Akiko awoke with a sharp gasp, the air around her cold and thick with an oppressive silence. Her body was sore, but it was the confusion and dread that gnawed at her the most. She was lying on the ground near the well, her hands shaking. The strange stone she had touched was gone, as was the eerie sensation of being pulled into the abyss. She sat up quickly, scanning her surroundings. She was back in the village, the familiar dirt paths leading off into the distance, the houses standing still and quiet under the moonlight.
But something wasn't right. The village felt off—too quiet, as though the land itself was holding its breath. The wind was still, and there was no movement in the trees. No sound of crickets. No distant voices.
"Where... where am I?" she whispered, her voice feeling foreign to her ears. Was it a dream? The moment she had touched that stone, she had felt herself slipping into some otherworldly space. Had it been real?
Akiko's chest tightened, a rising sense of dread flooding her thoughts. She stood shakily, brushing the dust from her clothes, and made her way back toward the center of the village. Her steps felt too heavy, as though the ground beneath her was pulling at her.
As she walked, she noticed something else. The village, though it appeared the same as it always had, felt frozen in time. The houses were silent, the lamps unlit, and the streets empty. She could hear nothing. Not a single sound.
She made her way to the small wooden house where she had been staying, hoping to find some sign of life. But when she stepped inside, there was no one there. No sign of Kaito or the others. The house was cold, the air stagnant, as if it had been abandoned for years.
"Hello?" Akiko called, her voice echoing in the empty house. Her words felt hollow, like they were swallowed by the oppressive silence.
No answer.
Panic clawed at her throat as she stumbled out of the house and into the village square, her mind racing with questions. What was happening? Had she truly returned? Or was this still part of whatever dark realm she had been pulled into?
In the center of the square stood a figure, cloaked in darkness, their features hidden in shadow. Akiko froze. It was the same man—the cloaked figure who had warned her about the truth of the village.
"You're back," the man's voice echoed, his words slicing through the silence. "But you've brought the darkness with you."
Akiko felt her heart stop in her chest. "What do you mean?" she asked, fear creeping into her voice. "I don't understand. What is this place? Why am I here?"
The man slowly stepped forward, his movements unnaturally smooth. He looked at her with an almost pitying gaze. "The village, Akiko, is not what it seems. This world is not what it seems. It is a place of lies, of lost time. And you... You are not meant to be here."
"I don't understand," Akiko said, her voice trembling. "What do you want from me?"
The man stepped even closer, his presence now overwhelming, like a storm gathering around her. "You have awakened something. And now you are bound to it. You can never leave. Not now, not after what you've done."
Akiko took a step back, her chest tightening as she tried to steady herself. "What did I do? What did I wake up?"
The man's lips curled into a sad, twisted smile. "The truth. The curse. You've awakened the darkness that has slumbered beneath this land. And now it calls to you, Akiko. It wants you."
The world around her seemed to shift, the ground beneath her feet trembling. A low rumble echoed in the distance, followed by the sound of cracking earth.
"No..." Akiko whispered, her eyes widening. "No, this can't be happening. This isn't real."
The man's laugh was low and chilling. "It is real. And now you must face the consequences of your actions."
Akiko turned away from him, panic rising within her. She needed to find the others. She needed to escape. But before she could take another step, the ground beneath her cracked open, and she was pulled into the dark void below.