The moment the first syllable left her lips, the air around her shifted. The room seemed to expand, stretching outward, as if the very fabric of reality was pulling apart. The symbols on the floor flared to life, glowing with an intense, blinding light.
The shadows, once whispering, now screamed. Their sound was deafening, vibrations of it through the walls around her body. Her body felt leaden, as if an unseen weight was crushing her on the inside. But still, she couldn't stop; she couldn't afford to. The power—the ritual—was her only hope.
Her voice was trembling, words coming faster now, a rhythm she could no longer control. She could feel the shadows clawing at her, trying to pull her into them, to erase her. But she held onto the words, anchoring herself to the chant.
As she spoke, the darkness seemed to fight back, shifting, pulling, as if it were alive. Her mother's voice echoed in her mind, You can't stop it. It's inside you, Lily. You are the key.
Her vision blurred, taking shape before her eyes as shadows. She saw faces, familiar faces, distorted and warped by the darkness. The figures of people long lost, their eyes wide with terror as they reached out for her, their mouths silently screaming for help.
But then, something inside snapped. The sight of her mother, twisted and hollow, and the faces of the lost in the shadows ignited something fierce within her. She was not just a pawn in the game. She was not just the bridge between worlds.
She was stronger than they ever realized.
The chant became a roar. Symbols on the floor began shifting, the light intensifying. Shadows screamed in agony as they started unraveling, receding away from the light she had invoked.
Lily's heart was racing. She felt it—the gate was closing.
But as the darkness began to recede, a dreadful thought came to her: she was the one who had opened it. The shadows had been waiting for her. Even now, they fought to stay.
The air crackled with electricity, the shadows pulling at her once more, desperate to return. The price of her power was not just the gate—it was her very soul.