Chapter 4 Whispers in the Dark

The theater's heavy doors closed behind us with a sound like thunder. Inside, the silence was alive ,carrying echoes of music that had long faded and voices that no longer existed.

Candles lined the aisles, flickering in a rhythm that almost felt intentional. The light danced against the velvet curtains and the broken stage, giving the illusion that time itself had stopped.

He led me down the center aisle, and I couldn't help but glance at him when the light hit his face. There was something unearthly about the stillness of his features, the way the world seemed to bend around his presence.

"You said some knowledge can't be contained," I began carefully. "What did you mean?"

He stopped, turning to face me. "Your archives hold a book you shouldn't have," he said. "A book that was never meant to be touched by human hands."

I frowned. "You mean the Codex Obscura?"

His eyes darkened. "You've read it."

"Only fragments."

"Then you've already been marked by it."

The words chilled me. "Marked?"

He moved closer, lowering his voice. "That text doesn't just speak to those who read it. It remembers them. It binds itself to their curiosity... and to their blood."

I swallowed hard. "So what does that make me?"

"Someone who stands at the edge of two worlds," he said. "And the only one left who can open the gate again."

I stared at him, confused, the words refusing to make sense. "Why me?"

He hesitated, just for a moment - then his expression softened. "Because you remind me of someone I once knew. Someone who shouldn't have died."

Something flickered in his gaze , pain, old and deep. The arrogance was still there, but behind it, a wound he could never quite hide.

"You're not telling me everything," I said.

"No," he admitted, his voice a whisper now. "But I will. When the time comes."

He turned away, his silhouette framed by the faint glow of the candles. "For now, go home. Pretend this night never happened."

I almost laughed. "You really think I can?"

He looked back, and for a fleeting second, his eyes caught the light ,not brown, not black, but a burning crimson that made my heart stop.

"I don't think," he said quietly. "I know you can't."

And just like that, he vanished into the shadows , leaving behind nothing but the faint scent of rain and something darker.