The sky didn't fall.
It cracked.
Not like lightning. Not like thunder.
It was silent.
A thin black line spread across the night sky, stretching from one end of the horizon to the other—like someone had taken a blade and sliced reality itself.
Arav was the only one who noticed it.
At least, that's what it felt like.
He stood on the balcony of his cramped apartment, a half-empty cup of cheap coffee cooling in his hand. The city below him buzzed with life—cars, neon lights, distant voices—but above…
Something was wrong.
"…What the hell is that?"
He narrowed his eyes.
The crack didn't glow. It didn't move.
It just existed.
And for some reason, looking at it made his chest feel… tight.
Like something inside him was being pulled toward it.
A sudden vibration broke his focus.
His phone.
He glanced down.
Unknown Number.
Arav frowned. "Spam?"
Still, he opened it.
There was only one message.
[You have been chosen.]
He stared at the screen for a second… then scoffed.
"Yeah, sure."
Another scam. Another joke. Another useless distraction in a life that already had too many.
He was about to close the phone when—
His hand burned.
Arav gasped.
The pain came out of nowhere. Sharp. Sudden. Like his veins had been filled with fire.
"Ah—!"
The cup slipped from his fingers, shattering on the floor.
He grabbed his wrist, eyes wide.
"What the—what is this?!"
His skin… was moving.
No—
Something beneath his skin was moving.
A dark shape writhed under the surface, crawling up his arm like a living shadow.
Panic surged.
He stumbled back, slamming into the wall.
"Get it out—get it out!"
He clawed at his arm, but there was nothing to grab. Nothing to pull.
The thing wasn't on his skin.
It was inside him.
Then—
Everything went black.
Silence.
Cold.
Arav opened his eyes.
He wasn't on his balcony anymore.
He wasn't even in his apartment.
He was standing in a long, narrow hall.
The air smelled… wrong.
Old.
Rotten.
Like something had died here a long time ago… and never left.
"…Where am I?"
His voice echoed.
Too loud.
The walls were made of dark stone, cracked and uneven. Strange symbols were carved into them—symbols he couldn't understand, yet somehow… they felt familiar.
The floor beneath his feet was rough.
Sticky.
He looked down.
Dark stains covered the ground.
Not fresh.
Dried.
Layer upon layer.
His stomach twisted.
"Blood…"
A chill ran down his spine.
Suddenly—
A faint sound reached his ears.
Breathing.
Not his.
Arav froze.
Slowly… carefully… he turned his head.
The end of the hall was swallowed in darkness.
But something was there.
He couldn't see it clearly.
Only… movement.
A subtle shift.
Like the darkness itself was… watching him.
His heart began to race.
"Okay… okay… think…"
This wasn't normal.
This wasn't possible.
One second he was on his balcony…
Next—
Here.
His phone buzzed again.
Arav flinched, nearly dropping it.
With shaking hands, he looked at the screen.
This time, the message wasn't from a number.
It had no sender.
Only text.
[Abyss Mark Detected][Initiating First Descent]
"What…?"
More text appeared.
[Survive the trial.][Time Remaining: 06:00:00]
Six hours.
Arav's breath hitched.
"Trial…?"
A low sound echoed from the darkness ahead.
A wet, dragging noise.
Like something being pulled across the floor.
Instinct screamed at him—
Run.
But his legs wouldn't move.
His mind was frozen, trying desperately to make sense of something that refused to be understood.
"This isn't real…"
He whispered it.
Not because he believed it—
But because he needed to.
Another sound.
Closer.
Arav took a step back.
Then another.
His foot hit something.
He looked down.
A body.
Cold.
Lifeless.
Eyes wide open.
The face twisted in a silent scream.
Arav staggered back, nearly falling.
"No… no…"
This wasn't a dream.
Dreams didn't smell like this.
Didn't feel like this.
Didn't make your heart feel like it was about to explode.
The darkness shifted again.
This time… he saw it.
Not clearly.
Never clearly.
But enough.
It didn't have a shape.
Not a proper one.
It was like someone had taken a human silhouette… and erased everything inside it.
No face.
No features.
Just a hollow outline filled with moving darkness.
And it was getting closer.
Arav's body finally reacted.
He turned and ran.
His footsteps echoed loudly through the hall.
Too loudly.
Behind him—
The thing moved faster.
He could hear it now.
That dragging sound.
That wet, unnatural movement.
It was chasing him.
"Shit—shit—shit!"
His mind raced.
Think!
There had to be a way out!
A door—anything—
His eyes darted across the walls.
Nothing.
Just endless stone.
Endless darkness.
And then—
Words.
Scratched into the wall.
Deep.
Violent.
As if someone had carved them with their bare hands.
Arav skidded to a stop.
He read them.
"DO NOT TRUST YOURSELF."
"…What?"
A chill crawled up his spine.
Behind him—
The sound stopped.
Silence.
Arav slowly turned around.
The hallway was empty.
The thing was gone.
His breath came in short, sharp bursts.
"Where did it—"
A whisper cut through the air.
Soft.
Right next to his ear.
"…don't move…"
Arav's body locked.
That voice—
It sounded like him.
Exactly like him.
His throat went dry.
"No…"
Another whisper.
From the other side.
"…run…"
His heart pounded.
Two voices.
Both his.
Saying opposite things.
"Stop…"
His hands trembled.
This wasn't just a physical test.
This was something else.
Something worse.
His phone buzzed again.
Slowly, he looked at it.
[Rule #1: Your mind is not your ally.]
Arav let out a shaky breath.
"…Of course it isn't."
A faint smile crept onto his face.
Not from relief.
Not from confidence.
But from something darker.
Something sharper.
"Then I'll just… stop relying on it."
The darkness at the end of the hall shifted again.
The thing was back.
Closer than before.
Arav didn't run this time.
He didn't think.
He just moved.
Not away—
But sideways.
Into a narrow crack in the wall he hadn't noticed before.
His body barely fit.
He pressed himself into the darkness, holding his breath.
The creature passed by.
Slowly.
Silently.
It didn't stop.
Didn't turn.
Didn't notice him.
Arav waited.
One second.
Two.
Ten.
Only when the sound completely faded did he finally exhale.
"…I'm still alive."
His voice was barely a whisper.
But it carried something new.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Something colder.
"Good."
His hand began to burn again.
Arav looked down.
The skin on his wrist split slightly—
And a black symbol emerged.
A broken crown.
Dark.
Twisted.
Alive.
[Abyss Mark Activated][Fragment: Hollow King]
Arav stared at it.
Then… he smiled.
This time—
For real.
"Now…"
He looked into the darkness ahead.
"…let's see who's hunting who."