"Thank you," Liam said as he accepted a pile of old manuscripts from a colleague. He put the manuscripts on the backseat of his car and drove home. 'Finally, some excitement again,' he thought, glancing out the window.

'It's kind of sad,' Liam reflected on his current life. 'Despite all I've achieved, I still suffer from this crushing loneliness.' He had graduated from a prestigious school, earned a degree in history, and loved examining artifacts and pieces of ancient times. He'd traveled the world studying many different civilizations, writing well-received papers on them which brought him considerable fame and success.

'Too bad none of it helped against loneliness.' He'd been in many relationships, but none had lasted. 'Some came for my money, and some couldn't handle my lifestyle of travel and research, which I understand.' But at least, he thought, when he got home, he'd have these manuscripts to study. No one knew where they came from or what time period they belonged to. 'Maybe I can figure it out.'

When he arrived at his house, he parked, went inside, and headed straight to his study. After placing the manuscripts on his desk, he tossed his coat onto the back of his chair. Sitting down, he thought, 'Finally, time to dig into these.'

As time passed, it began to rain and storm outside. Liam got more curious as he looked at the strange symbols on the manuscripts. 'These symbols… inscriptions maybe? They don't resemble any language I've seen before,' he thought, a grin spreading across his face. Grabbing a pen, he started writing down every detail, thinking, 'Finally, a real challenge.'

He was so absorbed in the symbols that he didn't notice that it had become night already. Lightning struck outside, briefly lighting up the study. Liam kept working, unaware of the first signs of trouble.

'What the...' Liam glanced up as the old clock in the corner started to chime out of control. He walked over to investigate, only for it to stop the moment he got close. 'Strange,' he thought, frowning at the clock's hands, which were stuck at midnight. 'It's supposed to be only 10 p.m., isn't it?' He took his phone from his pocket to check, but it wouldn't turn on. 'Out of battery?'

He shrugged and walked back to his desk, but as he did, he noticed the manuscripts trembling. A loud hum filled the room, and he clamped his hands over his ears, he started heading for the door. But the manuscripts began floating and circling around him. All his lamps shattered, plunging the study into darkness.

"What the actual f—" he muttered, grabbing the doorknob, only to find it wouldn't open. He turned, pressing his back against the door, as something took shape in the shadows of his study. It was distorted, but two red eyes with cross-shaped pupils were still very visable through the distortion.

Sweat trickled down Liam's face as the figure extended a hand. An invisible force pulled him forward, immobilizing him. Panic shot through him as he felt his heart pounding, every instinct screaming to run, but he couldn't move.

The figure's hand touched him, and pain exploded through his body, it felt like he was being torn apart. He collapsed, clutching his head, his thoughts filled with confusion and desperation for the pain to end.

Darkness consumed him as his consciousness began to fade. 'The pain… it's gone. But what is this feeling of emptiness?'

Suddenly, a bright light overwhelmed him, and as his eyes adjusted, he managed to open them. 'Ah, this must be the hospital. I didn't die after all,' he thought, but his relief was short-lived as he was greeted by three immense faces staring down at him.

'What… Who are these people? And why are they so big?'

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I was a new author at the start of this book, as I reached chapter 30 I looked back and saw how terrible the first 5 chapters were. I am still working on making them suit my current writing, I have done that for this chapter already, if you like this writing please give the book a try because I can guarentee you that it becomes a lot better over time.

If you don't like how this chapter was written, then I am sorry and please give me more tips on how to improve my writing.