Oct 4, 2024
Ahead, through the mist, he spotted movement. A figure stood at the end of the alley, barely visible beneath layers of tattered robes. The stranger’s posture was unnervingly still, like a statue carved from the very darkness around him.
Thomas hesitated. But before he could turn and leave, the voice came—a whisper, soft and smooth, slithering into his mind like silk.
"Looking for something, traveler?"
The words didn’t seem to come from the figure’s lips, yet Thomas heard them as clear as if they had been whispered in his ear. Against his better judgment, he approached. As he got closer, details became clearer: the figure’s gaunt frame was wrapped in robes that seemed to shift and shimmer like smoke. His face, hidden deep within a hood, offered only the glint of pale, glowing eyes. And in his hands—long, claw-like fingers grasping rusted coins, ancient keys, and strange, glowing orbs.
"I have what you seek," the figure said, his voice no louder than a breath. "The price is simple."
Thomas felt an unshakable dread, but curiosity clawed at him. "Who… who are you?"
The figure tilted its head slightly, the shadows around him thickening as the whispers in the air seemed to grow louder. "Names are not important. But you may call me The Merchant. I deal in desires, secrets, and bargains."
Thomas felt his heart pound in his chest. His mind raced with the thought of what he wanted—what he had always wanted. A way out of his dead-end life. A chance to start over. To have power, money, anything.
"What’s the price?" Thomas asked, barely recognizing his own voice.
The Merchant extended his clawed hand, holding a small, blackened key. It was cold, ancient, and seemed to vibrate with an unnatural energy.
"Not gold or silver," the Merchant whispered. "But something more valuable: a fragment of your soul, a whisper of your very essence. Nothing you would miss… at first."
Thomas's hand trembled as he reached for the key. His fingers brushed against it, and for a moment, he hesitated. But the allure was too great. He took the key.
As soon as he held it, the world around him shifted. The fog thickened, the shadows deepened, and the whispers grew louder—far too loud. His thoughts became muddled, fractured, as if something was slipping away from him.
"What’s happening?" Thomas gasped, stumbling back.
The Merchant's pale eyes glowed brighter, and though his lips never moved, the voice echoed in Thomas’s mind. "The price has been paid. The bargain struck."
Thomas turned to run, but the alley stretched into infinity. His footsteps echoed in the vast emptiness as the whispers began to claw at his mind, louder, more insistent. The world around him twisted and distorted, reality itself unraveling.
He turned back, but The Merchant was gone.
Now, alone in the alley, Thomas screamed, though the sound was swallowed by the thick fog and endless whispers. He clutched the key in his hand, realizing too late that he had traded more than he could ever afford.
The shadows swallowed him whole.
And somewhere, in another forgotten corner of the city, The Whispering Merchant waited, ready for his next customer.
