"Help..." Her cry was abruptly cut off.
The next moment, the room's starlight vanished, plunging everything into a sea of darkness. The surroundings were pitch-black and silent; not even a hand in front of her face was visible. Avery Miller could only hear her own pounding heart and the overwhelming sense of fear.
Suddenly, the ground beneath her seemed to tilt, as if an immense machine had upheaved it from below. The dim starlight flickered back to life, and everything in the room, including the air itself, was pulled rapidly in a single direction by an unknown, mysterious force.
Time plunged into an endless abyss.
The house shook violently. Beams creaked and splintered, sounding like a bloodthirsty demon awakened, sensing fresh blood for the first time in ages, eager to break free from all constraints. Collapse was imminent.