Three figures, muffled and hidden behind tattered shadows and secrets, finally reached the very edge of the dense forest. There, gnarled trees receded from a diffused and pale island - a desolate plateau. Lying before them, half-sunk in the encroaching verdure, was the Sanctuary: ancient stone enfolded in sweeping piles, like a giant swallowed by time and decay. Jagged roots clawed at its walls, and crumbling statues lined the path, their faces worn to smooth, expressionless masks by centuries of wind and rain. And yet, a crushing air lingered, thicker and colder than the chill that seeped into their bones.

Kiaran's fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword as they drew closer. Beside him stood Eira's form, her breath fogging in the air that was too cold - her hands glowing with a faint, protective light. Sable went ahead, his eyes glinting with an otherworldly light as he scanned the dark runes that marked the Sanctuary's sealed entrance. The stone door was inscribed with some sort of runes that pulsed with an unsettling, crimson glow like the heartbeat of some ancient and sleeping beast.

This place feels. wrong," she whispered in a voice not much louder than the wind moaning through the trees. "It's as if darkness lives here.".

It is," Sable replied, his voice, for once sober. He ran a finger along the nearest rune, and a shiver passed through him. "The Sanctuary was once home to a cult that sought to harness the power of the dark deity. But they failed, becoming twisted echoes of what they once were. Their essence still clings to these stones.".

Suspecting Kiaran, Kiaran shot a sideways glance at him, suspicion honing his glance. "Why didn't you tell us this earlier? And what do you hope to find there, Sable?

Sable turned to him, his shadowy cloak swirling round his lean form like some dark, black fluid. "You think I came here out of the goodness of my heart, Voss?" he said. "No. There's an artifact hidden in the Sanctuary. One that could tip the balance of power in this world. A weapon-or a curse-depending on who wields it.".

Kiaran's jaw flexed, his muscles tensing under the strain of his barely restrained temper. "And what makes you think we'll let you take it?"

Sable's smirk was humorless, a flash of sharp teeth in the gloom. "Let me? You need me to get past the seal. And once we're inside. well, we'll see who walks out with it.".

Before the tension in the air could snap into violence, the relic in Kiaran's pocket pulsed, jolting him with a sudden shock. He stumbled, clutching his head as if the space above it hurt, and at the same time, a distorted voice echoed in his mind - its tone a twisted semblance of Alaric's.

"Turn back. turn back. you tread a path that leads to ruin, Kiaran. The curse. the shadow."

His body strained for balance, beads of sweat breaking out on his face despite the chill. Eira clutched at his arm, her voice tight with concern. "Kiaran, what is it?"

He gritted his teeth, fighting the relic's voice to be still. When he finally was able to relax a little, he said, "It's. nothing. Just the relic's usual games. Let's break this seal and get this over.".

Sable's eyebrow shot up, but no other words escaped her mouth, and she turned back to the runes. He began to chant in a soft, sibilant voice, shadows collecting at his feet and spreading out towards the scarlet inscriptions. The air grew heavy with the stench of rot and old power, as if dark tendrils reached out to unwind the hold that kept the runes bound.

Eira stepped forward as well, her own magic glowing there in the darkness, bright threads of energy interwoven with Sable's shadowy incantations. But the runes resisted, lashing out with whips of crimson energy that left searing burns across Sable's arms and made Eira gasp in pain.

Kiaran watched the battle being played out there, felt the relic flare again. He hesitated, then pulled it from his cloak, that blue light spilling from the cracks of its surface like a captive star. Its glow clashed with the crimson, driving back the runic tendrils as if repelling poison. With a snarl, he channeled the relic's energy into the seal, and the runes shuddered, cracking like a shell beneath his power.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

With a final, shuddering spasm, the seal collapsed. The ground bucked under them, and an unearthly shriek boiled up into the air, boiling up out of the shadows to surround them like a chorus of damned souls. Stone door squealed open, revealing a darkness writhing with unseen shapes.

But as the entrance yawned open wide, a figure coalesced in the doorway-a spectral warrior, clad in armor that seemed to rot and reform in the same breath. On its helm, a faded sigil bore testament to a forgotten age; in its hands, a sword burned with a black flame, casting shadows that twisted unnaturally.

The voice of the guardian was the screaming of millions, layered over each other in a cacophony of sound. "You intruders have opened the seal. You'll be consumed by the curse of the Sanctuary, your souls tied to its very depths."

Kiaran drew his sword and felt a sudden rush of power through it. "We're not leaving without what we came for. Step aside, or be destroyed.".

A wordless wail split the air as he lunged forward, his sword trailing black fire. The ground cracked under him, shadows erupting like geysers to strike at the intruders. Kiaran met the assault head-on, his blade clashing against the guardians with a spray of sparks, but every strike jolted bolts of numbing cold through his arm.

Eira ran wildly, bolts of light striking towards the guardian, where they detonated just feet away, fizzling out as the spectral form of the creature drank them in, sheathing them in shadows. Sable straining to hold onto the dark, shot tendrils of darkness around its limbs, binding it, but the creature tore through those too, its unnatural strength shaking its bounds loose.

It's too strong!" screamed Eira, blood trickling from her nose, as she pressed her magic to its limits. "We can't take it down like that!

Kiaran gritted his teeth as the guardian's strikes pounded against his defenses. Eira's light was failing; her breaths ragged and uneven, and Sable could feel his own concentration falter as the shadows began to slip through his control. They were being beaten, cornered by a foe that seemed to gain strength off their struggles.

In that moment of desperation, Kiaran chose. From his pocket he wrenched out the relic, its power pulsing in his grip as a wild beat, and tapped its energy straight through his sword. Blue light filled the blade, burning away the dark that lingered on the steel.

With a bellow, he swung at the guardian, the energy singing through him in a rush of pain. The sword struck true, slicing through the burning weapon of the guardian and into the ghostly form. Light and shadow exploded, bathing everything in a blinding flash that convulsed the plateau with shockwaves.

It staggered, losing its form like a guttering flame. One knee buckled, and its sword crumbled to ash. Yet even as its form dissolved into nothingness, it spoke once more, a thread of sorrow weaving through the many voices.

"Your determination is strong. but strength alone cannot pierce the veil of this place. Watch out for the shadow walking beside you. and the choices that bind your soul."

And with those last words, the guardian exploded into motes of darkness, swept away on the wind. Kiaran fell to his knees, and the light of the relic surrendered back to its cold, dark slumber. Pain lanced through him, leaving him shivering and weak. Eira stumbled to his side, pressing a warm, glowing hand to his shoulder, while Sable watched in silence, his face impassive.

The entrance to the Sanctuary lay open before them, a hole that sucked in even the moonlight. The darkness inside seemed deeper, more physical than night, as if they stared into the maw of some great, waiting beast.

Eira wiped the blood from her face, her voice a hoarse whisper. "This. this is only the beginning, isn't it?"

Kiaran nodded, then swayed to his feet. His legs throbbed beneath him, but he steadied himself against the walls of the atrium. He glanced up at Sable, who'd edged closer to the entrance, scanning the shadows as though hoping to find what lay beyond their sight.

"No going back now," Sable whispered, his earlier bravado replaced by a somberness he rarely adopted. "What's in there will change us all—if we're lucky enough to get out of it alive."

The weight of the relic was heavy in his cloak; Kiaran's hand tightened on his sword. He met Eira's eyes, saw the determination mingled with fear, and then looked to face the darkness ahead. Whatever lay within the Sanctuary, whatever truths or horrors it held, he would face them head-on. For the sake of his own future, and for the answers that still eluded him.

Step by step, they walked into the dark opening of the Sanctuary, and with each pace, the air grew colder. The stretch of rock plateau receded behind them, silent; the world, perhaps, held its breath in expectation of what was to spill out of the depths.

And as the blackness closed around them, the last echoing of the guardian's warning went ringing through Kiaran's mind—haunting, unanswered, and too close to the truth.