Chapter 73
Awakening the Forgotten
The tunnel trembled as the deep groan faded into an eerie silence. The air had shifted, thick with something unnatural. Elena felt it in her bones—a presence, old and waiting.
Naomi gripped her flashlight tighter. “Okay… I officially hate this.”
Mateo muttered under his breath. “You and me both.”
Elena ignored them, her gaze locked on the dark corridor ahead. The inscription had warned them: He who wakes what sleeps shall bear the burden of the past.
But what if the past had been waiting to be found?
Richard took a cautious step forward, gun still raised. “We either turn back now or find out what we’ve just disturbed.”
His voice was steady, but Elena caught the tension in his shoulders. He was just as uneasy as the rest of them.
Amira traced the glowing symbols on the walls. “The energy here is old. And it’s not just a warning. It’s a story.”
Naomi huffed. “Oh great. A bedtime story before we die.”
Amira ignored her, eyes narrowing as she deciphered the markings. “This place was sealed by those who feared its power. But they weren’t just locking something inside… they were protecting the world from it.”
Mateo groaned. “WHY do ancient people always leave the worst things behind for us to deal with?”
Elena took another step, feeling a deep pull toward the darkness ahead. She exhaled sharply. “We keep moving.”
No one argued. They all knew there was no turning back now.
The Chamber of Secrets
The passageway led them to a vast chamber, its ceiling lost in the shadows above. Ancient stone pillars loomed over them, their surfaces carved with more glowing symbols. In the center of the room stood an altar, and on it… something covered in thick, ancient chains.
The air crackled with tension.
Naomi let out a slow breath. “Tell me that’s not what I think it is.”
Elena stepped closer, heart pounding. “It’s not a tomb… it’s a prison.”
Amira’s fingers traced one of the chains. “These aren’t ordinary restraints. They’re enchanted. Whatever is in there… it was meant to stay locked away.”
Mateo stepped back. “So why does it look like something’s been tampering with it?”
Elena froze.
He was right. The chains, though thick, had been weakened. Some had already snapped.
Something had been trying to break free.
Richard’s jaw tightened. “We need to leave. Now.”
But before anyone could react, the ground rumbled again. This time, it wasn’t just the chamber shaking—the altar itself was pulsing, as if responding to their presence.
Naomi’s voice rose in panic. “I swear if something bursts out of there, I’m—”
A sudden crack silenced her.
The remaining chains snapped apart, and a gust of air rushed through the chamber, extinguishing their flashlights.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
And in that darkness, something moved.
Something Has Awakened
A voice—not human, not fully formed—whispered from the shadows.
“You should not have come.”
Elena’s breath hitched. The voice was deep, ancient, filled with something beyond rage—a hunger.
Richard cursed under his breath, fumbling with his flashlight. “We need light. Now.”
Naomi smacked hers, and after a flicker, the beam returned.
What they saw made the blood drain from their faces.
The figure standing before the altar was tall, wrapped in tattered robes that seemed to shift like shadows. Its face was obscured, but its eyes—burning, golden, unnatural—locked onto them with terrifying intensity.
Amira’s voice barely came out. “It’s not just a guardian…”
Elena swallowed hard. “It’s the prisoner.”
The figure stepped forward, the ground shaking with every move. The temperature in the chamber dropped sharply, breath turning to mist in the freezing air.
The voice spoke again, this time louder.
“You… are not them. But you bear their sins.”
Mateo cursed. “I don’t know what that means, but I don’t like it.”
Elena’s mind raced. This thing—this entity—had been sealed away by those before them. And now it was awake.
The prisoner raised one hand. The air shuddered.
Elena had only seconds to react.
“RUN!”
