The lights in the corridor went out one by one. The shadows of the two brothers were almost instantly swallowed by the darkness. In the dark, small noises were infinitely amplified. Danny's slightly hurried breathing revealed his tension. Johnny also slightly arched his body, with flames almost burning in his eyes.
The word "Alarming Doom" appeared on the screen in fancy script. Eddie, sitting in front of the computer desk, let out a small breath, leaned back, stretched his somewhat sore neck, and muttered, "I really didn't expect Shiller to have a talent for directing. This mockumentary is quite well-made."
"Stop the nonsense!" Venom shouted, "Hurry up and continue playing, I still want to watch! What's coming next?!"
"Don't rush, let me fix the previous part first." Eddie leaned forward again, carefully staring at the computer screen, and began to adjust the effects of the font appearance using video editing software, changing the originally abrupt style to a handwritten animation, accompanied by a scribbling sound, creating another kind of eerie and thrilling atmosphere.
Then, Eddie imported a new video file and placed this segment after the title credits appeared.
At first, there was a long period of black screen, then a bit of static, followed by the sound of leather shoes stepping on a wooden floor, and then the sound of a tape recorder being turned on.
"My name is Naog Sokhup, an Honorary Researcher at All Souls College, Oxford University, and an expert in folklore and mysticism. Forgive me for having to tell you such a thriller of a story in this way. Because no matter who it is, they probably wouldn't believe the terrifying events I've experienced in the past week. It all starts with that blockbuster movie and an unknown terrifying demon..."
Eddie listened quietly, occasionally clicking on a certain frequency band with the mouse to cut out small pauses to control the rhythm of the speech, and then put on headphones to process the tone, making the man's voice appear deeper and more mysterious.
After the black screen ended, suddenly the daylight burst forth. The bright sunshine formed a sharp contrast with the suspenseful atmosphere of the previous monologue. The iconic Vatican walls appeared in the frame. The person holding the camera was sitting in a car, and the camera was wobbling, looking unlike that of a professional photographer.
"Today is May 12th." That familiar voice rang out again, "I came to the Vatican to visit an old friend of mine. In the secular religious hierarchy, he is usually called a Cardinal. But I think many people do not know that he is also a vanguard in defending Earth from demon invasion. I just hope he can solve my troubles..."
The screen changed again. In an office with mahogany floors and very old-looking stone walls, many documents were placed on the table in front of the camera. An old bald man wearing a robe was slowly putting on his glasses.
"It seems there's no mistake." He spoke slowly, "The symptoms of these possessed people are very typical. They are possessed by devils, indulging in those evil dreams, having their souls drained, and dying in their sleep."
"Except for one case." The camera's owner said, "The boy with schizophrenia living in the sanatorium. Did he resist the demon's attack? Or was some other force helping him?"
The old man gently shook his head and said, "Perhaps this is a conspiracy. A conspiracy woven by devils returning to Earth. He wants to use this boy to achieve some purpose. But there is no doubt that Nelson is special. If you want to thwart the devil, you must protect him."
"I don't know how to do it. I came to you, wanting to understand about this devil. Across the ocean, that country once fell into darkness for a long time, but there hasn't been such a severe incident for decades. My colleagues are very concerned about it, and I must resolve it as soon as possible."
"Come with me." The old man walked out from behind the desk, turned, and walked towards a small door on the right side of the wall. The camera followed him through the small door, arriving at a narrow and dark library. It was filled with various books and files, piled full, not only on the shelves, by the walls, on the floors, or the desks, even on the windowsills, all were various old, somewhat yellowing files.
The old man was searching, finally took out one of them and handed it to the camera's owner, then made a gesture to keep silent.
"Do not speak his name."
One Hand picked up the file, and the camera froze on a name — "Mephisto".
Shiller put down the file in his hand, then took off the camera hanging from his neck. The old man walked over, smiling, and said, "How about that? Should this one pass?"
"Not bad," Shiller said. "As expected, a slightly dimmer environment is more conducive to creating a mysterious atmosphere. Audiences just love watching this."
Shiller took a little time to import what he had just shot into his phone and then sent it to the Bishop. The Bishop put on his glasses, squinted his eyes, looked at the video screen on his phone, nodded, and said, "Not bad, makes me look quite professional. I originally thought I wasn't old yet, but now it seems, unable to keep up with the times. I would never have thought to bring a camera to film a documentary during an exorcism."
"In fact, the exorcism has already been completed. This segment was just a reshoot for the sake of plot completeness. After all, I understand you guys want to promote the Church's contribution in the fight against demons. This segment can well express that it was you who supported Doctor Sophocles, allowing him to escape from that terrifying experience."
"Truly interesting," the old bishop said, "When the movie is released, I will definitely go see it. I think my colleagues will go too."
"I plan to host a premiere at the new magical school. Then you can enjoy the movie with the mages of Kamar-Taj and members of The Avengers. I think you'll have a lot to talk about."
The smile on the old bishop's face deepened a bit. He nodded and patted Shiller on the shoulder.
Knock, knock, knock. Someone knocked on the studio door. Eddie, slumped against his seat's backrest, suddenly jolted awake and turned his head to see Shiller pushing the door open.
"How's it going? Is the editing done?"
"Not even close." Eddie wiped his face, picked up a piece of Swiss chocolate from beside him, and tossed it into his mouth. Shiller sat down next to him. Eddie adjusted the screen, and they both looked at the images on the screen.
"Oh, damn it. Did you feel that?" Danny looked at Johnny. Johnny's face turned serious.
"I sense power flowing. Such immense power couldn't belong to an ordinary demon. Perhaps it really is Mephisto."
Click, click, click... Suddenly, the sound of heels striking the ground echoed through the empty hallway, growing closer.
A sudden gust of strong wind blew them back a few steps. They had to shield their faces with their arms.
A scream that didn't sound human suddenly came from the end of the hallway. All the lights turned on, but the light became a terrifying blood-red. A monstrously tall shadow, with arms nearly dragging on the ground, flashed past the window at the end of the hallway.
Danny let out a frightened scream, but Johnny had already stepped forward to chase it. Shiller followed behind them, rushing toward the window.
At the window, a strong burnt smell wafted over. Johnny opened the window, and as he looked down, he met a horrifying face of charred black skin, wrinkled and bunched together, with only eyes visible.
The opponent's torso was shrunken, about the size of a seven or eight-year-old, thin black skin clinging tightly to the bones, yet the limbs were unusually long, like a massive spider, crouched against the outer wall of the hospital, gazing up at Johnny.
Johnny was so terrified he stepped back. Danny hurriedly rushed over, but when he looked again, the ugly and eerie creature had already crawled away swiftly with its limbs.
"What was that?" Danny asked, "An illusion? Or some kind of cursed creature?"
"That was a monster from Hell." Johnny took a deep breath and said, "In Mephisto's Hell domain, there are countless tortured creatures whose limbs and forms have become twisted. They are all different, but they are exceedingly terrifying. Their common trait is the scent of Hell Ash that clings to them."
"Hell Ash?" Shiller spoke.
"Yes. The burnt smell we just sensed was the scent of Hell Ash. And..." Johnny lowered his head, reaching out to touch the windowsill's edge. His hand brushed against some black marks. He showed them to the others and said, "This is Hell Ash."
Just as Danny was about to say something, a scream came from downstairs, sounding like a woman's voice. They hurriedly ran downstairs. The hallway downstairs also had a faint burnt smell. The scream alarmed the nurses on the floor, and together they rushed into the room where the scream came from.
Johnny and Danny led the way. Shiller wanted to go forward but stopped his steps and shouted to them, "Wait! Don't go in!!"
"Bang!" The door closed instantly. Everything became eerily silent. Shiller, still in the hallway, couldn't hear any noises. His gaze fell once again on the plaque outside the room.
He remembered this room had only one patient, and it was a male. The scream from earlier couldn't have been made by the patient inside; it must have been Mephisto's trap.
After the door closed, the two inside realized the figure on the bed was clearly male and had no reaction, either unconscious or lost in a dream, despite the loud noise.
As the door closed, the three windows in the room opened one by one. A dense burnt smell came again, the white walls ignited, and gradually turned charred black. The bed, curtain, instruments were all engulfed by flames. Yet, the figure lying on the bed stood up in a strange posture.
"He's possessed!" Johnny shouted, "Quick, stop him!"
Danny dashed forward and tackled the figure. But he soon discovered his hand was getting burnt from touching it. He let out a low painful cry. As his muscle strength relaxed for a moment, the figure broke free from him.
"Swish," flames erupted from Johnny's eyes. In an instant, he transformed into the Ghost Rider, staring with eyes full of rage at the patient lunging towards him.
"You... are guilty!"