The Journey to Eldrin

The first light of dawn spilled across the mountains as Emma and Rahi made their way down the rocky path leading away from the Temple of Echoes. The weight of everything they had learned pressed heavily on Emma's shoulders—the Eclipse King's plan, the hidden truth of the stones, and the race to find them before he did.

The Sapphire Stone was their next destination.

"Eldrin is at least a week's journey," Emma said, adjusting the strap of her pack. "If we travel fast, we can get there before the Eclipse King sends his forces."

Rahi walked beside her, his usual smirk absent. "That's assuming he doesn't already have people searching for it."

Emma exhaled sharply. He had a point. The Eclipse King was always one step ahead.

But not this time.

She tightened her grip on the Ruby Stone. "Then we move faster."

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Three Days Later – The Outskirts of Eldrin

The road leading to Eldrin was lined with abandoned villages, their homes half-sunken into the ground as if nature itself had begun reclaiming the land. The closer they got to the ruins, the heavier the air became—thick with moisture and the scent of salt from the distant sea.

Emma frowned as they passed another collapsed building, its wooden beams rotting with age. "This place feels… cursed."

Rahi stepped carefully over a broken cart, his dagger already in hand. "Not cursed. Just forgotten."

Emma shivered. The book had mentioned that Eldrin had once been a great kingdom, but its downfall had been swift and unexplained.

A sudden splash caught her attention.

She turned toward the noise—and saw a figure standing knee-deep in the flooded street.

Her breath caught.

It was a child—a young boy, no older than ten, his clothes torn and soaked. He stood motionless in the water, his head tilted slightly, staring at them.

Rahi immediately tensed. "That's not a child."

Emma's stomach turned. "Then what is it?"

The boy smiled.

His mouth stretched too wide. His eyes were completely black.

Before Emma could react, the water around them exploded.

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The Drowned Ones

A wave of cold energy surged toward them, knocking Emma back. She hit the ground hard, coughing as the air was forced from her lungs.

Shadows rose from the water—twisted, skeletal figures, their sunken eyes glowing with eerie blue light. They moved unnaturally, their bodies flickering like illusions, but their presence was real.

Emma scrambled to her feet, her heart pounding. "What are these things?"

Rahi cursed under his breath. "Drowned Ones. Spirits of those who perished in the flood that took Eldrin."

Emma's breath hitched. "They're ghosts?"

"Not exactly," Rahi muttered. "They don't just haunt. They drag the living down with them."

One of the creatures lunged.

Emma reacted on instinct, raising her hand. The Ruby Stone pulsed, and a wave of fire erupted from her palm, striking the spirit.

For a moment, the flames flickered through its body—then vanished as if swallowed by water.

Emma's eyes widened. "Fire doesn't work?!"

Rahi grabbed her arm and pulled her back as another Drowned One swiped at them. "They're bound to the sea. Water-born spirits. You can't burn something that's already dead."

Emma clenched her fists. "Then how do we stop them?"

Rahi's gaze flickered toward the Sapphire Stone's description in the book.

"Beneath the tides of fate."

He exhaled. "We don't fight them. We go deeper."

Emma blinked. "What—"

Before she could finish, Rahi grabbed her wrist and ran.

The creatures shrieked behind them, their hollow voices echoing through the ruins as they pursued.

Emma stumbled as the road beneath them sloped downward, leading toward what remained of Eldrin's sunken palace.

The Sapphire Stone was waiting.

They just had to survive long enough to reach it.