Eigen fled towards their house, a sanctuary nestled in the small village of Einstellung. The village was known for its tranquil existence, disturbed only by infrequent, minor disputes; the nearby forest lay just a few kilometers away.

  Fear lent wings to his feet, but the loose sand of the path threatened to trap him. His legs, heavy with dread, struggled to obey his frantic commands. Then, as suddenly as it began, the resistance vanished. An inexplicable surge of power coursed through him, and he surged forward with impossible speed. he thought, his mind reeling.

  As he raced towards home, a palpable aura of dread enveloped him. A chilling sense of unease, of imminent danger, tightened its grip on his heart.

  Villagers gaped as the young boy sprinted past, his eyes wide and wild, reflecting the raw terror that consumed him. "Did you see my brother?" he cried, his voice hoarse with panic. "A tall boy with yellowish hair? He was with the sheep!"

  "Have you seen him?" he repeated, his pleas echoing through the village, but the faces he encountered were blank with confusion.

  In what felt like mere moments, Eigen reached his house. The frantic sprint had left him strangely untouched by fatigue. He burst through the door, his voice trembling with a desperate hope. "Mom! Dad! Kraft! Are you here?"

  His mother, Sonne, emerged, her face a mask of shock and worry. "Eigen! What has happened? Why is your face flushed? Were you attacked? Where is your brother, Kraft? Tell me you weren't fighting! Talk to me, Eigen! Where is your brother?"

  "I thought he would be back by now, Mom," Eigen stammered, his voice filled with dread.

  Sonne's concern deepened. "Tell me everything, from the beginning. What happened?"

  Before Eigen could speak, the ground began to heave and shudder violently. Sonne, her eyes widening in alarm, seized Eigen's arm and dragged him outside. "We have to get out of here! The house could collapse!"

  As their home shook, a blinding, purple flash erupted from the direction of the forest. A wave of raw energy pulsed outwards, washing over them. When it struck Eigen, Sonne crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

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  Chaos reigned. Helpless and terrified, Eigen knelt beside his mother, clutching her hand and screaming for aid. "Dad! Help us! Someone, please help us!"

  "Mom, please wake up!" he sobbed, his voice cracking with despair.

  The young boy was utterly overwhelmed, struggling to grasp the catastrophic events unfolding around him. His mind was a whirlwind of questions, dominated by the agonizing refrain:

  He was alone, his family torn asunder, caught in the grip of an incomprehensible disaster. Kraft was lost, his father absent, and his mother lay deathly still beside him. The eerie light from the forest and the violent upheaval of their world filled him with a profound and paralyzing dread.

  All his life, he had leaned on his brother and parents, a passive observer as they navigated the complexities of the world. Now, he was utterly alone.

  A crushing wave of despair threatened to engulf him. He felt an almost irresistible urge to surrender, to simply succumb to the chaos. But the sight of his mother, his most precious treasure, held him back.

  he cried out in his mind.

  Yet, the insidious whisper of surrender returned, as if some dark entity was urging him towards oblivion. a voice hissed in the deepest recesses of his mind.

  another voice countered, a flicker of defiance in the encroaching darkness.

  "Why?" Eigen screamed at the unseen forces that tormented him. "Why is this happening to me? Why?"

  Then, a new horror unfolded. Sonne's skin began to turn a ghastly blue, and grotesque, tumor-like bubbles erupted across her flesh, as if fate was determined to inflict the maximum possible suffering upon the helpless child.

  Eigen thought, his mind teetering on the brink of madness.

  Driven by a desperate, fragile curiosity, Eigen stumbled towards his neighbors' houses. The scene that greeted him shattered his last remaining hope. They lay scattered on the ground, their skin a sickly blue, their faces disfigured by the same repulsive growths that plagued his mother.

  Utterly broken, Eigen succumbed to the overwhelming terror. He was certain that Kraft, his parents, and everyone he knew were dead.

  As the full, horrifying reality of his situation crashed down upon him, a single, desperate question clawed its way to the forefront of his shattered mind:

  The sheer incomprehensibility of the events, the chasm between his understanding of the world and the grotesque reality before him, proved too much for Eigen's young mind to bear. He blacked out, plunging once more into the same black void he had encountered in the forest.