The first monolith erupted at 3:03 AM, splitting the Salisbury Plain like God's fingernail dragged through wet clay.
It wasn't stone that broke the surface.
It was memory made solid - a 3.33-meter shard of collective human fear, its obsidian surface veined with liquid gold that pulsed to the rhythm of a sleeping child's breath. The ground convulsed as five more followed, forming a spiral that warped the air like heat haze.
What the Chosen Saw:
~ Six perfect black columns humming at a certain frequency (the frequency of Lily's crayon on paper)
~ Shadows pooling counterclockwise around the base, forming a moat of grasping hands
~ An inscription in no earthly language that somehow read "Prove you deserve the key"
What the System Showed:
» DUNGEON 1: STONEHENGE TRIALS
» REWARDS: TIER II GEAR, SKILL SHARDS
» ENTRY PENALTY: NONE
The Truth:
The monoliths were teeth. The dungeon was a throat. And the Trial was just the first swallow.
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The Carter farmhouse creaked like a ship in a storm. Outside, the wind carried whispers from Stonehenge – 3,000 miles and one broken reality away.
Mike Carter stood at the nursery door, watching moonlight carve his daughter's shadow into something too tall for her four-year-old body. Lily's crayon moved in hypnotic strokes, red wax forming standing stones that breathed on the paper.
"They're calling, Daddy," she said without looking up.
His golden veins ignited as dual alerts flared:
» PUBLIC SYSTEM COUNTDOWN: T-5 DAYS
(The lie all Chosen see)
» HOST 1 ALERT: T-2.3 DAYS
(The truth burning in his bones)
Lina appeared beside him, her breath frosting despite the summer heat.
"They've started gathering."
On her phone, a livestream showed shadows congealing around Stonehenge's new monoliths – six obsidian towers that hadn't been there yesterday.
The grandfather clock struck three.
Lily's drawing pulsed once.
And in Wiltshire, the earth screamed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(03:47 AM)
Klaus Meier's combat boots sank into blood-warm mud as he approached the stone spiral. His fire axe dripped black ichor from the Berlin subway massacre – twelve dead civilians the System had labeled "acceptable collateral."
System Alert (Blinking):
» DUNGEON 1: STONEHENGE TRIALS
» REWARD: TIER II SHADOWFANG AXE
The lie tasted like copper. Klaus knew better. Yesterday, he watched his reflection blink separately from his movements. The shadows were teaching him to see through the System's deceptions.
The central monoliths parted with a wet crunch.
Not an entrance.
A maw.
Air heavy with the scent of crayon wax and rotting placenta rushed out as Klaus stepped inside – and the dungeon swallowed him whole.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(04:09 AM)
Hana Tanaka's sneakers stuck to the corridor floor with every step. The walls pulsed around her, stretched human skin stitched with glowing tribal marks she recognized from Mike's chest.
"Breathe," the dungeon whispered through rows of tracheal vents.
Her Identify skill spat corrupted data:
» OXYGEN: 21% || » ACTUAL: No need to breathe
» TEMPERATURE: 18°C || » ACTUAL: 37°C
Something brushed her ankle.
Hana looked down to see her own shadow crawling up her leg, its hands molding to her knees like wet clay. It smiled with teeth the System hadn't shown her.
The shadow didn't invade - it remembered its way in.
Hana's scream died as the thing wearing her silhouette pressed ink-black fingers to her lips. It had her father's smile, her mother's knife, and none of their mercy.
Invasion Timeline:
~ Contact (0m 00s):
* Her shadow peels from the floor during an Identify glitch
* Fingers mold to her knees like warm wax
~ Bargaining (0m 15s):
* Offers visions of Tokyo untouched by shadows
* Shows Mike's hidden timer (T-2.3 days)
~ Consumption (0m 42s):
* Tendrils slip under her fingernails
* Left eye turns liquid black, seeing both timelines
* Final resistance: She stabs her own thigh to break the connection
The shadow laughs with her voice as it flows into the wound.
Aftermath:
~ Hana walks out uncorrupted...mostly
~ Her Identify skill now sometimes shows future data
~ She doesn't tell anyone about the whispers calling Lily "the lockpick"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(04:31 AM)
Adebayo's scalpel flashed under bioluminescent fungus that grew in the shape of Abby's tattoos. Before him floated the Architect – a hairless fetus the size of a minivan, its umbilical cord tethered to the ceiling, its skin stitched with Mike's scars.
Objective:
~ Collect 3 golden teeth
The doctor hesitated as his shadow stepped out of his body, scalpel glinting.
"They're not teeth,"
his shadow murmured.
"They're keys."
The Architect giggled when they cut, its wounds sprouting new molars etched with Chosen names. Adebayo's hands shook as he recognized Wanjiku's patient ID on a freshly grown incisor.
His shadow licked the bloodied blade.
"Time's running different for her too."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(04:53 AM)
The axe called out to him before he saw it.
Klaus Meier's blistered hands ached with phantom weight as he pushed through the dungeon's fleshy corridors. The System's promised reward floated ahead - a Tier II Shadowfang Axe, its obsidian blade etched with his own screaming face.
"Take me,"
it whispered in his dead mother's voice.
"Prove you're not just another bridge."
His corruption began in seconds:
~ Temptation Phase (0-15 seconds):
* The axe shows him Berlin burning (his deepest desire)
* His reflection in the blade ages backward to his childhood self
~ Decision Point (15-30 seconds):
* System warning: ASSIMILATION RISK: 87%
* Shadow whispers: "They gave you bronze when you deserved gold"
~ Transformation (30-168 seconds real time):
* Jaw unhinges with wet cracks
* Vertebrae sprout chitinous armor
* Shadow detaches completely, now leading his body by 0.3 seconds
Final Alert:
» HOST #42 REPURPOSED
» NEW CLASS: HERALD OF THE CRACK
Klaus' first act with his new axe is to behead his own screaming reflection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(05:15 AM)
Mike's living room rug caught fire as he activated Dual-World Grasp.
Left hand clutching Lily's Stonehenge drawing.
Right hand buried in the smoldering wool.
"Lina! Now!"
His wife plunged a syringe of liquid gold into his neck.
The Carter family secrets burned through his veins:
~ The System wasn't coming in 5 days.
~ The dungeon wasn't a test.
~ Lily's door was already open.
Reality shrieked as Mike tore the dungeon's throat out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(05:30 AM)
Lily's crayon box rattled on the nursery floor. Inside:
~ Melted black wax forming a door
~ 97 tiny handprints pushing from beneath
~ A counter in red crayon: "2.3"
The first knock matched Mike's pulse.
The second came from the moon.
The third shook the farmhouse's foundation as Lily picked up her favorite blue crayon and began drawing a mountain.
"Next one's taller,"
she informed her parents cheerfully.
"We'll need bigger shadows."