The ruins loomed before them, half-buried in tangled vines and creeping shadows.
Time had not been kind to this place. Towering stone pillars stood cracked and weathered, inscriptions worn down by centuries of wind and rain. The air carried a strange weight, a silence too heavy to be natural.
Aria tightened her grip on the map, its glowing trails leading them straight to the ruins. She hadn't spoken much since they left town, too lost in thought to engage in conversation. The reality of their mission was starting to sink in.
They were following the footsteps of her mother's past.
She stepped forward cautiously, scanning the ruins for signs of movement. "This place… it feels like something's waiting."
Quinn brushed his fingers over a nearby pillar, eyes narrowed in focus. "Because it is. This isn't just some forgotten ruin—it's sealed."
Aria turned to him, brows furrowing. "Sealed? By what?"
Quinn knelt, tracing the ancient symbols carved into the stone. His violet eyes gleamed with an unreadable emotion. "Old magic. Protective, but also… restrictive. Someone didn't just leave this place behind. They locked it away."
A cold shiver ran down Aria's spine. If this ruin held secrets about her mother's past, why would someone go through the trouble of sealing it?
Kael unsheathed his sword, scanning their surroundings. "We should be careful. If there was a reason for this place to be locked up, it's probably not because it was safe."
Lyric sighed, adjusting the strap of her satchel. "Great. Another death trap. Why are ancient ruins always crawling with 'things that should not be disturbed'?"
Finn stepped beside her, flashing his usual grin. "If we die, at least we'll go down in history as the biggest idiots to ever ignore an obvious warning."
Aria rolled her eyes but didn't argue. The unease in her chest was growing.
Quinn took a deep breath, then pressed his palm against the symbol-covered pillar. At first, nothing happened. Then, the ground rumbled beneath them.
The vines covering the ruins retracted as if pulled by unseen hands. Cracks in the stone walls glowed faintly, runes lighting up with an eerie silver light. A hidden doorway slowly revealed itself—a dark entrance leading deep underground.
Kael exhaled sharply. "And so it begins."
No turning back now.
---
The air inside the ruins was thick with dust and the scent of aged parchment. Their footsteps echoed as they moved through the massive chamber, lined with towering bookshelves and faded banners that once carried meaning.
"This place is a library," Lyric murmured in awe, trailing her fingers over a brittle scroll. "Not just any library—a record hall."
Aria's heart pounded faster. The legendary group's history could be here.
Finn rubbed his hands together. "Alright, let's split up and see what we can find. Preferably something that doesn't summon an ancient curse."
They each took a section of the room. Aria ran her fingers over the spines of old books, trying to decipher their faded titles. Many were written in languages she couldn't understand.
Then—
Her fingers brushed against a familiar name.
Celeste Evercrest.
She yanked the book free, her breath catching. The pages were delicate, but the ink was still legible. It wasn't just about her mother. It listed all the old group members—the Healer, the Warrior, the Scholar… and someone like Quinn.
She read aloud.
"The balance between the five was absolute, their unity stronger than any force in the realm. But their strength made them a target. Something ancient hunted them—something that would not stop until they were torn apart."
The room suddenly felt colder.
Kael, standing nearby, frowned. "Something hunted them? Any details?"
Aria flipped through the pages desperately, but before she could find anything, a wave of dizziness crashed over her. The room around her blurred.
And then—
---
She was not in the ruin anymore.
She stood in the same hall, but it was whole—no cracks, no dust, no decay. And she wasn't alone.
Five figures stood before her.
Her breath caught.
Her mother.
Celeste Evercrest stood at the front, younger than the images Aria had seen in paintings, but unmistakably her. Her deep blue cloak rippled as she turned to her companions, her sharp gaze filled with worry.
"This place isn't safe," Celeste said. "It's watching us."
Aria turned, but there was nothing there. No movement. No signs of life.
Yet the group seemed terrified.
Finn's mother, the Healer, knelt beside a wounded figure. "We need to leave. Now."
But before anyone could move, the shadows at the edges of the room shifted.
Something was there.
Something hungry.
The vision blurred, and suddenly Aria was outside the ruins, watching her mother and the group fleeing. But as they ran, one by one, they vanished.
Swallowed by the dark.
Until only Celeste remained.
She turned, her gaze locking onto Aria's.
And she whispered:
"Find them."
---
Aria gasped, stumbling back. Her vision swam as she tried to steady herself.
"Aria!" Kael was at her side instantly, his hands gripping her shoulders. "What happened?"
She barely heard him. Her mother's voice still rang in her ears.
Find them.
The old group hadn't just vanished.
They had been taken.
She turned to the others, voice shaking. "We're not just looking for clues anymore." She swallowed. "We're looking for them. The original five."
Silence.
Then Quinn stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "Then we'd better start searching."
But deep down, Aria knew.
Whatever had taken them…
It was still watching.
And it would come for them next.