The longer it would take them to journey south, the closer they were to the heart of the matter, and Aiden was only growing more agitated. The land had turned sick, as if it held its breath. No signs of life were present there: no birds, no animals, not even a wind moved through the trees. An eerie stillness put Aiden on edge.
For days they came, till at last the village of Thorne lay before them, a place once alive and now in desolation. The hovels were old and rotten; the streets were still and silent. And all things now stood the more obvious for this orange sky: the one entire building still upright, the temple, where dark shapes ensconced its ruined walls.
Lyra took the lead, her eyes scanning the place. "It's as if someone sucked all the living life out of this place," she said. "But there is something more to it, too. A presence that clings around."
Aiden nodded, took another step. "We need to explore the temple. If we have a chance to stop this from happening, that's where it is.".
It was as they stepped inside a chill enveloped them. A thick reek of decay clung to the air within the room. Strange symbols of ancient lore and forgotten rites marked the walls, hanging there with a faintly pulsing, sickly light. From the altar, Aiden sensed it: the same stifling weight of darkness that had overwhelmed him in Obsidian Reach was here too; only this one bore an all-encompassing difference-it was stronger, more focussed.
Lyra reached out to touch the altar, her hand jerking back in surprise as a spark of dark energy erupted from it. "This altar is connected to something ancient," she said. "Something predates even the Eclipsed Ones."
Aiden looked closely at the altar. His heart began racing. "I see the source now. This altar connects to the Heartstone.".
"The Heartstone?" Lyra whispered to her words. "The legendary source of all dark magic, the very heart of the world's darkness?"
"Yes," Aiden answered roughly. "The Heartstone was said to be the source of all corruption, a magical core existing deep in the earth, feeding the world's shadows. It was hidden away when the first Guardians were sealing it centuries ago."
"But if the Heartstone is waking…" Lyra's voice trailed off, her face pale. "We're too late, Aiden."
Aiden took a step back, his heart racing. "Not yet. If we smash the Heartstone, we can stop whatever's happening here. But we have to locate it first.".