I stood in a dark room, confused, turning slowly as I tried to understand where I was. I attempted to move—just a single step forward—but my body refused to obey. I looked down.
Shadows wrapped tightly around me. They did not shift or loosen when I struggled. No—they were utterly still, as though my restraints were carved from stone itself.
Before I could renew my efforts, my attention was drawn by a sound.
The shadows rippled.
The room stretched and twisted, walls bending in ways that made my eyes ache. I watched as reality itself seemed to change, as dark cracks split the air—and from them, blood began to seep, slow and deliberate.
Then it happened.
A voice spoke, and its words alone threatened to reshape the room once more.
"Ah… a host. How interesting. Oh, forgive me, sister—I did not see you there. Tell me, sister, is this human your newest champion?"
The silence lingered.
"Come now, sister. Where is that sharp tongue I so adore?"
Another voice answered, cold and precise.
"Explain this most unwelcome intrusion, brother."
"Oh, to see you again," the first voice replied, amused. "Has it not been millennia since we last gathered like this?"
"I see your habit of unending chatter has not changed," she said. "But my question still stands. Why are you here?"
"It was not by choice," he answered lightly. "Your champion freed me from my cage. Now it seems our fates are… intertwined. Besides, I have not seen someone better suited to be my champion in millennia. I hope you don't mind sharing."
"It is too late to undo this," the sister replied. "Even if I were to remove you, it would kill the human."
As they spoke, the room twisted and turned. With every word, cracks mended just as quickly as new ones formed. Then the space split cleanly in two.
One half became pristine and ordered. Shelves emerged seamlessly from the walls, books appearing neatly arranged, every surface calm and controlled.
The other half was drenched in blood. The cracks there no longer looked like damage, but deliberate design. That side of the room pulsed, slowly and rhythmically, with an unnatural heartbeat.