MTL NOVEL Chapter 2: The Visitor in the Dark
Chapter 2: The Visitor in the Dark
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Each strike against the wooden door was slow, deliberate—almost calculated.
Elias stood frozen, his breath shallow, muscles tense. His instincts screamed at him: Do not open that door.
Yet, something in the air had shifted. The room, though dimly lit, felt darker, as if the shadows had deepened, stretching unnaturally toward the doorway.
Another knock. This time, the handle rattled.
Elias took a cautious step back, his mind racing. Whoever—or whatever—was on the other side knew he was here.
He scanned the room for a weapon, his gaze landing on a rusted fireplace poker leaning against the wall. Gripping it tightly, he forced himself to take a steadying breath. He needed to think. He had woken up in a stranger's body, surrounded by an ominous ritual circle. Now, someone was here, seeking him out. Coincidence? Impossible.
Knock.
The door creaked slightly, as if the thing behind it was testing it.
Elias clenched his jaw. Screw it. He wasn't going to wait for whatever was out there to break in.
He moved silently toward the window. He'd rather take his chances escaping than face an unknown threat blind. But just as he reached for the latch—
"You cannot run from fate, Elias Corvin."
The voice slithered through the door, deep and velvety, laced with an unsettling amusement.
Elias's blood ran cold.
It knew his name.
Heart hammering, he spun around, positioning himself between the window and the door. The poker in his grip felt woefully inadequate, but he raised it nonetheless.
"Who are you?" He demanded, his voice steadier than he felt.
A chuckle. "Merely a messenger. The first of many."
Elias's fingers tightened around the poker. He didn't like the way this thing spoke. As if it already knew him.
"Messenger of what?"
A pause. Then, in a voice dripping with cryptic amusement:
"The ones who watch from beyond. They have taken interest in you, Elias Corvin. And soon… so will the rest of New Morian."
A chill crawled down Elias's spine.
The ones who watch from beyond?
His gut twisted. He had no idea what kind of world he had woken up in, but that phrase alone told him one thing—this was no ordinary city, and he was now tangled in something far greater than himself.
Creak.
The doorknob twisted.
Elias acted on instinct. He lunged for the window, shoving it open just as the door burst inward.
A flood of darkness spilled into the room, unnatural and writhing like living tendrils. And within that abyss, two glowing golden eyes peered at him.
No face. No body. Just eyes, burning with something ancient and unknowable.
"Run, if you wish," the voice cooed. "But know this—fate has already marked you. There is no escape from the path of the Talisman."
Elias didn't hesitate. He vaulted out the window, landing hard on the cobblestone alley below. Pain shot through his leg, but he forced himself to move. He had no idea where he was going—only that he needed to get away.
Behind him, the thing in the room made no attempt to follow.
It didn't need to.
Because as Elias disappeared into the labyrinthine streets of New Morian, the voice whispered one final message—one that sent ice through his veins:
"We will meet again, Shadowlord."
To be continued…