The ground swallowed her whole.
One moment, Isla stood with her companions in the cursed marshes of Draemor Vale, and the next, the bog beneath her feet cracked like dry earth. With a sharp scream that echoed into the murky air, she vanished into the darkness.
---
A heavy silence settled as Caius, Finn, and Lyra stared in disbelief at the spot where Isla had stood.
"What just happened?" Finn whispered, his voice trembling.
Caius stepped forward, glaring suspiciously at Lyra. "You've been here before, haven't you? What the hell is going on?"
Lyra's brows knit together. "I swear, I don't know what this is. This part of the Vale… it's not supposed to do that."
"Not supposed to?" Caius scoffed. "That's reassuring."
Finn moved between them, hands raised. "Stop. This isn't helping her. We need to figure out what this place is."
But even as they spoke, Isla was no longer part of their world.
---
Darkness enveloped her. There was no air, no sound. Just stillness.
Then light bloomed. Not like sunlight, but an ethereal blue that shimmered around her. She hovered in it, no longer falling but suspended in a place between thought and memory.
A figure emerged from the haze. Robed in gray and crowned with bone and root, the being's face was neither male nor female—only glowing eyes and lips that did not move yet spoke clearly.
"Isla Blackwood. Blood of the cursed line."
Her voice caught. "Who are you?"
"A Remnant," it answered. "What remains of a guardian, long dead, tied to the magic that once flowed freely through this realm."
"Where am I?"
"The Hollow Below. The memory of a wound that never healed."
Isla looked around. Images flickered at the edge of the light—ghostly silhouettes of battles, rituals, screams swallowed by time.
"You're not the first to fall here. But you may be the last chance."
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
The Remnant raised a hand. Visions shimmered—hooded figures gathered around a burning sigil, a scroll of black ink and crimson wax. The image shifted to a pale woman crying over a child. Then, a shadowed figure: Lord Thorne Washburn, younger, standing at the mouth of a mountain dripping with blood.
"It began with the First Sin."
"What is that?"
"Long ago, a sect of arcane scholars unearthed a forbidden tome. They sought power—immortality, control over life and death. But they did not understand the cost. Their ritual tore a hole between realms. Magic bled into the world, wild and hungry. And from that moment, time itself cursed the line of one who bore witness."
"My ancestors…"
"Yes. The Blackwoods were there. Not by choice. Your blood remembers what your mind cannot."
Isla stepped forward. "Why are you helping me?"
The Remnant turned, revealing a symbol etched into their ethereal spine—the same as the one that haunted her dreams. "Because the arcane is dying. The Circle is feeding on its decay. If they are not stopped, magic will rot until only corruption remains."
"We're heading to the Grotto," Isla said. "Old Marla said it might hold answers."
The Remnant's form rippled like water disturbed. "The Grotto does hold secrets. But they may be waiting for you. The Circle seeks you, Isla. You walk into their hands."
"Then tell me where else to go."
Silence.
"Please. We don't have time."
The spirit hesitated. Then: "There is an old sanctum. The Hollow Spire, west of the Grotto. A place untouched by the Circle. It may grant you clarity."
Isla looked downward, fists clenched. "But if we avoid the Grotto, we may lose our only lead. I have to go."
"Then go. But beware the truth. Not all of it will save you."
---
Back in the marshes, the trio stood in silence.
Caius's glare had not faded. "Convenient, isn't it? The moment she falls into the ground, you act like you've never seen this place before."
Lyra folded her arms. "I've told you already—I've never seen this part of Draemor Vale."
"You expect us to just believe you?"
"I didn't drag her into the earth, Caius. This place is cursed. You know that."
"You've lied before. What makes now different?"
Finn cut in sharply. "That's enough!"
Caius turned to him. "You trust her too easily."
"And you trust no one."
"Because trusting people gets you killed."
Lyra's eyes darkened, but she said nothing. Finn looked between them, torn.
Then, with a gasp, Isla burst from the earth in a surge of light and shadow.
They rushed to her. Caius knelt beside her. "Isla!"
She sat up slowly, eyes wide with something ancient and unknowable.
"What happened to you?" Finn asked.
Isla didn't answer immediately. Her gaze settled on the horizon, then flicked to Lyra.
"Thorne Washburn… he was there. The Remnant showed me. He was part of it. Part of the First Sin."
Lyra flinched—just barely. But Isla saw it.
"What?" Caius asked.
She stood shakily, voice low and urgent.
"We're walking right into their plans. And the Grotto… it may not just hold answers. It might be their trap."