Albany, New York, 2025.

"Yo, Adam. You still alive?" Mason nonchalantly checked up on his friend through a voice chat. It had been two days since Adam supposedly sold his soul to this strange man named called Korgrath. He just felt it wouldn't be a pain to make sure nothing happened.

"Dude, did you actually believe that nonsense?" Adam retorted, his attention focused on several windows displayed on his PC.

"Man, who knows? You did give him your soul. What if he was some kind of occultist? You're fucked, man…"

"Dude, shut up. That shit isn't funny. Who'd believe nonsense like that?" Adam interjected with a slight growl before changing topics. "By the way, you know what happened to Jimmy? Did he really go on the fishing trip with your dad?"

"Don't know why he loves it, but no one can separate him from them fishes. Well, I'm not complaining. He is taking one for the team," Mason explained as he cackled.

However, Adam only halfheartedly listened to him. The shuffling numbers on his screens piqued his interest more.

"Dude, are you listening to me?" Mason noticed his lack of reaction. He then hissed at his friend through the mic. "Don't tell me you're gambling again?"

Silence greeted his words.

"Dude, give up on that shit. Do you want to become an addict? I read…"

"Mas, it's easy money. I just won 15 Bitcoins. This shit is too easy. Who said gambling was a risk?" Adam interjected as he rolled his eyes. His gaze then lingered on several pop-ups covering his screen.

"15 BTC? Jesus! No wonder you don't want to go to college. That's like the fifth time this month. Jimmy and I could only rake in 4 combined. You gotta teach us your secret."

"Oh. That reminds me, can you help me with this…?"

Partially listening to Mason's words, Adam's fingers drummed on the wooden surface of his table. Apart from the several illegal gambling sites covering his screen, a muted news report played in the background. Ignoring the passionate news anchor, his eyes lingered on the numbers flashing at the lower end of the screen.

"Adam? Are you listening to me? Dude, did you mute me?"

Adam completely ignored him, lost in his thoughts.

'Today is not a good day to buy stocks. The market has been pretty shitty lately. I might as well try real estate.'

With this in mind, Adam opened a new window. However, at the same moment, his hands accidentally clicked the mute button with his mouse.

Before he could correct his mistake, the voice of the news anchor reached him: "This is just in. The Almondo, which disappeared at the outskirts of the Bermuda triangle, resurfaced today. However, none of its crew was found on the resurfaced vessel…"

'What a tragedy. Why did those guys have to take their research to those waters? Especially since it has been unstable since 2020,' Adam thought, sighing slightly.

Just as he was about to close the window, another report came in. "In other news, the infamous Menands' Fiend, responsible for the murder of Staples family and Hayes brothers in Albany, was apprehended this morning by the brave men of the New York Police Department…"

'What? There was a guy like that in our neighborhood?' Adam mused.

"Fucker?! Are you ignoring me?" Mason began to beg, knowing so well that his friend couldn't have muted him. "Please, man. I really need help with my project. MIT won't…"

"Mas, tune in to channel 22. Something pretty fucked up happened in our neighborhood," Adam cut him off in a hurry.

"Dude, this is Menands. What is the worst that could—holy shit! The Menands' Fiend? When did this happen?" Mason exclaimed, unable to hide his surprise.

"I'm just as confused as you. The most surprising part of the news is the names of the family involved. Staples is my last name while…"

"Hayes is my last name," Mason interjected with slight terror. "Dude, this is some fucked-up coincidence."

"Tell me about it…"

Before Adam could finish his statement, a thunderous whip crack—akin to that of lightning—echoed across the room. Adam involuntarily shuddered, his chair falling on him as he fell to the ground.

'Was that lightning? No… no. It couldn't be,' Adam thought as he shook his head.

In doubt, he rose to his feet while sprinting to his window covered by his curtains. Wasting no time, he parted the curtains. At that moment, the radiance of the sun fell on his pale white skin. With thick bags under his eyes, it was obvious that they were suited for dark places. As if blinded, Adam hurriedly blocked the sunlight like a vampire of old.

Behind him, the light illuminated his once dark haven, revealing his expensive PC set-up, a king-sized bed adjacent to a beautiful white bookshelf filled with various comic books and novels.

"There doesn't seem to be any sign of rain. What the hell was that then?" Adam muttered. "I hope something didn't explode somewhere."

With clear skies and an ever-so-normal and familiar suburbs greeting his eyes, Adam once returned the room to its previous state, blocking the piercing sunlight with the curtains. He returned to his PC with light steps, only to be greeted by several messages.

'What the hell is wrong with this guy? Does he think I don't know what he is trying to do?' Adam thought as he stared at Mason's messages.

"Yo, Mas. Who put you up to this?" He spoke as his brows furrowed in anger. "Dude, you built a high-powered drone early this year, and you honestly want me to believe that you can't handle some shitty project?"

However, silence greeted his words, and he could only hear a faint static from the other side.

"Did my mum put you up to this? Dude, what the hell? Yo, Mas, answer me!"

Like before, Mason did not respond as the same static continued to echo.

'What the hell is he doing? Did his mom come back already? No. That's not possible,' Adam thought, glancing at the time on his screen. 'Noon. Nah. She isn't back yet. The—what…?'

'Noon? Lightning? No, no… no. That's not possible.'

Adam's body trembled as a sudden realization filled his mind. Reaching for his headset once more, he said, "Mas, don't play with me, man. Are you there? Answer me!"

Like before, only static greeted his words.

A scowl distorted Adam's face as he ran towards his bed, feeling apprehensive. Reaching for his mobile phone, he speed-dialed a number; and the word 'Mom' covered his screen.

With each passing second, Adam's apprehension grew. His mother failed to pick up. However, on the fifth attempt, a familiar voice filled his ears: "Hello, Honey. Sorry for not picking up; it's been a busy day in the OR. Did something happen, honey? Hello? Adam? Are you there?"

Without saying a word, Adam ended the call while sighing.

'What the hell is wrong with me? Hahaha. How could I panic like that?' He chuckled inwardly. 'As if it's possible for someone to steal my soul.'

With this thought in mind, Adam walked towards his set-up, sporting a more relaxed countenance than earlier. Just as he wore his headset, the static from Mason's end disappeared, with his voice echoing. "What the fuck, man? How many messages did you leave me? Can't a brother take a shit anymore?"

"Mas, didn't you hear the lightning?" Adam spoke seriously.

"Huh? What lightning?" Mason began to snicker as he found Adam ridiculous. "Hahaha. Dude, I thought you said you don't believe in all that shit? Don't tell me you left all those messages because you thought—"

Before Mason could finish his statement, Adam muted him. He was too embarrassed to listen to Mason's words.

"Because of that YouTuber, Mason will never let me forget this day. I might as well accept his offer," Adam muttered before turning the sound back on.

"Adam, I can't wait until Jimmy gets back. In fact, I'll call him—"

"Wait! You got me. What do you want?"

"Good. A man of culture. I like that. I don't mind getting 1 or 2 BTC." Mason smugly nodded in praise. "Oh, you got to help me with the project. Dude, you don't have to do anything. Just hang out and pretend to work. I told your mom that I'd—at least—get you out of the house."

'Why can't Mom just leave me alone?' Adam mused.

"By the way, check this out."

Just as Mason finished his statement, an image depicting strange languages appeared on Adam's screen.

"What the hell is this? What language is this?" Adam took a quick look.

"I don't know, man. Apparently, there is a reward for translating it. Thought you'd be interested in making some quick cash," Mason explained.

Saying nothing, Adam's eyes roamed across the image. Subconsciously, he furrowed his brows while muttering incoherent words.

'This language looks like a variant of English. Vahut… Saymhe… Enterai… Formark… Miskino… Randeri…' Adam thought.

"Adam, do you think you can translate it?"

"No chance. If I was serious, then maybe. But that's too much work." Adam shrugged his shoulders and gave up on the idea. "I'd rather gamble than waste my time on this."

"But you can at least pronounce the words, right?"

"Sure. Can't you? They're pretty easy."

"Let's hear it. I'm not too confident with my pronunciation."

"All right. However, if I pronounce it for you, don't think of blackmailing me with those messages. Deal?"

"Deal!" Mason declared.

"Vahut, Saymhe, Enterai, Formark, Miskino…"

Before Adam could finish his statement, a whisper reached his ears: "Don't say it. If you do, I can't help you. Be patient, I'm coming to save you."

Instinctively, Adam rose to his feet, tearing the headset off of his head.

"Who said that?!" Adam said as his eyes wandered around his room. However, he couldn't find anything out of place.

"Adam, you there?! What happened? Who the hell are you talking to?"

Mason's words reached Adam's ears as he scanned his room; however, he had no interest in donning his gear yet.

"Dude? Are you okay? Should I call the cops?"

'Was I hallucinating?' Adam mused as he slowly wore his gear after a while.

"Mas, did you hear that voice just now?"

"What voice? Do you want me to call the cops? Jesus, you scared me," Mason huffed, getting rid of his uneasy feeling. Adam, too, sensed the apprehension in his voice.

"Don't bother. It's been a while since I've slept; maybe that's why I am hallucinating. Don't call the cops. Thanks, Mas," Adam hummed as he managed to blame his lack of sleep. "By the way, the last one is pronounced Randeri. You're good now, right?"

"Sorry, Adam. Could you do it from the beginning one more time? I'm sorry, man. You know I suck at this."

"Vahut, Saymhe, Enterai, Formark, Miskino…"

"Stop! Don't finish it. This is your last warning. If you do, I can't help you anymore!"

The same voice echoed in Adam's ears for the second time.

"Who the hell are you?! What do you mean?! Where are you hiding?!"

Silence greeted Adam's words.

'Damn it. Did someone hack me?'

Just as this thought filled Adam's mind, Mason's voice drifted into his ears, "Dude, who are you shouting at? Are you okay? Do you—"

"Mas, I think someone hacked me. I keep hearing his voice." Adam grew angry as he rejected the idea that he was hallucinating. "Dude, I'll get back to you. I have to take care of this guy."

Before Adam could remove his headset, Mason retorted, "Wait! How can someone possibly hack you? That's not just possible. However, I understand you have to go. But, please finish pronouncing the words."

"Dude, are you listening to me at all? How can you be so interested in some shitty words? We don't even know if it came from some occult site or—" Adam paused without a warning; a sudden thought filled his mind. Within seconds, his body trembled involuntarily.

Wasting no time, he removed his headset before smashing it against the floor. After which, he reached for his PC.

"Oh. You finally noticed. Too late. I, Korgrath, have come to claim what's mine!"

Adam froze as he heard Korgrath's declaration. No matter how much he tried, his body wouldn't obey him. At that moment, Adam felt as if he were face to face with death. A split-second later, the room distorted before his eyes almost as if a vortex would come and suck him in.

'Someone, anyone, please save me!' Adam made a silent prayer. However, nothingness continued to eat the room.

With each passing second, Adam's life flashed before him—he couldn't even cry. Fear had paralyzed his senses.

As his vision grew dark, he could see the outline of a massive giant, covered in thorns approaching from the nothingness. He could neither see its face nor its legs; however, it was a sight that would leave every living being in the abyss of despair.

"No one will save you! Your soul is mine!"

After the hellish declaration, Adam lost his sense of hearing. As his vision grew blurry, tears streaked down his cheeks.

A second before he lost his sight, Adam watched as a piercing white light tore through the darkness, piercing the abomination within. Then, his eyes closed.