The city looked normal.
That was the problem.
Lights on.
Cars passing by.
People living their routines as if nothing was wrong.
But something was already in motion.
Something invisible.
And yet…
inevitable.
"This isn't right."
Rick was the first to stop.
Right in the middle of the street.
His body tense.
Eyes alert.
"What is it?" Daniel asked.
"Too quiet."
Max felt it.
At the same instant.
It wasn't the absence of sound.
It was the absence of… life.
Elena felt it too.
"He's already started."
The words landed heavy.
"Where?" Max asked.
She closed her eyes for a second.
As if listening to something far away.
"Everywhere."
The first scream came moments later.
Then another.
And another.
The city began to fracture.
Not in explosions.
But in small ruptures.
People collapsing.
Others running.
Something spreading.
Like an invisible wave.
"We need to move," Daniel said.
"Where?" Rick replied.
Elena opened her eyes.
And pointed.
"There."
The place was old.
In the heart of Greenwood.
An abandoned building no one noticed anymore.
But now…
it was breathing.
Literally.
The air around it felt distorted.
As if reality itself was… failing.
"This isn't normal even for me…" Rick muttered.
"Stay sharp," Max said.
And stepped inside.
The interior was filled with shadows.
But not natural ones.
They moved.
Crawled along the walls.
As if alive.
And at the center…
they were there.
The followers.
Still.
Motionless.
On their knees.
Whispering.
Words that made no sense.
But had an effect.
The air vibrated.
The ground trembled slightly.
"It's already begun," Elena said.
"Where is he?" Max asked.
And then—
Silence dropped.
All at once.
The voices stopped.
The bodies froze.
And the air…
became heavy.
Very heavy.
Rick let out a low growl.
"He's here…"
Max felt it.
Like pressure on his chest.
Like something staring directly at him.
And then—
He appeared.
Not coming from anywhere.
But… emerging.
As if he had always been there.
Just unseen.
The form was unstable.
Shifting slightly every second.
Tall.
Thin.
Too elongated.
Like something that tried to imitate a human…
and failed.
"Finally…" the voice said.
But not from a mouth.
From everywhere.
"You arrived."
Max didn't answer.
But he didn't step back either.
"You know who I am," the presence said.
"I know what you did," Max replied.
The figure tilted slightly.
As if curious.
"That's not enough."
The air grew colder.
"You don't understand what's happening."
"Then explain it."
Silence.
Then—
"You."
The word echoed.
"It was always you."
The world seemed to tilt.
Max felt it.
Stronger than before.
"Max!" Daniel called.
But he wasn't fully there anymore.
The followers began to move.
Slowly.
Rising.
Empty eyes.
Controlled.
"We need to get out of here!" Daniel said.
"No," Elena replied. "If he finishes—"
She didn't need to finish.
Rick moved first.
Without thinking.
Straight into the followers.
Brutal.
Fast.
And chaos broke loose.
Everything happened at once.
Daniel trying to hold them back.
Elena moving faster than the eye could follow.
Rick tearing through them.
And Max…
standing still.
Watching.
Feeling.
"You see now…" the voice said.
And then—
everything vanished.
Max wasn't there anymore.
Not in the building.
Not in the city.
He was…
somewhere else.
Dark.
But not empty.
Something moved.
Massive.
Ancient.
Wrong.
The city was there.
But different.
Broken.
Destroyed.
Lifeless.
And at the center…
something watched.
Not the witch.
Something bigger.
Much bigger.
"This is what's coming…" the voice said.
Max tried to speak.
But couldn't.
"And you…"
A pause.
"…are the key."
"MAX!"
The shout pulled him back.
Violently.
He dropped to his knees.
Body shaking.
"We need to go!" Daniel said.
But it wasn't that simple.
Because the witch was still there.
And now…
watching all of them.
"Interesting…" he said.
His form distorting slightly.
"You've started to see."
Rick was struck by one of the followers.
But reacted fast.
Violent.
Instinctive.
Elena tried to move—
But was caught.
Pinned against the wall.
By something invisible.
"Elena!" Max shouted.
Rick turned.
And for a second…
hesitated.
The beast…
or the man.
Then—
he chose.
He charged.
Full force.
Breaking whatever held her.
They both fell.
Close.
Very close.
She looked at him.
He looked back.
And for a second…
the chaos stopped.
"You should've run," she said.
"And let you die?" Rick replied.
She smiled faintly.
"Maybe you're not that stupid."
And then—
they were back.
In the chaos.
But something had changed.
"It doesn't matter," the witch said.
His voice stronger now.
More present.
"This has already begun."
The building shook.
The shadows moved.
More aggressive.
"We need to go NOW!" Daniel shouted.
Max stood.
Still unstable.
But with something new in his eyes.
"He can't finish this."
The witch laughed.
A sound… wrong.
"I already have."
The ground cracked.
The air warped.
And for a second…
everything stopped.
Absolute silence.
Then—
everything snapped back.
Normal.
The building… empty.
The followers… down.
The witch…
gone.
No one spoke for a few seconds.
Because no one knew what to say.
"What… was that…" Daniel muttered.
Max looked around.
Then at the others.
And said:
"That was just the beginning."
Silence.
Heavy.
"Of what?" Rick asked.
Max hesitated.
Then answered:
"The end."
Later.
Alone.
Max could still feel it.
The vision.
What he saw.
What was coming.
And then—
the voice.
Clearer than ever.
"Now you understand…"
Max closed his eyes.
"Not completely."
"You will."
A pause.
Then—
"When there's no time left."
Max opened his eyes.
And for the first time…
he felt real fear.
Not of what had already happened.
But of what was still coming.