Fina gasped out loud in shock.
Carly's head snapped to her direction.
"Who's there?" Carly's panicked voice asked
Fina eyes widened in complete horror.
She can hear her. And if she can hear her, she can be harmed. And if she can be harmed, she can die.
Real death.
This isn't just watching from a memory.
This. Is. Real.
She. Is. Real.
Everything. Is. Real.
She's existing in the now not the future.
Fina's struggled to control her wildly accelerating heart which was threatening to rip out of her chest right that moment.
She tried to calm herself down and reached for her wand in the air.
Nothing appeared.
She tried this thrice and froze when it all settled in.
She's stuck.
Again.
She wanted to scream. Cry. Anything.
But she knew one slight sound could send her head rolling off the floor.
That thought made her sick and if not that she hadn't eaten anything this morning, she would have been swimming in vomit.
Fina breathe in through her nose and breathe out through her mouth.
Then, she turned to see Carly walking slowly towards the hidden room.
It was then she realized that Carly was hurt and she was limping. Badly.
Fina remembered her broken bones and wished…wished so much that she doesn't see that.
She followed Carly silently and when Carly dragged the shelf and walked into the secret room, she crept in slowly before the door could lock.
Carly looked behind her again and Fina merged with the darkness. Carly fingered the painting her name was written upon.
Then, she burst into tears.
Fina could see the fountain but it was sprinkling pure water from it. The fireplace wasn't lit either.
Carly took the painting and turned it, removing something behind it.
She raised the thing and Fina could see it was a ring.
A dark ring.
"This body won't stop. This soul won't rest. The whole world will be crushed. Darkness will descend. Death will become your other half. Pain will embrace you. Every one will fall. For this is what they want. THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT! THIS IS WHAT THEY LIVED FOR! THIS IS THEIR ANTHEM! Inevitable destruction. Endless heart break. THIS IS THEIR FINAL GOAL. THIS IS THEIR HEAVEN. THEIR PARADISE"
Carly chanted into the ring.
"But this soul will never rest. And if this soul dies…. OH SOUL! OH SOUL! OH SOUL! THOU MIGHT BREAK! THOU MIGHT BE CRUSHED! THOU MIGHT BE DESTROYED! BUT THOU WILL NEVER LET LET THEM SUCCEED! THEY WILL STRUGGLE! THEY WILL TASTE MADNESS! THEY WILL ALWAYS BE CLOSE YET SO SO SO FAR. THEY WILL BE DEFEATED REPEATEDLY! THIS IS MY CURSE O DARK RING! AND MY CURSE YE SHALL ALWAYS CARRY!"
The ring disappeared in a red flash and Carly went down on the floor.
"I've failed you, Peter. You died in error. And I'm also failing miserably but my curse shall be their daily meal for they will never stop. The book has gone back to its Invisibility status and only one who can see clearly at night can find it. And… death is inevitable for that ONE too"
Fina swallowed repeatedly.
Carly neck snapped up when the door opened and seven humans garbed in total black walked in. They were covered from head to toe.
They formed a circle around Carly at once while she looked so broken in the midst.
They chanted spells after spells and Carly cried out in terrorizing pain. Blood spilled from her mouth and her eyes bulged so bad.
Green veins became visible on her body as if struggling to live.
Fina turned green at the sight but couldn't look away.
"We live to protect the world. We are the future of Amenix. And we come from Elfina." She sputtered with blood.