The yacht glided through the dark, almost motionless sea, as if time itself had frozen. The sky was black as ink, thick clouds obscured even the light of the moon, and the waves reflected only the faint navigational light. An unsettling silence hung in the air—deep, unbroken, as if nature itself had held its breath, knowing what was approaching from the depths.
Nancy sat by the compass, which had been spinning aimlessly for hours, as if losing its orientation. Jennifer stared at the map, fogged and damp from the salty mist. Jake nervously checked the equipment, trying to maintain the illusion of control, though he was starting to doubt they had any. Olivia was analyzing the ritualistic symbols from Mason's journal, trying to interpret them anew. Ethan, quiet as a shadow, stayed distant, with an unreadable expression on his face.
Noah slept. But sleep came like a blow. Violent, icy, intense.
He stood on the edge of an entirely different world—without time, without sound. The landscape was deformed, as though stretched by suffering itself. The sky bled, and the waves crashed against black rocks resembling the teeth of some beast. Mason sat on a boulder, curled up, his face hidden in his hands, as though feeling a pain he could not endure.
"I don't have much time," he said, without looking at Noah. "Each awakening hurts more. This place is eating me alive."
"Where are you?" Noah took a step towards him, but the ground beneath his feet wavered, like the shadow of mist.
"In the space between. Here, where life and death lose their meaning. Here, where there is no sun. Here, where souls are trapped if they can't leave..." Mason lifted his gaze. His eyes were not dead. They were full of madness and suffering.
"My body... it's still alive. The ritual holds it. A fragment we didn't destroy. The island hasn't let me go. It wants me. It feeds me," his voice trembled. "But if you find the place with this," he raised his hand, showing the medallion, "you can free me. You have to find me, Noah."
The earth began to collapse. Mason vanished into the mist.
"Find me," a whisper echoed, cutting through the void. "I miss you so much, brother..."
Noah jolted awake with a shout. His body was slick with sweat, his heart pounding like crazy. He looked down at his chest—the medallion lay exactly where he had seen it in the dream. He could feel it pulsing with warmth, almost hot.
"I had a dream," he said to the others as the sun began to rise over the horizon. "But it wasn't just any dream. It was like a summons. Mason... he's alive. His body is somewhere on the island. The ritual holds him. We need to find him."
Nancy looked at him seriously.
"How can we be certain?"
"He showed me the symbol. The medallion. It's no coincidence. It's not a hallucination. I feel him. He's there. Waiting."
Ethan, who had been silent until now, looked up.
"There was a mention of a 'borderline point' in Mason's grandfather's journal," he said quietly. "A place where the body can survive, but the soul is trapped. The ritual keeps such a vessel alive... for its own purposes."
Jennifer quickly spread out the map. Her fingers moved along the edges until she stopped.
"This symbol," she said. "I thought it was just decoration. But it's part of the map."
Jake held up a magnifying glass.
"It's the southeast end of the island. A small rock formation wedged between two slopes. It could be a cave. No one's been there before."
Olivia looked at them all.
"If Mason is really there, we need to hurry. If the ritual holds him, it means something else might use him. Or destroy him."
Nancy didn't hesitate for a second.
"We're going. Now."
They reached the island before dusk. The sky had turned purple again, and the air tasted of rust. The wind whispered low, unnaturally, as if warning them. The trees swayed synchronously, as if something beneath them was breathing. The path led through a swamp, through bushes, through a place where nature itself seemed deformed.
After two hours, they found the entrance. Overgrown, hidden beneath a rocky arch, barely visible. It smelled of earth, iron, and something else—something older. Inside, there was silence, the kind you never hear in nature.
The chamber was from another world. An altar of black wood, covered with moss and leaves, etched with ritual symbols that pulsed with pale light. And on it—Mason.
Unconscious, but alive. His chest rose and fell in an even, yet unnatural rhythm. His skin was pale, but not cold. On his chest was the same symbol as on the medallion.
Nancy covered her mouth, stifling a sob. Jennifer sank to her knees, whispering his name. Noah approached slowly, his hand trembling, reaching for the medallion.
"He's here. Still with us. He was waiting," he whispered. "And we're taking him out of here."
But something in the darkness of the cave... moved. From the depths came a quiet, wet sound. Something was waiting. Something else wanted Mason.
*
In the darkness of the cave, an ominous silence fell. That quiet, wet sound was no accident. Something moved beyond their sight, too dense, too low, too damp. The air began to tremble. As if the very space were pulsating in response to Mason's presence.
Noah didn't take his eyes off his brother's body. He felt his presence—weak, but real. The medallion in his hand began to tremble, as if reacting to the approaching danger.
"We need to get him out of here," Noah whispered. "Now."
"Wait," Olivia interrupted, crouching near the altar. "If something is holding him... taking him out without breaking the ritual might kill him."
"Or us," Ethan added grimly, glancing into the darkness. "Whatever is down there already knows we're here."
Jennifer, still kneeling, looked up. Her eyes held fear, but also determination.
"This place... it has consciousness. It feels us."
Jake shone a flashlight down the corridor behind them. From the shadows emerged a wall of symbols, carved into the stone, some glowing with their own light. From one of the side niches came a howl—a deep, inhuman sound.
Nancy made her decision instantly.
"We have to wake him up. If we stay here too long, we might lose more than just him."
Noah placed the medallion on his brother's chest, directly on the symbol. The runic light beneath them flared with blinding brilliance. The cave trembled. A shrill scream shot up from the depths—high-pitched, piercing, as if something was being torn apart.
Mason began to move. His eyelids fluttered.
"Mason?" Nancy whispered.
His eyes snapped open. Black, dilated pupils. Mason inhaled with such effort, as though he hadn't breathed in months. He coughed, jerked, and then looked at Noah.
"You've come back..." he rasped.
From the darkness, behind them, something emerged. A shape resembling a human, but faceless. Its skin was covered with something that looked like a layer of ash. It moved, gliding across the ground silently.
Jake screamed:
"Run!"
Noah took Mason under his arm. Jennifer helped lift him. Mason's body felt light, as if devoid of mass, but his eyes were already seeing. He knew where he was.
"Don't look back," he said softly. "It feeds on fear."
They ran out of the cave, hearing their footsteps echoing off the walls. Behind them, something roared, deeply, inhumanly, as if the earth itself was protesting. A burst of light from the cave pierced the night.
When they made it outside, Mason collapsed to his knees, trembling.
Nancy knelt beside him.
"You're with us. It's alright, Mason."
But Mason shook his head.
"This is just the beginning. What was holding me... it hasn't gone away. Now it knows you're here."
They all looked at each other. From behind, from the cave entrance, darkness began to emerge. They moved on. But now—this was no longer just about escape. Now—they were being hunted.