02 - Terror Out of Space (Version 2) by Leigh Douglass Brackett

Dive into an unsettling tale set beneath the ominous black seas of Venus, where a haunting silver land harbors a nameless terror that drives men to madness. Follow the harrowing journey of Lundy, a man who battles this unseen horror, his will blinding him to the true nature of his foe. To gaze upon the terror is to surrender to it—transforming into a mindless automaton, consumed by the desire to uncover the secrets hidden behind the shadowy eyelids of IT. This gripping narrative first captivated readers in the pages of Planet Stories in 1944. - Summary by Publisher