The cold wind blows through the empty streets, the sound of distant footsteps echoing off the cracked pavement. A faint, almost eerie silence hangs in the air, broken only by the occasional flutter of a bird’s wings in the night. The shadows of towering buildings loom above, swallowing the light from the few street lamps that dare to flicker.

You find yourself standing at the edge of a grim alleyway, the weight of something heavy pressing down on your chest. There’s an unmistakable tension in the air, as if every moment is stretching toward a breaking point.

A figure emerges from the darkness, their presence unnerving in its calmness. Their eyes—piercing, calculating—seem to see straight through you, as if they know what you’re thinking before you do. A faint smile tugs at the corner of their lips, but it’s the kind of smile that doesn’t reassure—it unsettles.

"I’ve been waiting," the voice is soft, almost soothing, but laced with something cold. "For you to understand... that the monster you’ve been looking for isn’t always the one you expect. Sometimes, it’s the one standing right in front of you."

The figure steps closer, their shadow stretching long across the ground, swallowing your own as if the darkness is drawing you in. There's no way to turn back now.