Chapter 75
The Shadow Unleashed
The chamber erupted into chaos.
Elena barely had time to register her own words before the ground cracked open beneath them, sending jagged fissures racing outward like veins of darkness. The temperature plummeted, ice forming along the ancient stone pillars as the prisoner—the thing that had been sealed away for centuries—took another step forward.
Boom.
A shockwave blasted through the room, slamming into them like an invisible force.
Elena hit the ground hard, her ears ringing, her vision blurring as she scrambled to push herself up.
Somewhere to her right, Naomi let out a sharp gasp, gripping onto a fallen pillar for support. Mateo, thrown back by the impact, groaned as he struggled to his knees.
Amira’s voice rang through the air, urgent and panicked. “It’s drawing power from the seal—this whole place is reacting to it!”
Richard, ever the soldier, was already on his feet, gun raised. “Then we need to shut it down. NOW.”
But how?
Elena’s breath came in short, sharp bursts. She had woken something that should never have been disturbed.
And now, it was looking straight at her.
An Ancient Force Awakens
The prisoner—if that’s what it still was—towered over them, its robes shifting like living shadows. Its burning golden eyes pierced through Elena, as if searching for something within her.
Then it spoke.
“Your kind never learns.”
The words rumbled through the chamber, not just heard but felt, vibrating through her bones like a distant earthquake.
Elena swallowed hard. She could barely force her voice to work, but she had to try. “Who… what are you?”
The figure tilted its head, as if considering the question. Then, with an almost amused tone, it answered:
“A warning.”
And then it moved.
One moment, it was standing by the altar—the next, it was inches from Elena.
A freezing hand gripped her wrist, and a sudden wave of memories flooded her mind.
Not her memories. Its.
Flashes of a long-forgotten war. Cities burning. Screams echoing through time. The ground soaked in blood. A battle between those who sought power and those who tried to contain it.
The last image was of the prisoner itself—chained, bound, buried beneath centuries of earth and stone.
And then it was sealed away… until now.
Elena gasped, ripping her arm free as the vision ended. Her body felt like ice, her pulse racing.
Naomi’s voice snapped her back to reality.
“Elena! MOVE!”
She barely had time to react before a blast of pure black energy erupted from the prisoner’s outstretched hand, slamming into the ground where she had just stood.
A Desperate Escape
“Elena!” Richard reached for her, pulling her away as the ground cracked open, revealing a bottomless void beneath.
Mateo cursed. “We are NOT dying here. Someone come up with a plan!”
Amira was already scanning the room, eyes darting from the altar to the glowing runes. “The magic—it’s still here! The seal isn’t completely broken yet!”
“What does that mean?” Naomi demanded.
Amira turned to Elena, eyes fierce. “It means we can still trap it. But we have to act fast.”
Elena’s hands shook. She had barely recovered from the vision, but she forced herself to focus. “Tell me what to do.”
Amira pointed toward the altar. “The inscriptions—we need to reactivate them. If we can rebind the energy, we might be able to hold it here long enough to—”
A deafening roar cut her off.
The prisoner’s burning gaze snapped to them.
It knew what they were planning.
And it wasn’t going to let them succeed.
With an unnatural speed, the creature lunged—a blur of darkness and fury.
Elena’s heart pounded as she turned to run, reaching the altar with seconds to spare. She traced the symbols with her trembling fingers, feeling the faint pulse of ancient power beneath them.
“Come on, come on,” she whispered desperately.
The air around them vibrated. The magic was still alive. It was weak, but it was still there.
“Elena, hurry!” Richard barked.
She pressed her palm against the stone, summoning every ounce of focus she had. The runes flickered, their glow strengthening.
For a moment, hope surged in her chest. It was working.
Then, a cold hand closed around her throat.
Elena’s breath caught as the prisoner lifted her off the ground, its grip impossibly strong.
“You think you can chain me again?” it whispered, its voice like a thousand echoes. “Foolish.”
Dark tendrils coiled around her vision. She was slipping, fading—
Then, a gunshot rang through the air.
The grip on her throat loosened just enough for her to break free.
Richard had fired, the bullet glowing with the same energy as the runes.
Elena hit the ground hard, coughing as she stumbled back. The creature recoiled, not in pain, but in surprise.
That gave them the opening they needed.
“Elena! The seal!” Amira shouted.
Without hesitating, Elena slammed her hand onto the altar and spoke the final word of the inscription.
The chamber shook violently.
A blinding light erupted from the runes, surging forward like chains of pure energy. The prisoner screamed, its form twisting, writhing—
Then, with a final deafening roar, it was pulled back into the darkness.
The altar sealed shut.
And just like that…
The chamber fell silent.
A Fragile Victory
Elena collapsed to her knees, gasping for air.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then Naomi broke the silence.
“Tell me we just won.”
Amira exhaled, still staring at the altar. “For now.”
Mateo groaned. “I hate when people say ‘for now.’”
Elena forced herself to her feet, still feeling the presence of the thing they had just sealed away. “We need to get out of here. Before something else happens.”
Richard nodded. “Agreed.”
With one last look at the sealed altar, they turned and made their way back up the staircase.
None of them spoke.
Because deep down, they all knew…
This wasn’t over.
