Chapter Forty-Nine: The Price of a Name

Elena's hands trembled as she pressed them against Leon's cold skin. His body was unnaturally still, his chest barely rising and falling.

"Leon…?" Her voice came out weak, unsteady.

Nothing.

The weight of silence pressed against her, heavier than the cavern walls around them. The entity had retreated, but it had left its mark.

Leon was slipping away.

Her mind raced. She had to do something.

She glanced around the tunnel, searching desperately for a way out—a door, an opening, something. But all she saw were the crumbling stone walls, the eerie glow of the markings, and the book… The cursed book.

Elena swallowed hard.

Had it done this to him? Had she?

Her gaze flickered to the symbol she had activated on the wall. The lingering glow had begun to fade, but its power still hummed faintly in the air. She didn't know how she had triggered it, didn't know what it had done to the entity—or to Leon.

She only knew that whatever had happened when she spoke that name… had nearly destroyed him.

But why?

What was that name? And why did it hold such power over him?

Elena clenched her jaw and shook his shoulders, her frustration bubbling over. "Leon, wake up! You don't get to just collapse like this! I need you!"

A flicker.

Barely perceptible—but she felt it. The faintest twitch of his fingers.

Elena's breath caught. He was still in there.

Gritting her teeth, she slid her arm under his and struggled to pull him up. If she stayed here, they were as good as dead.

She had to move.

With all the strength she could muster, she dragged Leon forward. He was a dead weight, his long frame nearly impossible to support, but she pushed forward, step by agonizing step.

The air in the tunnel grew colder.

The silence wasn't just emptiness—it was a presence, waiting.

Watching.

Something wasn't right.

Elena turned her head slightly, her pulse spiking. She felt it before she saw it—a shadow shifting along the walls, creeping toward them.

The entity wasn't gone.

It was waiting for Leon to fall completely.

A slow dread spread through her veins. She needed to find shelter, somewhere safe. Somewhere—

Her eyes darted to the far side of the tunnel. There. A narrow opening, partially obscured by fallen stones. It wasn't much, but it might be enough.

Summoning every ounce of strength she had left, she dragged Leon toward it, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She could feel the darkness pressing in, curling around them like invisible hands.

And then—a voice.

Faint. Twisted.

"You should not have spoken that name."

Elena's blood turned to ice.

She didn't stop. She couldn't.

With one final burst of strength, she shoved Leon through the gap and followed, collapsing against the cold stone as the whispering darkness recoiled.

The passage sealed behind them.

They were safe—for now.

But as Elena looked down at Leon's pale face, she knew the real fight had just begun.