When Nathan woke up, his head throbbed, and the sharp taste of blood filled his mouth. He blinked through the haze of pain, trying to get his bearings. The last thing he remembered was the tentacle crashing into them like a freight train. Slowly, he realized he was lying on cold stone. He groaned, rolling onto his side.
"James…? Enoch? Jeremiah?" he croaked, his voice barely above a whisper.
A few feet away, Enoch stirred, clutching his side. "What… what happened?" he asked, his voice hoarse. "Did we… did we get away?"
Nathan scanned the dim, grimy room they were in. They were no longer in the high school gym. Instead, it looked like some kind of ancient temple. The stone walls were adorned with faded carvings of demons and strange creatures. A single, faint torch flickered in the corner, casting long shadows that danced across the stone floor.
"Where's James?" Nathan asked, rising to his feet. His legs felt like jelly, but he forced himself to stand. Enoch followed, clutching his arm.
"I don't know," Enoch muttered. "And Jeremiah's gone too."
Nathan's heart sank. They had found his friends, only to be separated again in this nightmare of a realm.
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed through the chamber, cold and authoritative. "You think you can outrun your fate, children?"
Nathan whipped around, his breath catching in his throat. A figure stepped out from the shadows—a tall, thin man with hollow eyes and pale skin, dressed in robes that seemed to shift between reality and shadow. His face was gaunt, but the most terrifying part was the grin stretched unnaturally wide across his face.
"Who… who are you?" Nathan stammered, stepping back instinctively.
The man's grin widened, revealing sharp teeth. "I am Ching Fang, ruler of this realm, as your grandmother may have told you."
Nathan froze. Ching Fang—the name his grandmother had whispered in hushed tones all those years ago. He was real. He was here.
"You've meddled where you don't belong, Nathan," Ching Fang said, his voice filled with mocking amusement. "Your friends' souls are mine. You've tasted the horrors of this world, but you've yet to experience the true depths."
Nathan felt a surge of fear, but alongside it, anger boiled within him. His parents, his friends, his life—all of it was being torn apart by forces beyond his control. He clenched his fists. "I'm not afraid of you."
Ching Fang's eyes gleamed. "Oh, but you should be, little boy. Do you even know what's happening? This place was once a paradise for my kind, the Supreme Demon Court. But it's been falling apart for centuries. Now, it feeds on despair, terror… and the souls of fools like you."
Before Nathan could respond, Enoch stepped forward, glaring at the demon ruler. "What do you want with us?" he demanded.
Ching Fang tilted his head, examining them both as if they were insects under a magnifying glass. "What do I want? I want nothing from you. You, my little guests, are merely sustenance for my domain. A domain that has suffered far too long in the shadows."
Suddenly, the walls around them groaned, and the ground trembled. A low rumbling noise reverberated through the chamber as if the realm itself was shifting, reacting to Ching Fang's presence.
Nathan's mind raced, searching for a way out. If Ching Fang was as powerful as his grandmother's stories claimed, they didn't stand a chance in a direct confrontation. But James had to be somewhere nearby. He always seemed to know what to do. And they had to find Jeremiah.
A sudden idea sparked in Nathan's mind. If Ching Fang ruled this realm, maybe there was a way to use that against him.
"You say this place feeds on fear, right?" Nathan said, taking a step forward, his heart pounding. "What happens if we stop being afraid of you?"
Ching Fang's grin faltered for the first time, and his eyes narrowed. "You think you can play games with me, boy? I've lived for eons. I am fear."
Nathan glanced at Enoch, his voice steady but low. "We need to find the others. And we need to get out of here—now."
Enoch gave a small nod, understanding that this was not the moment to confront the demon ruler. They began inching toward the back of the chamber, trying to distance themselves from Ching Fang's looming presence.
Just as they reached the edge of the room, the sound of rushing wind filled their ears, and Ching Fang's voice boomed once more. "Run if you want, but you cannot escape me. This realm is mine, and I will find you."
The shadows in the chamber seemed to come alive, writhing and slithering like snakes. Nathan grabbed Enoch's arm. "Come on!"
They sprinted out of the chamber and into the maze-like halls of the temple. Behind them, the shadows surged, creeping along the walls, closing in on them. Nathan's lungs burned as they ran, twisting and turning through the labyrinth of corridors. The walls seemed to shift around them, as if the entire building was alive, intent on trapping them within.
Finally, they burst into a wide courtyard bathed in pale moonlight. In the center stood an ancient tree, its twisted branches stretching out like gnarled fingers. And there, at the base of the tree, was James, barely conscious, blood trickling from a wound on his forehead.
"James!" Nathan shouted, rushing to his side.
James blinked up at him, his expression dazed. "Nathan…? You… you found them?"
Before Nathan could answer, a terrible roar echoed through the night. The eight-tentacled beast emerged from the shadows, its eyes glowing with malice, and its massive form casting a towering shadow over them.
Ching Fang's voice rang out once more, this time from everywhere at once, as if the very air carried his words. "Let's see how brave you really are."
Nathan, Enoch, and the barely conscious James stood frozen, as the beast slowly approached, ready to strike.