Chapter 1: The Disappearance
'Dear diary, it already been two months since I arrived at my grandmother's house yesterday was my 16th birthday and I celebrated it with my father, grandmother, and my best of two months Lily, my grandmother's house is in a small rural town called Cernova, located in the rural parts of eastern Europe. With a population of just 800 people, this quaint little town is surrounded by dense, dark forests that seem to go on forever. But the thing I find most interesting about this place is 'The Blackwood Forest', a deep and dark forest looming in the distance. The forest is home to all sorts of wildlife, but it is also rumored to be the hiding place of some dangerous and malevolent creatures.
Cernova has a mysterious atmosphere that seems to permeate everything in the town. The locals are friendly enough, but there is an air of secrecy and mistrust that hangs over the town. People tend to keep to themselves, and strangers are eyed with suspicion.
The town center is dominated by an old church that has been there for centuries, it's said that the church is built on top of an ancient burial ground, and that the spirits of the dead still haunt the area, many people claim to have seen strange lights and heard eerie sounds coming from the graveyard at night.
The forest that surrounds the town is especially foreboding and always always has been a source of fear and mystery for the residents of Cernova. With its thick and dark atmosphere and tall and imposing trees that seem to loom over everything, with thick underbrush that seems to go on forever. There are stories of strange creatures that lurk in the forest, of missing persons who have disappeared without a trace, and of a darkness that seems to envelop the woods, many people who ventured into the woods never returned, and there are stories of travelers who have stumbled across mysterious structures hidden deep in the forest.
Some say that these structures are the work of ancient witches or dark sorcerers who once lived in the area many years ago.
Despite the rumors and the eerie atmosphere, there is a sense of camaraderie among the people of Morvácska, ah righ this original name name of the town which was changed to Cernova by the church 80 years ago well that what my grandmother and my dad told me, anyway back to what I was saying ah they may not trust outsiders, but they take care of their own. And as long as you respect their ways and don't venture too far into the forest, you'll find that the people of Morvácska or now now know as Cernova are some of the warmest and most welcoming kind you'll ever meet in your life.
but what I like most about the town is the folklore surrounding this small town and this folk Lore goes as :
Long ago, In the Blackwood Forest, a place where many a traveler had ventured, but few returned from,
it was said that deep within the forest, there lived a being known as stěnь or Shadow. No one knew where it came from or how it came to be, but everyone knew of its existence. stěnь was a malevolent entity made entirely out of darkness only thing noticable is is it two crimson glowing eyes that said to appear in the darkness of the night, and it had an insatiable hunger for the souls of the living.
Legend has it that stěnь would lure unsuspecting travelers into the depths of the Blackwood Forest with its enchanting voice, promising them wealth, power, and happiness beyond their wildest dreams. But those who followed its voice would soon find themselves in a world of darkness, where their very existence was slowly drained away.
Once stěnь had claimed a victim, it would consume their soul, emotions, and desires, leaving behind nothing but an empty husk of their former self. These creatures would wander the forest aimlessly, their only purpose to feed on the flesh of the living.
But most terrifying of all is It was said that those who died at the hands of stěnь would be forgotten by everyone. Their names would be lost to time, and only a distant memory of their existence as a son, father, or a husband of someone would remain.
stěnь was a being of pure evil, deriving pleasure from the suffering, pain, and despair of others. It was said that nothing physical could harm it, but it was vulnerable to holy objects. The people of Cernova lived in fear of stěnь, and they warned travelers to stay away from the Blackwood Forest, lest they fall victim to its deadly lure and anyone who would go anyway near the forest had to be baptised first and had to wear a cross and carry holy water with them.
And so, the legend of stěnь and the Blackwood Forest lived on, a cautionary tale of the dangers that lurked in the darkness and the consequences of falling prey to its call.'
--------------------------------------------
"Maya are you up stairs,
Maya stood at the edge of the dense forest, the trees towering over her like giants. The sun had just begun to set, casting an eerie glow over the forest floor. She had been searching for her best friend, Lily, for hours, but there was still no sign of her. Maya's heart raced with fear and panic as she realized that she might never see her friend again.
Maya had always known that the forest was a dangerous place, but she never imagined that Lily would go into the woods alone. The town had a dark history of mysterious disappearances, and everyone knew that the forest was where people went to vanish. But Lily had been insistent, claiming that she had found something in the woods that she wanted to show Maya.
Maya couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She had heard rumors of a shadowy figure that lurked in the woods, a being that had the power to control minds and make people disappear. She had always dismissed the stories as mere superstition, but now she wasn't so sure.
As she walked deeper into the woods, her flashlight illuminating the way, Maya couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over her. The trees seemed to close in around her, their branches reaching out to grab her. She heard strange noises all around her, the rustling of leaves, the creaking of branches, and the faint whispers of a voice that she couldn't quite make out.
Maya's heart pounded in her chest as she called out Lily's name, but there was no answer. She continued to walk, her fear growing with every step. Suddenly, she heard a scream, a high-pitched sound that echoed through the forest. It was Lily's voice.
Maya ran towards the sound, her heart racing. She pushed aside branches and dodged fallen trees, desperate to find her friend. But as she got closer, the screaming stopped. Maya called out Lily's name again, but there was only silence.
She finally stumbled upon a clearing in the woods, and there, lying on the ground, was Lily's backpack. The straps were torn, and the contents were scattered around it. Maya's heart sank as she realized that something terrible had happened to her friend.
Maya scanned the area, searching for any sign of Lily, but there was none. She felt a shiver run down her spine as she heard a whisper behind her, a voice that seemed to be calling her name. She turned around, her flashlight shaking in her hand, and there, in the darkness, she saw a figure.
It was a Shadow, no a dark, shadowy figure that seemed to be made of pure darkness. It was like nothing Maya had ever seen before, and she felt a deep sense of unease wash over her.
And in the next moment that unease was made true
The Shadowy figure spoke, its voice was hypnotic and otherworldly something beyond comprehension, It spoke of things that Maya couldn't quite understand no it spoke in a language that no human could ever begin to imagine let alone comprehend, the things that came out that shadowy figures almost non-existent mouth made her feel both terrified and mesmerized, just by hearing those words maya felt lile she was in a state of complete bliss a feeling she she had never felt before she started to remember things that should be impossible to remember for normal human she remembered the warmth inside her mother to the time she came here to live with her grandmother after her mother's death everyone of these memories were constantly replaying inside of her head. But as the Shadow spoke, Maya realized that it had Lily.
Maya knew that she had to act fast if she wanted to save her friend. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, ready to face whatever was out there in the woods