A dense fog enveloped the small town of Murdoch, barely visible on maps and forgotten by the rest of the world. Among its dilapidated houses and neglected streets, rumors circulated, but the most unsettling of them revolved around the number 𝟑𝟑𝟔.

It appeared in the strangest places: scratched onto the wooden boards of the old school, painted on the walls of homes, and even written in the journals of people no one knew. No one could say who had started spreading it or when, but recently, the town had been gripped by a growing sense of unease.

Parents forbade their children from going near the abandoned buildings on the outskirts. Particularly avoided was the old, half-ruined church, where, as whispered in hushed tones, the "initiated" gathered once a month. The police had tried several times to enter, but each time they found the building empty, despite locals swearing they had seen people entering it at night.

Some managed to link these strange occurrences to a series of disappearances. In the past two years, Murdoch had lost 17 people. The missing individuals stayed on the minds of the townsfolk for a few weeks, but then, as if erased from memory, they were forgotten, as though they had never existed.

Benjamin Carr's Note
A journalist named Benjamin Carr began his own investigation. He learned that the cult of 𝟑𝟑𝟔 was connected to an ancient ritual, supposedly aimed at "restoring balance." There were no official records of the cult, aside from a few vague mentions in late 19th-century archival documents.

One night, Carr received a note left under his apartment door:

"When the number reaches 𝟑𝟑𝟔, the gates will open. We will be able to see what lies beyond our world. He who understands the meaning of the number will find the path to eternal life. But beware: every step toward the truth takes a part of your soul."

Carr tried to ignore the warning, but the note had lodged itself in his mind. He began searching for all possible mentions of the number in town records, churches, and cemeteries. With each discovery, his anxiety grew. Every time he touched on a secret of the cult, he would have strange, unsettling dreams, where unfamiliar voices whispered a single word—"Balance."

The Revelation
One October evening, Carr decided to follow a strange figure heading toward the old church. He noticed that the person was carrying a bundle with a book inside, and the number 𝟑𝟑𝟔 was clearly printed on the cover. Carr chose to follow. Through a narrow path between the trees, he reached the abandoned church. Inside, amidst broken pews, candles burned, and a group of people stood in a circle, their faces hidden beneath hoods. They chanted words in an ancient language Carr couldn’t understand, but it didn’t matter. Their true focus was the bundle.

The man in the center of the circle opened the book and began to read:

"When 𝟑𝟑𝟔 souls are gathered, the world will fall. The guardians of the borders will awaken and bring the true light beyond. Only then shall we enter the long-awaited era. The boundaries between worlds will shift."

Carr was horrified. They didn’t just revere the number—they believed it would bring about the end of the world, and soon everything hidden would emerge. His mind raced in terror—𝟑𝟑𝟔 disappearances per year. That was the exact number of people they had been abducting for their rituals, to open the gateway to an unknown world.

The Mystery of the Number
Carr never returned that night. His body was found three days later in the woods. The number 𝟑𝟑𝟔 was scratched onto his arm, and scattered nearby were his notes, filled with mysterious symbols and figures. No one knew what he had discovered in that church, but the final entry in his journal read:

"The number is the key. 𝟑𝟑𝟔 is not just the sum of lives. It is the beginning of the end."

The town of Murdoch closed its doors to outsiders. No one spoke of the missing people or the cult again. But in the shadows, in the abandoned corners of the town, people continued to vanish. And every time, near the place of the disappearance, someone would find the same number: 𝟑𝟑𝟔.