The days following the discovery in the forest were tense. William remained unconscious, his condition deteriorating as the marks spread. More villagers began showing symptoms—visions, whispers, faint glowing lines appearing on their skin. Fear gripped Blackthorn, and whispers of curses and doom spread like wildfire.

Eleanor, however, refused to succumb to fear. She devoted herself to unraveling the mystery, diving deeper into her mother’s research and the Codex Umbra.

One evening, as the last light of day faded, a knock came at the door. It was the boy who had first told them about the shard.

“There’s something you need to see,” he said, his face pale.

He led Eleanor and Lena to the outskirts of the village, where a field stretched toward the horizon. In the center of the field was a circle of stones, ancient and weathered. In the middle of the circle stood another shard, larger than the one described by the boy.

Eleanor approached cautiously. The shard vibrated faintly, its surface etched with the same shifting symbols as the Obelisk. As she neared, the whispers grew louder, almost deafening.

“It’s calling to something,” she said, her voice shaking.

Suddenly, the shard pulsed with light, and a figure materialized before it. The figure was cloaked in shadows, its form indistinct but imposing. Its voice echoed in their minds, not spoken but felt.

“The gate cannot remain closed,” it intoned. “The Harbinger has come.”

Eleanor’s knees buckled as a wave of energy surged through the field. The villagers who had followed them screamed and fell to the ground, clutching their heads.

The shadowy figure turned its gaze to Eleanor. “You are bound to the Hollow One,” it said. “The mark is upon you.”

Before she could respond, the figure dissipated, and the shard’s glow faded. Eleanor staggered to her feet, her heart pounding.

“What does it mean?” Lena asked, helping her sister up.

Eleanor stared at the now-dormant shard, her mind racing. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, it’s only the beginning.”

Back at the estate, Eleanor and Lena worked tirelessly to piece together the clues. The shards, the marks, the whispers—they all pointed to something larger, something ancient and incomprehensible. And at the center of it all was the Obelisk.

“The shard is part of a greater whole,” Eleanor concluded. “A key, perhaps, or a trigger. If the Obelisk is the gate, then the shards are the means to open it.”

Lena’s face was pale. “And the gate… what lies beyond it?”

Eleanor’s voice was barely a whisper. “The end. And the beginning.”