The door opened into a vast, black expanse. Darkness wasn't just absence of light—it moved, breathed, and reached for them. The air was thick and suffocating, carrying whispers of every fear, desire, and memory they had ever held.
The walls seemed to pulse, forming shapes out of shadow: bodies twisted in agony, faces screaming silently, hands stretching to grab at their minds. The floor rippled like liquid, swallowing their steps as if the carriage itself were alive.
Sophie screamed as tendrils of darkness coiled around her legs, whispering all her regrets and hidden desires. Alex struggled as the shadows formed grotesque versions of himself, mocking and attacking him with each thought of weakness. Leo's reflection fractured in the darkness, showing him countless versions of himself, all failing, all terrified, all trapped.
Evelyn gripped the lantern tightly, its light barely cutting through the oppressive void. The shadows writhed and hissed, trying to overwhelm her mind, feeding on every flicker of doubt and fear.
A voice echoed through the darkness, low and omnipresent:"All that you fear, all that you desire… it is alive. Survive it, or be consumed."
Step by step, Evelyn forced the group forward. The shadows adapted instantly to every move, every thought. Walls stretched impossibly, floors dissolved into nothing, and whispers of the past and future clawed at their minds.
Hours seemed to pass—or maybe minutes—the darkness bending time and perception. Every step tested their sanity and will to survive. The carriage pulsed with a life of its own, feeding on fear, desire, and exhaustion.
Finally, a faint glow appeared in the distance: a sigil, pulsing steadily. They lunged toward it, dragging each other through, leaving behind the Carriage of Living Darkness, though its pulse followed them in their minds.
The survivors collapsed beyond the sigil, shaken, exhausted, and terrified—but alive. Yet a single thought haunted them all: the train wasn't finished. It would continue, and the darkness would never release them entirely.