Charter 10: Ghosts Of The Forgotten City

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Dizzy. For a moment, Calcium saw the past again.

Crowd. People gather at the arch, their faces full of fear. Someone is saying words in a language she doesn't know.

Then the rift.The air shakes, the city disappears in a veil of fog.And then... emptiness.

[Fragment completed.]

Calcium staggered back, pressing her palm to her temple.

–A vision? –Elmar asked at once.

She nodded:–There was... a ritual here. Something had destroyed Lorden, erased him from reality.

Elmar gripped the hilt of his dagger: –And there's still something left here.

Calcium glanced at the arch. –We'll have to find out what it is.–She stepped forward. And at the same moment, the fog in front of them began to thicken.

Silhouettes began to emerge from the whitish clouds.The first one appeared a few steps away. Tall, thin, with empty black eye sockets.

There's another one behind him. And there were many more figures without faces, they were the ghosts of a forgotten city.

[You've made contact with the Echo of Lorden.]

Calcium exhaled slowly: –Well... it's time to get acquainted.

Calcium felt a chill creep under her skin, running down her spine. There were silhouettes in front of her, unnaturally elongated, with empty eye sockets and hazy outlines of bodies. They didn't move, but their presence was oppressive, filling the air with anxiety.

[You have made contact with the Echo of Lorden.]

"Yes, I understand! Stop reminding me!"

[Attention! These entities are unstable. Their reaction depends on your actions.]

Calcium swallowed. "The system does not give a clear answer… Are they enemies or not?"

Elmar slowly raised the dagger.

–They're moving...— his voice was hoarse but collected.

Really. The creatures swayed slightly, as if swayed by an invisible wind. One of them took a step forward. The stone beneath his feet made no sound.

Calcium felt her tattooed palm begin to heat up again.

[The "Call of History" skill has been activated.]

[An attempt to communicate with Echo Lorden...]

"A connection?"

Suddenly, a new vision flashed before his eyes.

Loreden is back, but now the streets are in chaos. People are running, screaming, trying to hide.In the square, right under the arch, stands a figure in a dark robe. Her face is hidden by a hood, but her hands... her hands are pulsing with the same mist that is now enveloping the city.

She raises her palms: – You will all become eternity.

And the next moment, everything disappears. People disappear into thin air with screams, leaving behind only barely discernible shadows.

The echo of Lorden.

Calcium emerged from the vision, gasping for air.They were standing in front of her, the ones who had once been alive.

She took a deep breath and slowly stepped forward.

–Who are you?– she asked, in a voice that sounded quieter than she would have liked.

The figures froze. And then…One of them spoke.

The voice was distant, empty, like a whisper lost in the wind: –Can you hear us?

Calcium felt her heart constrict. These creatures are not just shadows.

They remember and they want to be heard.

Echo Lorden's whisper blended into the mist, as if the air itself was talking to Calcium. She clenched her fists, feeling her heart thumping in her chest.

–Yes. –her voice was firm but quiet. – I hear you.

The figures wavered, their outlines became a little clearer.

[You have established contact with Echo Lorden.]

[Progress: 10%]

Calcium squinted, realizing that these were not ordinary ghosts. Something is holding them in this place, and if she can figure it out, she might find the answers.

One of the figures moved forward. Calcium could see him better now, a tall man who had once worn robes, but now his clothes were blurred, as if they had been half—erased.

–The city... disappeared... but we stayed. –…

His voice was distant, filled with emptiness.

Calcium tensed up: – You became part of the curse, didn't you?

The figure did not respond, but Calcium felt that her guess was correct.

[Progress: 25%]

Elmar stepped closer, keeping his eyes on the creatures.… but they don't leave either.

Calcium thought about it.

–If I can complete this contact... maybe the system will give me more information.

She took a deep breath and took a step forward.

The figures wavered again.And then…The world collapsed.The past flashed before Calcium's eyes again.

Lorden Square.The crowd is gathered in front of the arch, fear on people's faces. A hooded figure towers over them, her voice booming, half—forgotten.

– You will no longer be afraid of death. You will become history. –The figure's hands flash with dim light, and the fog covers the city.

Screams and panic are heard. People disappear one by one.And then... silence.

[Progress: 50%]

Calcium forcefully broke out of the vision, breathing heavily.The figures in front of her no longer moved. They were waiting.

–The key... to the curse...— one of them whispered.

Calcium looked up: –The key? Where is he?

But the answer was already known, she looked at the arch.

"If the ritual started here... then the solution is there. She took another step."

The fog around them trembled. The Echoes of Lorden were silent, but their empty eye sockets were now glued to her, waiting for her to make a choice.

Calcium slowly approached the archway, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. The tattoo on his palm lit up again, but now the light was brighter, richer, as if reacting to the hidden power of this place.

Elmar followed her, keeping a close eye on the figures in the fog. They were no longer moving, but their presence still felt like a crushing weight.

Calcium reached out, touching the stone.

[You have discovered the center of the curse.]

[Analyzing...]

Suddenly, another vision flashed before shes eyes.

The same moment as before: a crowd of people, a hooded figure. But now she saw more.This caster's hands are thin, covered with a network of black patterns, similar to her own tattoo.

The voice sounded clearer: –Whoever writes down our story will set us free.…

The ground shook. People disappeared one by one.But before the last echo died away, someone snatched a small object from the folds of his robe and threw it towards the arch.Calcium managed to make out it before the vision crumbled, it was a small plate that looked like a tablet.

She exhaled sharply, snapping back to reality.

– The tablet.- she muttered.

Elmar frowned: -What?

Calcium turned to him, her eyes shining with realization.

–They can't leave because their story hasn't been written down to the end. One of the residents managed to create a tablet before disappearing. And if it still exists…

–Then she can lift the curse.– Elmar finished.

Calcium nodded. But then the main question arose: – Where is she?

She looked around the square. Ruins, stones, broken columns…The fog suddenly thickened.The Echoes of the Order raised their hands at once, pointing in the same direction.

Calcium and Elmar exchanged glances.And slowly, carefully, they went where the shadows of the past led them.

The fog swayed like a living thing, retreating in front of Calcium and Elmar. The Echoes of Lorden were still motionless, but now they were more than just ghosts. They were signposts, messengers of the past, frozen in eternal expectation.

Calcium felt the tattoo on her palm getting hotter by the second. The light coming from her was reflected in the dense gloom, illuminating the path.

They walked slowly, listening for every sound. Destroyed houses, broken columns—everything here reminded us that Lorden was once a living city.

//To be continued, please like and save.