The chamber trembled violently as the unseen force pushed against the air, distorting the space around it. The pedestal's glow intensified, and the floating disc spun faster, sending arcs of blue energy crackling across the stone floor.
Alina could barely breathe.
Something was waking.
Kael shifted closer to her, his grip firm on his sword. "Tell me this isn't what I think it is."
The robed man exhaled slowly, eyes locked on the disturbance. "It is exactly what you think it is."
Then, from the darkness beyond the pedestal, a shape began to form.
At first, it was nothing more than a shifting void—a distortion of light and space. But as the energy pulsed, the shape solidified, revealing a towering figure clad in tattered remnants of something once regal. Its body was half-formed, flickering between flesh and shadow.
And then, it *opened its eyes.*
A deep, echoing *whisper* filled the chamber, not spoken in any language Alina knew, yet she *understood* it.
**You… have… come… too… soon…**
The robed figures immediately dropped to their knees, their heads bowed.
Kael's expression darkened. "That's never a good sign."
Alina could barely process what was happening. This entity—whatever it was—wasn't just a creature. It was *something older*, something tied to the ruins, to the stars, to the very fabric of the world.
And they had just freed it.
The robed man lifted his head slightly, his voice reverent. "The Sleeper stirs."
The entity's gaze—if it could be called that—fell upon Alina.
Her body locked up.
She felt it reaching into her mind, sifting through her thoughts, her fears, her knowledge.
**You… bear… the mark…**
Alina gasped, clutching her head. The symbols on the walls flared, and the chamber shuddered violently. The pedestal cracked, and the floating disc wavered.
The seal was breaking.
And if they didn't act fast—
It would wake completely.
---