (yet.), I'm pouring my heart into creating this shit something I hope you'll enjoy.

  HOWEVER...If you spot areas where I could improve, I'd love some constructive criticism. Your feedback will definitely help me grow as a writer!

  I don't plan on giving up or out on this novel, even if it does bad, I'll make sure to finish it and be consistent, because I plan on reworking/re-doing it anyway when I turn it into a light novel and manga.

  Reading Guide:

  FB= Flashback (Flashback Scenes)

  N = Narrator (Self-Explanatory What This Is For)

  PT = Present Time

  ---[Character Name] POV--- = Perspective Switch

  Want to follow my journey?

  Art Progress: [Instagram Not Created Yet] &

  Behind The Scenes:

  Support The Story:

  Early access chapters & exclusive content: patreon.com/ZielphastMaeridian

  Physical/Digital books (coming soon!): [Website Not Created Yet]

  I'm also working on turning this into a light novel with illustrations, it will be a more refined and updated version. on top of this I'm working on a manga one-shot(My dream), so stay tuned!

  DISCLAIMER!!!: This story is an original work by Daelaira Maeridian. Any unauthorized reproduction or reposting without permission is strictly prohibited."

  Thank you again for being part of this journey with me! Enjoy the chapter!????

  Chapter Releases Daily

  FB: "Rory! Can we play too?" Alex shouted

  Rory didn't take her eyes off her computer screen, fingers gliding across the keyboard as she guided her character through the dungeon. "Not now," she muttered through a mouthful of chips. Behind her, Alex and Eva hovered in the doorway of her room, their reflections visible in her dark monitor.

  "But you promised yesterday-" Eva started with a slightly confused tone.

  "I said not now." Rory snapped back, adjusting her headset. In Viscord, her raid team was counting down to the boss fight. "Go bother Grandma or something. I'm busy."

  "You're always busy," Alex mumbled, Rory felt a slight tinge of guilt, but she was already lost in her game, the sound of her siblings' retreating footsteps drowned out by virtual explosions and battle cries.

  Grandma's voice drifted up from downstairs: "Rory! Come down for dinner!"

  "Five more minutes!" Rory called back, reaching for her energy drink. Her character had just hit level 60 - she couldn't stop now. Besides, she'd already eaten like... three hours ago? Maybe four?

  "Rory Lockhart, I mean it!"

  "Okay, okay! After this dungeon!" She rolled her eyes, knowing full well she'd say the same thing after the next dungeon, and the next. The real world could wait. Here, online, she didn't have to deal with annoying siblings or grandmother's lectures or the gnawing feeling that something was always... wrong.

  N: If only she'd known how precious those normal, 'boring' days were about to become.

  PT:                  ---Rory POV---

  The memory from two weeks before fades into darkness as the crimson numbers of the digital clock pierced through the darkness: 3:33 AM. Rory's eyes adjusted slowly, the familiar shapes of her room seeming oddly distorted. Everything felt slightly off, as if someone had shifted all her furniture an inch to the left while she slept. She rubbed her eyes, trying to blame it on the fact she just woke up.

  A soft thud echoed from down the hall.

  Her legs trembled as she slid out of bed, bare feet touching the cold wooden floor. Just check and go back to sleep, she told herself. It's probably nothing. It's always nothing.

  She crept to her bedroom door, carefully turning the handle. The hallway stretched out before her - bathroom to the right, where the hall ended, and to the left... Her breath caught in her throat.

  At the far end of the hall, past the corner that led to her siblings' room, stood two figures. Grandma, her flowered nightgown easily recognizable even in the dim light. But in front of her towered something else. Something wrong. It was like a piece of midnight had torn itself free and grown limbs - an eight-foot shadow with too-long arms ending in needle-sharp claws.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Her rational mind scrambled for explanations. Just her eyes playing tricks. Just shadows from the streetlight outside. Just-

  The floorboard beneath her foot creaked.

  The world... shifted. The walls began to ripple like disturbed water, reality crumbling at the edges. The shadow-thing's head snapped toward her, turning completely backward with a sickening crack. Purple eyes blazed in its featureless face.

  Run.

  She spun around, lunging for her room. Safety. If she could just make it back to bed, close her eyes, tell herself it wasn't real-

  Suddenly—agony. A brutal force pierced through her chest, flesh and bone splitting with a sickening crack. She tried to scream, but only a wet, gurgling choke escaped, blood bubbling past her lips. Tears blurred her vision as her body seized, a violent tremor wracking her limbs.

  Then, with a grotesque shluck, the claws ripped back—dragging something with them.

  Her dimming eyes flickered downward. A lump of quivering flesh, veins still twitching, dangled from dark, glistening talons. Her heart. Beating weakly. Sputtering out.

  Her knees buckled. The world tilted. She collapsed, her body hitting the ground in a limp heap. Her fingers twitched, desperate, grasping at nothing. Darkness closed in fast, swallowing her whole.

  Her eyes snapped open, as she woke up, sweat soaking through her pajamas. Every muscle in her body trembled uncontrollably, phantom pain still burning deep in her chest. Her breath hitched as she pressed a shaking hand against it, expecting—what? A hole? Ruined flesh? But there was nothing. Just her own hammering heartbeat.

  The digital clock's crimson numbers cut through the darkness: 3:33 AM. "A-A nightmare..." she whispered, fingers clutching at where she'd been pierced, her arms shaking uncontrollably. "Just... just breathe..."

  She swallowed hard and forced herself to move. The sheets felt suffocating, tangled around her legs, and she kicked them off. Swinging her feet to the floor, she flinched at the cold touch of the wood. Get up. Move. The words looped in her head as she shuffled toward the door.

  Her hand hovered over the doorknob. A moment of hesitation. Then, slowly, she turned it, walking out into the hallway.

  A soft thud echoed from down the hall on her left.

  Her blood ran cold. Just like in the dream. "A false awakening?..." The thought made her legs quiver. No - she was being paranoid again. Probably just Grandma checking on Alex and Eva. Her nerves were still raw from the nightmare, that's all.

  The sound of a door closing echoed from the same hall. "Y-Yeah... she was just checking on them-" Her thoughts scattered as a voice that was and wasn't her grandmother's slithered through the darkness.

  "I had thought we had an understanding about territory," the voice purred, young and cold where her grandmother's had been warm and weathered. Rory pressed herself against the wall, using the window's reflection to peer around the corner. Her heart nearly stopped.

  The shadow entity from her dream stood there, its form somehow darker than the darkness around it. In front of it was... Grandma, but wrong. Her smile was twisted, predatory. The thing wearing her grandmother's skin tilted its head, waiting.

  A sound like radio static played backwards filled the air - a guttural, distorted noise that made her teeth ache and her skin crawl. It wasn't speech, not really. More like something trying to remember how words should sound.

  "Oh? Just observing, are we?" Not-Grandma's voice dripped with false sweetness. "You know how I feel about lies, Shibuki."Rory's legs shook violently as her mind raced. Alex and Eva were just down that hall. Behind these... things. "This has to be a dream," she thought desperately, pinching her nose, counting her fingers, pressing her palm - every reality check she knew. Nothing worked. This was real.

  She leaned forward slightly, straining to hear more, to understand what was happening. The floorboard beneath her creaked. The sound echoed through the quiet hallway like a gunshot. Both figures paused their conversation, turning their attention toward the source of the noise.

  N: ..In that exact moment, time seemed to freeze. The darkness itself held its breath, watching, waiting. For in this game of predator and prey, Rory had just announced her presence these creatures that had been hunting long before humanity learned to fear the dark. And they were about to investigate. And in that fraction of a second, an idea formed in Rory's mind - terrible, desperate, and possibly the only thing that might save her life.

  PT: Before she could second-guess herself, Rory stepped out from behind the corner, stretching her arms above her head with an exaggerated yawn. Her eyes were squeezed shut, every muscle in her body fighting not to tremble. "Grandma?" she called out, her voice carefully measured despite her racing heart. "What was that noise?"

  When she opened her eyes, The shadow entity—Shibuki?—had vanished. The name stuck in Rory's mind, chilling her to the bone. Only her "grandmother" remained, smiling that familiar warm smile that now made Rory's skin crawl. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but she held her ground, praying they couldn't hear how hard her heart was pounding.

  "Oh, sweetheart," the thing wearing her grandmother's face cooed, "did we wake you?"

  What if they can read my thoughts? What if they know I know? Rory forced herself to roll her eyes, channeling her usual irritation. The real Grandma had always scolded her for her attitude - if these things had been watching long enough to learn their habits...

  "I was already up," Rory muttered, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Too many blankets or something. Thought I'd turn down the AC." She paused, then added with just the right touch of teenage petulance, "Maybe grab some milk."

  The creature's eyes studied her for a moment - too sharp, too calculating to be her grandmother's. "Of course, dear. I'll help you with the thermostat. Wouldn't want you getting overheated."

  Rory followed her "grandmother" downstairs, every step an exercise in control. Her mind raced with questions: Where's the real Grandma? How long has this thing been here? What happened to- She cut that thought off quickly, terrified of giving herself away.

  The kitchen light buzzed to life. Rory went through the motions mechanically - glass from the cabinet, milk from the fridge. The thing pretending to be Grandma adjusted the thermostat with practiced familiarity.

  "There we go," it said, still wearing that perfect grandmother-smile. "Try to get some sleep, dear."

  Rory nodded, not trusting her voice. She waited until she heard the master bedroom door close before climbing the stairs, legs nearly giving out halfway up. Finally reaching her room, she closed the door and slid down against it, her whole body shaking.

  That could have gone so wrong. The thought played on repeat as she pressed her hands against her mouth to muffle any sound. One wrong move, one slip in my act... Oh god, what happened to grandma Margaret? Tears rolled down her cheeks as possibilities, each worse than the last, flooded her mind.

  Sleep was impossible. Rory lay in bed, watching the shadows for movement until dawn crept through her window. The house came alive around 8:30 - the familiar thunder of small feet racing down the hallway, followed by young voices.

  "Rory! Rory!"

  She barely had time to sit up before Alex and Eva burst into her room, all morning energy and innocent smiles. Rory pulled them both into a tight hug, breathing in their familiar scents, trying to memorize every detail.

  I have to get them out of here, she thought, holding them close as they chatted about breakfast and cartoons. Whatever it takes, I have to keep them safe.

  "Come on," she said, forcing a smile. "Let's go get breakfast." But in her mind, she was already planning their escape.