Chapter 16: The Ruins of the Forgotten

The air was thick with the scent of blood and damp earth as Aiden and Solara stood over the fallen orc's body. The eerie red glow from its runes had faded, leaving only a lifeless husk behind. The silence that followed was unsettling, as if the forest itself was holding its breath.

"We need to move," Aiden muttered, shaking off the remnants of the fight. His paws ached, and his fur was still stained with the orc's cursed blood. "If this thing was sent after us, we're already being tracked."

Solara nodded, folding her golden wings. "There's a ruin nearby. I saw it from the sky before we entered the forest. We might find shelter there."

Aiden hesitated. "Ruins don't always mean safety."

"They do when the alternative is staying out here, waiting for whatever else is hunting us."

He sighed. "Fine. Lead the way."

They moved swiftly, keeping close to the shadows. The deeper they went into the forest, the colder the air became. Aiden's instincts screamed at him that something wasn't right. He could hear faint whispers, like voices carried by the wind, but whenever he tried to focus on them, they vanished.

After nearly an hour of travel, the ruins came into view—a massive stone structure, half-consumed by nature. The broken pillars and crumbling walls hinted at something ancient, something forgotten.

Solara landed beside him. "It's old. Very old. I can feel… echoes."

"Echoes?"

She frowned. "Memories of this place. They're strong, but fractured. Like something terrible happened here."

Aiden stepped forward cautiously, his claws clicking against the cracked stone. The entrance was a massive archway, leading into darkness. The deeper they walked, the stronger the unnatural chill became.

Then, a voice. Whispering.

Aiden froze. "Did you hear that?"

Solara's feathers ruffled. "I did."

The whispers grew louder, forming words. Turn back. Leave this place.

Aiden's fur bristled. "I don't like this."

Before Solara could respond, the temperature plummeted, and a dense fog coiled around them. Shapes formed within the mist—figures cloaked in shadow, with hollow, glowing eyes.

The spirits of the dead.

One stepped forward, its voice hollow and broken. You have trespassed upon cursed ground. Begone, or share our fate.

Aiden took a defensive stance. "We don't want trouble. We just need shelter."

The spirits did not move. Then, the first one whispered, The Hunger knows you are here. You cannot escape.

Aiden's blood ran cold.

Solara stepped forward. "What is 'The Hunger'?"

A force that devours. A shadow that cannot be outrun. It claimed us, and it will claim you.

Aiden exchanged a glance with Solara. This was worse than they thought.

Then, the spirits screamed.

The fog thickened, swirling violently, and before Aiden could react, the ground collapsed beneath them.

They fell into the darkness.

Aiden hit the stone floor hard, pain jolting through his limbs. He groaned, pushing himself up. A faint golden light flickered beside him—Solara, shaking off dust and debris.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Define 'okay,'" Aiden muttered.

They were in a vast underground chamber, lined with walls covered in ancient carvings. Symbols of wolves, flames, and something else—a monstrous figure with hollow eyes and tendrils of darkness stretching outward.

Solara studied the carvings. "This must be the origin of the curse."

Aiden exhaled. "Great. So, we're standing in a tomb?"

A sound echoed through the chamber. A slow, deliberate scraping.

Both of them turned.

A door at the far end of the room had begun to open, revealing a long corridor… and something moving inside it.

The scraping grew louder. Then, out of the darkness, it emerged.

A humanoid figure, once an orc but now barely recognizable. Its flesh was decayed, its body wrapped in black tendrils that pulsed like living veins. Its eyes were empty voids, and its mouth split open into a grotesque grin.

Solara's breath caught. "That's not just a monster. That's a—"

The creature lunged.

Aiden barely dodged as its claws scraped the stone where he had just stood. The force behind the attack was monstrous.

Solara flared her wings, launching a fireball at it. The flames engulfed the creature… but then something horrifying happened.

It didn't burn.

The fire was absorbed.

Solara's eyes widened. "That's impossible."

The creature turned its empty gaze toward her. Its tendrils lashed out, reaching for her. She darted back, barely avoiding them.

Aiden had no choice. He activated Shadowstep, disappearing from view for a fraction of a second, then reappearing behind the creature. He bit down, aiming for the spine.

A surge of pure darkness erupted from the monster's body, sending Aiden flying. He crashed against the wall, pain shooting through him.

This thing was unlike anything they had faced before.

Solara landed beside him. "We can't win this fight."

Aiden growled, forcing himself up. "Then we find another way."

His eyes darted around the chamber. There—another passage, partially collapsed but still accessible.

"Run," he ordered.

Solara hesitated for only a moment before taking off. Aiden followed, sprinting toward the opening. The creature let out a terrible, inhuman screech and charged after them.

The tunnel narrowed. Rocks crumbled around them. Aiden pushed himself harder.

Then he saw it—a massive stone door, slightly ajar. Beyond it, faint moonlight. An exit.

"Almost there!" Solara shouted.

Aiden threw himself forward, squeezing through the gap just as the creature's tendrils whipped toward him.

With the last of his strength, he kicked the door, forcing it shut. The tunnel rumbled, and dust cascaded down as the door sealed behind them.

Silence.

Aiden collapsed, gasping. Solara leaned against the wall, shaking.

"That," she panted, "was too close."

Aiden nodded. His body ached, his mind raced. That thing wasn't just a monster. It was part of something bigger.

And whatever was waiting for them in this world…

It was only getting stronger.