As Elia stepped into the darkness, she felt the air grow thick with an eerie energy. The sky above was a deep, foreboding purple, and the ground beneath her feet was dry and cracked. The only sound was the soft crunch of gravel beneath her boots as she walked.
Lina and Xia could not follow her this time, their faces illuminated only by the faint, flickering glow of luminescent mushrooms that grew scattered across the ground. The air was heavy with the scent of decay and rot, and Elia could feel the weight of the Shadowlands pressing down upon her.
Xia and Lina felt they were not in the light house anymore. They find out that they both came back to the local market.
As Elia walked, the landscape shifted and twisted around her, like a living thing. Towering rock formations loomed in the distance, her jagged peaks reaching towards the sky like skeletal fingers. The ground beneath their feet grew soggier and more treacherous, as if they were walking through a swamp.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the darkness ahead. It was a woman, tall and statuesque, with long silver hair that cascaded down her back like a river of moonlight. Her eyes gleamed with an otherworldly intelligence, and her skin was deathly pale.
"Welcome to the Shadowlands,"
she said, her voice like a sigh in the wind.
"I am the Keeper of the Gate. You have come for something or someone?"
Elia felt a shiver run down her spine as she gazed into the woman's eyes. What did she want? And what lay beyond the Gate?
The Keeper of the Gate regarded Elia with an unblinking stare, her gaze piercing and unnerving. Elia felt like a mouse caught in the gaze of a snake, unsure of what to do next.
"I've come for the artefact," Elia said finally, trying to keep her voice steady.
"The one you possess, that will help me uncover the truth about the magic box."
The Keeper's expression didn't change, but her eyes seemed to flash with a hint of interest.
"Ah, yes," she said.
"The artefact. A powerful relic, indeed. But it's not so easy to obtain. The Gate is guarded by many dangers, and those who attempt to pass through are often... consumed."
Elia felt a shiver run down her spine as the Keeper's words hung in the air. Consumed? What did she mean?
"But I'm willing to take that risk,"
Elia said, trying to sound braver than she felt.
"I'm not going to leave without it."
The Keeper nodded, her expression unreadable.
"Very well. To pass through the Gate, you must first answer my riddle. If you answer correctly, I will grant you passage. But if you fail... Well, let's just say that you will become part of the Shadowlands' darkness."
Elia felt a surge of fear mixed with determination. She was willing to do whatever it took to get the artefact and find her sister.
"What is the riddle?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
The Keeper smiled, a cold, mirthless smile.
"Ah, yes. The riddle is this: What can be broken, but never held? What can be given, but never sold?"
Elia thought furiously, trying to come up with an answer. But as she did, she felt the darkness closing in around her, making her head spin…
As Elia's mind raced, the darkness seemed to deepen and thicken, like a living entity wrapping itself around her. She felt her thoughts growing muddled and confused, as if the very air itself was trying to snuff out her flame of determination.
But then, just as she was about to give up, a glimmer of an answer flashed into her mind. It was a phrase she had heard her mother say once, a phrase that had stuck with her ever since:
"A promise."
Elia's heart skipped a beat as she repeated the word to herself, feeling a surge of confidence flow through her.
"A promise," she said aloud, her voice steady and clear.
The Keeper's expression didn't change, but her eyes seemed to gleam with a hint of approval.
"Very good," she said.
"You are correct. A promise is indeed something that can be broken, but never held.
And it is something that can be given, but never sold."
The darkness around Elia began to recede, and she felt the weight of the Shadowlands lifting from her shoulders. The Keeper stepped aside, revealing a doorway that glowed with an otherworldly light.
"Pass through the Gate," she said.
"The artefact awaits you on the other side."
Elia took a deep breath, steeling herself for what lay ahead. She stepped through the doorway, feeling the darkness close behind her like a shroud.
As she emerged on the other side, Elia found herself in a vast underground chamber filled with glittering crystals and strange, glowing orbs. In the centre of the room, a pedestal stood tall, and upon it lay the artefact she had come for: a small, delicate box adorned with intricate runes.
But as Elia reached for it, she felt a sudden jolt of fear. The box began to glow with an intense, pulsing light, and Elia felt herself being drawn towards it…
Elia's hand hesitated, her fingers hovering just above the box as if afraid to touch it. The pulsing light seemed to be calling to her, drawing her in with an otherworldly power. She felt her heart racing, her breath coming in short gasps.
Suddenly, visions began to flash before her eyes: images of her younger self and her grandfather, as they were smiling and laughing, but also of darkness and despair. Elia felt a sense of longing, as if the box was trying to communicate with them to tell her something important.
But what? And at what cost?
The pulsing light grew brighter, and Elia felt herself being pulled closer, as if against her will. She tried to resist, but it was too late. Her hand touched the box, and everything went white.
When her vision cleared, Elia found herself standing in a strange, desolate landscape. The sky was a deep, foreboding grey, and the air was thick with an eerie silence. In the distance, she saw a figure walking towards her.
"To be continued
Stay tuned"