The next morning when she went to her grandfather’s room, she found him already packing a suitcase, his expression grim and determined. The sight of him, usually so gentle and warm, now hardened by the weight of what he knew, sent a chill through her. He was pulling out clothes, food, and other strange artifacts from an old wardrobe—items that looked as though they hadn’t been touched in years.

“Grandfather, what are you doing?” Mary asked, her voice trembling with worry.

He paused, looking up at her with eyes that seemed older, wearier, than they had the day before.

“I think I have to go alone,” he said quietly, his voice thick with resignation. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Mary was shocked. “You’re going alone? After that creature?”

He nodded, avoiding her gaze as he continued packing.

“It’s my responsibility. That crystal… it’s more dangerous than you can imagine. I should have destroyed it years ago, but I was too afraid of what might happen if I did. Now, it’s too late.”

“Too late for what?” Mary pressed, stepping closer to him.

“What are you talking about grandpa? This is all my fault.”

The old man stopped what he was doing, turning to face her fully. There was a deep sorrow in his eyes, a pain that ran far deeper than the lines etched into his face.

“That stone… it’s not just a crystal. It’s an ancient artifact, something far older than our family, older than this world, perhaps. It holds power—the power to shape destiny, to control fate itself. Whoever possesses it can decide the fate of others, for good or for ill.”

Mary felt her blood run cold.

“And that creature… has the stone now?”

“Yes,” he whispered, his voice barely audible.

“Isn’t it obvious darling, that thing took the form of someone you trusted, someone you loved, to get close to you. It manipulated your dreams, your memories, to find out where I had hidden it. Now, it has what it wanted all along.”

Mary’s mind reeled as she struggled to comprehend what her grandfather was telling her.

“But… What does that have to do with Lucas?

Mary froze.

“What are you saying, Grandpa?”

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

The old man’s face crumpled with grief. “Lucas… his death wasn’t an accident, Mary. It was planned. The creature knew that by taking Lucas from you, it could weaken your defenses, make you vulnerable. It needed you to have that dream, to lead it to the stone. It orchestrated everything.”

Mary felt as though the ground had been ripped out from under her. Lucas’s death had shattered her world, and now she was being told that it had been part of some grand, twisted plan? The shock was too much to bear. She stumbled backward, her knees buckling as the weight of the truth pressed down on her. She remembered that day, that shadow, that man that watched her the day of the accident.

“No…” she whispered, shaking her head in denial. “No, that can’t be true. Lucas… he didn’t die because of that stone. He didn’t…”

Her grandfather reached out, pulling her into a tight embrace.

“I’m so sorry, Mary.” he murmured.

“If I could change it, if I could undo what’s been done, I would. But we can’t change the past. All we can do now is try to stop that creature from using the stone for even greater harm.”

Mary clung to him, her tears soaking into his shirt. The grief, the anger, the helplessness—all of it swirled inside her, a maelstrom of emotions that she couldn’t control. But beneath it all, there was a resolve beginning to form. She couldn’t let Lucas’s death be in vain. She had to do something—anything—to make sure that creature didn’t succeed in whatever it was planning.

“I’m coming with you,” she said firmly, pulling back to look her grandfather in the eye.

“No,” he replied quickly, shaking his head. “It’s too dangerous. I won’t risk losing you too.”

“But you can’t do this alone!” Mary protested, her voice rising in desperation. “You said it yourself—the creature is dangerous. It’s already taken so much from us. Please, Grandfather, let me help you.”

He hesitated, his resolve wavering as he looked into her determined eyes. For a long moment, he said nothing, simply weighing the risks, the possibilities. Finally, he sighed, a deep, weary sound that seemed to carry the weight of the world.

“Alright,” he said at last, his voice heavy with resignation.

“You can come with me. But you have to promise me that you’ll be careful. This isn’t just about us anymore—it’s about stopping that creature from wreaking havoc on anyone else. Mary… I lost your mother, I can't lose you too”

Mary nodded, her heart pounding with a mix of fear and determination. “I promise you won’t.”

With that, her grandfather returned to his packing, moving with a sense of urgency now that the decision had been made. Mary watched him, her mind still reeling from everything she had learned, but there was no time to process it all. They had to act quickly, before the creature could use the stone for whatever dark purpose it had in mind.

“Are you ready?” he asked, his voice steady despite the tension in the air.

Mary nodded, her heart pounding in her chest.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Good,” he said, picking up his suitcase. “Then let’s go. The cave isn’t far, but we’ll need to move quickly. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it becomes.”

As they stepped out of the cabin and into the darkening forest, Mary couldn’t shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap. The shadows seemed to close in around them, the trees whispering secrets she couldn’t quite hear. But she pushed the fear aside, focusing on the task at hand. They had to find the creature, they had to get the stone back, and they had to stop whatever evil was coming.

With each step, Mary felt the weight of their mission pressing down on her. The journey ahead was fraught with danger and uncertainty, but she knew one thing for sure, nothing would ever be the same again.