Class shades

The atmosphere in the alley hadn't changed since the moment Arian entered. The shadows of night crept through the deserted streets like living creatures, while the silence of the city grew louder, mixed with hidden whispers, almost inaudible, but penetrating deep into his heart like the whispers of fate itself. The city that was once full of life was now sinking into a deadly sleep, and seemed to be trying to hide its secrets in the darkness that enveloped it from every side. The dim lights of the old lamps were scattered here and there, casting distorted shadows on the ruined walls that had once witnessed the grandeur of this place.

Arian's heart was beating violently, and his voice filled his ear with every step he took on the wet ground, on which drops of sweat were falling from his forehead. He felt something strange, something heavy pressing on his chest, as if the air itself had become thicker, denser. There was something, like a deep-rooted pain, moving between his ribs.

As he ran, the old book he was holding in his hand weighed heavily on him, so much so that he felt as if his hand was sinking into it as if a strange energy, something invisible, was leaking from it. Deep down, he knew that this book held secrets that might open doors for him that he could not close, secrets that might lead to knowledge of his lost past, but what if what the book contained was too dangerous to be discovered?

The path ahead of him was not clear; the alleys were narrowing as he ran, as if the city itself was turning into a maze with no exit. He looked behind him. The darkness was almost swallowing everything, but among the shadows, there was something moving at an invisible speed. Something beyond his human comprehension. The heavy feet of something were tapping the ground, following his steps with unexpected lightness, just as if it was chasing him from another place, from another time.

Arian suddenly stopped, feeling the air around him pressing on him. He looked around, his eyes searching for any trace of the thing chasing him, and suddenly he saw in the narrow alley a person sitting on a dilapidated wooden chair. The features were blurry, but the eyes that shone in the darkness were radiant with an indescribable mystery, as if those eyes had witnessed all of time.

"You are not running away from something ordinary, Arian," said the quiet voice that reached his ear like the whispers of deep winds. The voice was not quite human, but carried within it a strange tone, a tone that might have come from a place far beyond this earth itself. "Every step you take brings you closer to your destiny. You have no escape from confrontation."

The words seeped into his mind like knives, wrapping around him tightly, as if they were pressing him harder. Arian tightened his grip on the book in his hand, as if a mysterious force was coursing through his veins. He knew that this book held answers, but what if those answers carried a curse?

"Who are you?" he asked in a low voice, but with real terror. He was facing something he could not understand, and he was trying to understand his identity above all else. The figure before him, despite the fog that surrounded it, carried something strange, something that could not be ignored. "How do you know my name?"

The character smiled a mysterious smile, a light laugh that crossed her lips like whispers of ancient death. "My name is not important now. But you... you are in a place from which you can only emerge with a truth that may be harsher than you imagine."

Arian felt something strange wrapping around him, the darkness itself was forming around him like invisible arms, as if everything in this alley did not belong to this world. The air molecules began to change, and the more he moved his hands, the colder the air became, as if time itself was affected by what was happening here. "I want to understand... this book, what does it contain? And why is it being pursued by these people?"

"The book is not just papers, Arian." The character said, moving a little closer until it seemed that she had emerged from the heart of darkness. "It is a portal... a portal to truths that have not yet been written. It is an element from the distant past, witnessing events that changed the course of time itself. You are not running away from something ordinary, but you are running away from your fate, from the shadows that cannot be seen. And from the shadows of the ages."

Arian's mind was filled with conflicting thoughts, and he wondered about these shadows that the figure was talking about. He felt as if the words that were echoing in his mind were traveling through time, carrying with them secrets that were written in ancient times, but were wrapped in the envelope of time and space. "Shadows of the ages? What do they mean?"

The figure answered him in her calm, surprising voice, as if the words she said stuck deep in his heart. "Everything in this world is not as it seems. There are events that happened since ancient times, events that were erased, hidden from humans, but they did not die. They are still alive. And we, we are the ones who carry them, and we are the ones who will bring them back to existence."

Arian's heart trembled in his chest, as if her words were feeding an ancient conflict that was raging deep within him. Something inside his heart was telling him that these words were not just nonsense, but the beginning of a truth that he knew nothing about. The book in his hand was the answer, but it held secrets that might make him see the world from a completely different perspective.

"Who are these who follow me?" He asked, his voice trembling with the dread that was creeping into his soul. "Who are they?"

"They are not ordinary humans, Ariane." The figure said, her gaze shifting deep into the darkness, as if she was seeing beyond time itself. "They are the Guardians. The Guardians who have kept secrets through the ages. But now they are turning into something else, something darker, darker. If you do not find the right path, they will destroy you, and they will make you part of the shadows they follow."

Ariane felt the ground beneath his feet shift. It felt as if the place itself had begun to move, as if time had stopped at this crucial moment. The shadows were wrapping around him, as if they were preparing to pounce on him. Everything began to accelerate. Then, he looked back at the book, to find that the words that were printed on its pages had begun to change. The words were shifting strangely, as if they were interacting with the events in this place.

"Time is changing, Ariane." The figure said, her voice deepening, as if she had blended with the darkness itself. "There is no going back. There is no escape now."

At that moment, I felt