Whispers of the Forgotten:

Aeliana's breathing was uneven as she stood frozen in the middle of the ruins. The eerie golden glow from the ancient inscriptions flickered against the damp stone walls, casting ghostly shadows across the ground. The silence between her and Lucian was thick, broken only by the faint whispers that swirled around them—whispers that didn't belong to the wind.

Lucian moved first, stepping forward with his blade half-drawn. His crimson eyes scanned the ruins with sharp precision, his stance wary yet unshaken. The weight of something unseen pressed against them, but neither of them dared to retreat.

"This place…" Aeliana swallowed, feeling a strange pull deep within her chest. "It's calling to us."

Lucian shot her a side glance. "Not just calling," he muttered. "It's watching."

As if responding to his words, the carvings on the walls burned brighter, and a sudden gust of wind howled through the ruins. Dust and debris lifted from the ground, circling them like a silent storm. Aeliana's heart pounded in her chest. She had felt magic before, but this… this was something ancient. Something powerful.

Then, the whispers grew louder.

A voice, neither human nor beast, seeped into their minds. "The fated ones… have come at last."

Aeliana's body tensed. She turned sharply, searching for the source, but there was no one there. Only the ruins, pulsing with a strange energy.

Lucian's grip on his sword tightened. "Show yourself," he demanded, his voice sharp as a blade.

A shadow flickered at the edge of the ruins. Then, slowly, it emerged.

A figure, cloaked in mist and darkness, stepped forward. Its form shifted like smoke, neither solid nor fully transparent. Its eyes burned like dying embers—hollow yet filled with knowledge no living soul should possess.

Aeliana took an unconscious step back, but something in her gut told her not to run.

"What are you?" she asked, her voice steadier than she expected.

The figure tilted its head, the mist around it shifting eerily. "A guardian… a curse… a memory long forgotten."

Lucian's expression darkened. "Enough riddles," he said coldly. "What do you want from us?"

The entity let out a low, haunting chuckle. "Not what I want. What you are destined to uncover."

Before they could react, the ground beneath them trembled. The ruins groaned as cracks spread across the floor, glowing with a golden light.

Lucian cursed, grabbing Aeliana's wrist. "Move!"

But it was too late. The earth beneath them split apart, and they were falling—falling into the darkness below.

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