The first page crackled like dry leaves, revealing a pentagram sketched in what looked like dried blood.
Tzeriel, the Devouring Silence.
Va'Kesh, the Dreaming Maw.
Xhal-Turath, the Skinless Prophet.
Orzai, the Mother of Rot.
In'Therak, the Fractured Star.
The text began with a history etched in suffering. Millennia ago, the world trembled as five entities, neither gods nor demons, tore through the fabric of reality. They were hunger, madness, and rot given form. Entire civilizations vanished overnight. Forests petrified. Oceans boiled. The skies rained ash. The world was on the brink of annihilation, and no mortal hand could stay the tide of destruction.