The path twisted ahead, an uneven stretch of stone winding deeper into the valley’s shadowy depths. A damp chill hung in the air, clinging to their skin like an omen. Kaelen’s boots crunched against the gravel, each step feeling heavier than the last. The silence pressing in around them was unnatural, almost too still, as if the world itself held its breath.

Behind him, Orin walked with a slower gait, his staff doubling as a cane. The old mage was drained from the battle, his face pale beneath the moonlight. Elira kept close to him, her gaze flickering back toward the cliffs every few steps. Even she, with all her bravado, wasn’t foolish enough to believe they were truly safe.

Varian, ever light on his feet, strode ahead of the group, fingers idly drumming against the hidden weight of the artifact beneath his cloak. He hadn’t said much since they’d fled the ruins, and Kaelen couldn’t tell if the rogue was deep in thought or simply calculating his next escape route should things go south.

Dain, on the other hand, was muttering to himself.

“This isn’t right,” the ranger finally said, his voice tight with unease.

Kaelen cast him a glance. “What do you mean?”

Dain’s frown deepened. He gestured vaguely around them. “This valley. This road. We should be moving away from the temple, but I swear, we’ve passed that same boulder before.”

Kaelen slowed his pace, scanning the terrain. The cliffs above still loomed high, and ahead, the winding path dipped into more jagged rock formations. Dain was right—something was wrong.

Elira stopped beside them, brow furrowed. “Are you saying we’re walking in circles?”

“No,” Orin murmured, tightening his grip on his staff. “Not circles. A loop.”

A hush fell over them.

Varian, finally looking up, narrowed his eyes. “A loop? What’s the difference?”

Orin sighed. “A circle suggests we’re moving around a fixed point. A loop means…” He hesitated. “It means something is keeping us contained. Manipulating our direction without our knowledge.”

Kaelen exhaled sharply. Magic.

“We need to test it,” Dain said. He reached into his belt and pulled free a small iron dagger. Without hesitation, he knelt and drove the blade deep into the dirt, marking their location. “If we see this again, we’ll know for sure.”

They pressed forward.

For a long stretch, nothing changed. The valley remained still, silent. The only sound was their boots scuffing against the earth, the occasional gust of wind carrying whispers from nowhere.

Then—

Dain stopped.

Kaelen followed his gaze to the ground ahead.

The dagger.

The same dagger, stuck in the dirt.

No one spoke.

A shiver crawled down Kaelen’s spine. “We should have passed this spot once.”

“We never left,” Orin confirmed grimly.

Varian let out a sharp exhale. “Brilliant. We’re trapped.”

Kaelen turned toward Orin. “Can you break it?”

The mage studied the area, his weathered fingers tracing the engravings on his staff. “It depends on what kind of magic we’re dealing with. If it’s a spell, it can be undone. But if it’s the land itself…” He trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished.

Dain scowled. “Then what do we do? Just keep walking until something kills us?”

“No,” Orin said. “We find the anchor.”

Kaelen’s brow furrowed. “Anchor?”

Orin nodded. “Something is holding this spell in place. A ward, a relic—a source. If we destroy it, we break the loop.”

Varian crossed his arms. “And how exactly do we find it? We don’t even know where we actually are.”

Silence.

Then, Elira stepped forward. “I might.”

All eyes turned to her.

She hesitated, fingers flexing at her sides. “I still feel it.”

Kaelen’s jaw tensed. “Feel what?”

“The magic,” she admitted. “Ever since I touched the cube. It’s faint, but it’s there. Like a thread pulling me in a direction I can’t quite place.”

Orin’s eyes sharpened. “That’s it.”

Kaelen frowned. “That’s what?”

“Your connection,” Orin said. “The artifact left its mark on you. And if this spell is connected to the same force, then you might be able to sense the anchor.”

Elira hesitated. “But I don’t know if I can—”

Kaelen rested a hand on her shoulder. “Try.”

She swallowed, nodded, then closed her eyes.

The others waited, tense. The air around them seemed to thicken, humming with something unseen. Kaelen watched as Elira’s fingers twitched, her breath steadying. Then—

Her eyes snapped open.

“There,” she whispered, pointing.

Kaelen followed her gaze. She was looking past the winding path—toward the valley’s edge.

No one questioned it.

They moved.

The path veered downward, steeper now, the jagged cliffs pressing closer. The deeper they went, the more the air changed—warped. The shadows here felt wrong, stretching in unnatural directions, moving when nothing should be shifting at all.

And then, they saw it.

A lone obelisk, half-buried in the earth, its surface covered in runes that pulsed with a deep, crimson glow.

“The anchor,” Orin murmured.

Kaelen unsheathed his sword. “Then let’s destroy it.”

He stepped forward—

The ground trembled.

A terrible, guttural howl erupted from the stones, shaking the very air around them. The shadows thickened, coiling upward like living smoke.

Then—it rose.

A guardian of the curse.

The creature’s form was shifting, its body a tangle of darkness and bone, its eyes burning with red embers. Long, jagged limbs extended outward, talon-like claws scraping against the stone. It let out another ear-splitting shriek, its voice layered—many voices, speaking as one.

Then it lunged.

Kaelen barely had time to react. The force of the impact sent him sprawling backward, pain searing through his ribs.

“Elira!” Orin shouted.

She was already moving. Blue fire erupted from her palms, colliding with the creature’s form. The flames slowed it, but did not stop it.

Dain loosed an arrow. It passed through harmlessly.

“Shadows,” he cursed. “Weapons won’t work.”

Orin raised his staff. “Then we use magic.”

A golden sigil exploded from the earth.

The guardian recoiled, screeching as the barrier held it back.

“Kaelen!” Orin shouted. “The obelisk!”

Kaelen didn’t hesitate. Ignoring the pain in his ribs, he sprinted toward the stone. The runes throbbed, resisting, but he raised his sword high—

And brought it down.

Crack.

The stone split, releasing a violent surge of energy—a deafening, shattering roar as the spell broke.

The air rushed outward, as if a great pressure had suddenly released.

The guardian let out a final, distorted wail before collapsing into itself—vanishing into nothing.

Then—silence.

Kaelen exhaled.

They had done it.

Varian let out a breathless chuckle. “Well. That was miserable.”

Dain scoffed. “You say that like we’re done.”

Orin sighed. “No. We’re not.”

Kaelen looked ahead.

The valley was gone.

In its place—a vast, unfamiliar land stretched before them, a great mountain looming in the distance.

And in his gut, Kaelen knew.

They had only begun.

To be continued...