In an instant, black cracks spread across the ground, like veins of darkness stretching beneath the surface. Then... Another explosion!
This time, it wasn't just a collision between two forces, but a rupture in space itself!
"What the... happening?"Noah screamed, but he didn't have time to understand.The ground beneath him suddenly slipped, as if an invisible hand had pulled him out from under his feet. An invisible force swept over him, pulling him back with insane force, hurling him into the darkness!He hit the ground hard, his head spinning, but before he could get up, he saw it.The book... Red. It was no ordinary book. It was covered in a seemingly lifelike leather, and in the center of its cover... An eye!But it wasn't a human eye.It was an angry eye.
Noah's eyes met his gaze, and he felt a cold tingle run down his spine, as if his consciousness was slowly being sucked out of him.Then, he heard the voice.Not a human voice, but a mixture of hoarse whispers and strangled screams, echoing in his mind:"Finally... I found you."
In that moment... everything changed.The man in the golden mask froze. His features, which had been calm the whole time, were replaced by a terrifying shock, and his eyes widened with a rare emotion.He took a step back, and his voice came out imbued with an astonishment he couldn't hide: "It's not... The Rakim ..."Then, in a voice that almost turned into a terrified whisper: "It is... the cursed Book of Shadows."His voice turned into a troubled murmur, as if his mind was trying to process the magnitude of the catastrophe.Then, as if against his will, the last sentence came out of his mouth, like a deadly truth that could not be escaped: "How did he choose you...? What a mess!"But there was no time to absorb the shock.The red aura began to seep out of the book, like a slowly creeping demonic fog, and everything I touched began to distort.Ehab and his friend stopped fighting for a moment, but their bodies shook, as if something inside them was reacting to the red energy.Then... The sounds started.Crying sounds... Muffled screams... Wailing coming from nowhere."Noah... Don't touch him!" Khalid shouted, but Noah wasn't even able to move.The red eye on the book's cover blinked... and then stared straight at him, as if... recognizing him.Then it whispered again, but this time, the words were crystal clear: "I have waited so long for you..."The darkness explodes: The red aura that emanated from the cursed Book of Shadows was not just energy; it was a being itself.It began to ripple through the air like a living liquid, moving in a lawless manner, crawling between rocks, climbing walls, and then... It began to take shape.\A shape familiar to Noah.That being... that he had seen in the library, when he first picked up the book.It was standing there... without a face.
Tall, thin, his features completely obliterated, but nevertheless, he radiated an awe that made the air grow thicker.His head moved towards Noah, and though he had no eyes, Noah felt it pierce directly into his soul.The atmosphere changed.All sounds disappeared...
Even the sounds of the battle between Ihab and his friend stopped...
Even the auras that had been clashing moments before had died down as if they were afraid.
The creature took a step forward.
"You are too late..."
The words came out as if they were not just a voice, but a whisper in Noah's mind, digging itself into him.
Noah tried to retreat, but his body was completely paralyzed.
Then something even more terrifying happened.
"No way..."
The voice came from the man in the golden mask.
For the first time, he seemed to be completely out of control, and his voice held pure fear.
"You... You can't be here... You were erased centuries ago!"
The faceless being didn't respond. It just raised its long hand and pointed towards Noah...Then Noah felt a forced attraction!
As if something inside him was being pulled! As if he no longer had a will, as if the being wanted to... to push him out of his body.
But at that moment, the Red Book intervened!
The eye on its cover widened... And then it blinked!
A dark energy exploded out of it, pushing the being backwards.
But... The creature didn't look angry.
Even though it had no face, Noah could sense it clearly, as if the darkness itself was smiling with a terrifying irony. "Now I understand..."
And then he added a sentence that made everyone's blood run cold:
"You... You're not ready yet."
And then... disappeared!
The red aura disappeared, but his trace did not.
The place was still saturated with a strange feeling, as if the air itself was no longer the same.
Noah was still standing there, breathless, his eyes on the red book, which had returned to stillness... But the cover's eye didn't close.
It was watching him.
On the other side... Ehab and his friend were still in turmoil.
The green and blue aura reignited, but this time, their power seemed to be affected by something else.
Ehab, who was losing control, began to tremble unnaturally, his veins bulging, while green smoke was coming out of him as if his body was burning from the inside. "Get it out... out of my head..."
He suddenly screamed, then lunged at his friend with insane force!
The impact was tremendous!
The ground shook under everyone's feet.
The walls cracked even more, and rocks began to fall from the ceiling.
The man in the golden mask, who was still nervous because of the strange creature, refocused on the fight.
But his eyes were still fixed on Noah.
It wasn't what he expected.
This kid... He wasn't just a random obstacle in their path.
He was "chosen"... but not in the way they thought.
At that moment, there was someone else watching from the shadows...
The mysterious old man.
He was standing far away, in a corner where the light barely reached, but his bright eyes were following everything with precision.
He hadn't intervened yet, but he was ready.
It was as if he had been expecting something like this to happen.
He whispered softly to himself as he looked at Noah: "Fate is working as it should... "But he still weak."
Then he looked toward the red book...
When his eyes met the one on its cover, a small smile crossed his lips.
"Not yet, Book... Not yet."
The earth can't take it anymore.
The battle between Ehab and his friend has turned into a tornado of energy!
Walls explode under their blows; huge boulders fall from the ceiling.
The air is getting heavier... It's like something invisible is trying to pull everyone down!
The Eye of the Red Book is no longer stationary. It's moving fast!
Sometimes it looks at Noah...
Looking at the old man in the shadows...
It looks at the violent battle in front of it, as if it's feeding off the chaos.
The old man narrowed his eyes. "This is not good..."
He raised his hand slowly, invisible fingers of energy moving around him, as if preparing for a sudden intervention, but stopped at the last moment... He watched cautiously.
But suddenly, everything changed!
A new aura exploded in the place!
It wasn't green like Ihab...
nor blue like his friend...
It was indigo, brown, as dense as a sandstorm!
"Stop immediately." The man in the golden mask finally entered the fray.
He extended his hand... Then he closed it with a tight fist.
In an instant, an invisible force pulled Ehab and his friend backward violently!
They hit the ground hard, and chains appeared around their bodies, preventing them from moving.
That was the real difference between him and them... He wasn't just a fighter; he was an authority!
Noah, who was on the ground panting, didn't realize what had happened until he suddenly turned around...
But it was too late.
The man in the golden mask was already in front of him.
With a speed he couldn't even realize, the indigo-brown aura wrapped around him like a storm, sweeping him and the Red Book into a vortex of energy! "You're coming with me."
The world went out of balance at that moment.
Noah was being swept into the brown, indigo storm, his body as light as a piece of paper in a hurricane.
The eye of the red book began to glow more brightly, as if rejoicing in what was happening.
Ehab and his friend are still tied up, screaming in pain as the energy pulls them closer.
The man in the golden mask braces his feet on the ground, his face invisible behind the mask, but his aura terrifies everyone.
"It's over...."