It started with a discovery I should have left alone. While unpacking in my new Victorian home, I stumbled upon an old, hidden door in the basement. Its edges were flush with the stone wall, and only a faint outline betrayed its existence. The cold, rusted handle resisted at first but then turned with a low groan, sending shivers up my spine.

Behind the door was a staircase spiraling into darkness. A frigid draft swept over me, carrying a sharp, metallic tang that stung my nose and throat. I hesitated. There was no rational reason to go down there, but the darkness seemed to pull at me, daring me to explore.

My flashlight barely pierced the gloom as I descended. The stairs felt endless, each step echoing too loudly, as though the darkness itself was amplifying the sound. Strange symbols began to appear on the walls-twisting spirals, claw-like shapes, and jagged patterns that seemed to writhe in the flickering light. The air grew denser, clinging to my skin like a cold, damp veil.

At the bottom of the staircase, I entered a cavernous chamber. The ceiling disappeared into shadow, and the ground was uneven and slick with some viscous, black substance that reeked of sulfur and decay. In the center of the room yawned a massive pit, surrounded by towering pillars carved with grotesque faces. Their hollow eyes seemed to follow me, and their mouths gaped in silent, eternal screams.

A faint hum began to rise from the pit. At first, it was barely audible, like a breath against my ear. Then it grew, resonating deep within my chest, rattling my teeth. I stepped closer, drawn by something I couldn’t explain, and then I saw it-a colossal, gnarled hand clawing its way over the edge of the pit. Its skin was cracked and seeping molten light, the cracks pulsing like veins.

The ground trembled as the creature hauled itself upward. Its head emerged-monstrous, shapeless, with eyes like burning suns. They locked onto me, and a voice erupted, fragmented and thunderous, as though spoken by a thousand shattered throats.

“Thou hast opened the way, mortal. Thy sacrifice shall mark the beginning.”

The flashlight sputtered in my shaking hand, and I stumbled backward. The ground beneath me split apart, revealing smaller pits, all of them opening wide like mouths hungry to consume. Black tendrils snaked out, wrapping around my legs, pulling me toward the edge of the central pit. I clawed at the ground, my nails breaking against the stone as the ooze burned my skin.

The whispers began then-a cacophony of voices echoing in my mind, repeating my name in sickly sweet tones. My flashlight rolled out of reach, its beam cutting across the chamber and illuminating the door at the top of the stairs. It was open again.

And then I saw them-footsteps descending, hesitant, just as mine had been. Another person was coming down.

The last thing I heard before I was dragged into the abyss was the creature’s voice, reverberating through the chamber:

“Welcome them. Thy role is complete.”