March 14, 1979
For the past few weeks, numerous testimonies have reported an unusual new drug, as well as the rise of a specific gang whose members are said to have gained “supernatural” powers.
According to our information, the drug is obtained from crystals of perfect blackness, reflecting no light. Its effects may include:
- Metabolism acceleration:
- Body temperature measured up to 46.3°C (average of 44.6°C).
- Heart rate between 290 and 316 bpm.
- Perceptual alterations:
- 3.7% of users claim to experience “time slipping” or premonition effects. Experimental validity of the data is difficult to confirm (65% probability of cognitive distortion).
- Behavioral anomalies:
- Cannibalism incidence: 24%.
- Autophagy: 15%.
- Acuphagia : 9.4%.
- Hyalophagia: 8.1%.
- Mortality:
- Death rate of 43% within 72 hours (4% of cases resist beyond 96 hours before multi-organ failure).
We assume that the gang in question has managed to find and come into contact with the ancient horror Malorius, god of war and violence.
After investigation, we identified the epicenter of activities: an abandoned shopping mall vacated since early 1971. Sources, most dating back to the Bronze Age, mention a “human-sized” god. It is entirely plausible that it has appeared somewhere in the building.
March 30, 1979
Authorization for exploration was obtained after the site was secured by the local military. The supposed annihilation of the drug-trafficking gang resulted in:
- 56 soldiers dead, 42 wounded.
- 12 traffickers dead.
The shopping mall sustained no significant damage: heavy-caliber bullet impacts on the storefront, 19 car explosions in the parking lot, and part of the storefront collapsed after a rocket strike.
After the end of the fighting, we gathered the following information about individuals who had contact with Malorius:
- Ultra-violent, antisocial behavior.
- Confused and incoherent speech about the meaning of life, beauty and the inevitability of death, the end of the world, and the god Malorius.
- Enhanced physical condition and resistance to bullet and blade injuries.
- Insensitivity to pain.
- Completely black eyes; unidentified black matter may seep from the nose, ears, and mouth.
Even though the immediate exterior of the shopping mall is secured, we suspect that enemies remain inside. However, the military has agreed to let us proceed with further exploration. Allocation of 80 personnel.
March 31, 1979
Losses: 8
Notes: After securing the layout of the complex, we decided to enter through the west door, leading to the wing dedicated to botany and pet stores. The area seemed empty and desolate, but the initial findings are alarming:
- Abnormally low ambient temperature: An average of 8°C, with pockets dropping to 4°C, despite an outside temperature of 17°C (some members reported a “psychic cold” effect).
- Acoustic anomalies: Emissions recorded at 4.2 kHz corresponding to a continuous, indistinct whisper, perceptible by instruments.
- Frequencies picked up on the AM band: A broadcast at 530 Hz emitting a fragmented message in a language identified as a proto-Italic dialect. Partial translation: “He who watches burns, he who sees perishes.”
- Initial analysis indicates a magnetic fluctuation around the botany wing, with a field density reaching 5.7 mT (57 times the normal value).
Fifty meters into the west wing, the explorers encountered the first possessed individuals, emerging from the botany store. The three mutants are described as follows:
Mutant 1: Wilted flowers cover most of its body, seemingly having grown from its skin. Roots emerge from its eye sockets, nose, mouth, and ears, forming pointed horn-like structures. It seems to navigate via vibrations in the ground and attacks as soon as it detects movement.
Mutant 2: Its body is in a state of decomposition, emitting an extremely sweet and pleasant smell that attracts anyone who breathes it in. Its mouth hangs open down to its chest, from which long tentacles and giant carnivorous plants emerge and writhe.
Mutant 3: A hornet nest has grown on its chest. The swarm seems to attack on command and can do so at a distance of at least 40–45 meters. The rest of its body is crawling with spiders.
The explorers were unable to capture any specimens; all were neutralized.
- Mutant 2 attracted two explorers within range of its tentacles, which released a paralyzing agent. Once its victims were neutralized, it devoured them alive. Tranquilizer darts had no effect; it took 12 heavy-caliber assault rifle shots to eliminate it.
- Mutant 1 emerged from the shadows and impaled an explorer through the chest. It then raised its head, lifting the victim, and shook him until he was torn in two. Three shotgun blasts were required to kill it.
- Mutant 3 was hidden in the ventilation system of the hallway. It sent waves of hornets at strategic intervals, targeting isolated or exposed explorers. Stings were 100% fatal, causing:
- Immediate necrosis, loss of limbs (two deaths from septic shock).
- Formation of cysts and pus-filled boils that burst. The wounds became infected, and blood stopped coagulating (one death from hemorrhage).
- Madness (two suicides with their own weapons).
It took six hours of siege to finally kill it, requiring 49 assault rifle rounds and 28 handgun shots.
April 1, 1979
Losses: 20
Progress: West wing secured
Notes:
We can now explore the mall's atrium. The massive room is completely dilapidated and littered with corpses. We discovered 39 skeletons hanging from the atrium's escalators, likely external victims, as well as 18 decomposed bodies missing several limbs or showing bite marks imprinted on the bones. Analyses reveal they were possessed, succumbing to extreme self-cannibalism: most devoured themselves to death.
The room is covered with inscriptions in an unknown language written in blood. We cataloged all of them, but none could be translated.
The most intriguing one is located beneath the escalator. The symbols resemble . No, do not study the symbols under the escalator: visual contact with these writings for more than 2 to 3 minutes results in spontaneous combustion (6 cases) or cardiac arrest (11 cases). One explorer was resuscitated but left paralyzed on the left side of their body, while two explorers survived with burns on 89% (leg amputations required) and 95% (right arm amputation required) of their bodies, respectively.
April 8, 1979
Losses: 5
Progress: By further studying testimonies of Malorius’s appearances in ancient writings and deciphering some of the symbols, we establish that this horror represents echoes of collective violence and fear, celebrations of illusions and nightmares, shadows, and the audiences of the dead.
We hypothesize that it may be located in the mall's cinema on the third floor. The last film shown there before the closure was a horror movie notorious for its gratuitous and graphic violence. As with its ancient appearances in Gallo-Roman theaters, the cinema is a place celebrating falsehoods, and the seats symbolize passivity and captivity.
Notes:
The explorers ascend the escalator to reach the atrium's first floor. At this point, the temperature drops to -2°C. Heart rates rise to an average of 140 bpm, and tremors appear in 65% of them.
They must hug the western walls to reach a second set of stairs on the opposite side. Despite total silence—so complete that their breathing echoes against the walls—radio readings indicate a 53 kHz emission exceeding 120 decibels.
On the second floor, explorers report that the silence is so profound they can hear the blood coursing through their veins, while measurements indicate 144 decibels at the same 53 kHz frequency, with an indecipherable message looping. The waves feel physically oppressive.
To reach the escalators leading to the cinema on the third floor, they must pass through a corridor on the southern side. Illumination drops from 450 lux at the corridor's entrance to complete darkness halfway through. Beyond this point, light measurements become negative: even flashlight beams are absorbed, creating absolute darkness with no possibility of illumination. Explorers proceed by touch; some report hearing laughter and animalistic screams around them. The 53 kHz waves peak at 167 decibels, and though inaudible, their radiation and pressure induce migraines, nausea, and severe trembling. One witness claims to have heard a man shout, “Do you hear the divine word? Do you hear it?!”
The escalator must be climbed in total darkness: many explorers report feeling presences parting as they pass, taking their hands, or whispering in an unknown language. But once they reach the top, light seeps from beneath the cinema entrance door, illuminating the surroundings.
This light emits measurable radiation but does not behave according to conventional principles of light propagation. Its intensity fluctuates between 400 and 600 lux within milliseconds, with no identifiable source or visible variations to the naked eye, suggesting a non-thermal origin.
The light's spectral signature is inconsistent: it spans wavelengths from near-infrared (~750 nm) to ultraviolet (~380 nm), with additional “off-spectrum” peaks around 450 nm and 520 nm. Explorers describe witnessing an “impossible” color they've never seen before.
Associated perceptual effects include spatial distortion: several explorers report objects contracting and expanding as they approach the light source. Thermal analysis reveals a paradoxical impact: despite the light's intense appearance, ambient temperatures drop by 8°C within 10 meters of the source, an effect incompatible with visible light emissions.
That evening, out of 18 explorers sent in, 5 never returned.
April 9, 1979
Losses: 12
Progress: We encounter the horror.
Notes:
The first three explorers who entered were attacked by a possessed individual. The attack's sequence is unclear, but post-mortem analysis revealed:
- Explorer #1’s arm was torn off. Bruises on the skin suggest the possessed individual managed to detach it barehanded. Fractures on the hand and forearm of the severed limb match those on the explorer's head: he was beaten to death with his own arm.
- Explorer #2’s head was torn off. The spine was removed along with the skull, leaving only the ribs in the body. The absence of eyes suggests the orbits were used as leverage points.
- Explorer #3 was beaten to death. The 84 fractures and 121 bruises on his body match the injuries on Explorer #2’s head.
Fifteen additional explorers were sent in and managed to eliminate the remaining possessed individuals with three further casualties.
WARNING: Direct eye contact with the horror causes instant death via organ liquefaction (6 cases)! Avoid looking in its general direction, or use peripheral vision if necessary.
Survivors describe the room as a standard cinema, plunged into darkness. A primary source of light comes from the horror itself, seated in front of the screen. Its height is estimated at 2.2 to 2.6 meters. Witnesses report it has the head of an animal, possibly a horse or bull, and two pairs of wings.
The second source of light comes from the movie being projected on the screen behind it, likely the last horror film shown there, replaying in a loop.
All the seats are occupied by possessed individuals who appear hypnotized by the horror. It is unclear if they are immune to death by sight or if they are blind. Blocking their gaze with a hand causes intense burning sensations. They cannot be moved from their positions, as if frozen, and show no limits to their pain tolerance, though their bodies react to torture experiments. Killing them also seems impossible.
Further analysis reveals the horror emits black particles that settle in the room and are inhaled by the possessed. Tests confirm the substance matches the drugs once possessed by the former gang.
April 10, 1979
Chosen: 11
Progress: Securing the artifact
Notes:
It is clear that the sacrifice we must offer to it will involve extreme violence. While studying ancient accounts, an intriguing story emerges: a simple North African tribe began conquering an improbable expanse of territory, with historical sources mentioning battles won against hundreds with just eleven warriors. This tribe grew into an empire within eleven months, expanding its dominion until famine and a historic epidemic weakened it. It was eventually overthrown by a neighboring kingdom. The legend says that when the conquering king took the palace and discovered records of an encounter with Malorius, detailing how the tribe had sacrificed 11 of its own in a process too inhumane to document, and how in return, the “winged horror with the head of an animal” granted them the power to forge an empire, he was so appalled that he burned the palace and erased all traces of the tribe from the face of the Earth.
The Sacrifice:
We selected 11 individuals, positioning them on stage between the horror and the possessed audience, and orchestrated a fight to the death using the following weapons:
- A golf club with embedded nails
- A medieval morning star
- A butcher’s hook attached to a chain
- Thick leather gloves with razor blades welded onto the palms
- A blunt meat cleaver
- A red-hot wrench
- A jar of acid
- A pair of rusty pruning shears
- Spiked shoes
- A piano wire
- A lighter and an alcohol-based spray
As the Chosen arranged themselves in a circle, our instruments immediately recorded a temperature drop to -17°C, a light intensity of -847 lux, and an increase in the AM signal to 189 dB—enough to make the entire building tremble.
When the confrontation began, the horror appeared to slightly lower its head to better observe the spectacle. At the first death (Chosen #7, wielding the red-hot wrench despite severe burns to their hand, killed Chosen #2 with a single blow to the head), the possessed audience began clapping in their seats.
The carnage continued. The possessed grew more animated, eventually rising to their feet, raising their fists, and cheering on the violence. When only Chosen #11 remained standing (having used the golf club after stealing it, as well as the lighter and spray from their first victim, killed with the spiked shoes), the possessed celebrated their victory by storming the stage, tearing the victor apart with their hands.
At this point, the horror moved for the first time: it stepped onto the stage, devoured Chosen #11, and then uttered an unknown incantation as though to consecrate the offering.
A flash of its “impossible” light flooded the room (8500 lux), distorting objects and producing complex radiation patterns. Then, it vanished into the darkness. The room returned to a natural state of dimness. The possessed, along with the chosen ones, had disappeared. On the stage, only a small object remained: ZK108-AB.
This artifact is a vial approximately 250ml in volume, made of glass and inscribed with partially deciphered phrases such as “GLORY TO DEATH,” “FOR WAR AND DESTRUCTION,” and “GOD OF WHAT DIES.” The unidentified liquid inside is fluorescent blue and appears quite viscous. The vial is sealed with a fragment of human bone, covered in dried blood used as a form of wax.
No historical records mention this vial: further scientific testing is required at the laboratory.
Summary: The mission is a success. The artifact is secured, the horror left, and losses minimal.
Financial Costs:
- Equipment: $2,122,500
- Salaries: $92,000
- Death insurance payouts: $280,000
