Burnt-out insomniac Sloane Delgado is haunted by a towering shadow entity in her sleep paralysis. Noctis, an ancient nightmare demon, feeds on her terror until her suppressed desire becomes a richer feast, pulling him through the veil into her waking world.
#MonsterRomance
8
The arc the author planned. Your choices can bend it — your story may diverge.
1 Sloane experiences a severe sleep paralysis episode. A colossal shadow entity materializes at the foot of her bed, watching her panic. She wakes gasping, dismissing it as a hallucination.
2 A week later, the paralysis returns. This time Noctis steps forward, touching her face and speaking into her mind. The dream shifts from terror to dark, confusing sensuality before she wakes.
3 Sloane attempts to stay awake with caffeine and pills. Sleep deprivation causes hallucinations. She sees Noctis in her bathroom mirror reflection and realizes he is no longer confined to her REM cycle.
4 Desperate, Sloane buys sage and wards to cleanse her apartment. She finally sleeps and finds herself trapped in a labyrinthine version of her own home. Noctis shatters her wards effortlessly.
5 Sloane wakes shivering, standing barefoot on the roof of her apartment building. Noctis is beginning to control her physical body while she sleeps, testing the boundaries of the waking world.
6 Sloane stops fighting and intentionally seeks Noctis. He pulls her into his domain, the Void, for a surreal, explicit encounter utilizing shadow-binding and mind-reading that breaks her final mental barriers.
7 Noctis reveals he needs her explicit, verbal consent in the waking world to pull his physical body through the veil. He corners her in a terrifying blend of reality and nightmare, offering to consume her completely if she says yes.
8 Sloane shatters the last tether to her mundane life. She whispers her consent. The shadows coalesce, Noctis manifests in the flesh, and he claims her on her own bed, solidifying his permanent reign over her reality.
