11:34!

Lord Sebastian had a weird habit. Once he starts reading a book, he forgets about the passage of time. He didn't know, but hours had passed since he started reading it. The night had deepened, and the digital clock on his table showed the numbers 11:34.

For some reason, the number didn't change for an entire minute. It stayed at 11:34. Lord Sebastian didn't notice that as his full attention remained focused on what he was reading.

"Thud!"

Suddenly, a thudding sound of something thick and solid falling to the ground traveled into his ears. As it was too quiet in the study room, the sudden sound was clear and loud, and as it came out of nowhere, it scared the only person here slightly. It successfully managed to race Lord Sebastian's heart and grab his attention.

Lord Sebastian's attention moved away from the book in his hand. He was the only one here, and he believed that Isiah hadn't gained enough guts to make that dull thudding noise. So what caused it? He wanted to see it for himself. His narrowed eyes scanned the room with a scrutinizing gaze. Because some of the yellowish light bulbs were on, the study was bright. His eyes swept past the furniture and moved to bookshelves on the left. There was nothing out of place there. His eyes turned to look at the other one and also the floor. There, he saw a book, one that was black as charcoal.

Lord Sebastian's eye widened as he realized that the thudding sound was caused by the book slipping out of the bookshelf and falling to the ground. He hadn't ever seen this book before. He stood up, moved about the table, and walked towards the black book. He didn't notice that the clock was showing 11:34 for the past two minutes!

Lord Sebastian crouched down and picked up the book. The book was too dark, giving off an eerie feeling. It had weird patterns on it that came as hellish or magical symbols. Anyone looking at it would feel that something was off. He felt the same, but he brushed it off.

"Let's see what we got here." Lord Sebastian opened the black book. Inside it was pages too white and empty, with no knowledge whatsoever. He lost all interest in the book, stood up while holding it, and put it in an open spot of the nearby bookshelf.

After that, he returned to his seat to continue reading.

"Thud!" He had just opened his book when the same thudding sound echoed throughout the room. His eyes landed on the spot where he had just picked up the dark book and saw it was back there. His pupils dilated. He was sure that he had put it on the shelf in such a way that it wouldn't fall unless someone budged the bookshelf! So, why had it slipped out of it again?

Something was wrong; something was extremely wrong. Lord Sebastian knew that evil spirits were invading planet Earth. Could it be that there was one in the study? However, a spirit warding barrier protected his house and made it impossible for spirits to enter it. But the same book falling on the ground was something suspicious and paranormal.

Whether it was true that an evil spirit was here and playing with him or not, he couldn't gamble to stay in place. If the spirit decided to attack him, he would fall prey to its attack. After all, he didn't have anything to protect himself!

He stood up, intending to go out of the study and return with a spiritualist. He was not an idiot and didn't dare to investigate it by himself.

"Flap, flap, flap!"

As if his intention to get out of the room had angered something, the dark book opened up. Lord Sebastian saw with wide eyes the white pages flipping by themselves. And a moment later, the sound of pages flipping came to a halt. The sheets revealed in the book were red like blood.

'Impossible! I checked the book before; there were no pages like this. This, there is a high chance that it is the work of an evil spirit. Damn! A normal person stuck in the same room with an evil spirit means the normal person's death. I need to escape.' Lord Sebastian was confused, worried, and scared for his life after seeing the red page. The book opening up by itself and its pages flipping about were all signs of the presence of an anomaly. He didn't need to think twice to believe something dangerous was here. He hurriedly sprinted towards the door.

He had just stepped out from behind the table when redness surged out of the black book and slammed into him with such force that he got lifted off his feet and thrown backwards.

Bam! His back crashed on the table, almost tilting it. It didn't, and he fell to the floor and started coughing and wheezing in pain.

'What is this horrendous smell?'

A metallic scent filled the air, and when Lord Sebastian breathed, he tasted rust and blood! But the blood smelled worse than an expired egg. The smell was so putrid that it made him want to puke his guts out.

"Grr!" The sound of metal rubbing against metal came from the dark book. It was sharp and ear-wrenching. He turned towards the source of the noise and saw something terrifying! The beatings of Lord Sebastian's heart intensified so much that he could hear his heartbeat. A black shadow was coming out of the red pages. It took the shape of a clock-like monster with a red-eye in the middle, and then it started to float towards him.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Lord Sebastian picked up whatever had fallen on the floor and whatever he could and hurled it towards the black apparition. However, his efforts were in vain. Everything passed through it as if it didn't exist in the same dimension as him and the other things.

It leaped towards him without making a noise. Lord Sebastian rolled to the side, evading it by mere centimeters. Then, he stood up and rushed towards the door. He couldn't harm it, much less fight it off. The best bet was to run towards safety, towards a spiritualist.

"Creak!" He only took five steps when an overwhelming pressure dropped down on him, immobilizing him and bending him to his knees. The pressure was so great that the marbled floor beneath him cracked and cracked, dozens of cracks appearing over it and stretching outwards.

With each creaking noise, the apparition came a meter closer to him. At the fourth sound, his hair stood on edge. At the fifth one, he felt something entering him.

Then, all hell break loss, and an indispensable painful sensation filled him, making every fiber of his cry out in pain!

"AHHHH!"