Chapter Forty-Seven: The Weight of Sacrifice

Leon slumped against the cold stone wall, his breathing shallow and uneven. His once-steady presence now felt fragile, like a thread unraveling in the wind. The seal had taken more from him than he had expected—more than just blood. Elena could see it in his face, the sharp lines of exhaustion, the dimming glow in his golden eyes.

For the first time, Leon Blackwell looked breakable.

Elena clenched her fists, forcing herself to push back the panic rising in her chest. They couldn't stop now. The entity was still lurking, shifting in the darkness like a patient predator, its shape flickering between the real and the unreal. The air around them felt heavier, thicker with unseen whispers—a sign that whatever Leon had done had changed the balance of things.

And she was now the only one who could do something about it.

"Leon," she whispered, kneeling beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling the unnerving chill of his skin. "Hey, stay with me. What do we do next?"

His eyelids fluttered, but his grip on her arm tightened slightly. He was still there, still aware. But for how long?

"You have to keep going," Leon rasped, barely above a whisper. "The book… the markings… It's in there. You need to…" His voice trailed off, his body trembling.

Elena's gaze snapped to the book lying on the damp ground beside him. The old book from Mr. Holloway. It had been important from the beginning, yet neither of them had truly understood why.

But now, with Leon fading, it was up to her.

She swallowed hard, forcing down her fear. She had to act.

Without another second of hesitation, she grabbed the book and flipped through its pages. Her hands shook as she searched for something—anything—that would tell her how to stop this. The entity was gathering itself again, its form shifting, reforming, taking shape as if waiting for the right moment to strike.

There had to be something here. A way to fight back. A way to save Leon.

Her eyes scanned the pages frantically until she found it. A passage. A symbol. A name.

The moment she read it, something in the air shifted violently.

The entity froze.

Leon's weak breath hitched. His fingers twitched.

And Elena? She realized too late…

She had just awakened something else.