It was as if Lilly and Silas were sucked deeper into this crypt-like passage beneath West Wood Cemetery by the ghostly, pulsing essence that hung in the air around them. The weight of what had transpired over the past few hours weighed on Lilly's shoulders, a point of no return. She had to see it through. Each step carried heavier than the last, as cold air kissed her skin and the dim glow of her flashlight illuminated the ancient stone walls that wrapped around them in every direction.
The passageway under the cemetery was narrower than she had anticipated; its walls were rimmed with thick roots, knotted and gnarled from the arboreal giants above, twisting and curling like nature's fingers reaching down into the forgotten underground. The air was thick with dirt and dust disturbed by their footsteps, catching every breath thick in Lilly's chest. The further they went, the more silent the world above became, as if the world of the living was slowly being left behind.
Silas strode a few paces in front of her, his footsteps uncannily silent, his ghostly figure gliding with grace through the dark corridor. He looked back in her direction every now and then, his features set in a grimace of gravity, but said nothing. He didn't have to. Both of them knew what hung in the balance.
"Do you feel that?" Lilly whispered, her voice no louder than a breath.
Silas turned, his gaze with great familiarity to the walls around them. "Yeah," he replied in a low tone. "The energy. it's growing in power."
Lilly swallowed hard, her hold on the flashlight tightening. It was here that the ghostly essence had led them, but it was much more than a mere trail. The deeper they went into it, the more real the presence of the entity became. The air grew colder, heavy with anticipation, and Lilly felt the faintest hum beneath her feet, a heartbeat of something far older and stronger than she could imagine.
It was unnerving. Some sort of oppressive energy that made her skin crawl and her instincts scream to turn around. But they couldn't. Not now.
The passage finally opened into a small, low-ceilinged chamber. There, in the center, half-buried under layers of dirt and stone, lay a large, flat slab-an altar. Lilly's flashlight beam danced around it, showing the weathered edges of stone and carvings worn down by time. This was it-the place where the second artifact had lain hidden for centuries.
This is it," Silas muttered, his voice no louder than a whisper, but laced with a strange sense of finality. He stepped closer toward the altar, his eyes fixed upon the object half-submerged below. "The second artifact.
Lilly's heart pounded as she stepped up beside him, her breath catching in her throat. Beneath the slab, there was a faint, pulsating feeling that seemed almost to call to her. She knelt down and sadly brushed away any dirt and debris collected on its surface over the years. The fingers began tracing the faint glow of runes etched into the stone-ancient symbols seeming to hum with residual energy.
The second was larger, nearly of a size with a stone tablet, and covered, front and back, with the same runes she'd seen in her visions. It was cracked in places but otherwise whole; in the low light, its surface shimmered faintly. From it emanated a quiet power, and when Lilly took it between her fingers, a sudden surge of energy pulsed through them.
"This. this is it," Lilly whispered, her shaking voice with awe, as if it were alive in her hands, waiting for this moment, waiting for the chance to fulfill its purpose.
Silas watched her closely, his eyes dark with emotion. "With both artifacts, we can complete the ritual," he said, though his voice held a shade of doubt. "But.
Lilly looked up at him, her heart tightening. "But what?
Silas's face wavered; his eyes followed hers to the artifact in her hands. "The entity's connection to me.it's stronger than I realised," he whispered. "If I use this artifact as a conduit again, there's the possibility that.
He didn't finish the sentence, but Lilly knew what he meant. Things could go wrong the same way they had in the past, and Silas's spirit was still tied to the entity; making him the focal point of the ritual could turn dangerous, even fatal.
"We do not have another choice," Lilly said, though the weight of the situation pressed on her. "You're the only one who can do this, Silas."
Silas nodded, his face unrelenting. "I know," he said quietly. "It's just. I can feel it getting stronger, Lilly. It has the feeling that we are close. It's. waiting."
Lilly stood, her hands clasped tightly on the artifact. "Then we don't give it time to react," she said, her voice even while fear ate at the edges of her mind. "We finish this now.
Silas met her gaze, and in that moment, something passed between them-wordless acknowledgment of what was in store for them. Neither had backed down yet, and neither was in a position to, but both knew the road ahead was fraught with peril.
Nothing more was said, and they turned to make their way back down the passage. In Lilly's hands, the weight of the artifact grew heavier with every step down; the energy coursing through strengthened with their re-approach to the surface. The air began to vibrate with tension, thick from the heavy presence beyond the veil of the spirit realm.
By the time they finally emerged from the crypt, the sky above West Wood Cemetery had darkened. Heavy clouds blotted out the first light of dawn. The cemetery was still. The usual whispering spirits were keeping their distance, silent, it seemed, even to them, out of respect for the weight of what was to come.
Before them, the altar on which they would finish the ritual in front of them stood, weathered and cracked from centuries of neglect. The air hummed with energy around it, and Lilly could faintly make out the glowing of the protective circle they had cast earlier, still intact despite the growing presence of the entity.
Lilly set the second artifact beside the first, her hands shaking a little as she set them in place upon the altar. The two artifacts vibrated in tandem, their runes shining brighter as their connection became more complete.
Silas was standing beside her, staring at the altar with a hard look on his face. "Once we begin, there's no going back," he whispered. "If the ritual has failed.
"It won't fail," Lilly interrupted, her voice sure. She wasn't so certain that she spoke the truth; she couldn't afford to doubt herself now, though-not now. They were too close.
Silas didn't argue. He stepped forward, placing himself in the center of the protective circle, like he always did. His form wavered for a moment as the spiritual energy surrounding them mounted, and Lilly could feel the strain etched into his face, the burden of what was to come weighing him down. Lilly took a deep breath, steadying herself as she stepped up to the edge of the circle. Her heart pounded in her chest as tension swirled in the air, almost suffocating. This was it-the moment they had been preparing for.
Silas closed his eyes and stilled his form as he began channeling the entity's energy. Runes flared to life on the artifacts, shining bright with blinding light as the power of the ritual thickened in the air. She could feel the presence of the entity strengthen; its dark, heavy energy swirled around them in a vortex-like fashion, but the protective circle held-at least for now.
As the ritual finally got underway in earnest, it began to grow bitterly cold around them and the earth quaked beneath their feet with the immense weight the power they had invoked carried upon it. Lilly held her breath as Silas's form began to flicker more and more by the second, strain from channeling the energy of the entity evident in every twitch of his ghostly figure. The entity was fighting back-harder than ever.
She dug her nails deeper into the edge of the altar, while her heart raced with the ever-growing intensity of the unfolding ritual. She could feel the rise in tension, the opposition from the entity growing more fierce by the second as it pushed against them in an attempt to be bound. This was just a beginning, and inside, Lilly knew-the hardest part was yet to come.
The air was heavy with power, the weight of what they faced pressing down on her, suffocating in magnitude. This battle was not for control; this was about survival.