The darkness was so absolute that, for a moment, Jacob thought he had lost his
sight. There was no shape, no color, not even a faint glimmer. It was a living,
palpable blackness, almost textured. Rick was breathing heavily beside him, and
Sara was holding Rebecca so tightly that the little girl let out a small whimper.
A second later, a dull thud echoed from the floor above. A heavy thud, as if a
creature had fallen to its knees on the floor.
Jacob swallowed.
"We can't just stand by," he murmured. "This... will only get worse."
Rick moved tentatively, touching the wall, but he immediately recoiled. The surfaceIt
was hot, as if something was burning inside."He's... breathing," she whispered in horror.
A whisper traveled through the walls, running from one side of the house to the
other, like agigantic insect under the concrete.
Then he stopped right behind them.
Rebecca spoke again in that broken voice:
—There will be no door… there will be no light…
Sara cried silently.
Jacob knew it wasn't the girl speaking. It was an echo. A borrowed voice.sow fear.
"Shut up!" Sara shouted. "Leave her alone!"
But the response was a soft, modulated laugh that moved around the roomlike an
invisible snake.
In the distance, from the hallway, a small flame flickered. It wasn't a light bulb, it
wasn't electricity. It was a faint, yellow light, hovering in the air like a firefly.
Rick narrowed his eyes.
-What's that?
The light flickered twice. Then it began to move, slowly, inviting
them.Jacob took a step forward.
"We have to follow
her." Sara took his arm.
—What if it's him?
Jacob held her gaze.
"Everything in this house is him. But we can't stay trapped here like animals
waiting for him to find us. If there's a way out... we have to try."
Sara pressed Rebecca to her chest and nodded, pale as a ghost.Rick
took a deep breath.—Let's go. Before that thing talks again.
The small light slid into the hallway, illuminating only a few inches around
them. They walked slowly, brushing against walls that seemed to throb, as if
the house were a living organism.
Halfway down the corridor, a burning smell filled the
air.Jacob frowned.
"Do you smell
that?" Rick
nodded.
—Yes… to sulfur.
The smell intensified until it was unbearable. Sara had to cover Rebecca's mouth
to stop her from breathing too much. The girl was trembling, but she seemed
more aware than before, as if the Adversary's voice had receded a little.inside it.
Suddenly, the light stopped abruptly in front of the basement
door.Jacob felt his heart pounding in his chest.
—No… not there.
Rick shook his head.
—That place has always been… weird. I never told you, but ever since we moved
there
There were nights here when I heard knocking from below.
The light flickered violently, as if demanding an immediate
response.Sarah took Jacob's hand.
—Don't open it. Please… don't open it.
But Jacob already knew why the light had come there. He knew it from the way the
silence tightened around them, from the way the darkness seemed to push from
behind.
"He wants us to go down," she said in a whisper.
"What if we go down?" Rick asked.Jacob took a deep breath.
—We'll find out.
She leaned toward the basement door handle. It was cold as death. She turned it
slowly…
And the door opened with a long groan, as if it had been asleep for
centuries.The smell of sulfur became unbearable.
The floating light descended the staircase, barely illuminating the wooden steps,old
and damp.
They descended one by one, while the silence grew heavier with each step, as
ifthey were entering a tomb.
When they reached the bottom, they saw something that hadn't been there hours
before.
In the middle of the basement, on the cement floor, there was a circle drawn with
aDark material, almost black. But it wasn't paint.
It was dried
blood.Rick
paled.
—No… it can't be…
In the center of the circle was an ancient wooden box, with Hebrew
inscriptionshand-carved.
Jacob recognized her
instantly.Job's box.
An object that was supposed to have been lost centuries
ago.Sara stepped back.
—What's that doing... here?
The whisper invaded the basement, soft, poisonous, reverberating off the walls:
"Remember your lineage…"
Jacob took a step forward.
—This shouldn't exist. Not here. Not now.Rick denied it.
—Don't touch it. It's a trap. It's obvious!
But Jacob knew he had no choice. He knew that from the moment the heavens
opened, his lineage had been called to judgment. And now, before him, stood the
object thatIt contained the original writings of Job, which were never recorded in
any book.
Those who spoke of the first test, the one the world never knew.
He extended his
hand…He touched
the box…
And the basement exploded in a white light that threw them
backward.Rebecca screamed.
Sara fell to the
ground. Rick covered
his face.
As the light faded, a deep voice filled the place:
"Jacob… the time has begun."
And the box opened by itself