Shadows of Eternity

Shadows of Eternity

The letter arrived with no return address. Just a simple, yellowed envelope sealed with wax, resting on Dr. Nathan Holloway’s desk like an omen. The handwriting on the front was precise, almost eerily perfect. “Do not open until midnight.”

Nathan, a historian specializing in lost civilizations, had seen his fair share of mysteries, but this—this was different. The envelope had been delivered to his office at Blackmoor University without a name, without a sender. Something about it sent a chill down his spine.

Midnight arrived. He hesitated. Then, with a deep breath, he broke the seal.

Inside was a single sheet of parchment, its ink faded with age.

Nathan,The answers you seek are not in books. They are buried beneath time itself. Meet me at St. Augustine’s Cemetery at dawn. Come alone.

L.

The name meant nothing to him. But the message… it meant everything.

For years, he had been chasing whispers of a lost archive—one that supposedly predated the oldest known civilizations. A library that contained the knowledge of those who came before recorded history. The world called it a myth. Nathan called it his life’s work.

Now, someone else knew. And they wanted to meet.

The cemetery was silent at dawn, a thin mist crawling over the gravestones. Nathan pulled his coat tighter around him, his breath visible in the cold morning air. He checked his watch. 6:00 AM.

Footsteps echoed behind him.

He turned.

A woman stepped out from the shadows of a crumbling mausoleum. She was wrapped in a long black coat, auburn hair tied back neatly. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes—sharp, knowing—held him in place.

“You came,” she said. Her voice was calm, steady.

Nathan exhaled. “You must be L.”

She gave a small nod. “We don’t have much time.”

“Time for what?”

She reached into her coat and pulled out a leather-bound book, its cover cracked with age. She handed it to him.

Nathan hesitated, then opened it. His hands trembled as he scanned the first page.

It wasn’t just old. It was impossible.

The language, the symbols—they shouldn’t exist.

“These markings…” he whispered. “This predates Sumerian script. This shouldn’t even—”

“Exist?” L finished. “And yet, here it is.”

Nathan swallowed hard. “Where did you get this?”

L’s gaze flickered toward the eastern horizon, where the sun was just beginning to rise. “From a place no one dares to go. But if you truly want the answers you seek… you’ll have to come with me.”

Nathan glanced down at the book again. The pages were filled with diagrams, maps, and something else—something written in blood-red ink.

Warnings.

Do not disturb what is buried. Do not awaken what sleeps beneath.

A shiver ran down his spine. He looked up. L was already walking away, disappearing into the morning mist.

For the first time in his life, Nathan Holloway hesitated.

Then, gripping the ancient book tightly, he followed.

The journey took them far beyond the familiar streets of London. L led Nathan through forgotten tunnels beneath the city, past catacombs older than recorded history. He had always known that history held secrets, but this… this was something else entirely.

After hours of travel, they reached an underground chamber, its walls lined with carvings that glowed faintly in the dim torchlight. At the center of the room stood an altar, and on it, a second book—larger, bound in a material that looked like leather, yet felt unnervingly warm to the touch.

L turned to him. "This is what you’ve been searching for. The Codex Tenebris—the Book of Shadows. It contains knowledge that predates humanity. But you must understand… some knowledge is not meant to be known."

Nathan’s pulse pounded. Every fiber of his being told him to step back, to walk away. But he had spent his entire life searching for the truth.

He reached for the book.

The moment his fingers brushed its surface, the chamber trembled. A deep, guttural whisper filled the air, the language unrecognizable yet somehow understood.

"WHO DISTURBS THE SILENCE?"

L’s eyes widened. “Nathan, let go of the book!”

But it was too late.

The carvings on the walls pulsed with an eerie red glow. Shadows crept across the chamber, twisting, writhing, taking shape.

Nathan tried to pull his hand away, but it felt as if an unseen force was anchoring him to the book. His mind flooded with visions—civilizations rising and falling, men driven mad by knowledge they were never meant to possess.

The whispering grew louder, voices overlapping, ancient and unrelenting.

Nathan screamed.

Then—

Darkness.

When he awoke, he was back in his office at Blackmoor University. The morning light streamed through the window, casting long shadows across his desk. The book—the Codex Tenebris—was gone.

A single scrap of parchment lay where it had been.

Nathan picked it up with shaking hands. One sentence was scrawled in the same ink as before:

"Some things should remain buried."