The world around them felt unnaturally still. The eerie red light in the sky stretched across the horizon, a harbinger of something deeper—darker—that was uncoiling within the land.
Jack's pulse throbbed in his ears, his eyes scanning the ruins of the sanctum, feeling the weight of Kael's disappearance pressing down on him like a stone.
Auren was still on the ground, clutching his side, the wound slowly healing. The Heart of Elandir burned in Jack's hands, its power seeping into his veins, making his skin prickle with energy. But it wasn't enough. They needed more.
Nyssa crouched beside Auren, her face tight with fear. "Where did he go? What happened?"
Auren's eyes flickered, his hand trembling as he reached out for the shard of the Heart in Jack's palm. "Kael's soul has been corrupted—transformed. He is no longer just Kael.
What he's become is something... else." His breath hitched, his eyes flicking to the blood-red skies above. "We need the Shattered Sigil."
Jack's brows furrowed. "What's the Sigil?"
"It is the only thing that can bind a soul so deeply fractured," Auren explained, his voice hoarse with exhaustion. "It lies within the Darkwood, at the heart of the forest. But the journey will be a treacherous one."
Nyssa stepped back from Auren, looking at Jack with an intensity he hadn't seen in her before. "We can't waste any more time. If Kael's lost, then we have to get him back. Whatever it takes."
Jack didn't hesitate. He felt the heat of the Heart of Elandir burning through him, but it wasn't enough. Not yet. They had to stop the dark force that had claimed Kael. And to do that, they would need to go deeper into the heart of the unknown—into the Darkwood.
The Journey to the Darkwood
The moment they entered the forest, the world seemed to twist. The air grew thick with a palpable darkness, the trees bent at unnatural angles, their branches lashing out like fingers, trying to grab them. Every step forward felt as if the ground was trying to swallow them whole.
Nyssa kept her eyes sharp, her sword drawn, but Jack couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, that something was waiting for them just out of sight. The trees seemed to whisper, their voices low and insidious, like the forest itself was alive.
"Auren wasn't lying," Jack muttered. "This place feels... wrong."
"It's the forest's magic," Nyssa said, her voice tight. "The Darkwood is ancient, older than any of us. It doesn't let people in easily."
But they had no choice. They had to find the Sigil, and fast.
The deeper they went into the forest, the more the trees closed in around them, their twisted roots like veins beneath the earth, pulsing with energy. The ground was soft and spongy, as if something beneath it was alive, breathing.
Suddenly, the forest shifted. A dark shape darted between the trees, vanishing into the shadows. Jack's heart skipped a beat. He wasn't sure if it was a creature or something else—something far worse.
"It's getting closer," Nyssa whispered, her eyes scanning the darkness.
Without warning, the air shimmered, and the forest seemed to bend. Jack stumbled back as his own reflection appeared before him—his face twisted in pain, his body bruised and bloody, his eyes glowing with unnatural light. It was him... but not him.
"Jack…" the figure whispered in a voice that was his but hollow, distorted. "You can't escape what you were made to be."
"Jack, look out!" Nyssa's voice broke through his thoughts, and he snapped back to reality just as a creature lunged at them from the shadows.
A massive, black-furred beast, its eyes glowing like embers, lunged at Jack with claws outstretched. He barely had time to react, but Nyssa was faster, slashing with her sword and driving the beast back into the undergrowth.
The forest itself seemed to be shifting around them, feeding off their fear, manipulating the very air to play tricks on their senses. Jack's heart pounded, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The forest was alive, and it wasn't just trying to trap them—it was trying to break them.
The Sigil's Guardian
They pressed forward, pushing through the endless thicket until they finally arrived at the heart of the Darkwood. It was a place of profound stillness, a vast clearing surrounded by towering trees whose bark shimmered like ancient stone. In the center of the clearing stood a stone pedestal, upon which lay the Shattered Sigil.
It was a relic of impossible beauty—a jagged, crystalline formation, glowing with an ethereal light that seemed to pulse with the rhythm of a dying heartbeat. It was broken, shards of it scattered across the stone, each one glowing faintly, as if they contained a fraction of the power of an ancient god.
Jack reached out to grab the Sigil, but the air around them shifted, and a voice filled the clearing.
"The Hollow Key has come."
A figure stepped forward from the shadows—an ancient sentinel, its form clad in tattered robes and crowned with jagged shards of bone. Its eyes burned with an unnatural fire, and its voice was deep, resonating with forgotten knowledge.
"You seek to bind a soul that has already broken, Jack of the Hollow Key. You seek to undo what has been done."
Jack's breath caught in his throat. "Who are you? And what is this Sigil?"
The sentinel stepped forward, its skeletal hand lifting toward the Sigil. "This is the key to binding corrupted souls, but it is not meant for you to wield. You are the Hollow Key, Jack—destined to open the path to the one who is coming."
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the forest, low and haunting.
"You're not here to save me. You're here to bring him through."
It was Kael's voice—or something like it. A twisted version of Kael, tainted by darkness.
Jack's hand froze over the Sigil. The forest was no longer just a place—it was alive with the power of something far older, far darker, than anything they could comprehend.
A Voice in the Forest
As they reached for the Sigil, the forest's oppressive weight pressed down on them, and they could hear Isolde's voice, distant but unmistakable, ringing in their ears.
"You've found the Sigil, Jack. But you won't be able to use it. Not for Kael. Not for anything."
Jack's heart sank. They were being manipulated—by her, by the forest, by forces beyond their understanding. And the more they tried to fight it, the deeper they were drawn into the abyss.
With the Sigil in hand, they turned to leave—but the forest wasn't done with them yet. Shadows moved, twisting around them like tendrils, pulling at their bodies, at their very souls.
And through the chaos, Kael's voice echoed one last time, cold and broken:
"You were always going to bring him through."