He withdrew his hand and watched the darkness calm down again as the energy slowly dissipated. But he knew that was nothing. It was only the beginning of a much larger plan that he had now set in motion.
"There is always one more step," Lukas murmured. "Always."
Lukas's fingers trembled slightly as he felt the residual energy in the air. The creature was gone, disintegrated, dissolved into the darkness from which it had come. But it wasn't enough. Not for Lukas. The danger posed by this image of his creation had only fueled his curiosity further.
"Always one more step," he repeated, turning toward the door. The darkness around him took on a different shape as he moved, almost as if it were bending to his will, as if space itself followed him. He had never known any other way—he mastered the darkness and its creatures.
His footsteps echoed through the empty space. The artifacts he had stolen from Lina now lay neatly packed in a bag he carried beside him. A new chapter, a new hunt. Another life he would encounter along the way. Lukas knew there would be no rest, no respite. There were always new victims, always new challenges awaiting him.
The room he was in was no longer the same. The walls seemed to be narrowing, as if the entire place he occupied was preparing for a moment of catastrophic growth. He knew the world would continue to change—he himself, always with it.
With a slight movement, he put down the bag and opened the artifacts. A brief, faint smile played on his lips. It wasn't a laugh of joy, but one of contempt, of superiority. He could feel the objects in his hand absorbing the dark energy of the room, connecting with his power, as if submitting to his will.
"There's always something else I can use," he said quietly to himself as he put the artifacts away in a secure drawer and stood upright again. The game he was playing would never end. It was always a new day, always a new opportunity to take the next step.
"Always another step," he whispered, turning toward the door. Slowly, he stepped out, the familiar darkness seeming to envelop him, and the inexorable path he'd chosen pulled him onward.
He climbed into his car, the darkness in the streets reflecting in the windows as he drove off. No destination mattered, no moment of significance beyond what he was doing. The hunt was a part of him, an everlasting part that would never leave him.
With a calm, controlled gaze, Lukas took in the streets beneath him as he drove on. It was always the same path. Always.
The streets flew by, incessantly, as he drove the car through the night. The engine roared deep and threatening, but in Lukas's mind, there was complete silence. Every thought was clear, every impulse controlled. The darkness outside was nothing compared to the darkness he carried within.
His eyes, unwavering, stared straight ahead. He had no plan, no fixed path ahead of him—the path he was taking was the one that opened up before him. The next destination would present itself. Perhaps a new victim, perhaps a new encounter, perhaps just the realization that he was drifting further and further away from what others considered a normal life. But that had never been his goal.
He turned his head to his right and looked at the artifact he had taken from Lina's possession. It was nothing special, at least not to him. Yet in the right hands, it could be a powerful weapon, one that could change the course of his hunt. But Lukas knew he didn't need weapons. He was the weapon.
The rustling of a piece of paper in the bag next to him made him smile. Somewhere in the depths of his mind, the next step was already planned. There was always a next stage. Always a next destination. And for each destination, there was a new plan.
"Always the next step," he murmured softly, almost as if reminding himself.
But this time, something was different. A strange silence enveloped him as he drove down the road. The city lights, slowly emerging on the horizon, seemed like shadows that merged with each passing kilometer. Lukas knew he wouldn't make it through this night unscathed. A part of him knew there was something lurking in the darkness.
The engine roared even louder as he increased his speed. His gaze was steady, his breathing steady. He could practically sense the moment when the next step in his hunt was imminent. Something was coming. He could feel it.
The night swallowed him far away.
The darkness grew thicker as he drove through the deserted streets. It was like a familiar pattern, a rhythm he'd experienced so many times in his life. But this time it was different. This silence... it was eerie, it felt like a harbinger. Lukas narrowed his eyes, keeping his gaze on the road, but he knew something, or rather someone, was approaching.
His hand unconsciously reached for the knife he always carried, the cold metal familiar in his hand. It wasn't necessary, not yet, but he wanted to be prepared. The pulse in his temples pounded like the beat of an unstoppable melody. This night wasn't like the others. He could feel it.
The streets became emptier and emptier, the city lights slowly fading into the background behind him. Only the dark, endless horizon lay before him. Then—suddenly—the sound. A scraping. A rustling. Something was behind him. Almost too quickly to comprehend, he turned his head. Two eyes flashed in the darkness, just a few meters behind him.
"Finally," Lukas murmured as a shadow appeared in the rearview mirror, a pair of eyes sparkling in the night. He knew what that meant. "Another mistake."
The car lurched forward as he increased his speed even further, but the presence behind him remained. Slow, almost menacing, as if the shadow knew exactly when to strike. Lukas knew he was dealing with one of his own creations. Another test, another hunt. But this time it would be different.
He braked abruptly and parked the car in the middle of the street. In one fluid motion, he opened the door and got out. The darkness around him seemed to thicken as he turned, ready to face whatever lay behind him.
"I've been expecting you," Lukas said in a cold, almost amused voice as he saw the shadow standing in the distance. The two eyes staring at him came ever closer. It was one of his creatures, the one he had created, but it had developed a will of its own. And Lukas was sure it wouldn't be an easy hunt.
He let the knife slide in his hand and reached for another artifact he carried. "It's time to send you back to your cage," he said calmly, waiting for the attack.
The shadow continued to move toward him, fluid and supple, as if intertwined with the darkness itself. Lukas could feel the cold breath his creature left behind and the flickering of its eyes in the darkness. Something was different about this monster. It wasn't just one of the created creatures he controlled. It was... hungry.
"Did you think you could outsmart me?" Lukas' voice was calm, almost indifferent, but there was a tension in his eyes that only appeared when he knew he was dealing with a dangerous opponent.
The monster, a massive, sinister shape that seemed to form from shadows and mist, growled deeply, a sound that shattered even the still wind of the night. It was more than a beast. It was something Lukas himself had spawned, but now it was something else. Something he didn't fully control.
With a jerky step, the monster leaped forward, its long claws grasping at Lukas's shoulder, but Lukas was faster. He dodged, the knife in his hand flashing in the faint moonlight, and at the same moment the monster's claws tore through the void, he stabbed. The blade struck its target, but the monster didn't seem to bleed. Instead, it began to dissolve into shadow, a hissing sound that nearly made Lukas's ears burst.
"You are not enough for me yet," Lukas said with a cold smile, pulling the artifact he had been holding closer. The darkness around him seemed to thicken as, with another word, he unleashed the artifact's power.
Suddenly, a massive, scaly shadow erupted from the ground. Another reptilian monster, larger and stronger than any he had created before. A massive, dark serpent, its scales gleaming in the blinding light of the few remaining stars. Its mouth opened wide, and its tongue flickered in the air before lunging at the monster, which now tried to escape Lukas.
Lukas watched calmly. The snake struck with lightning speed, its fangs sinking deep into the monster. It screamed—a wailing, harsh sound that tore through the silence of the night. But just when Lukas thought the monster was defeated, the answer came. The creature, exhausted by the snake, let out one last, piercing scream and backed away.
The serpent creature continued in a ferocious, determined attack, but the other creature deftly dodged.
A mighty battle raged between the two. But then, in a moment of inattention, the snake struck the creature with a single, precise bite, tearing off its arm. The creature staggered back, its arm caught in the monster's teeth. But the shock was short-lived.
"Funny thing... ever since I can remember... I've detested reptiles," Lina whispered. Her words were calm, almost matter-of-fact, and she breathed heavily as the pain from the loss of her arm fused itself into her movements.
With one last, desperate move, despite the pain, she continued her attack, destroying the snake in a savage struggle. But it was too late. Lukas's hand, steady and precise, reached for his knife and cut off its head before it could resist again.
Lukas stood over her, the knife still in his hand, the blade covered in blood. Lina's body lay motionless at his feet, the golden mask she had worn now shattered and turned to dust. One last look at what was left of her, and he already had everything he needed. He stepped back, picked up the artifact she carried, and packed it into his pocket.
"Whatever you were," he murmured, "you were never enough." He left the corpse behind and continued on.
His gaze was cool and determined as he walked to his car. With a last, casual glance at the shattered mask and the remains of Lina, he climbed into the vehicle, which was already waiting quietly in the shadows. The engine started, the sound of the start-up mingling with the quiet darkness of the night, and then he accelerated, leaving the dust behind.
Not another word. Not another hesitation.
Lukas drove on. The road ahead of him lay open and endless. It was time to set his sights on new targets, to find new victims. Another murder, the next plan, and the constant urge to take more and more. The darkness was his only company, and it seemed to envelop him like a familiar blanket.
Lukas drove down the road, the whir of the engine the only sound breaking the silence of the night. He felt nothing. No relief. No pain. Only the urge to keep going. The images of the last few hours replayed in his head, but they had no meaning. Lina, her golden mask, the fight. It was just another step in an endless series of steps that brought him nothing but this emptiness.
He pulled his hand off the steering wheel and reached for a small bag on the passenger seat. Another artifact. Another collectible that he could now add to his collection. Someday he would have it all, own it all. That was the plan. A plan without a goal, without meaning, but that was exactly what he needed.
He turned the car off the main road and turned onto a remote forest path. The trees closed in above him as he drove on, until the asphalt turned into a stretch of dirt road. Here he was safe, here he could quietly occupy himself with his new possessions. The darkness seemed to embrace him as he brought the car to a stop. No further destination, no further obstacle. Only peace.
He opened the door, stepped out, and walked into the woods. A quick glance back at the car, visible only as a fleeting shadow in the darkness. No one would come here. No one knew he was here. And that was exactly what he wanted: complete isolation. No distractions. No surprises. Just him and the things he needed.
Lukas strolled further into the woods, his gaze fixed onward, without making a sound. Each step was precisely placed, as if the ground beneath his feet was meant for him. The darkness was his ally; it allowed him to become one with the night. As he felt surrounded by the trees and shadows, he knew the moment would come when he would have to act again. But not now. Not here.
He took the artifact he had stolen from Lina out of his pocket and examined it for a moment. It was a small, inconspicuous object, but it had value. To him, everything had value. Not in a material sense, but as part of a larger game. The things he collected would eventually become part of his own realm. A realm he had created for himself.
Slowly, he let the artifact sink into the ground, burying it deep underground, as if closing another chapter of his life. The darkness held it in its grip, just as it held everything he did. No one would ever know what he was doing here. No one would ever truly understand him.
He turned and walked back to his car. The night was silent, and the only sound was the rustle of his footsteps in the leaves. The isolation of the forest protected him, and for a moment everything felt perfect. No light, no
No people, only the vastness of nothingness that he controlled.
Back in the car, he drove on. The engine roared as he left the road, and the darkness swallowed him once more. The plan was simple: keep driving, keep killing, and keep everything under his control. No hesitation, no regrets. He had become part of the darkness, one shadow among many that would never see the light of day again.
The road ahead seemed endless, a black line stretching into the unknown. Lukas's fingers danced calmly on the steering wheel as he felt the night wind on his face. The freedom he felt in these moments was suffocating—the freedom of answering to no one, of showing no weakness to anyone. There were no rules, no morals. Just him and the road.
He drove through small villages whose lights appeared like faint stars in the distance. Lukas had been to these parts many times before. The faces of the people he met on the street were like flickering ghosts to him. They existed, but only in the moment they appeared before him. After that, they disappeared as quickly as they had come.
He no longer thought about what he had done, not about Lina or the artifacts he now possessed. The world outside was silent, and that was what appealed to him. Silent, unexplored, and controlled only by him.
He turned down a dark side street, one of many secluded places where he found peace. No cameras, no witnesses. It was as if the place had been made especially for him, as if he could claim this moment for himself alone. He parked the car under a tree and got out.
The forest surrounding him was dense, its branches forming an impenetrable canopy. Lukas took a deep breath; the scent of damp leaves and earth filled his nostrils. It was a familiar feeling, this moment of solitude.
He walked into the darkness, where he knew he would be alone for the next few hours. Silence had become his ally, and he savored the peace that only night could offer.
The darkness of the forest seemed to embrace him as he walked deeper into it, far from any civilization. The moon sent only sparse rays of light through the dense canopy, casting the ground in ghostly shadows. Lukas's footsteps echoed softly as he moved along the path, not really looking for a destination. He knew the forest here wouldn't bother him—the forest was like him: silent, unfathomable, yet always ready to reveal what lay hidden.
He paused briefly when a faint crack in the distance caught his attention. A sharp sound, as if something were making contact with the ground—a branch, an animal, a shadow moving. Lukas's eyes narrowed, and he listened. The night was full of sounds, but this one was too targeted. Something wasn't right.
He pulled a small dagger from his pocket and held it loosely in his hand. No more sound. Only the rustling of leaves and the distant rush of a stream. Lukas's fingers brushed the sharp blade as he continued walking. His body was tense, his muscles ready to receive. The forest had become his home, and it was where he always felt most at peace. But the moment was different. The slight pressure in the air let him know that someone, or something, was watching him.
The thought of the intruder was more a matter of habit than hesitation. Lukas was never afraid—and he wouldn't let this night be exempt. He turned slightly to the side as the shadow suddenly emerged from the darkness. First a movement, then a figure—not tall, more slender. A silhouette creeping through the undergrowth. The outline of a person trying to remain invisible in the mists of the night.
"You shouldn't mess with me," Lukas murmured softly, his voice calm, almost a whisper, but it carried the weight of the experience he'd accumulated over the past few years. The person who attacked him wouldn't survive. No one who messed with Lukas had ever stood a chance.