Night had fully fallen.
A blood-red moon bled across the sky.
A crimson mist slithered along the ground.
A suffocating silence hung over the city.
In the heart of this frozen scene, a white-haired boy with silver eyes was running for his life — breath ragged, eyes wild.
His name? Noah.
And he was screwed.
He had broken a forbidden rule.
But to understand how things spiraled this far… let's rewind.
---
That morning, it was his girlfriend's birthday.
He wanted to surprise her.
"What do you even get a girl for her birthday?" he wondered.
Whatever.
A teddy bear would do.
He stopped by a shop, browsed the crowded aisles, grabbed a white bear with soft pink details, and walked out.
The streets were packed.
People rushed by, heads down.
"Guess that's because of the curfew…" Noah thought.
The stories about people vanishing at night… or those ridiculous rumors about the "Devouring Night"?
No way.
But hey, if everyone believed it — what could he do?
Back home, he called his girlfriend.
— "You throwing a party tonight?"
— "No… My dad's sick. No party."
He pressed on, holding onto a tiny sliver of hope.
— "Can I at least stop by? Just to give you your gift?"
— "Another day… Not tonight."
Disappointed, Noah let it go.
He collapsed on his bed.
Sleep took him.
Until his phone blew up with notifications.
It was Elie.
Party noises blaring in the background.
— "Where are you?" Noah asked.
— "At Leïla's birthday party."
— "What? She told me her dad was sick."
— "She lied. And not for a good reason… I'm looking at her right now. Kissing the class rep."
Noah dropped his phone.
Curfew or not, he flung his window open — and jumped.
He ran straight to Leïla's place.
He knocked.
No answer.
At night… you don't open the door.
You stay locked inside.
He turned back, his stomach twisting in fury.
And then…
A strange chill clawed up his spine.
The air turned sharp. Dry. Ice-cold — an invisible bite creeping beneath his clothes.
No sound. No wind. Not even a stray cat.
Then… a streetlamp flicked off.
Another.
And another.
Perfect intervals. A straight line. Heading straight for him.
Noah froze.
A shiver drilled down his back.
A red mist slithered between the buildings, spreading over the asphalt like a living fluid.
His throat clenched. His lungs burned.
Above…
The moon.
Massive. Blood-red. Hanging in the sky like a diseased eye — swollen, suffocating.
The silence shattered.
A faint cry.
Sharp. Wet.
Like the squeak of a mouse… being chewed.
Then… footsteps.
Slow. Heavy.
A wet sound with every step.
Plop… plop…
Noah's breath came faster.
His legs refused to move.
His heartbeat pounded so loud it echoed in his ears.
From the mist… something stepped out.
The monster rose from the shadows — sculpted from pure void.
It walked upright, elegant… almost regal.
A terrifying contrast to the raw fear it radiated.
Its body was lean, wrapped in sleek, taut muscle — built for the hunt.
Its skin looked like frozen ink, veined with deep crimson lines that pulsed slowly, like an exposed, beating heart.
With every step, black ash drifted from its bare feet.
Its face… human.
Too human.
Smooth. Expressionless.
No nose. A mouth sewn shut with crimson thread.
And those eyes…
Twin golden rings, burning with a strange light — eternal seals carved into them.
Behind it floated a halo of obsidian shards, spinning slowly like fragments of a shattered mirror.
They reflected the world… but not the monster itself.
It didn't growl.
It didn't roar.
It watched.
And in its gaze… no anger.
No pity.
Just certainty.
You're going to die.
---
Noah bolted.
Without thinking, he sprinted toward the forest.
He ran, gasping, heart ready to burst.
He ducked behind a tree, hand clamped over his mouth to muffle his breath, his heart slamming against his ribs.
The night… watched him.
He dared a glance back…
Nothing.
No monster.
Just shadows, and that suffocating silence.
Then… he felt it.
A cold breath.
Damp. Mocking.
On the back of his neck.
His skin crawled.
His muscles locked.
Slowly, he looked up…
There.
Perched above him, melted into the tree's shadow… the monster stared.
Two golden eyes — blazing with a sick, predatory gleam — locked onto him with chilling calm.
And then… the smile.
Slow. Twisted. Stretching far beyond human limits.
Not a smile.
A promise.
Pain.
Hunt.
Death.
Noah's face went blank.
His pupils shrank.
His lips quivered.
His nostrils flared.
He was prey.
And he'd just realized…
It was already too late.
---
End of Chapter 1