The air thickened around them as the cold weighed on them oppressively; the ritual continued. The energy within the circle surged, and Lilly watched, her heart pounding in her chest. The two artifacts were shining brighter now, the runes cut into their surfaces pulsing in time with the spiritual energy that swirled between them. Ol' Silas stood in the middle of the protecting circle, wordless, his figure fluttering in and out for a second as the entity's power began leaking into him.
Lilly's grasp closed tighter on the edge of the altar. She could feel the entity, near at hand-hanging in a dark wait just beyond the rim of energy of the ritual, waiting for a lapse in concentrative defense, waiting for precisely the right moment to strike.
Silas's eyes were shut, his face strained in concentration trying hard to regain control of himself. The hands gripped tightly onto Lilly started to shake while his form flickered violently now and then with the energy coursing through him almost too strong to contain. She could see the tension of his frame, how the variety of muscles fought to hold him upright.
"Silas?" Lilly called out, the shake of concern evident in her voice. "Are you okay?"
Silas's eyes shot open; his face was stiff as he turned to her. "I'm. Fine," he said, his voice strained, tight with effort. "But it's. It's getting harder.
With his struggling in an attempt to gain control, Lilly felt her heart clean at a pang of anguish. The energy within this ritual was growing stronger by the second, and she could feel the entity's presence shoving and prodding against the edges of the circle that kept it enclosed, testing its perimeter.
Abruptly, a sharp crack cut through the air, like the sound of thunder tearing through the silent graveyard. Lilly's breath caught in her throat as she turned to the source of the sound of the protective circle splintering. The runes, once bright and stable, were flickering their light dimming as the dark energy of the entity seeped through.
"No," Lilly whispered. Her heart raced and "It's breaking through."
Silas's form flickered once more, this time with greater violence, and he let out a sharp, gasping intake of breath, hands flying to his chest as if something had struck him, his eyes wide with alarm.
"Lilly—" he started, but his body contorted spastically before he could say anything else. He doubled over, hands clawing at the ground as the entity's energy coursed through his body.
Lilly threw herself at him, rising panic in her chest. "Silas!" she cried, voice breaking. "Stay with me!
But it was too late. The protective circle exploded with a deafening crack, the runes sputtering out completely, and in that instant, the entity struck.
Silas's body jerked upright; his head snapped back, a wave of dark energy washing into him and flooding his spirit with the overwhelming power of the entity. His eyes, once filled with determination and focus, darkened into a pitch-black void while contorting his expression into one unrecognizable.
The entity had taken over.
Lilly took a backward tumble, her heart jerking to pound against her chest as she stared at him in shock. "Silas.?
But standing before her wasn't Silas now. His body, still nebulous with ectoplasmic light, was a vessel now for something so much more dangerous. The entity's presence radiated from him, a suffocating, oppressive force filling the air around them.
And then, without warning, he lunged at her.
Lilly barely had time to react before Silas—no, the entity—was upon her. His hand shot out, crackling with dark energy, and Lilly ducked just in time to avoid the strike. The ground where she had been standing erupted in a burst of black energy, sending dirt and debris flying into the air.
"Silas, stop!" Lilly cried scrambling to her feet, her voice desperate. But there was no response, only a twisted snarl as the entity, using Silas' body, advanced to her again.
As Lilly dodged the strike, the force of its power sent her skin freezing with shivers. This wasn't just a spirit anymore; this was something far darker, something far more dangerous than anything she had ever dealt with.
It was now completely in control, and it had used Silas's form as a weapon.
"I know you're in there, Silas," Lilly shouted, her voice shaking as she backed away, her eyes fixed on him. "I know you're still fighting it. You have to push through!"
For a moment, the dark void within Silas's eyes wavered, his struggle to take control of the better half of himself. It was a flicker, only a glimpse of the man she knew, before the entity surged again and Silas's form twisted into something more monstrous.
It snarled; the voice was low and guttural, vibrating in Silas's throat. "You cannot save him.
Lilly's breath caught in her throat, her mind racing. She couldn't fight Silas like this violently. But she also knew she couldn't just permit the entity to keep running rampant until it killed her. She needed some way to break through to Silas himself, find a way to help him get control again. But how?
The creature lunged again, and this time Lilly barely managed to throw herself out of the way. Her hands hit the cold, hard ground, pain shooting up her arms, but she pushed herself up quickly, her heart hammering in her chest.
She wouldn't be able to dodge forever, and the entity was just too fast, too powerful. With each of its attacks, the ferocity didn't wane; rather, it became even more aggressive and relentless.
Come on, Silas, Lilly whispered, shaking, steadying herself with her eyes locked on the ghostly figure in front of her. You have to fight it.
But an entity merely smiled a cruel, twisty smile that sent chills down Lilly's spine.
In another instant, the creature struck again. This time, Lilly had little time to dodge. The impact from its attack flung her backward, and she slammed into the stone altar with a sickening thump. Pain flared through her, and she yelled, grasping her side as she struggled for air.
It approached her slowly now, its black eyes locked upon her, its twisted grin wide as it raised its hand, and dark energy crackled at its fingertips.
This is the end," it hissed in a low, threatening voice. "You can't stop me.
Lilly's heart was racing against her rib cage, her body creaking under the weight of pain and fear. She could feel this presence bearing down upon her, the press of its power weighted upon her in an attempt to suffocate her. She was out of options, out of time.
Then, sitting and staring up at the dark form looming over her, something inside her shifted. A memory, a flash of insight into visions she'd seen, the power she'd felt, the energy that pulsed through her spirit when she'd connected with the artifacts.
She was not helpless.
She could talk to spirits-to reach out and touch the energy of the other world. She had experienced it before, that unexplainable pull, that connection to something rather than this world. She wasn't a mere bystander in this fight.
She could fight back.
Gritting her teeth, Lilly pushed herself to a bruised body but sharper-than-ever mind onto her feet. She wasn't going to let the entity win. Not like this.
"You're wrong," Lilly said, trying to keep the quaver out of her voice as fear swept through her, yet she stood firm. "I can stop you."
The beast snarled, limbs shifting as it prepared to strike again. Yet, this time, Lilly was prepared. She closed her eyes and dug deep within herself, searching for that connection-the power that had coursed through her visions, the link that allowed her to touch the spirit world. It was there, just beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed.
And then, as if ignited by sheer willpower, Lilly let it out.
Her body pulsed with light, brilliant glowing energy emanating from her chest. The ache in her body subsided, replaced by a strange, warming comfort. The line separating the living world and the spirit world continued to blur as Lilly stepped fully into her spirit form. For the first time, she was fully connected with the supernatural realm in that her senses sharpened and her awareness expanded. She could feel the living energy of the entity pulsating around her, could see the dark threads of power that bound it to Silas. The creature let out a hoarse growl, reeling as Lilly's spirit energy blazed, pushing against its suffocating darkness.
"You are not going to win," Lilly said, her voice firm with amplitude, her eyes bright with that same preternatural light as was her spirit form. "Not this time."
With a new determination, Lilly charged at the entity with fluid movements, fast in ways they never had been before. She was not only fighting for her life but fighting also for Silas, for the ritual, and to finally be able to stop the entity. This time, however, she didn't back down.