Victor had three close friends who graduated with him from the same university about 5 months ago, they have been working at various locations but not too far from each other.
For months now, Victor, Micheal, Cynthia and Mary have been together as friends, They live close to one another and almost every evening they would gather around to talk about work and joke around while the night goes by. Sometimes they do sleepover and when it becomes too late.
One evening when they were back from work, they agreed on a group chat to meet once it was 10pm in the night at Mary's place…
That night Victor was on his way to her place to meet his Friends when he noticed someone ahead of him acting strange, he called out but got no response. He was about to ignore but noticed the person dropped a book by accident, but to his surprise the person ran off immediately the book fell down.
He got to where the book was and picked it up, it was an old rusty book but felt strangely heavy so he held onto it and left for Mary's place.
When he got to Mary's place, he entered inside and kept the book on a table close to the entrance and went to meet them, everyone was there already so they exchange pleasantries and sat down, Mary offered them something to eat. They were talking about work and joking around before Victor remembered he has something for them to see (the book)
"You won't believe what I found on my way here." he said
Mary straightened. "What do you mean, found?"
Victor stoop up and brought the book from the table.
The cover was dark, worn, and slightly warped, as though it had survived more than time alone. There was no title—only a strange symbol etched faintly into the leather.
Cynthia frowned the moment she saw it. She got a bad feeling about it immediately
"Where did you get that?" she asked.
Victor hesitated. "Someone dropped it on my way here and ran off like something was chasing him."
Michael raised an eyebrow. "He just ran?"
Mary leaned closer. "So you just picked it up?"
Victor shrugged. "It's a book. I didn't think it was dangerous."
Cynthia didn't respond. Her eyes remained fixed on the symbol.
Michael finally broke the silence. "Have you opened it?"
"No," Victor replied. "I waited. Was thinking we could see what it's about together since I was already on my way here."
Mary's face lit up with excitement. "Then let's read it, it's giving this ancient vibe from just looking at the cover alone."
"Calm down," Cynthia snapped."I have a bad feeling about this."
Mary rolled her eyes. "You're always like this, always thinking negetive about everything."
Michael chuckled softly, trying to ease the tension. "It's just a book what could possibly go wrong, this aren't some kind of show or something."
Then victor opened the cover.
The air shifted.
At first, it was subtle—like the night had taken a slow, deliberate breath. Then the dusty wind came through the window, sudden and sharp, sweeping through the room with enough force to make them close their eyes immediately.
The book snapped fully open.
A faint sound followed.
Not loud. Not clear. Just enough.
It was like a distant scream, dragged through layers of silence.
Mary froze. "Did you hear that?"
Victor frowned. "Hear what?"
"I heard something," Cynthia said quietly. "A scream… I think."
Michael shook his head. "You guys are imagining things."
The wind died down as quickly as it had come.
They laughed it off, though uneasily.
"It's probably nothing," Victor said, though his grip tightened on the book.
They turned the pages.
One after another—blank.
Page after page, empty.
"what the hell? Is this some kind of joke?" Mary muttered.
Then they reached a page that wasn't blank.
Dark bloody ink covered the parchment, written in unfamiliar symbols—ancient, deliberate, and unsettling.
Cynthia leaned forward slowly. "It's Latin."
Michael looked at her sharply. "You're joking."
She swallowed. "Some of it. I recognize the structure."
Victor hesitated. "What does it say?"
Cynthia read softly, her voice barely louder than the night air.
"Si haec leguntur, noli ultimum nomen pronuntiare."
She stopped.
"What does it mean?" Mary asked.
Cynthia's throat felt dry. "It means…If these words are being read, do not pronounce the final name."
A pause.
Then, beneath the warning, a single word was written more boldly than the rest.
The Demon "ZHAL MØRATH"
The moment the name left her lips, the light around them vanished all of a sudden.
Not faded—vanished.
A sudden darkness swallowed the entire room barely enough for anyone to see a thing.
Victor's heart slammed against his chest as silence pressed in from every direction. No wind. No insects. No sound of breathing.
Seconds stretched endlessly.
Mary decided to break the silence.
"Guys what the hell?" she asked
"Hold on let me get my phone." Victor replied her
Victor fumbled for his phone and turned on the flashlight.
The beam landed on Cynthia.
She wasn't alone.
A demonic shadow stood beside her—taller than any human, twisted, incomplete. Its teeth were unnaturally sharp and gigantic, it had no eyes and its claws looked strong enough to tear flesh apart.
One arm was missing.
So was one leg.
Mary screamed.
The light flickered.
And then—
Everything went black.
The book lay open between them, unmoved
Looking at the horrible figure behind Cynthia Mary fainted immediately
Cynthia turned around slowly with her chest pounding so fast, upon seeing it, she feared and rushed to where Victor and Micheal shifted to with fear all over their body. They froze for a moment until the demon took a step forward which made them ran out of the room with their hearts racing faster than their legs could carry them.. Guilt gnawing at them for leaving Mary in there, they didn't know wat to do, they were very scared.
Cynthia turned the other way and was about running towards the direction of her house when Victor stopped her
"Where the hell do you think your going?" he asked.
"Aren't we all supposed to stay together?" Micheal added.
She didn't think twice and followed them immediately.
They got to Victor's place, entered inside, locked the door and sank against it.
Even then, the fear clung to them like a shadow. Their eyes stayed open long past 12:30 a.m, hearts pounding and minds restless, replaying the horrors they had just witnessed. They couldn't utter a word and silence filled the whole room
Back at Mary's place:
The creature did not linger. In a blink, it vanished, leaving the room—and the cursed book—behind.