Chapter Forty-Three: The Mark's Power

Elena's heart raced. The marking on the wall… it had to mean something.

Leon struggled against the shadows constricting him, his breath ragged, his usual strength slipping away. The entity loomed over him, its shifting form pulsating with something ancient and hungry.

Elena's hands trembled as she reached out to the mark. It was faint, almost lost to time, but she knew she had seen it before.

The moment her fingertips brushed against the rough surface—

A jolt of energy surged through her.

Memories.

Flashes of a past she couldn't fully grasp.

A woman—her face blurred, but familiar. Standing right where Elena was now, pressing her hand against the same mark. A voice echoing through the tunnel.

"Only blood may open the way."

The entity twitched, as if sensing something had changed. Its head snapped toward Elena.

It knew what she was about to do.

And it feared it.

Elena swallowed hard. Blood. That was the key.

She hesitated only for a moment before dragging her palm over the rough stone, letting a thin line of red stain the carving.

The reaction was instant.

The marking ignited—glowing with an eerie silver light.

The entity shrieks, its form distorting violently. The shadows recoil, unraveling from Leon's body.

Leon gasped for air, his hands pressing against the ground as he tried to steady himself. His strength was returning.

The marking's light spread, illuminating the walls like veins of liquid silver. The entity lurched back, its form flickering.

Elena felt the pull of something deeper—an awakening. The mark was not just a barrier…

It was a key.

And the door it was unlocking—was right beneath them.