Ancient ones

Haruto stepped into the classroom, his movements slow and unsteady.

Without hesitation, Jun rushed to his side, gripping his arm to support him. "Damn, you're really cool," Jun muttered under his breath, though his voice carried a hint of worry.

Miki quickly followed, pulling out bandages and medical supplies from her bag, her hands moving swiftly to tend to Haruto's injuries.

As she worked, Haruto's face flushed slightly, and Miki's cheeks tinted pink in response.

The entire classroom fell into an uneasy silence, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

Trying to break the stifling atmosphere, Haruto leaned closer to Miki and whispered, "Do you know why the Awakened have started appearing?"

Miki's eyes darted around the room, scanning for eavesdroppers. Without a word, she grabbed Haruto and Jun by their sleeves, pulling them out of the classroom and into a secluded corner of the hallway. The moment they were out of earshot, she turned to them, her expression deadly serious. "This isn't something we should talk about where others can hear," she said in a hushed tone.

Haruto nodded upon hearing that.

"Okay, so listen up, you two," Miki began, pushing her glasses up her nose with a determined finger, her eyes gleaming with an almost maniacal excitement. "What we're dealing with isn't just some everyday ghost story or a mass hysteria thing. This… this feels way older. Way more… primordial."

Jun, ever the skeptic but now thoroughly freaked out, leaned forward. "Primordial? Like, dinosaurs? Or even older?"

Miki rolled her eyes. "No, you dummy! Older than time itself, practically. The research of our organization, and a few… unconventional sources, point to something called the 'Great Old One.' She paused for dramatic effect, then continued, her voice dropping to a theatrical whisper. "Think of them as entities that existed before humanity, before the very concept of our universe as we know it. They're like… cosmic architects who went a little… mad."

Haruto, his senses still buzzing from the latest incident, listened intently. "So, these things… they're trying to come back?"

"Not exactly 'come back' in the way you think," Miki explained, pulling out a crumpled, hand-drawn diagram. "More like… re-emerge. They don't truly 'leave.' They just… recede, like the tide. But sometimes, when conditions are right, or when someone or something meddles with the veil between worlds, they start to stir. And their influence… it leaks into our reality."

She pointed to her diagram. "Now, there are different types, different… species, if you will, of these Ancient Ones. Not all of them are necessarily hostile in a direct, fight-you-with-tentacles kind of way. Some are more about… subtle manipulation. They thrive on harmony, on unifying consciousness into a single, overwhelming thought-form."

Miki snapped her fingers. "My theory is we're dealing with something akin to the Echoing Choir. Imagine a creature that isn't a single, physical being, but a collective consciousness. Its form is constantly shifting, a shimmering, amorphous mass of thousands of whispering mouths and countless unblinking eyes, like a constantly churning sea of voices and gazes. It doesn't have limbs or organs as we understand them; instead, tendrils of pure psychic energy extend from its core, seeking out minds to absorb. It's not about consuming bodies, but assimilating souls, creating a grand, unified chorus where all individual thoughts and desires are subsumed into its singular, overwhelming will."

Jun shivered. "So, it's like a super-sized, evil choir director?"

Miki ignored him, too engrossed in her exposition. "Then there are the 'Deep Ones', or as some ancient texts call them, the 'Veiled Lurkers.' These are more physical, but still terrifyingly alien. Picture something like a colossal, multi-limbed creature, its body a grotesque fusion of deep-sea leviathan and ancient insect. Their skin is a slick, chitinous armor, iridescent and constantly shifting colors like an oil slick on water. Instead of eyes, they possess multiple phosphorescent organs, glowing with an otherworldly bioluminescence that can mesmerize and paralyze. Their limbs are a twisted mass of jointed appendages, each ending in razor-sharp claws or barbed pincers, but their true terror lies in their voices – a low, resonant hum that vibrates through the very bones of anyone who hears it, slowly eroding their will and drawing them deeper into madness. They reside in the deepest, most lightless corners of the world, patiently waiting for the boundaries to thin."

Miki's eyes narrowed. " I heard there is the ones that make people feel like they're not alone. those sound like the work of the Ephemeral Sentinels. These aren't really creatures in a tangible sense. They're more like… astral parasites. Imagine a swirling vortex of shadow and flickering light, constantly shifting and reforming. They have no true physical form, but they can project an overwhelming sense of companionship and comfort, latching onto a host's psyche like a symbiotic twin. They feed on emotional dependence, slowly draining their victims of their individuality until they become mere echoes of the Sentinel's own consciousness. When they manifest visually, it's often as fleeting glimpses of an impossibly tall, slender figure, with limbs too long and fluid, and a head that seems to be a swirling nebula of starlight and despair, constantly shifting and dissipating, leaving behind only the chilling sensation of being watched, and the desperate yearning for that watching to continue."

"So, these things are just… floating around, messing with people?" Jun asked, trying to grasp the sheer alienness of it all.

"Exactly. They're like cosmic radio waves, but instead of music, they transmit madness," Miki said, triumphantly. "And when the conditions are right, like, say, a strong emotional resonance in a place – like a school full of angsty teenagers – or perhaps some kind of… ritualistic disturbance," she paused, looking pointedly at Haruto, "they can manifest more strongly, even influence people directly."

Haruto suddenly remembered something. "Mind Infiltration—a formless entity, existing purely in the psyche, manifesting in countless shapes..."

Haruto felt a cold certainty settle in his gut.

"They are indeed a distinct species, but their numbers are very small. To blend into human society, they chose to implant embryos into certain individuals, then gradually reproduce on a larger scale. We call it parasites, and these people are infected ones. I suspect the emergence of awakened individuals and some governmental or unofficial organizations is meant to counterbalance these creatures..."

He then stared at Jun with wide, disbelieving eyes.

Seeing his friend's intense gaze, Jun frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Haruto suddenly grabbed Jun's shoulders, his voice trembling as he demanded, "Do you remember the White Fox Woman?!"

The moment those words left his mouth, Jun's face paled, his breath hitching in fear.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked, his voice steady despite the surge of adrenaline. "How do we fight something that isn't even really… there?"

Miki closed her book with a decisive thud. She senses something is wrong.