Story 1018: The Ink-Faced Boy

They found him near the ruins of an abandoned schoolhouse in the drowned quarter of Gloam’s End—kneeling in the flooded hallway, surrounded by open books that bled ink instead of words.

He didn’t speak.

He didn’t blink.

His face was entirely blank, smooth like porcelain, with black ink slowly seeping from where his eyes, nose, and mouth should’ve been.

“We shouldn’t have come here,” muttered Kade, gripping the iron-bladed axe tighter. “This place was part of the Purge Zones.”

But the boy just turned his faceless head toward them—and the books around him slammed shut.

The team was looking for shelter.

Instead, they found a haunting.

Lora approached him first. Her fingers trembled as she reached out.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?”

The boy reached up and placed a hand on her chest.

In an instant, her skin paled, her eyes rolled back, and her mouth opened—but not her voice.

A new one spoke through her.

A chorus of whispers, layered and ancient.