The rain pounded against the pavement, each drop bouncing off the ground like tiny explosions. The sky was a dark, swirling mass, and the air smelled fresh with the scent of wet earth. Nycteris, Julian, and Luke ran through the storm, their soaked shoes slapping against the sidewalk as they hurried toward Nycteris' house.
Luke clutched a board game tightly to his chest, shielding it as best as he could from the downpour. His eyes sparkled with excitement, his grin wide despite the rain dripping from his hair.
"I can't wait to play this game! It looks so fun!" he exclaimed, his voice cutting through the sound of the storm.
Julian shot him a sidelong glance, adjusting his hood as he sprinted. "You say that about every game."
"That's because every game has potential!" Luke countered, his enthusiasm unwavering. His love for obscure, unknown games was almost a compulsion—a thrill sparked by the promise of something new, something undiscovered. The less popular, the better. He relished the mystery, the feeling of diving into a world with no expectations, no online reviews to spoil the experience.
Nycteris chuckled, dodging a puddle just in time. "Let's just hope this one isn't a total disaster like the last one you found."
Luke gasped in mock offense. "That game was a masterpiece! You guys just didn't understand its genius!"
Julian scoffed but said nothing more. The three of them finally reached Nycteris' front porch, breathless, dripping, and ready to uncover the secrets of whatever strange game Luke had brought this time.
As Nycteris stepped into his house, the warmth of the indoors instantly wrapped around him, a stark contrast to the cold rain outside. Luke and Julian followed closely behind, their clothes still damp, their breaths slightly ragged from running.
"Welcome back, boys," Nycteris' mom called from the kitchen, glancing up from a steaming pot of soup.
"Hey, Mom!" Nycteris replied quickly.
"Hi, Mrs. Nycteris!" Luke and Julian chimed in before the trio hurried down the hallway, their focus entirely on the mysterious board game in Luke's hands.
The moment they reached Nycteris' room, Luke practically dove onto the floor, setting the box down with the kind of reverence reserved for ancient relics. The other two gathered around as he carefully peeled off the plastic wrap, then lifted the lid.
The board unfolded with a soft whoosh, revealing a design that was both familiar and unsettling. At first glance, it looked like some kind of Monopoly clone—property spaces lined the edges, and there were stacks of cards and tokens. But instead of bright, colorful streets and friendly game pieces, the board was covered in eerie, swirling patterns, like ink spreading through water. The properties had strange, cryptic names: The Abyssal Market, The Howling Asylum, The Sunken Cathedral. And instead of the usual game pieces, small figurines shaped like grotesque creatures—too many eyes, twisting limbs, gaping mouths—sat in a neat row.
Luke's eyes practically sparkled. "This is amazing."
Julian frowned, picking up a card. The text was written in elegant, old-fashioned script:
"The Veil Has Been Torn. You Must Proceed."
A chill ran down his spine. "…Are we sure this is just a normal board game?"
Nycteris swallowed, exchanging glances with his friends. Something about this game felt… different. But there was only one way to find out.
Luke grinned, already setting up the pieces. "Let's play."
The game's objective was simple—defeat the grotesque creatures that emerged from the deck using strategy, luck, and whatever sanity the players had left. But the deeper they played, the more unsettling the game became. The illustrations of the eldritch horrors were disturbingly detailed, their twisting limbs and hollow eyes staring back at them from the board. The ominous event cards forced them into terrifying scenarios, and the dice seemed to roll in favor of the monsters more often than not.
After an hour of tense gameplay, Nycteris suddenly pushed back from the board, his face pale. "This shit is too scary. I'm done." Without hesitation, he flipped the board over, sending pieces scattering across the floor.
Julian let out a sigh of relief, stretching his arms. "Finally, I'm not the only one freaked out."
Luke, however, was undeterred. He leaned forward eagerly. "Come on! We're getting to the good part!" His enthusiasm was met with deadpan stares from both of his friends.
"Hell no," Nycteris and Julian said in unison, already reaching to pack the game away.
But as they gathered the pieces, Nycteris suddenly froze. Sitting right in the middle of his bed was a single game piece—a miniature figurine of a writhing, many-eyed creature.
His breath hitched. "This is the creepy shit I'm talking about," he muttered, pointing at it. "Which one of you put that there?"
Julian shook his head. "Not me."
Luke frowned. "Dude, I didn't either."
A heavy silence settled over the room. Hastily, they swept up the remaining pieces, shoving them into the box.
Then, just as Nycteris went to close the lid—
The lights went out.
Total darkness swallowed the room, and for a moment, nothing but their uneven breathing filled the silence.
Then—click.
The lights flickered back on.
Something was wrong.
The air was thick, suffocating. And then they heard it.
A slow, ragged breathing.
The three of them looked around in horror—and there, standing at the far side of the room, was one of the eldritch creatures from the game.
It wasn't a figurine. It wasn't a trick of the light.
It was real.
Nycteris' voice trembled as he turned to Luke, his words barely escaping his throat. "L-Luke… is this the 'good part' you were talking about?"
Luke's mouth opened, but no words came out. His body was frozen in terror.
Because the creature was moving.
And it was looking right at them.