The old cottage stood alone in the middle of a vast expanse of green grass, surrounded on all sides by dense forest. In the distance, a thin wisp of smoke billowed from the chimney, blending into the gray sky as the air began to cool.
Are there any humans there?" Paul thought cautiously.
He sped up but kept his distance. When he got close enough, He lowered his head and peeked through the slightly fogged window. The room inside was dark, barely lit by the dying fire in the fireplace.
But one thing made him doubt—there wasn't a single person there.
"Is this cottage empty...?"
The room was too neat to be left alone. Soups starting to cool, a slice of bread cut in half, and a cup of tea that had stopped steaming—everything was still on the wooden table. It was as if the owner had just stepped out for a moment. But there were no traces, no sounds, no signs that anyone would return.
Paul swallowed hard. Without thinking twice, he tried to open the door. It was unlocked.
"Krieet."
The door creaked as it slowly opened. His anxiety peaked, but curiosity—and exhaustion—pushed him to go inside. He stepped in carefully, like a thief afraid to make a sound.
Inside, there was only one old mattress, an old closet, and a few books stacked beside the dining table. Paul walked slowly, making sure no one else was inside. Once he was sure, he carefully closed the door and walked toward the closet. Inside, a few clothes were hanging—still in fairly good condition.
"This shirt is still good... Is this place really empty?" he muttered quietly.
His eyes then landed on a wooden bucket in the corner of the room.
Clear water filled the bucket, tempting his dry throat.
'T-This looks clean... It can't be poisonous, right?'
Paul leaned the wooden stick, which had been helping him walk, against the wall. He stared at the bucket of water in the corner of the room. Though hesitant at first, he finally lowered his head.
"Agh... I don't care anymore," he sighed.
Paul then scooped up the water with both hands and drank it immediately. The water was cold, refreshing, and made him feel a little more alive. His stomach began to rumble, the sound of hunger clearly heard.
"Kruyukk."
Quickly, he approached the table and stared at the leftovers that were there.
"Forgive me... whoever you are."
Then he sat down and began to eat the soup and bread slowly.
"Crunch... Sulp...Crunch"
His chewing sound echoed faintly inside the silent cottage. He felt uneasy, but the calm did not last long.
"Crack."
The sound of twigs breaking from outside, followed by the hiss of a step passing through the grass.
"Srek... Srek...Srek."
Paul froze for a moment. But before he stood up, his eyes caught a kitchen knife placed near the table. He grabbed it quickly.
"At least... This can be just in case," he whispered, trying to calm himself down.
Without wasting any time, he got up, even though the food in front of him hadn't been finished. The pain in his legs returned as he stood, making him grimace quietly. With unsteady steps, he moved away from the table and immediately hid in a worn wooden cabinet.
"Knock... Knock... Knock"
A soft knock echoed from the door. Paul held his breath. His body tensed, his ears on alert.
"Knock... Knock... Knock"
Then, a heavy noise was heard from outside.
"It seems... There is indeed no one in this cottage. Is it true that this is the place?" a heavy voice asked.
"Yes, that's right, it is impossible for the captain to give wrong information," a woman replied.
"They are looking for someone who lives in this cottage?.... Captain?... Who are these people?" thought Paul.
Silence enveloped the room. Paul slowly peeked through the cracks in the closet. The shadow of a foot was faint under the door slit.
'There are some people... two... No, three?' he thought anxiously.
Then, someone tried to open the door.
"Creak."
"Krieet." The door began to open slowly.
A man's voice was heard saying, "Oh, it turns out to be unlocked." Then a woman's voice was heard asking,
"Is there anyone inside?"
"It seems like there's no one here," the man replied, his voice sounding flat.
The door finally opened completely, and the people began to step in. They observed the surroundings closely.
"It seems like there was someone here... He was just about to finish his meal," the woman said, staring at the leftovers on the table.
"And here's a jacket. This jacket looks dirty, and it's so damaged that the bottom is torn," added the man in a flat voice while holding the jacket lying near the table.
"Hm... And what is this? A wooden stick?" muttered the man in a heavy voice, looking at it with a slightly furrowed brow.
"Maybe it's for firewood," said the woman beside him in a light tone.
"Well, it could be," the man thought for a moment and then nodded softly, as if in agreement, even though he wasn't entirely sure.
Then they continued to examine every corner of the room, and their steps drew nearer and nearer to the closet where Paul was hiding.
"Thud... thud...thud"
Someone walked slowly, their steps leading right in front of the closet.
"Well, let's see what's inside here," said a male voice in a heavy tone, his hand starting to grab the door handle.
Paul clenched his fist around the kitchen knife tightly. His fingertips turned pale, and he held his breath.
"I have no other choice..." he whispered in his heart.
His grip tightened, as if it were the only thing that could give him courage, just as the closet door was about to open—
"SSSKRRREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!"
The sound, coming from nowhere, instantly deafened their ears, hitting the eardrums with a force that nearly shattered them. The scream was so loud and terrifying that it made the bodies of the people there shake and fall limp to the floor.the entire cottage trembled.
The scream was so loud that the entire cottage shook. The surrounding wooden walls cracked loudly, and the windows shattered, with glass flying everywhere.
The floor under Paul's feet felt like it was shaking, like a small earthquake that nearly made him fall. The sound caused everything to fall apart, turning the atmosphere into chaos. A man who was about to open the closet door immediately knelt, losing his balance because of the noise.
"D-Damn-!" He said.
The man tried to hold back his body, which was about to fall. His ears began to bleed, and his head felt like it was about to explode.
A woman shouted, "Akhhhh... Please stop!" Her voice was cut off suddenly, unable to endure the excruciating pain.
"Brukk!"
Her body slowly collapsed. At first, she knelt, losing strength in her legs, then fell flat onto the floor. Blood flowed from her ears and the corners of her eyes, soaking her face. Her hands tried to prevent the terrible sound from entering her head, but it was futile; the sound still echoed, even though she covered her ears with both hands.
Because the woman could no longer bear the horrific scream, she ended up hurting her ears and scalp with her nails. Blood poured out every time she scratched her scalp with her nails, even causing her hair to be pulled out as she couldn't hold back the terrifying scream any longer. And within seconds, her consciousness faded away.
In another corner, a man covered both of his ears with his hands, trying to hold back the scream, but blood began to flow from his ears. His eyes were also bleeding, his body looked weak, almost unable to survive.
Paul was no different. He held back the sound as hard as he could, until the knife he was holding fell. With trembling hands, he covered his ears, hoping to relieve the immense pain. But the scream could still be heard clearly, further destroying his ears. His eardrum felt broken, and blood began to flow slowly, feeling warm between his fingers.
Paul slowly sat down, his body weak and almost unable to survive.
'D-Damn, what else is this... hurts... My ears are ringing, it hurts so much... damn... dammit... Why do I have to go through all this... What the hell is this?" he thought,
Making himself almost faint from the scream. After what felt like such a long time, the screams finally subsided. Paul was still aware. His hands trembled as he grabbed the knife that had come off. He grasped it tightly, then opened the door of the old closet from the inside
"Krieett!"
"Akhhh... Damn..." he muttered. His head was still ringing. It felt like his eardrum was about to burst. He crawled out, his breathing heavy. He groaned in pain, trying to stand up by holding on to a nearby dining table.
His pace was unstable. His vision was still blurred. Everything feels like it's spinning. But he could see quite clearly the person who was about to open the door of the closet where he was hiding.
Now the man was lying on the floor, his body shaking slowly. Blood flowed heavily from his ears and eyes, pooling on the wooden floor. His face was pale, his eyes were half-open like a broken doll, and there was no longer life there.
Another man was lying nearby, fainting. His face was covered in blood, his mouth was emitting a thick white foam, clumping on the sides of his lips.
The woman who was screaming... is dead. His face was shattered—his skin was torn, his nails tore through his hair and scalp. His eyeballs were almost out, hanging only by the veins. His blood came out of all the holes—ears, nose, eyes, mouth—forming a thick puddle on the floor.
Paul fell to his knees.
"Gweehhh!" He vomited. Acidic liquids and food residues splashed onto the floor. His eyes glanced at the woman's body, then he immediately turned his face.
"What is it... What happened to his face...?" he thought in a panic. He gritted his teeth and tried to stand up again. His body was still shaking, but he had to get out of this place. As he stepped outside the house, his eyes caught something in the sky.
The sky is like a torn. A giant black hole gaped between the storm clouds. The shape is unnatural—spinning, squirming, as if it has consciousness.
And there was a giant creature circling at hole. Its skeleton is long, like the spine of a dead dragon. But it is alive and it moves, extending to the sky, then spinning in the sky. His bones, resembling human ribs, were pale and fused with dark clouds. Each of the bones is decorated with a human body that hangs like a dead doll, its head stuck in it.
The monster had no eyes, but Paul felt watched. It was as if the creature could see him.
And from within that hole in the sky... There were more creatures, smaller but no less terrifying. Wings, horns, claws, and shapes that could not be explained by human logic.
The sky turned red with an open hellhole, and a nightmare was coming true.
Paul just froze on the spot. His pupils widened as he stared at something that appeared in the sky. He couldn't seem to believe what he was seeing. His hand was still gripping the knife, but he knew... it was completely useless against the creatures that emerged from the gaping hole in the sky. The hole was like a door to hell, wide open.
The voices were silent. The only thing that could be heard was... the sound from the sky that seemed to be torn apart, accompanied by the wind that shook the land below. From that pitch-black hole, two thin hands gripped the edge of the hole, clawed at the clouds, and pulled them open.
"KRRRAAAAKKKKKKK." —like a giant glass that was forcibly broken,
Then followed by the sound
"WUUUUUMMMMMMM."
Like the hum of a vacuum—but much louder—hitting the air. Paul immediately covered his ears with both hands, but the sound was still heard. It didn't just sound, but it seemed to propagate directly into his mind, piercing his nerves from within.
"Ahh... damn... damn... dammit... it hurts... it hurts so much," Paul muttered, his voice choked by the pain tearing through his head.
His body slowly sank to his knees, unable to endure the agony. Even though he had tightly covered his ears, he could feel something warm flowing again from his ear canals.
The sound only ceased when the creature, who had been pulling at the edge of the sky hole with its long, crooked fingers, slowed its movements.
As if the world itself was holding its breath, a sudden silence replaced the terrifying roar.
Then Paul slowly looked up at the sky. His eyes trembled as he saw the creature descending from the sky. It didn't float. It didn't leap. It simply descended—as if the sky itself were a floor.
And when one of its feet touched the ground—
"DOOOOM!"
The ground cracked open.