Story 918: The Buried Truth

Draven awoke in darkness. The world was silent, except for the sound of something breathing nearby—slow, raspy, and wrong.

He tried to move, but the ground beneath him was not solid. It felt like rotting flesh, shifting under his weight.

Mira groaned somewhere close. “Where… are we?”

Elias cursed. “This ain’t right.”

A dim, sickly blue light flickered, illuminating their surroundings. They were in an underground cavern, the walls pulsing like something alive. Jagged bones jutted from the ceiling, and in the center of the space stood a massive iron gate, rusted but still intact.

Draven clenched the Cursed Book in his hands. The girl’s voice still echoed in his mind: The answers are inside… but once you read it…

Mira shuddered. “We have to get out of here.”

Before anyone could respond, a figure emerged from the shadows.

It was him—or rather, what remained of him. Father Alistair.