Content Warning: Crux Umbra explores themes of existential dread, as well as survival and psychological horror. Many articles contain depictions of violence and moral ambiguity.

Prologue

A moment...

...is all it takes to lose everything.
A step...

...is the distance separating you from madness.

A breath...

...is the habit you ache for more than life itself.
A shadow...

...is the enemy that stains everything around you.
A lie...

...is the echo of a silence that lingered too long.

A truth...

...is the beauty you search. Always just out of reach.
A goodbye...

...is the word you long to scream at all that wounds you.

A smile...

...is the thing you desire but never trust.
A memory...

...is the ghost you cannot outrun.
A dream...

...is the last thread that holds you together.

A mask...
...is the face you wear to hide all the rest.

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Tooltips were created with the help of the guide Styling Toolitips and Excerpts written by Annie Stein.

All images used were created via Midjourney with prompts created by the author and edited by arktouro, unless otherwise stated.


Comments

Author's Notes

I don’t usually share pieces like this on their own.

But this one... I don't know, I just wanted to give it away. It was the first thing I wrote when I started working on this novel. It's a little raw and maybe a little out of place, like a memory that doesn’t belong, but it's a very important piece for me.

It's just a fragment from the dark.

Let me know if it reaches you.


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Apr 16, 2025 10:56 by CoolG

This sends chills down my spine... /pos

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Apr 16, 2025 15:05 by Imagica

Sorry ^^ That was the intention and thank you <3

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Apr 18, 2025 14:38 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

This is great. The memory line is my favourite.

Emy x
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Apr 19, 2025 11:47 by Imagica

It's my favorite as well :) I'm glad you liked it!

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Oct 1, 2025 02:14 by Jacqueline Taylor

I really love this. The formatting makes it more interesting, like I'm moving through the work. It feels very poetic. It is raw, but it doesn't feel out of place to me. It carries the same tone and voice that the rest of this world carries. Concluding with the mask hit home for me. Brilliant. Keep up the great work.

Piggie
Oct 17, 2025 08:34 by Imagica

Thank you so much! I am glad you found the formating interesting :) It is a relatively small prologue and intro into the story and figured it needed something more to stand as an article on its own.

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