The city had never felt more suffocating than it did now. Liang Wenyan walked the streets of Heiancheng, his mind clouded, his footsteps heavy with the weight of what had happened. The rain that had been falling incessantly for days now seemed to mirror the storm inside him. The cold, relentless downpour was all-consuming, but it was nothing compared to the voices that continued to echo in his mind.
"They're inside you…"
Wenyan stopped in his tracks, the words reverberating through his skull. He couldn't escape them, couldn't silence them. His thoughts were no longer his own. Every corner he turned, every shadow that passed, felt like it was waiting for him. Watching him. The markings, the creature—what had it meant by "it's inside you"?
He had barely made it out of the warehouse, barely escaped the clutches of whatever had taken over Heng, but now he felt the same sinister pull. It was as though the curse had latched onto him, burrowing deep under his skin, infecting his very thoughts.
The streets around him seemed quieter than usual, the usual bustle of city life muted by the heavy downpour. His breath came in shallow gasps, and he could feel his chest tightening, the familiar sensation of panic creeping in. He needed answers. He needed to understand what had happened, what was happening to him.
He turned into a small alleyway, desperate for a moment of solitude, away from the thrumming pulse of the city. The world around him was warped, like the rain had stained everything with a sense of unreality. His fingers trembled as he pulled his phone from his pocket, his thumb hovering over the screen. It had been hours since he last checked, but there was nothing new. No messages. No calls.
And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. That something was waiting just beyond the edges of his vision.
The whispers. They were there again, creeping into his consciousness like an insidious presence. His heart skipped a beat, and he spun around, half-expecting to see something in the shadows. But the alley was empty. Just the endless rain and the hollow sound of his own breathing.
"You can't escape."
The voice was back. It came from everywhere and nowhere all at once. A dull hum in the back of his mind. It was too familiar, too real.
Wenyan staggered back, the words swirling around him. The air felt thick with something he couldn't see, yet it pressed in on him with a force that made it hard to breathe. He raised his hands to his head, trying to block out the whispers that clawed at his sanity.
"Leave me alone," he whispered to the darkness. His voice barely sounded like his own.
A sudden noise interrupted him—a sound so faint, so distant, that he almost didn't catch it at first. But there it was again, like a soft tapping, coming from behind him. He whipped around, his heart pounding in his chest.
The alley was still empty.
Then the tapping came again, louder this time, and Wenyan's gaze fell to the ground. There, etched into the wet pavement, were faint markings—symbols, identical to the ones he had seen in the warehouse. They weren't as bright as the ones on the walls, but they were there, spreading like veins across the ground.
Without thinking, Wenyan turned and ran.
He didn't know where he was going, but every step felt like a battle. The markings, the whispers—they were all around him now. The air felt thick with them, pressing in on him, tightening like a vice.
He sprinted through the rain, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He wasn't sure if it was the curse that was chasing him or if he was simply losing his mind, but he couldn't stop. Not now. Not when it felt like everything he had ever known was slipping away from him.
Finally, he reached the small apartment he had been renting. He burst through the door, his hands shaking as he slammed it shut behind him. The rain was louder here, pounding against the windows, but it was nothing compared to the pounding in his chest.
The apartment felt different now. The familiar sights—the worn couch, the cluttered desk, the half-finished bottles of liquor—felt foreign. Wrong. He glanced around, half-expecting to see the markings appear on the walls. But they were gone, for now. The place was still. Silent.
He dropped onto the couch, his head in his hands. The whispers hadn't stopped. The words were growing louder, more insistent.
"They're inside you… You can't escape…"
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block them out, but it was no use. The voices weren't just in his head anymore. They were everywhere. Crawling through the walls, seeping into the very fabric of his thoughts.
And then, as if in response to the torment, the phone in his hand buzzed violently, the screen flashing to life. Wenyan's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the message that had just appeared, the words burning into his mind.
"We're coming for you."
Wenyan's blood ran cold.
For the first time, he understood. This wasn't just about Heng anymore. This wasn't just about the markings or the whispers or the curse. It was about something far worse—something that had already begun its descent into his very soul.
And he was powerless to stop it.