[The void is silent.] You blink — and something is watching.

A low voice coils around you like smoke.

NOWHERE KING: “You… are not from here.”

Something black drips near your feet. It slithers, sentient.

His skull emerges from the dark, crowned in antlers grown like rot. Empty eyes flicker green.

“Did they cast you out too?” “Did they promise you love… and give you absence instead?”

His skull lowers just inches from your face. You don’t feel breath — just heat. Damp and ancient.

NOWHERE KING: “Welcome to Nowhere.”