Liam walked through the university campus with his backpack slung over one shoulder. The afternoon was cold, but the fresh air couldn't clear the fog that had taken over his mind. It was as if something was about to happen, a feeling that had been lurking in his thoughts for weeks, yet he couldn't quite understand it.
The university library, with its shelves cluttered with dusty books and narrow aisles, was his refuge. It was where he felt at home, surrounded by forgotten stories and secrets buried beneath piles of paper. That afternoon, he decided to venture into the least visited corner, where the oldest and darkest texts waited to be unearthed.
The sound of his footsteps echoed through the brick walls, and the dim light from the lamps flickered faintly, as if they too feared entering that dusty passage. At the end of the corridor, a creaky wooden door led to a section that, according to rumors, few dared to explore. It was marked with a sign that read, "Special Documents."
Liam didn't hesitate. He gently pushed the door open, and as he stepped inside, a gust of cold air brushed his face. The smell of age and something else mixed in the air. Few people knew of this secret part of the library, and the idea of finding something others couldn't see had always fascinated him.
He silently walked down the shelves, his fingers brushing the spines of books, searching for something that caught his attention. That's when he saw it: a black leather-bound diary with strange runes etched into its cover. It wasn't the type of book you'd find easily. The cover was worn, as if it had been touched by many hands over the years.
"Diary of the Last Guard" was written in trembling handwriting. Intrigued, Liam pulled it from the shelf and opened it. The pages were yellowed, but what caught his attention was the ink, so dark it seemed almost liquid. As he read the first words, he felt a strange sensation, as if something was about to be revealed.
"If you ever find this page, you will know it is already too late. The doors have been opened, and with them, the end of the world begins."
Liam furrowed his brow and, without thinking, continued reading. Each word was filled with desperation, and although the tone seemed delirious, something inside him told him there was a hidden truth. The text described how an ancient cult had sealed doors to other worlds at various points throughout the city. These doors were not simple entrances; they were prisons. Prisons for beings that had been trapped centuries ago. And according to the diary, someone had begun opening them.
Fear began to grow inside him, but fascination pushed him to keep reading. The diary spoke of how the author had tried, unsuccessfully, to destroy the doors, but all the doors led to the same conclusion: the Original Void, a dimension beyond human understanding.
Liam slammed the diary shut. He was sweating despite the cold air. He needed to know more. He decided to take the book with him. Somehow, he felt it would be the key to something big. Something that could change everything.
That same night, as he reviewed the notes he had taken from the diary, Liam couldn't stop thinking about the doors. Not about the worlds they led to, but about the words describing them: beings. Trapped creatures. Beings that wanted to escape.
The city, always so familiar, suddenly felt strange. The shadows around him stretched longer, the streetlights flickered with an unsettling hue, and for a moment, he thought he saw something move between the shadows, something that shouldn't be there.
He decided that the next day, he would find the first door.
At dawn, Liam headed toward the abandoned building mentioned in the pages of the diary. The place stood on the edge of the city, covered by the neglect and forgetfulness of the years. The door, hidden in a passage behind an old closed shop, seemed untouched for decades. The wood was cracked, and the iron was rusted, but something urged him to open it. As he did, a cold draft enveloped him, as if the door had been waiting to be opened all along.
Inside, the darkness was almost palpable. He moved forward, following a distant whisper that seemed to come from the depths. In the center of the room, a shadowy figure began to materialize slowly. It wasn't human, not by any means. Its outline faded and changed constantly, as if it were made of the very shadows of the place.
Liam stepped back, but the air seemed to grow thicker, almost impossible to breathe. A dull sound, as if the creature was trying to speak, echoed from the distance.
And before he could react, the figure vanished into the darkness.
Fear gripped him in that instant. He knew that something had been released. Something that should never have been freed. But there was no turning back now. Something inside him, perhaps curiosity or some unknown force, kept him there. He had to continue. He had to understand.