The wind howled through the desolate village, carrying with it a chill that seemed to emanate from the very stones of the Obelisk. Eleanor stood at the edge of Blackthorn, her gaze fixed on the looming monolith. The events of the past days had left the village shaken. The markings, the shards, and the whispered revelations had created a palpable tension as if the air itself carried the weight of an impending storm.

William’s condition had worsened, and Eleanor felt the burden of the villagers’ hope pressing down on her. They had turned to her as their last line of defence, trusting her knowledge and the legacy of her mother’s work. The Codex Umbra lay open on the desk in her study, its ancient pages speaking of things beyond comprehension.

“‘The marked are chosen,’” Eleanor read aloud, her finger tracing the text. “‘Through their suffering, the Hollow One shall awaken.’”

Lena, sitting across the room, looked up sharply. “Suffering? What does that mean? Is it talking about what’s happening to William?”

Eleanor nodded, her expression grim. “It’s not just him, Lena. The markings, the shards—they’re part of something larger. Something meant to prepare… or transform.”

“Transform into what?” Lena asked though she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.

Eleanor didn’t respond immediately. She closed the Codex and looked out the window, where the Obelisk’s shadow stretched long across the land. “We need to understand the Obelisk itself. If we’re to have any hope of stopping this, we need to know its purpose.”

The villagers had spoken of a cave beneath the Obelisk, a place steeped in legend and avoided for generations. Some said it was cursed; others claimed it was where the Obelisk had first been unearthed. Eleanor decided it was time to investigate.

Gathering a small group—Lena, the boy who had first spoken of the shard, and a few brave villagers—they set out at dawn. The journey to the cave was treacherous, the path winding through dense forest and rocky terrain. The air grew colder as they neared, and the trees seemed to lean closer, their gnarled branches forming a canopy that blocked out the sun.

When they arrived, the entrance to the cave yawned before them like a mouth waiting to devour. A faint, otherworldly hum emanated from within, resonating in Eleanor’s chest.

“Stay close,” she instructed, lighting a lantern and stepping inside.

The cave walls were slick with moisture, and the floor sloped downward at a steep angle. Strange symbols, similar to the ones on William’s skin, were carved into the rock, glowing faintly in the dim light.

As they ventured deeper, the hum grew louder, and the air became thick with an unidentifiable energy. They reached a chamber where the ceiling soared high above them, and at the centre stood an altar of black stone. On the altar lay another shard, larger than the previous ones, its surface pulsing with a rhythmic glow.

Eleanor approached cautiously, her heart pounding. The whispers began again, louder now, almost deafening. She reached out but hesitated, her fingers hovering over the shard.

“Don’t touch it!” Lena’s voice cut through the noise, breaking Eleanor’s trance.

Eleanor withdrew her hand, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. “This shard… it’s connected to the others, but it’s more than that. It’s a focal point.”

“A focal point for what?” the boy asked, his voice trembling.

Before Eleanor could answer, the shard emitted a blinding flash of light. The ground shook violently, and a low, guttural sound echoed through the chamber. From the shadows, a figure emerged—a hulking form cloaked in darkness, its eyes glowing with an eerie light.

“The Harbinger,” Eleanor whispered, recognizing the entity from her visions and the Codex’s descriptions.

The villagers screamed and scrambled back as the Harbinger advanced, its presence suffocating. Eleanor stood her ground, her mind racing. She could feel the entity probing her thoughts, its voice a thunderous roar in her mind.

“You cannot stop what has already begun,” it said. “The Hollow One stirs. The gate shall open.”

Eleanor clenched her fists, drawing strength from her mother’s teachings and the Codex’s warnings. “I won’t let you destroy us,” she said aloud, her voice steady despite the fear clawing at her.

The Harbinger laughed, a sound that reverberated through the chamber. “Destroy? No, child. I am but a messenger. The Obelisk is the key, and the marked are the conduits. You, too, are marked. You cannot escape your fate.”

Eleanor’s hand instinctively went to her wrist, where a faint line of glowing symbols had begun to appear. She gritted her teeth, refusing to succumb to the despair threatening to overwhelm her.

“Eleanor!” Lena shouted, tossing her a vial of liquid. It was one of their mother’s concoctions, designed to disrupt arcane energies.

Catching the vial, Eleanor hurled it at the shard. The glass shattered on impact, and the liquid hissed as it made contact, sending a wave of energy rippling through the chamber. The Harbinger roared in fury, its form flickering.

“Run!” Eleanor shouted, grabbing Lena’s arm and pulling her toward the exit. The villagers followed, their screams echoing as the chamber began to collapse.

Outside, the group collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. The cave entrance caved in behind them, sealing whatever was inside. The villagers looked to Eleanor, their faces pale and their eyes wide with terror.

“What… what was that?” the boy asked.

Eleanor wiped the sweat from her brow, her mind racing. “The Harbinger is part of this,” she said. “It’s tied to the Obelisk, to the markings, to everything. The shards are pieces of the puzzle, but they’re also pieces of the gate. If the Obelisk is whole again, it could unleash something far worse.”

Lena placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Then we have to stop it.”

Eleanor nodded, though the weight of the task seemed insurmountable. “We will. But we need more than just courage. We need knowledge, allies, and time.”

As the villagers dispersed, Eleanor turned her gaze back to the Obelisk. It loomed in the distance, a dark sentinel against the horizon. The battle was far from over, but she was determined to see it through.

The whispers in her mind grew quieter, but they didn’t fade entirely. They were a reminder of what was at stake—and of the darkness yet to come.