The Executioner of Horror Films

*On behalf of Mark*

The system was buzzing, a high level of activity, which finally broke through my boredom. The anomaly was active, Yotun was released, and the pathetic mortals were about to discover how fragile their little world was, it was not so important. Luke's safety was my priority, nothing else mattered.

I let them wander into the heart of the forest, experience the horror that awaited them, and now it's time for me to play my role.

I dissolved in the shadows, my shadow became my cloak, I moved through the forest at a speed not peculiar to this world, my feelings were set up for barely perceptible changes in the atmosphere, I knew that I was about to start the massacre.

First I found a village, a cluster of dilapidated huts sheltered deep in the forest, followers of Yotun, the smell of decomposition and madness hung heavily in the air.

It was like immersing myself in a nightmare, in a place where sanity died and was replaced by a perverted devotion to darkness, and I had no desire to watch this charade anymore.

They were not people, they were the remnants of failed evolution, puppets of a perverted entity, they deserved nothing but destruction. I didn't feel anything, I had no sympathy, I was just fulfilling my purpose, I was going to do it as soon as possible.

I moved with cold, calculating accuracy, my obsidian dagger was a blurred spot, and it was like a dance in the ballet of death. I didn't even have to use my abilities, as these mortals were nothing more than ants, and I could finish them off with my bare hands if I wanted to.

Yotun's followers had no chance; their rough weapons and fanatical devotion could not compare with my speed, my strength and my absolute ruthlessness.

I rushed through them like a whirlwind, my dagger found its target with deadly accuracy, I passed through them like the ghost of death. Their screams were music for my ears, as they were the only sound that really mattered in this pathetic little world.

Blood colored the earth, a grotesque work of art made of crimson and bones, and the air was saturated with the stench of death, but I felt nothing, no emotions, no remorse. I was just a tool, a tool of destruction, and the system finally recognized my efforts. The points were coming in, and I was already preparing my next updates.

I kept moving around the village, destroying everyone without exception, turning this place into a mass grave.

Soon the village fell silent, becoming a monument to the collapse of blind faith, I felt the call of my mission, a persistent aspiration to the place where Luke was. It's time for me to intervene, and it's time for me to meet Yotun face to face.

I dissolved in the shadows, moving faster than the speed of sound, and felt the proximity of Luke's presence, his fear was a beacon in the darkness, I knew he was in trouble. I was finally ready to put an end to the existence of this pathetic likeness of a monster.

*On behalf of Luke*

The world has turned into a canvas of fear, a grotesque picture of shadows and twisted limbs. The glade looked like a crypt, the body of the House was broken and motionless, and the screams of Hutch and Phil echoed in my head, constantly reminding me of our complete helplessness.

The monster stood in front of us, a nightmarish creature of skin and darkness, and I felt his gaze, piercing, all-consuming presence that exposing me, I felt that my time was approaching.

I was paralyzed, frozen by fear so deep that it seemed as if it was absorbing me, I felt my own mortality with every cell of my being. My thoughts became fragmented like shards of glass, and I could no longer understand the world around me. It was the end, here we all met our final destiny, I was powerless to stop it.

Then, he arrived.

It was like a sudden rolling of thunder, a violation of the structure of reality, and I saw him, a dark figure protruding from the shadows, his red eyes burning like two coals in the dark. It is worth noting that he moved at an incredible speed, his figure seemed to be a blurred spot, he stood between me and the monster, his presence was as disturbing as it was strangely calming. He didn't say a word, he didn't even look at me; his attention was focused exclusively on the monstrous creature in front of him.

What followed was not a battle, it was an apocalyptic clash of titans, a war between two ancient and powerful forces, I could not help but be hypnotized by all this.

The monster rushed into the attack, his limbs moved at an unnatural speed, but Mark met his onslaught with equal force.

It was like two gods entering into a deadly fight, a spectacle of pure, genuine power.

They faced the force of a hurricane, the ground trembled under their feet, and the air was filled with the sound of the grushing of bones against the bone, the tearing of tendons and flesh.

Mark moved with incredible speed and agility, his dagger sparkled with dark light, he reflected the monster's attacks with a force that was as cruel as it was accurate.

The battle was a ballet of violence, a dance of death that took my breath away, I could barely follow the movements of these two creatures, as they moved too fast, struck too hard and danced with the grace of creatures from another world. It was like a clash of two forces of nature, the darkness of a creature and Mark's unknown power.

It was clear that I was just a mortal watching this clash of titans.

But then the creature became faster, he struck, a cruel attempt, from which Mark flew through the air, crashing into a tree with a force that shook the trees behind him.

I felt my heart fall at the sight of his wounded body. He was not invincible, he was not a god, he was mortal, or at least he was mortal enough to suffer, I felt a wave of fear and despair filling my being.

Mark stood up, a stream of blood flowed down his cheek, but his eyes, they were still burning with that unnatural light, his eyes were full of anger and determination, and he looked at the dryness, his face was devoid of any emotions, as if he was analyzing an equal.

And then he did something that surprised me. He smiled. Not a mocking or condescending smile, but a smile full of respect, a smile that recognized the strength of his enemy. It was like admitting that his enemy was really worthy, that he was not just a monster.

You ... are strong - he said, his voice was low, even, which cut through the chaos.

- Stronger than I expected, Yotun. But... I haven't finished yet.

And then he moved forward again, faster, stronger, more decisively than before, as he seemed to accept the challenge.

The next clash was even more brutal than the first one. Mark moved like a whirlwind, his dagger found the target with surgical precision, he moved around the creature, his attacks were fast, powerful, that were like lightning strikes, they cut the monster into pieces.

With the last brutal blow, he cut off the creature's head, and the monstrous monster collapsed to the ground, his grotesque form finally froze, and the kingdom of terror finally came to an end.

Mark stood there for a moment, his chest rose, the blood was still running down his face, his eyes were burning with that frightening red light, and then he left, dissolving in the shadows, leaving me alone, surrounded by the dead and the chilling silence of the forest.

He saved me, and I witnessed a battle that was beyond my comprehension. Mark was a force of nature, he was not one of us, and he was something completely different, I knew that I would never be able to understand who he was.

Mini story: A year later

*On behalf of Luke*

The city buzzed around me, the constant hum of street traffic and distant conversations, the world continued to move.

It's been a year since nightmares became a reality, and the world continued to move without them, it seemed so wrong.

It's been a year since the House was broken, since Hutch and Phil were broken, since Mark disappeared into the shadows. A year passed, and I still felt like I was lost in the dark.

I was sitting in my apartment, the walls were closing around me, I looked out the window, watching the rain flow down the glass, it seemed to me that the whole world was grieving with me. I tried to return to my life, to the life I knew before the tragedy, but I was no longer that person, and the shadows of the past always hung over me. It was as if the world had shifted around its axis, I was forever stuck in another timeline, in another reality, and I could not return to where I was before.

Therapy sessions helped, they were supposed to help, but they couldn't erase memories, they couldn't cancel what I saw, they couldn't bring back the people I lost, they didn't help me understand Mark.

The therapist talked about trauma, the mechanisms of overcoming and the natural reaction of a person to strong fear, but they could not understand what I saw, of course they did not know what I witnessed during the battle between Mark and this creature.

I still saw them, sometimes, when I closed my eyes, it seemed to me that the memories of those moments were forever imprinted in my memory. I saw Dom falling to the ground, I saw a monster, its grotesque shape was writhing in such a way that it challenged all logic and reason, and it was as if I was sitting in the front row in a nightmare.

But most importantly, I still saw Mark. Those red eyes burning like coals in the dark, they were still haunting me in dreams, I was still wondering who he was, what he was and what he really wanted. Was he a monster? Savior? By the power of nature? Was he a human being at all? I Had No Questions In My Head, And I Had No Answers, And I Doubted That I Will Ever Find Them.

I didn't know where he came from, I didn't know why he saved me, and I didn't know where he went. He just appeared, a ghost in the shadows, and then disappeared as quickly as he appeared, leaving me with more questions than answers. Was he real at all? Or did I just imagine him?

I tried to talk about it, to figure it all out, but the words always seemed inadequate, they always seemed clumsy, and they always seemed wrong, and I just couldn't bring myself to talk about it.

The rest, Hutch and Phil, also fought, but their trauma felt differently, less... the other world, I couldn't help but feel isolated in my experience, trapped in my own little world of fear and confusion.

I changed, I knew it, I was no longer the person I was before the forest. The forest took a part of me, they left their mark in my soul, and I knew that I would never be able to fully recover, I also accepted it.

I was always haunted by the ghosts of the past, memories of the people I lost, and the remaining mystery of Mark, that mysterious figure who entered my life and then disappeared without a trace.

The city buzzed around me, not paying attention to the battles that were fought in the shadows, not paying attention to the horrors that were hidden outside our reality, I was completely alone with my memories, trying to reconcile with things that I could not understand, and waiting for the day when I could finally close my eyes without seeing the Monster and the burning red eyes of the stranger who saved my life.