Keeper of the Light

The old lighthouse keeper, Silas, had seen a thing or two in his ninety-odd years. He'd weathered storms that ripped boats from their moorings, watched ships vanish beyond the horizon never to return, and listened to the mournful cries of seabirds echo through the long, lonely nights. But nothing, *nothing*, had prepared him for this.It started subtly. A flicker of movement at the edge of his vision. A whisper on the wind that sounded like his name, only… twisted, wrong. Then the fog rolled in, thicker than any he'd ever witnessed. It clung to the island like a shroud, muffling the clang of the bell buoy and swallowing the waves whole. He swore the beam from the lighthouse seemed weaker, struggling to pierce the oppressive gloom.He found the first symbol etched into the whitewashed walls of the keeper's cottage. A looping, unsettling glyph that crawled into his mind like a parasitic worm. Then came the changes in the sea. Grotesque, bioluminescent creatures he'd never seen before surfaced in the shallows, their bodies pulsating with an unsettling light. The seabirds fell silent, replaced by a low, guttural humming that vibrated in his bones.Now, Silas is gone. Vanished without a trace, leaving only his journal and the flickering, failing lighthouse to stand against the encroaching darkness.You are the new keeper. Assigned to this remote, windswept rock after a… a bureaucratic oversight. You've read the reports, dismissed the local legends as the ramblings of superstitious fishermen. You're here to do a job. Keep the light burning. Nothing more.But as you step off the supply ship and onto the damp, slick rocks, you feel it. A prickling unease that settles deep in your soul. The air is thick with a strange, metallic tang, and the fog… the fog seems to watch you.The lighthouse awaits. And within its cold, stone walls, you will discover that some legends are more than just stories. Some shadows hold truths that are best left buried. And some lights… are better left extinguished.Your first task: unlock the lighthouse door. The key is hidden somewhere in the keeper's cottage. Good luck. You'll need it.