By the time they reached the edge of the forest, the sun had dipped below the horizon. The oppressive darkness of the Hollow Keep loomed ahead
Jack stared at the ruin ahead. The walls were broken, and the stones were dark with age. Vines grew over the towers, and shadows moved in the mist.
"This place feels wrong," Jack said. His voice was quiet, but it shook.
The Alchemist lit her lantern again. The warm light helped a little, but the shadows stayed close. "It is wrong," she said. "The shadows are strongest here. We must be careful."
They stepped closer to the ruin. The air grew colder with every step. Jack could see his breath in the air now. The silence was heavy, broken only by the crunch of their boots on the dead leaves.
At the entrance to the keep, the Alchemist stopped. "Once we go inside, there's no turning back," she said. "Are you ready?"
Jack looked at her, then at the dark doorway. His stomach twisted with fear, but he nodded. "Let's do this," he said.
Inside, the keep was worse than Jack had imagined. The air smelled damp and old. The stone walls were cracked, and strange symbols were carved into them. The shadows inside were darker than anything Jack had seen before.
"They're watching us," Jack whispered.
The Alchemist nodded. "Yes. Stay close to me."
As they moved deeper into the keep, Jack noticed something strange. The shadows didn't just move—they seemed alive. They shifted and reached, like they were trying to grab him.
"What are they?" Jack asked, gripping his dagger tightly.
"The remains of souls," the Alchemist said. Her voice was calm, but her eyes were sharp. "People who were taken by the shadows. They are not alive, but they are not gone, either."
Jack shivered. "Can we help them?"
"No," she said firmly. "The only way to help them is to stop the shadows from taking more."
They entered a large room. At the center was a stone altar. Around it, the shadows swirled like a storm. Jack felt the cold pull of the shadows again, like when he had touched them before.
"This is it," the Alchemist said, her voice low. "The heart of the keep. The breach is near."
Jack looked at the swirling darkness. It seemed endless, like it was pulling him in. "What do we do now?" he asked.
The Alchemist pulled a glowing crystal from her bag. "We seal it," she said. "But the shadows will fight us. You must keep them back while I work."
Jack's hands shook, but he nodded. "I'll do my best."
As the Alchemist began chanting, the crystal in her hands glowed brighter. The shadows hissed, their shapes twisting into long, sharp claws. They lunged at Jack, and he swung his dagger wildly. The blade passed through them, making them retreat, but they didn't stay back for long.
"Keep them away!" the Alchemist shouted. "I need more time!"
Jack's fear turned to determination. He swung again and again, forcing the shadows back as they tried to reach the Alchemist. His arms ached, but he didn't stop.
The crystal's light grew blinding, filling the room. The shadows screamed, their voices high and terrible. Jack covered his ears, but the sound was everywhere.
Finally, the Alchemist shouted one last word, and the light exploded outward. The shadows shrieked and dissolved into nothing. The room fell silent.
Jack dropped to his knees, breathing hard. "Did we do it?" he asked.
The Alchemist held the now-dark crystal in her hands. "We sealed the breach," she said. "For now."
Jack looked at her, his face pale. "For now?"
She nodded. "The shadows are weaker, but they are not gone. We stopped them here, but their threat is far from over."
Jack stood slowly, his body trembling. He looked at the empty room, at the place where the shadows had been. The fight wasn't over. It was just beginning.
Jack stood in the center of the ruined room, his knees weak and his chest heaving. The crystal in the Alchemist's hands had gone dark, but the air still felt heavy with something unspoken. He wanted to believe they had won, but her words—for now—lingered in his mind.
"What do you mean, 'for now'? I thought the breach was sealed," Jack said, his voice shaky.
The Alchemist turned to face him, tucking the crystal carefully into her satchel. Her face was pale, her expression weary. "Sealing a breach is not the same as destroying it. The shadows are wounded, but they will return. Their influence runs deep—deeper than this keep, deeper than this village. This is only one of many openings into their world."
Jack swallowed hard. "There are more of these... breaches?"
She nodded. "Yes. The shadow realm isn't like ours. It's vast, endless. Wherever the veil between our worlds weakens, the shadows seep through. What we did here will buy time, but the larger threat remains."
Jack felt a pang of hopelessness. "So what now? We just go around sealing every breach we can find until we run out of luck—or until the shadows win?"
The Alchemist frowned, her sharp eyes scanning the darkened corners of the room. "If we're to win this fight, we need knowledge. There's something I've been looking for—a way to destroy the shadows at their source. But the information I need isn't here. It's kept in a place far more dangerous than this."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "More dangerous than a ruin full of living shadows trying to kill us? That's hard to imagine."
She offered a faint, humorless smile. "The Hollow Keep is a testing ground compared to what's ahead. The place I'm talking about isn't just a ruin—it's the stronghold where the shadow scholars made their last stand. They called it the Veilspire."
Jack's stomach dropped. "And let me guess—it's crawling with shadows."
"Not just shadows," she said quietly. "Other things dwell there, things that serve the shadows but have their own twisted desires. If we're going to the Veilspire, you'll need to be stronger, faster, and smarter. Right now, you're none of those things."
Jack bristled. "Hey, I've been holding my own so far."
"You survived," the Alchemist said bluntly, her tone cutting. "But surviving isn't enough. The shadows won't give us second chances next time."
Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Fine. What do we do to prepare?"
The Alchemist gestured toward the shattered doorway. "First, we leave this cursed place. The shadows may be gone, but their mark lingers. We'll return to the village and gather supplies. After that, I'll teach you what you need to know."
The walk back through the forest was eerily quiet. The oppressive feeling from before had lessened, but the weight of the Alchemist's words hung heavily on Jack. He glanced over his shoulder constantly, half-expecting the shadows to reappear at any moment.
"How did you learn all of this?" Jack asked after a long stretch of silence. "About the breaches, the shadows, everything?"
The Alchemist didn't look at him as she answered. "I've been fighting the shadows for years. My family... they were taken by them when I was young. I swore I wouldn't let anyone else suffer the same fate."
Jack hesitated, unsure how to respond. "I'm sorry," he said finally.
The Alchemist shook her head. "Don't waste your pity. It doesn't change anything. If you want to survive this fight, you'll need to focus on the present, not the past."
Jack nodded, though her words stung. He couldn't help but think of his own past, of the mistakes and losses that had brought him here. Was she right? Could he really afford to hold onto those memories when the world itself was at risk?