The moment Samuel’s blood touched the earth, something ancient stirred beneath the surface. The island trembled—not with anger, but with recognition.Samuel gasped as heat pulsed from his wounded palm, spreading up his arm like liquid fire. The sensation wasn’t pain, exactly. It was something deeper, something that burned into his very bones.Sarah held onto him, her fingers digging into his arm. “Samuel, talk to me! What’s happening?”He tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. His vision blurred, the world around him tilting as if reality itself had shifted.Then, the ground beneath them split open.A glowing fissure ran from where his blood had fallen, jagged veins of golden light branching out like roots seeking nourishment. The energy pulsed, slow at first, then faster, brighter, until the entire clearing was bathed in its eerie glow.Samuel stumbled back, his breath shallow. His reflection shimmered in the golden light—his skin looked different, almost translucent, as if som

.Dark tendrils wrapped around his limbs, pulling him deeper into the abyss. The golden energy that once surged through him flickered like a dying flame, overwhelmed by the creeping void. His breath came in short gasps as his vision blurred, swallowed by the endless dark.Somewhere above, he heard Sarah screaming his name.But the sound was distant—too far, too unreachable.Then, just as the last sliver of golden light disappeared, a voice whispered in his ear."Now, you are mine."Samuel’s eyes snapped open.He was no longer falling.Instead, he stood in a vast, empty space. The ground beneath him was slick like polished glass, reflecting a sky of swirling black mist. No stars. No horizon. Just an endless void.And in front of him—A figure emerged from the shadows.It was human-like, but its form constantly shifted, as if made from liquid darkness. Its eyes glowed a deep