The storm had not yet relented.

The sky, once a sea of swirling gray, now carried veins of ghostly blue lightning that arced across the heavens, illuminating the jagged peaks surrounding the valley below. Rain drizzled in a slow, rhythmic patter against the dense canopy, casting an eerie mist over the ancient ruins. Every sound—the distant hoot of an owl, the rustle of unseen creatures in the underbrush—felt amplified in the stillness of the night.

Kaelen tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword, eyes scanning the darkness beyond the temple’s crumbling threshold. The Celestial Cube lay at the heart of the chamber behind them, pulsing faintly with energy, its golden engravings shifting as though alive. Its power was undeniable, but so was the weight of the unseen force that had been disturbed.

Elira stood at the pedestal, her emerald cloak damp and clinging to her frame. Her fingers hovered just above the cube’s surface, her breath shallow. “Something’s wrong,” she murmured. “The air—it feels…thicker.”

Dain, crouched near the entrance, let out a quiet scoff. “You mean besides the fact that we’ve just stolen a relic older than most civilizations?” His fingers idly traced the tip of a throwing knife. “This thing wasn’t locked away for decoration.”

Across the chamber, Varian—the rogue—adjusted his hood, his keen eyes flicking toward the artifact. “Then perhaps,” he said coolly, “we ought to leave before we find out exactly why it was locked away.”

“We can’t just leave it here,” Kaelen argued, stepping forward. “This cube is why we came. The Oracle said—”

“The Oracle said many things,” Elira interrupted, finally turning to face them. “But did she mention what happens after we take it?”

A deep silence fell over the group.

The wind outside howled. Somewhere in the distance, a guttural, inhuman wail echoed across the valley.

A chill ran down Kaelen’s spine.

“...That didn’t sound like the wind,” said Orin, the elder of their company, his fingers tightening around the ancient runic staff he carried. The old mage’s voice was low, measured, but even he couldn’t mask the sliver of unease creeping into his words.

The tension in the room thickened.

Then, without warning—

BOOM.

The walls trembled. Dust and debris rained down from the cracked ceiling. A pulse of energy erupted from the cube, sending a shockwave outward. The force knocked them all back, weapons clattering, cloaks whipping as the air itself seemed to vibrate.

The symbols on the cube ignited with a searing blue light, burning brighter than before.

And then—

The ground split open.

A fissure tore through the stone beneath the pedestal, swallowing the altar whole. Tendrils of black mist curled upward from the abyss, writhing and twisting like living things. The very air turned frigid.

And from that darkness—something began to rise.

A formless wraith, its body made of shadow and smoke, emerged from the pit. Its eyes—if they could be called that—were burning voids of violet flame. A twisted maw parted, revealing a whisper of unnatural voices layered upon one another, speaking in a tongue that had not been uttered in millennia.

Varian was the first to react, yanking Elira backward as the entity lunged forward, its claw-like appendages stretching unnaturally toward them. Kaelen unsheathed his sword, the silver blade glinting against the cube’s glow.

“It’s a shade!” Orin bellowed. “A guardian of the cube! We must move—now!”

Kaelen didn’t hesitate. He swung his blade in a downward arc, but the steel passed through the wraith harmlessly, cutting nothing but mist. The creature let out a horrific shriek, its form convulsing before striking back with a shadowy tendril. Kaelen barely had time to dodge as it smashed into the wall behind him, leaving a jagged scorch mark where the stone had once been.

“Magic!” Orin shouted. “Only magic can banish it!”

Elira was already moving. With a fluid motion, she raised both hands, chanting an incantation under her breath. Runes flared to life around her fingertips, and within seconds, a bright arcane sigil formed in the air before her. She thrust her palms forward, sending a burst of radiant blue energy straight at the shade.

The creature recoiled, its form flickering as though caught in a storm. It let out a soul-piercing wail, retreating slightly—but not enough.

“It’s not enough!” Dain shouted, pulling a dagger free and hurling it through the creature’s face. It did nothing.

The shade twisted unnaturally, its focus snapping toward Elira.

Its burning violet gaze locked onto hers.

Then, in the blink of an eye—it rushed her.

Elira gasped as the wraith plunged forward, phasing through her body like ice through her veins. Her vision blurred, her breath hitched. She staggered, clutching her chest.

“Elira!” Kaelen lunged toward her just as Orin raised his staff, slamming its base into the ground.

A shockwave of golden light erupted outward. The wraith screeched, its form unraveling as the magic tore through it. The creature howled in agony, writhing as its smoky body began to dissipate.

And then—silence.

The shade was gone.

Elira gasped for breath, her hands trembling.

Kaelen knelt beside her. “Are you—?”

“I’m fine,” she whispered, though her eyes said otherwise.

Orin exhaled deeply. “That was no ordinary guardian.” His expression darkened as he turned to the cube, which now rested on the fractured ground, its glow duller, as if it had spent its energy summoning that horror.

“That wasn’t a guardian,” Elira said, voice hoarse.

They all turned to her.

She swallowed hard, then looked at them with something close to dread.

“That was a warning.”

Another hush fell over them, heavier than the last.

Then, faintly, from somewhere beyond the temple ruins…

A second shriek pierced the night.

This time, it was not alone.

Kaelen slowly rose to his feet, staring toward the valley.

The darkness was shifting.

And it was coming straight for them.

To be continued...