Title: Gemini Twins: The Living Shadows
Fandom: Real Person Fiction, 我是歌手 | I Am a Singer (China TV) RPF
Characters: Dimash Kudaibergen (Qudaibergen), Hyde Kudaibergen (Qudaibergen) (OMC)
Tags: Horror, Shadows, Gemini Twins
Description: Dimash's shoes echoed loudly, and step by step, moved closer to the shadow people. Scratches against the brick walls greeted him, and heads turned, each presenting a set of white, blinking orbs. Their voices called out to him, beckoning him, repeatedly whispering the same phrase: "We are the grave, the dark, the void of night."
Gemini Twins: The common name for Dimash and Hyde Qudaibergen. The concept behind Hyde's character came about because of the song "Mademoiselle Hyde" by Dimash. Check out the official performances of "Mademoiselle Hyde" on Dimash's Official YouTube Channel.
THIS STORY COMES WITH COVER ART. I cross-posted this story. To see the image, please go to my AO3 (Archive of Our Own) account (under the same username, RainbowSheltie).
BETA: Annabelle
Hyde's directions to the doctor's laboratory led him to a part of the city that made his skin crawl. This district was not a vacation destination; there was no police presence, no sense of laws or rules. Criminals and drug addicts, dealers and illegal marketeers, the wealthy and the desperate; they all came here for a reason.
The night sky was overcast, and the dimly lit street lamps were no comfort. Ahead was a fancy hotel, which was out of place, considering its surroundings.
The hotel itself seemed inviting. Wide glass double doors led to a spacious lounge furnished with expensive couches and armchairs by a fireplace. There were coffee tables with various reading materials and ash trays. Two nicely dressed people attended the front desk, and someone who appeared to be a janitor was cleaning the floors.
But appearances were deceiving, and Dimash had been warned not to use the front entrance.
Instead, he steered around the building into a side alley that was unnaturally pitch black—a foreboding place no one had any business entering. Dimash could make out large garbage containers and the faint outlines of people lining either side of the street. They were shadow people, either passed out or pretending to be. Whether all of them were alive was the question.
As Dimash stepped into the alley, all the sounds around him disappeared. He was plunged into a dead silence.
His shoes echoed, step by step, moved closer to the shadow people. Scratches against the brick walls greeted him, and heads turned, each presenting a set of white, blinking orbs.
Dimash forced himself to walk closer. There were stairs leading down to the first floor underneath the hotel. People usually entered through the hotel lobby, but to avoid attracting attention Dimash used the side entrance, one best left forgotten.
As the eyes moved closer, Dimash heard the gravel crunch underneath the footsteps of the shadows, walking, crawling, ever nearer. There were whisperings in the void, softly entrancing and enticing.
"Come to us, to the grave, the dark, the void of night."
The chant was repeated over and over. Dimash kept walking, now feeling the wall as a guide and watching his steps, searching for the stairs.
The voices grew louder.
"We are the grave, the dark, the void of night."
It was part of a poem from eons past. The words were ancient, the oldest—older than time, older than the Universe, they came from Before. Pure evil.
"Come with us, the void awaits."
Death did not await those entering the void. Death would be a mercy. It was unclear what happened when you accepted their offering, but legends and myths existed, telling of horrors best left unspoken, and forgotten.
Dimash stopped, and forgot about his mission, about the stairs, the doctor, the world outside. Everything narrowed to a singular point, a call so strong it drowned out all rational thought.
The shadows surrounded him, and towered over him with their white, blinking eyes. Hands reached out to him, a sweet beckoning.
"The grave, the dark, the void of night."
"Repeat it, become it."
Dimash held out his hand.
"Repeat it!"
His lips began to move, voice coursing up his throat, settling upon his tongue. Dimash began to speak.