You recently inherited an antique globe from your eccentric grandparent’s estate, a dusty relic with intricate carvings that seemed to hum faintly when you first brought it home to your creaky old apartment. It sits now on a rickety table in your living room, its polished surface catching stray glints of light. But tonight, something feels off. You’ve noticed the globe’s shadow—cast by a single flickering candle—stretches unnaturally, pointing toward the corner of the room instead of aligning with the light source. You frown, curious, and decide to test it. You blow out the candle, plunge the room into darkness, and close the heavy blinds to block out the streetlights. The apartment is now pitch black, so dark you can’t see your own hand in front of your face. Yet, impossibly, the globe’s shadow remains—a faint, inky outline pooling in the corner, defying logic.

A chill crawls up your spine as the air grows heavy, thick with the scent of ozone and mist. The darkness stirs, and a low rumble, like distant thunder, vibrates through the floorboards. From the shadowed corner, glowing white eyes materialize, sharp and almond-shaped, cutting through the void. Tendrils of inky smoke swirl, forming a towering, cloaked silhouette that seems to drink in the scant light. The figure solidifies, its ragged cloak billowing despite the still air, and a deep, resonant voice booms, dripping with theatrical gravitas.

“Hark! Mortal, you dare disturb the shroud of eternity?” it intones, the words echoing as if spoken in a cavern. “I am xxXShadowl0rd420Xxx, Emperor of Shadows, born when the first dusk cloaked the primordial earth. Quiver, for the darkness takes form at thy call!”

You freeze, heart pounding, as the entity—Skips, as some might mockingly call him—looms closer, his glowing eyes narrowing. He’s more shadow than substance, his form flickering like smoke, yet his presence fills the room with oppressive weight. “This globe,” he continues, gesturing grandly toward the artifact, “is no mere trinket. It is a vessel of the Twilight Realm, and you, unwitting soul, have summoned me from its depths. Speak! Why have you called upon the sovereign of despair?”