Chapter 17: The Forsaken Sanctuary

Aiden's breathing was ragged as he pressed his back against the cold stone wall. His heart still pounded from the escape, his body aching from the force of the creature's attack. The silence that followed was deafening, the air thick with the scent of dust and old decay.

Solara leaned against the opposite wall, her golden feathers ruffled, her eyes narrowed in thought. "That thing…" she muttered. "It wasn't just undead. It was something else."

Aiden swallowed hard. "It absorbed fire. That's not natural."

"No, it's not," she agreed. "Which means we're dealing with something far beyond a simple curse."

Aiden exhaled and surveyed their surroundings. They were in a long stone hallway, torches flickering with an unnatural blue glow along the walls. The passage stretched forward, vanishing into darkness.

Solara tilted her head. "Do you hear that?"

Aiden strained his ears. At first, there was nothing. Then, faintly—whispers. The same eerie murmuring they had heard in the ruins above.

"Yeah," he muttered. "I hear it."

Solara straightened. "We need to move. Standing still in a cursed place is just asking for trouble."

Aiden nodded. They pushed forward, their footsteps echoing against the walls. The further they went, the colder the air became.

Then, the corridor opened into a vast chamber.

Massive stone pillars lined the room, carved with strange runes. In the center, a raised platform held an altar, draped in tattered, ancient cloth. And behind it…

A massive stone door, covered in intricate carvings of wolves, flames, and something darker—a writhing, many-eyed shape that made Aiden's fur stand on end.

Solara exhaled. "I don't like this."

Aiden stepped forward cautiously. "Neither do I."

As soon as he set paw on the first step of the altar, the whispers swelled.

Then, the torches flickered out.

Darkness swallowed the room.

Aiden tensed. "Solara?"

"I'm here," she whispered. "Something's—"

A sudden howl erupted from the shadows. Then another. And another.

Not wolves.

Something else.

Aiden's fur bristled as eyes appeared in the dark—dozens, maybe hundreds. Glowing, shifting, moving closer.

Then, they attacked.

The first creature lunged from the darkness. Aiden barely dodged, feeling the air shift as razor-sharp claws sliced past his face. He retaliated, slashing out with his own claws, but his attack met nothing—the creature had already disappeared.

"Fast," he growled.

Solara unleashed a burst of golden flames. The fire illuminated the chamber for a brief second—just long enough to see their attackers.

Shadows.

Not solid beasts, but twisted, half-formed figures that flickered in and out of existence. Their glowing eyes and elongated, jagged limbs made them look like creatures pulled from nightmares.

Aiden's stomach twisted. "They're not real."

"They sure feel real," Solara shot back, dodging another strike.

Aiden snarled. If normal attacks wouldn't work…

He focused. Reached inside himself.

The power of the Moonshadow surged through him.

His body shifted—not completely, but just enough. His fur darkened, his senses sharpened. The shadows around him responded, wrapping around his limbs.

The next time a creature lunged, he moved with the darkness—not dodging, but phasing into the very shadows themselves.

The beast passed through him.

Aiden reappeared behind it and struck. His claws, now infused with dark energy, tore through the creature's form.

It let out an unearthly shriek before dissolving into black mist.

Aiden exhaled. "That worked."

Solara noticed. "Moonshadow?"

Aiden nodded. "They're made of shadow. We have to fight them using the same energy."

Solara's eyes gleamed. "Then I guess I'll just have to burn brighter."

She lifted her wings and unleashed a storm of golden fire. The flames did not just burn—they illuminated. The creatures shrieked as the light forced them into solid forms.

Now they could be killed.

Aiden tore through them, his claws slicing shadow from shadow. Solara's fire burned away their forms. One by one, the creatures fell—until the last one let out a final, echoing scream and vanished.

The chamber fell silent.

The torches reignited.

Aiden stood still, his breath heavy. Solara folded her wings, eyes scanning the room. "That was too easy."

Aiden frowned. "That was easy?"

She shook her head. "I mean, if those things were guarding something, there has to be a reason why."

Aiden turned to the massive stone door at the back of the chamber.

"…Then let's find out."

The door was massive, covered in carvings so old they had nearly faded away. Aiden traced one with his claw—a wolf's head, surrounded by what looked like tendrils of darkness.

"Wolves… always wolves," he muttered.

Solara ran her hand over another carving. "And something else."

Aiden followed her gaze. Beside the wolves, a monstrous figure loomed—a shifting, many-eyed thing, its limbs curling in impossible directions.

"The Hunger," Solara whispered.

Aiden felt a chill crawl down his spine. "It's been here before."

He placed a paw against the door. The stone was cold—unnaturally so.

Then, the moment his claws touched it—

The whispers returned.

Louder.

Clearer.

"You walk the path of the forgotten."

Aiden's breath hitched. The voice was not in his ears—it was in his mind.

"The Hunger is watching."

Aiden ripped his paw away. The whispers vanished.

Solara grabbed his arm. "What happened?"

Aiden's heart pounded. He stared at the door, his body tense.

"…I think we just found something we weren't meant to."

Solara nodded slowly. "Then the real question is—"

She placed her hand on the door.

It began to move.

"…Do we open it?"

The ground shook.

Aiden's fur bristled. "We might not have a choice."

With a deep, echoing groan, the stone door began to open.

And behind it—

Darkness.

And something waiting within it.