A lot of people would be afraid if an ancient evil started to stalk them, it was perfectly logical. But Greg wasn't really feeling terrified. He held immense hatred and grudge against this creature and such strong emotions would overwrite any feelings of fear. It was this being's fault that Greg's sister Ava was now gone. The creature, Isskali, had originally appeared to Greg during Ava's funeral and from that point on, Greg had made it his life goal to defy Isskali. Since Ava was dead, the being had latched onto Greg instead. He had taken this as a challenge, however, he hadn't had any idea just how horrible Isskali could be. And for a little while, he was able to tolerate the creature's presence. But of course, Isskali was in no rush, and loved to test the strength of his mind. And he had to admit, Greg was an exceptionally strong person. But even the strongest have their breaking points.

It was a rather early evening in Olden Shadow Town. The sky had darkened already and was hanging above the world like a black canvas, nothing could penetrate its darkness. It was still autumn, but all the colorful leaves were gone and only the withered trees and bushes were left behind, preparing themselves for the inevitable harsh winter. It had rained a little bit during the day, but it had ceased as the darkness came. The streets were left soaked and dotted with puddles that reflected the many lights of the town. A slightly cold wind was passing through the town, attempting to bite with its frigid power anyone who was outside, Greg being one of them. He took a better hold of his black coat as the freezing breeze was trying to cling onto it. He was eagerly waiting for the moment when he would get indoors and away from the chill weather.

He had been having a rough week at work and just wanted to relax for a bit, so he was heading to one of his favorite bars in town. Having a couple of cold beers – and maybe something a bit stronger – sounded so heavenly at that moment. Having a drink with his buddies and just calming down for a while was something he needed. 

Too bad that he wasn't alone.

Greg could hear a disgusting sound of skittering near him. Isskali was creeping around, sometimes behind him, sometimes he was by Greg's side and sometimes he was climbing on the buildings and getting ahead of Greg, only to follow him with the gaze of his bright green eyes and then he would repeat this pattern again. A couple of times Isskali disappeared completely and Greg was praying that he wouldn't come back, but of course, every time he got disappointed. But for the most part, Greg was able to ignore Isskali and his antics, however he was dreading the moment when the creature would become more bold, because he knew that Isskali was well capable of wrecking a person's mind.

For the first few times it did get him startled when suddenly shadows rose from the ground in front of him and dashed right at him while screaming horribly. But Greg learned to expect this happening after some time and he just found it annoying in the end, nothing more. Isskali understood this as well and stopped doing it after a while.

“Well, aren't you a tough guy, huh?” Isskali had mockingly said to him while trotting by the man's side.

Greg had remained silent and quickened his pace, almost like trying to walk fast enough that the malicious being would be left behind, but of course, getting rid of him just wasn't that simple. Isskali was climbing on the buildings again and let out a bone-chilling howl that was competing with the wind. It seemed that the creature had wanted this sound to be heard by other people as well since Greg could see that a lot of those that passed by were glancing around nervously, trying to pinpoint where the howl had come from, but apparently Isskali's form was still visible only to him. Then the creature started to cackle like a madman and he let this sound be heard by other people as well. This time the voice got everyone who heard it really afraid and they began to hurry to wherever they were going, not wanting to know who had made that sound. Apparently this amused Isskali quite a bit as he was now chuckling to himself and following the hasty steps of the people. Greg just shook his head and kept going.

Soon Isskali's focus was back at Greg only. The creature had decided to walk by Greg's side again like an ugly and huge dog. The skittering sound from his limbs was making Greg nervous as hell, it just was that unpleasant to your ears. And suddenly, something rose from the ground; they were like huge black spider legs and they formed a tunnel-like cage around him. It did startle Greg for a moment, but he forced himself to calm down by being aware of that it was just one of Isskali's tricks again. He tried not to show any reaction, hoping that the being would stop with these antics. Though he soon started to get the feeling that hoping that Isskali would stop was futile, he would keep trying to play with his mind since he was his new toy. Isskali had all the time in the world so he was in no hurry with experimenting just how strong Greg truly was.

For a good while Greg was walking through the tunnel made of waving spider legs, some of them holding golden lights at their tips. The experience was so surreal, but Greg managed to keep himself relaxed.

“I do admire your fortitude”, Isskali said suddenly. “You are an interesting man, Greg. So unlike Ava. I mean, she was courageous at first also, maybe that runs in the family? And she found me fascinating, at first. Poor little Ava that now rests in the dirt…”

“Don't you dare to speak about her with your vile tongue!” Greg said angrily, almost gritting his teeth.

Isskali chuckled. “Well, that got you riled up. But hey, do you want to see what my vile tongue can do?”

Then the spider legs faded away and they were walking on the regular street again. A little wave of relief washed over Greg, but he was still angry about the words Isskali had said. For some reason, the creature spurted ahead and Greg was left to wonder what he was planning to do next. It was kind of exhausting to be around this being. He really needed to have a drink.

Greg observed Isskali's movements. The creature skittered towards a young woman who was walking along the street, focused on her phone. At this point Greg got worried; Isskali wasn't going to hurt her, right? Unfortunately, that was exactly what was going to happen. Isskali had concealed his presence from her, because she didn't react at all to him practically dashing at her. He knocked her over and she fell to the ground with a surprised scream. And right there before Greg's eyes, Isskali tore open the woman's chest with one clean cut. Then he stuck his long and thin tongue out – Greg noticed that there was a small hook in it – and Isskali struck it inside the open chest. Greg could only watch in horror what was happening, he was completely frozen while Isskali's tongue was digging through the woman's ribcage. Then the creature pulled the tongue out and Greg noticed that there was something attached to the small hook: it was a white wisp of some sort. The woman died as Isskali snatched it out of her, her body still bleeding to the street. Seeming very pleased with himself, Isskali slurped the wisp.

Greg was speechless, completely mortified by the scene that had just unfolded before him. He could only stare with wide eyes at the bleeding corpse of the young woman. She would never know what had attacked her. When Greg managed to shift his gaze away from the dead body, he glanced around to see if anyone else had witnessed this slaughter happen. The street was empty. Greg wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Then he looked back at the corpse. He couldn't bear to watch it any longer, however, and he swiftly made his way to a small alley; it was harrowing his heart, but he couldn't do anything for that young woman anymore. As soon as he managed to hide in the shadows, he leaned against the cold brick wall and tried to get himself to calm down. But he couldn't erase the sickening sight out of his mind. He felt so disgusted that he actually threw up a little.

While he was in the alley, gurgling, Isskali appeared in the narrow space as well. He was climbing on the wall while intently staring at the nauseous man.

“Oh, you cannot stand to watch others suffer, am I right?” Isskali spoke softly, tauntingly.

“Fuck off.” Greg had a bad suspicion that the creature would now use this experience as ammunition against him.

“Now, who has the vile tongue?” Isskali said mockingly, but actually did take a bit more distance, he climbed all the way to the roof so Greg couldn't see what he was doing now.

For a little while Greg stayed in that alley, just breathing the chilly autumn air and clearing his head for a moment. He felt so sorry for the woman and also had this gnawing feeling that he was responsible for her death. He tried his best to assure himself that it had been Isskali, not him.

“Man, the further this evening is progressing, the more I need a drink…”

He took one more deep breath. Then he started to walk forward again, his lone steps echoing in the alley. His heart was still pounding. The bar wasn't much far away, but he hoped he would get to it without Isskali causing some horrible deeds again. At the moment Greg didn't see or hear him, but that wasn't really a comforting observation. Once he had managed to walk through the alley and got to the other side, he felt a bit relieved. He was on a wider street again where a few other people were walking around, so maybe, just maybe, Isskali wouldn't pull off something awful. But he couldn't do anything else but to go on, so he continued his trip to the bar.

Greg walked for a little while and at last he had the bar in sight. It was a rather small building with a blue neon sign that told people that the place was open. A dim light could be seen from the windows of the bar and through them Greg noticed the dark figures of customers sitting on their tables. His buddies were probably already there waiting for him, so Greg was eager to get inside.

But he didn't manage to take many steps before Isskali's voice stopped him: “I would not enter this place if I were you.”

Annoyed, Greg turned around to face the creature. “Why not?”

Then he heard a very loud explosive sound from behind him. He turned around as soon as he heard it and he faced yet another scene of horror that evening. The bar was suddenly in flames, cursed flames. They had this strange and unnatural color of purple and they were eating the building with their burning mouths. Greg's first instinct was to get to the door and help people get out, so he ran to the entrance and yanked the door handle.

Nothing happened. Greg used more force and was pulling the handle with all his strength, but it wouldn't budge. It was like it had been sealed. He looked behind him, searching for Isskali with his gaze. He spotted the creature that was now on the ground a little distance away from him. Isskali had a disturbing smile on his face.

“Open the fucking door!” Greg demanded.

“I will not.”

Greg kept yanking the handle, but it was no use. He could hear screams from the inside and someone was trying to open the door from the other side. He could also hear rumbling, maybe the people were trying to smash the windows? But nothing worked. Greg couldn't do anything to help.

At last, he surrendered to this fate and took a few steps back. The purple fire had consumed the whole building and it was clear that at this point, nothing could help the people inside. He could only stare at the fire as it engulfed everything.

From behind him he could hear Isskali's mad cackle. But it faded away soon, because he left the scene and at the same time, left Greg alone with his thoughts.

This was a true testimony of how ruthless Isskali could be. And while watching at the cursed flames, Greg could only fear what future would bring as long as Isskali would stay around.