Dr. Evelyn Carter, a renowned archaeologist, is summoned to a private estate in rural England to appraise an unusual find—a crumbling, leather-bound tome known as the Codex Tenebris. The book, covered in intricate carvings that seem to shift under the light, is rumored to be cursed. The eccentric collector who owns it, Lord Whitmore, warns Evelyn to proceed with caution, claiming that previous owners met untimely and mysterious deaths.

Evelyn, a skeptic who believes in science over superstition, dismisses the warnings as folklore. She agrees to translate the ancient Latin text, eager to uncover its secrets. As she flips through its brittle pages, strange occurrences begin—a cold draft sweeps through the room, candles flicker, and faint whispers seem to emanate from the book itself.

Over the next few days, Evelyn becomes obsessed with the Codex. The text describes forbidden rituals to summon entities from a realm known as the Abyssal Veil. She finds herself dreaming of shadowy figures and hearing her name whispered in empty corridors. Her reflection in mirrors lingers too long, watching her with an eerie grin.

Evelyn’s assistant, Marcus, grows concerned. He insists she stop, but she dismisses him, growing irritable and defensive. One night, Evelyn deciphers the book’s final chapter—a summoning incantation. Against Marcus’s protests, she decides to test the ritual, convinced it’s the key to proving the book’s historical significance.

In the candlelit study, Evelyn chants the incantation. The air grows heavy, the walls tremble, and the room is plunged into darkness. A portal of swirling shadows forms, and from it emerges a grotesque entity—a towering figure with elongated limbs and eyes that glow like embers. It speaks in a voice that rattles her very bones:

“You have called me forth, mortal. Now, I claim your soul.”

Terrified, Evelyn attempts to banish the creature, frantically flipping through the Codex. But the pages have changed, now filled with illegible scrawls and symbols that writhe as if alive. The entity approaches, its shadow engulfing her. Just as it reaches out, Marcus bursts into the room, smashing the Codex with an iron candlestick. The creature recoils, shrieking, and the portal closes, taking the book with it.

Evelyn collapses, her mind fractured by the ordeal. Marcus takes her to safety, but the experience leaves her a hollow shell of her former self. Meanwhile, in a distant library, the Codex Tenebris reappears on a dusty shelf, waiting for its next victim.

As Evelyn recovers in the hospital, Marcus notices a strange mark on her wrist—a sigil from the book. That night, he hears faint whispers calling his name.