Chapter 1: Shadow of the Town
The night's darkness had wrapped the city in its cloak. The moon hung in the sky, but drifting clouds kept veiling its glowing face, as though even it wasn't permitted to witness the city's secrets. The streets lay deserted; the peeling paint and broken signboards clinging to the old buildings groaned with every gust of wind.
Ikhlaq stood by the small window of his room. The room was dim, lit only by an old lamp whose flickering flame deepened the shadows rather than dispelling them. A melancholy rested on his face—not just his own burden, but as if he also carried the silence of the city.
"Life…" he whispered to himself, "…like a soulless journey."
His eyes fell on an old photograph hanging on the wall. A girl smiled from within the frame—Hira. His childhood friend. Each time Ikhlaq looked at the picture, a dull ache surged in his chest. Hira was far away now, reduced to a memory he could neither forget completely nor truly hold on to. Every smile, every word of hers echoed in his heart like a lingering chime.
Others had entered Ikhlaq's life since, yet none had filled the emptiness Hira left behind. Recently, however, a new face had appeared in the city—Zara. There was something unusual in her eyes, a strange glimmer, as if seeking light amidst the darkness was her nature. But Ikhlaq couldn't understand his own heart; it felt as though Hira and Zara were fighting two different battles within him.
That night, the air was different. A cold gust rattled the windowpanes. An eerie unease seeped into the silence of the city.
And then… came the sound.
At first, just a faint murmur, like someone speaking from afar. Then, suddenly, it burst into a scream. A scream so sharp it seemed to tear straight out of someone's soul. Ikhlaq's body shuddered from head to toe.
"This…" his lips trembled, "…this scream… where did it come from?"
He flung the window open. A chill wind rushed in. His eyes stretched wide into the darkness, but the alley was empty. No one was there. Only a dog barked in the distance, and raindrops had begun to fall from the sky.
Ikhlaq's heartbeat pounded wildly. A thought struck him: This scream ripped through the city's heart… but whose was it? And why?
He stepped back and sat on the chair, his mind racing. This wasn't the first time strange sounds had haunted the city. For weeks now, people had been living under a silent shadow of fear. Some whispered of seeing a "shade" in the streets; others claimed to have witnessed a moving shadow walking across walls in the dead of night.
At first, people laughed it off. But when two people vanished without a trace, the city's atmosphere shifted. Doors locked shut the moment night fell, and families extinguished their lights, as if trying to befriend the darkness itself.
Ikhlaq muttered to himself:
"This is leading to something… maybe that scream was the first sign of it."
The rain grew heavier. Droplets struck the windowpane like persistent knocks. Inside him stirred a strange resolve, as though behind the night's shadows lay a truth—one tied deeply to his own life.
His gaze wandered back to Hira's photograph. Her smile suddenly seemed heavier, burdened with something unsaid. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. But as soon as his eyes shut, another face rose in his mind—Zara's. Her glimmering eyes, her faint smile.
Whom should I give place in my heart? And why do I feel both are part of my life… as if both are bound to a greater secret?
By the rain-slicked window, Ikhlaq stood once more. For a fleeting moment, time seemed to freeze in the far corner of the city. Then he saw it—a shadow.
On a distant rooftop, something moved. Through the veil of rain, its form was hard to distinguish, yet it seemed both human and… something else. Its body glimmered faintly, even in the downpour, as though it was light born of darkness.
The words slipped from Ikhlaq's lips before he could stop them:
"Who's there?!"
But the only reply was the whisper of the wind. Slowly, the shadow faded away—gone, as though it had never existed at all.
A chill ran down Ikhlaq's soul. For the first time, he felt his own city had become a stranger. Every corner hid secrets. Every shadow stared back at him.
That night, he made a decision.
"I won't run. I will face this shadow. Whatever it takes."
His voice carried a strength it had never held before. For the first time, he sensed a hidden power within himself—one that could only awaken when confronted with darkness.
But he didn't realize then—this journey wasn't only against a shadow. It would also force him to confront the shadows within himself: his secrets, his relationships, his love. Everything would be tested in this battle.
He blew out the lamp. The room sank into darkness. The rain still fell, and the city lay drowned in an eerie silence.
And Ikhlaq could not sleep. For that night, he felt it—
a new era had begun.