Chapter 1:Into the Darkness

The first faint light of dawn began to creep through the thick canopy of the forest, casting long, unnatural shadows that seemed to stretch forever. It wasn't the warmth of the sun that stirred Eric from his fitful sleep, but a deep, inherent urge—a warning he felt more than understood. His eyes snapped open, and his body jerked upright as if some invisible force had yanked him from unconsciousness.

He was in the middle of a dense forest, surrounded by towering trees and the oppressive silence that came just before morning. The cool night air still lingered, but it was fading fast, and with it came the most intense, gut-wrenching panic Eric had ever known.

His skin tingled, not in a pleasant way, but like the distant burn of something lethal approaching. His heart raced, pounding against his chest as if trying to leap out. He felt it—felt the sun coming. It was still below the horizon, but even the hint of its presence made every muscle in his body scream for shelter.

Instincts he never knew he had took over, and Eric scrambled to his feet, eyes wide, wild, searching for safety. His movements were clumsy at first, legs still unsteady, his head throbbing with confusion.

The last thing he remembered was waking up, gasping for air that he no longer needed, in this very spot just hours before. Dumped like trash in the middle of nowhere.

Abandoned.

His throat tightened at the thought of it—the betrayal. But there wasn't time to think, not now. Not with the sun rising. He could feel its lethal approach like a predator stalking closer, ready to tear him apart.

Panic surged through his veins, mingling with the unfamiliar hunger gnawing at his insides. The hunger was constant, painful, an endless ache, but even that paled in comparison to the terror of the oncoming light. He could feel the sunlight in a way that was almost supernatural—a heavy pressure on the air, a creeping dread that suffocated him.

With a burst of speed that shocked him, Eric started running. His feet barely touched the ground as he bolted through the forest, dodging trees and leaping over fallen branches, driven by sheer instinct. The sounds of the forest—the rustle of leaves, the snap of twigs beneath his boots—faded into the background.

There was only one thought in his mind: **Hide**.

His senses sharpened as the panic mounted. He could smell the damp earth beneath him, feel the roughness of bark against his skin as he grazed past trees. Every scent, every noise seemed amplified, but none of it mattered. The sun was coming. He could feel its touch getting closer, ready to burn him alive.

The horizon glowed a soft orange now, the sky shifting from deep blue to a lighter shade of twilight. He was running out of time. His lungs screamed for air even though he didn't need to breathe—another unsettling reminder of what he had become. His newly turned body didn't obey the rules of nature anymore, but the terror of the sun's approach was more than enough to drive him into desperation.

Suddenly, up ahead, a cluster of dark shapes emerged through the trees. Caves. They were hidden among the rock formations, barely noticeable unless you knew to look for them. Relief surged through him, but it was quickly replaced by urgency as the sky brightened even more. The golden light was now threatening to peek over the horizon, its deadly rays poised to sear his flesh to ash.

With the last ounce of strength, Eric sprinted toward the nearest cave, his feet sliding on loose dirt and rocks as he neared the entrance. He barely slowed, throwing himself into the gaping maw of the cave, crashing into the cool, damp darkness inside.

The light at his back illuminated the mouth of the cave for only a moment before he was engulfed by the pitch-black interior.

Eric fell to his knees, gasping from sheer panic, his hands gripping the jagged rocks beneath him. The cool air inside the cave wrapped around him like a protective cloak, instantly soothing his overheated skin. He could feel his heart pounding, every beat reverberating in his chest, but slowly, the immediate terror began to subside.

He stayed there on his hands and knees for what felt like an eternity, staring at the cave floor, too afraid to look back toward the entrance. He didn't need to see the sunlight to know it was there. He could feel it waiting just beyond the cave's threshold, like a silent predator lurking, ready to strike.

When he finally glanced up, the world outside the cave was bathed in the orange and pink glow of morning. He watched, frozen, as the first sliver of sunlight touched the ground just inches from where he had collapsed. If he had been a moment slower, if he hadn't found the cave in time.

Eric swallowed hard, his throat dry, his body trembling with residual fear. The hunger gnawed at him again, sharper now, more insistent. But for the moment, he ignored it, focusing instead on the darkness surrounding him. The cave's interior was larger than he'd expected, stretching deep into the earth, far beyond the reach of the sunlight. It smelled of damp stone and ancient air, the silence here almost oppressive.

His eyes adjusted quickly to the gloom, and he stood, wiping the dirt from his hands. There was something unsettling about this place, something that made his skin crawl, but it didn't matter. The cave was safe—for now. Safe from the sun.

As he ventured deeper, the darkness became even more absolute, and with it came an odd feeling of being watched. He couldn't shake it. His senses, heightened by the change in his body, seemed to pick up on something—a presence. But there was no one here. Or at least, no one he could see.

The walls of the cave were lined with strange markings, symbols etched into the rock, barely visible under the dim light filtering through the entrance. He frowned, running his hand over one of them. The grooves were deep, almost ancient, their meaning lost to time.

And then, in the silence, the hunger became unbearable. It clawed at him, demanding to be sated. Eric's body was still adjusting to this new existence, to the overwhelming need for blood that now dominated his every thought. He had to feed.

Eric's fingers trembled as he examined the symbols on the cave walls. The hunger inside him was becoming almost unbearable, a relentless gnawing that overshadowed everything else. Desperation drove him to make a decision he had been resisting since he first felt the pangs of his new existence.

He needed blood, and he needed it now.

With a determined grimace, Eric dug into his palm with his teeth, piercing the flesh and drawing a bead of crimson blood. The pain was sharp but fleeting, and the blood began to flow freely. As he brought his hand to his mouth, he was momentarily overwhelmed by the rich, metallic scent of his own life force. The instinct to drink was nearly overpowering.

He tasted the blood, but as soon as it hit his tongue, he recoiled in disgust. The flavor was not as satisfying as he had hoped; it was more repulsive than he'd imagined, a grim reminder of his new, cursed existence. He spat the blood onto the cave floor, the warm droplets splattering against the stone.

His hand flicked involuntarily, sending droplets of the dark liquid onto the walls.

It was then that something strange occurred. The blood that landed on the symbols began to react. The ancient grooves on the rock absorbed the crimson fluid, and a faint, otherworldly glow started to emanate from the symbols.

The glow intensified, bathing the cave in an eerie, pulsating light that seemed to pulse in rhythm with Eric's racing heartbeat.

The symbols, once barely visible, now blazed with an otherworldly energy. The cave walls seemed to come alive with a ghostly luminescence, the light shifting and swirling like an ethereal mist.

The transformation was hypnotic, drawing Eric's attention away from his hunger and towards the now brightly glowing runes.

The symbols themselves appeared to shift subtly, their forms stretching and bending as if trying to communicate a hidden message. Shadows danced along the walls, creating strange, shifting patterns that seemed to hint at ancient secrets or forgotten knowledge.

The cave's interior, once shrouded in impenetrable darkness, was now alive with a pulsating, mysterious light.

Eric stood there, mesmerized by the transformation, his earlier panic and hunger momentarily forgotten. The cave felt different, as if it had awakened to something profound and unsettling.

The air was charged with an electric tension, and Eric could sense a profound change occurring. It was as though the cave itself was reacting to his presence and the blood he had shed, its ancient power now rekindled.

He took a hesitant step back, his gaze never leaving the now radiant symbols, the overwhelming sense of being watched returning with a new intensity. He felt as if the cave was alive, aware of him, and that the blood he had spilled had somehow awakened a dormant force within the stone.

Eric's heart raced, both from the lingering hunger and the surreal transformation occurring around him.

The symbols' glow grew ever brighter, their light stretching deeper into the cave's shadowy recesses, casting long, sinuous shadows that seemed to reach out towards him.

In the midst of the pulsating light and shifting shadows, Eric was left with a profound sense of unease and anticipation. The cave had changed, and with it, something about his own fate seemed to have shifted as well.

The pulsating glow from the symbols continued to grow, casting the entire cave in an unnatural light. Eric stood transfixed, his mind racing, trying to comprehend the strange power that had been unleashed. His senses, already heightened by the transformation he'd undergone, were now on high alert. The air around him thickened, becoming oppressive, charged with something ancient and malevolent.

Then, from deep within the cave, a sound broke the silence—a faint, scratchy noise, like stone grinding against stone. It was subtle at first, but then it grew louder, more insistent. Eric's sharp eyes scanned the cave's depths, but the shadows danced and shifted, offering no clues. The sound continued, evolving into something more deliberate, like claws dragging across rock. Each scrape echoed in the chamber, vibrating through the very walls, the sound unnatural and unsettling.

Eric's blood ran cold. Every instinct screamed at him to run, to get out of this cave, but his feet wouldn't move. It was as if some invisible force held him in place, paralyzed by the overwhelming sense of dread that crept over him. His body tensed, every muscle coiled as though expecting an attack.

Suddenly, from the depths of the cave, a voice rasped through the darkness. It was ancient, guttural, and completely unlike anything Eric had ever heard before. It spoke in a language that made his skin crawl, the words slithering into his ears like the hiss of a serpent, foreign and incomprehensible. The voice scratched at the edge of his consciousness, barely above a whisper yet filling the entire cave with its presence.

"_Ėthraal yné guulraach..._"

The words hung in the air, thick and heavy, as if they carried the weight of centuries behind them. Eric's breath hitched, his mind trying to decipher the meaning, but it was lost on him—at first. Then, the voice croaked louder, the ancient language giving way to something more understandable. The next words sent a chill straight to his bones.

"I… am… awake."

The voice reverberated through the cave, each word dripping with power, vibrating through the stone like a tremor in the earth itself. It was deep, commanding, a voice that felt like it had crawled out of the deepest parts of the earth. There was no emotion in it, only pure, raw authority—a being that had known nothing but power and darkness for eons. It didn't feel human.

Eric's breath came in ragged gasps. Whatever this thing was, it had been dormant—until now. His blood had awakened it, and the knowledge of that filled him with dread. He felt utterly insignificant in the presence of such a force.

The ground beneath him seemed to shift slightly, as if the cave itself was reacting to the voice. A cold, unnatural wind stirred within the chamber, though there was no breeze from outside. It felt as though the very walls were alive, rippling with the same strange energy that now coursed through the symbols. The once solid stone seemed to breathe, moving subtly in the periphery of his vision.

The voice, though silent now, lingered in the air, its presence suffocating. Eric swallowed hard, trying to steady his nerves, but it was no use. The air was thick with malice. He could feel the weight of something immense lurking in the shadows, something ancient and unfathomable.

"Who… who are you?" Eric's voice cracked as he forced the words out, barely a whisper, more to himself than to the entity.

The cave remained still, as if waiting.

But then, the grinding sound began again. It was closer this time, slow and deliberate, as if something massive and long forgotten was stirring in the depths. Eric felt his pulse quicken, his senses screaming at him to run, to leave before whatever was in the darkness fully emerged. But his body was rooted to the spot, as though the very cave had claimed him.

The voice returned, louder, more defined, resonating deep within the rock. It croaked once again, but this time with an edge of amusement, as if it could sense Eric's terror.

"Long… have I slept… but you… have woken me."

The words were slow, deliberate, and filled with a sinister weight. The ancient power behind them was palpable, pressing against Eric like a physical force. He stumbled backward, his heart hammering in his chest. His mind raced, desperately trying to make sense of what was happening, but there was no explanation that made sense.

The glowing symbols began to pulse faster, the light becoming more erratic. The grinding sound ceased, and for a moment, there was nothing but silence.

Then the voice spoke again, this time more distinct, more commanding.

"Who… dares… bleed in my presence?"

Eric's body went rigid. The weight of the question bore down on him, making it hard to breathe. His hand, now fully healed, still tingled with the memory of the blood he had spilled. The realization hit him like a blow—his blood had awoken something, something that had been sealed in the cave for who knows how long.

The air grew colder, and Eric's breath formed faint clouds in front of him. Whatever was in the cave with him—it wasn't just powerful. It was ancient. Older than anything he had ever encountered.

The entity was awake now, fully aware of Eric's presence, and as the glow from the symbols reached a fevered pitch, Eric knew one thing with absolute certainty: he had made a terrible mistake.