"What if it's real? What if this ritual changes everything? Like those stories... I could leave this boring and broken life behind." A smirk tugged at his lips. "This might be it. Amazing."
His excitement was obvious as he rushed downstairs, barely noticing the food as he hurriedly ate, not bothering to taste a single bite.
He opened the drawer of his desk and rummaged through its cluttered contents until his fingers brushed against the chalk. Pulling it out, his heart raced with anticipation.
He cleared the floor and swept away the accumulated clutter, leaving a clean and empty space.
He knelt down, gripped the chalk tightly, and carefully drew three interlocking circles on the floor.
His hand trembled slightly, but the rush of excitement pushed aside any trace of doubt.
After he had drawn the circles, he looked at his phone and read the next step out loud.
"Use your blood to connect the circles with a single line..."
After a brief moment of hesitation, he reached into the same drawer and took out a small cutter.
He brought it to his index finger, the blade glinting in the light. Taking a deep breath, he pressed it against his skin, wincing as a sharp sting spread through his hand.
A bead of blood welled up, thick and dark. Kaileo crouched over the circles, letting the blood flow as he traced a single line connecting them.
He felt a chill as the red line flashed against the white chalk, creating an uncanny contrast.
Once he was done, he stood up, clutching his bleeding finger.
His chest heaved with a mix of pain and exhilaration. "Okay... step two, done," he whispered, the thrill coursing through him, impossible to suppress.
Kaileo sat on the floor, his heart pounding but his breath steady, while the crimson line and interlocking chalk circles in front of him glowed.
Faintly under the dim light of his room. His phone rested beside him, the ritual steps displayed on the screen.
He read through them again carefully, as if the words might change if he blinked too long.
"Draw a small circle in the center," he murmured, chalk in hand. With careful precision, he added the final circle at the heart of the design.
Next, he brought a blank notebook, flipping it open to a random page.
He carefully placed it in the middle of the inner circle and took a moment to look at his creation.
The room felt unnaturally quiet, the kind of silence that seemed to press against his ears. His eyes flicked to the cutter again, its edge still glinting faintly. He swallowed hard and picked it up once more.
"Damn, it wil be painful."
He hesitated but temptation grew stronger and he made another small cut on the same finger, wincing as the sting flared again.
A bead of blood formed at the tip, thick and red.
He Holded his hand steadily and let it fall onto the chalk line. The drop seemed to sink into the drawing, the circles pulsing faintly as if alive.
He took a deep breath and recited the words etched into his memory.
"I bind myself to the unknown for the gift of power."
The air in the room shifted, grew heavy and charged, as though the atmosphere itself was holding its breath.
A low hum filled the room, vibrating through his chest. The chalk lines began to glow, faint at first, but growing brighter with each passing second.
Kaileo froze, his heart pounding wildly as the realization hit him. 'This isn't a prank..'
"What the—" Kaileo stammered, his voice caught between shock and disbelief.
Before he could finish, a swirling black aura emerged from the chalk circles.
The air grew icy cold, and an unnatural pressure weighed down on him, pinning him in place. His breath caught as the aura began to shift, slowly forming a towering figure at the center of the ritual.
Chains rattled violently and wrapped around the monster's shadowy form.
Its body seemed to absorb the light in the room, leaving nothing but an inky void. Two piercing blue eyes blazed through the darkness, locking onto Kaileo with an intensity that made his heart race.
The monster tilted its head, its eerie gaze locked onto him. Then, without warning, it lunged at him. Kaileo barely manage dodge as one of its chains whipped toward him, grazing his shoulder.
He stumbled, a sharp sting spreading from the fresh wound.
"Agh!" he cried out, clutching his arm as blood seeped through his fingers.
The monster growled again, stepping closer, its claws scraping the floor ominously.
Kaileo scrambled to his feet, sprinting for the door.
"No, no, no! This isn't real!" he yelled, his voice cracking as he burst out of the room and into the hallway.
Behind him, the monster roared, its chains clattered violently as it began to pursue him.
The chains clinked as they tightened, and the monster tilted its head, almost as if it was assessing him.
"NOPE!" Kaileo screamed and stumbled backward. Panic surged through his veins as his survival instincts took over.
He spun around, sprinting for the door, but in his rush, he slammed into the doorframe, pain shooting through his body as he scrambled to escape.
The monster's presence seemed to swell, a deep, guttural growl echoing through the house as Kaileo raced down the hallway, the sound sending chills down his spine.
He opened the front door and leaped out of the house in rush and fear.
"What the hell was that?!" he yelled, his voice trembling as he sprinted down the street, barefoot and heart hammering.
The thought hit him like a freight train as he gasped for air: That wasn't supposed to happen.
After a while Kaileo glanced over his shoulder, his heart pounded like a war drum.
The black monster was following him. Not running, not rushing—just stalking, its chains dragging ominously behind, echoing against the empty streets.
He stumbled into an alleyway, his frantic steps echoed through the eerily silent street. His chest heaved, lungs burning with every breath, but something was off—no one was moving.
He skidded to a halt, his eyes darting around. A man holding a grocery bag stood frozen mid-step, the apples tumbling from his grasp seemingly stuck in midair.
A car was resting in the middle of the road, the driver staring blankly ahead, unmoving.
"What... the hell?" Kaileo whispered, his voice trembling. His mind raced. Was this some kind of illusion? A side effect of the ritual?
A chilling realization crept over him—time had stopped. Everyone and everything around him was locked in place, yet he could still move.
The sound of rattling chains jolted him back to reality. He turned, and there it was again—the monster.
Its glowing blue eyes burned with an unrelenting intensity as it stalked toward him, unbound by the frozen world.
"No... NO!" Kaileo screamed, his legs moving instinctively as he broke into a desperate sprint. But no matter how fast he ran, the creature seemed to close the distance effortlessly.
He darted down an alley, his breath coming in ragged gasps, but the monster appeared in front of him, blocking his path. Its chains clanged against the ground as it advanced.
Kaileo's heart pounded in his chest, his back hitting the wall. "This... can't be real," he muttered, tears streaming down his face.
The creature lunged. Everything after that was pain—blinding, unbearable pain.
Kaileo screamed as claws ripped into his flesh, tearing him apart piece by piece.
And then everything went black
[System Initialization Complete]
..
[Activation Conditions Met]
..
[Soul Reawakening: Confirmed]
..
[System Activation Complete]