The entire room was plunged into darkness, Richard’s rugged face hidden and faintly visible within the gloom.
"Don't make a sound, if you don't want to die."
After Richard's simple command, the room fell silent.
What surprised me was that Evis, who had been crunching on potato chips, made no sound when the room went dark.
This place is truly sinister!
Faint sounds could be heard intermittently from outside the window, like something crawling on the ground. However, the black mist obscured my vision, and I couldn't see anything.
At this moment, I suddenly found myself missing the Duan Tribe, missing the days of outwitting the Shepherd God and the High Priest.
After all, the Shepherd God and the High Priest were tangible beings, and I at least had a target. But now, in this damned place, everything was unknown, and this feeling of being out of control made me uneasy.
The sounds outside the window gradually faded, eventually returning to silence. However, the lights in the room remained unlit.
My eyes had now adjusted to the darkness. I looked at Richard, who stood opposite me without uttering a word, and considered my next move.
Based on the information Richard had shared before the lights went out, I likely couldn't keep Evis by my side anymore.
The reason was simple: if what Richard said was true, then Evis was an unstable time bomb, and at any moment he could be controlled by the monster from the darkness and become its pawn.
I hadn't quite grasped it then, but now, upon careful reflection of Evis's current state as described by Richard, it sounded exactly like what ancient Chinese elders called "soul leaving the body"!
The part representing Richard's consciousness had been devoured by the monster in the darkness. A normal person would have been utterly dead by now, but perhaps due to the strangeness of this place, Richard's physical body still possessed the ability to move and could think based on the fragmented memories left behind.
"Pop...!"
Just as I was lost in thought, a faint sound came from the window. Although the sound was soft, it was remarkably clear in the profound silence.
Before I could even process what the sound was, I suddenly felt Richard opposite me become extremely tense, as if this sound signified something terrible.
Could it be that the monster in the darkness had found us?
Instinctively, I wanted to look towards the window, but I saw Evis, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa, go berserk the moment he heard the sound. He charged directly towards the window!
This guy has truly lost his mind!
As he brushed past me, I tried to reach out and stop him, but he seemed to be able to see everything in the darkness and effortlessly dodged me with a sidestep.
I watched helplessly as Evis pressed his face fiercely against the window, contorting his features without any regard for the consequences.
As Evis moved, a faint candlelight suddenly emanated from the pitch-black window. This light should have felt warm, but illuminating Evis's distorted face, it appeared incredibly eerie.
"Ah!!!"
My pupils contracted, and my entire body went numb.
In the faint candlelight, I finally saw the scene outside the window!
The unspeakable, unnameable, horrifying vision of the apocalypse!
Evis had completely succumbed. He let out guttural growls like a beast, and I had no doubt that he would shatter the window in the next second and rush out into that wretched world.
"I... I see it!!!"
"Great Mother... I am returning to your embrace now!"
Evis murmured to himself, his body slowly sliding down, as if he were kneeling before an idol, a devotee offering himself with utmost piety.
Watching Evis's frantic state, a powerful curiosity suddenly surged from within me. What kind of entity was it that captivated Evis so deeply?!
The intense curiosity compelled me to stand up from the sofa and walk step by step towards the window.
What kind of great existence could it be?
My mind was filled with this thought, and I felt as if ten thousand ants were crawling all over me.
As I unconsciously approached Evis from behind, a pair of strong hands suddenly grabbed me firmly from behind.
"Stay calm! Don't fall for it!"
Richard's deep voice sounded in my ear, like a startling thunderclap.
I instantly broke free from the spellbinding state and broke out in a cold sweat all over my back!
Damn it, I was almost tricked!
Even now, an endless stream of curiosity welled up in my heart, with whispers repeatedly tempting me to look at the entity outside the window.
However, now that I had been jolted awake by Richard, I could barely control this curiosity.
"Come with me."