Chapter 1: A Dirge in Downpour

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The rain hammered a relentless tattoo on the cobblestones, each drop exploding in a miniature geyser, sending icy tendrils up Eliza's worn boots. The wind, a mournful banshee, howled through the skeletal branches of the ancient oaks lining the road, their skeletal fingers clawing at the bruised sky. Eliza, her cloak plastered to her slender frame, resembled a storm wraith herself, her raven hair plastered to her face, the only color on her a dull crimson bleeding through the thin fabric of her bodice – a mark left by a cough that seemed to come from her very soul.

Thornbury, usually bustling with a quiet life, had become a ghost town under the relentless assault of the downpour. Every window was shuttered tight, every chimney a beacon of warmth against the encroaching chill. Yet, Eliza walked on, her eyes fixed on the imposing silhouette of Blackwood Manor looming on the windswept hill.

Blackwood Manor wasn't always a monument to decay. Once, it had been a place of elegance and prosperity, its name whispered with a touch of awe. Now, ivy, like skeletal fingers, clawed its way up the crumbling facade, and the few remaining windows seemed like empty, watching eyes. Legends swirled around the manor, dark tales spun from flickering firelight – a tragic love story shrouded in mystery, whispers of a pact made with forces beyond human comprehension. Tonight, Eliza wasn't interested in legends – she sought Edward.

Edward, the man who had stolen her heart with a gentle smile and eyes that held the warmth of a summer sun. Edward, who had vanished without a trace a year ago, leaving behind a void that echoed with a deafening silence. Then, a glimmer of hope, as fragile as a spiderweb: an anonymous note, scrawled in a hand she recognized all too well, beckoning her to Blackwood Manor. Could it truly be him?

As she reached the wrought iron gates, the wind seemed to pick up, its mournful cry morphing into a chilling laughter. Eliza hesitated, a shiver racking her thin frame. This wasn't the homecoming she'd envisioned. But with a deep breath, her heart thudding a frantic rhythm against her ribs, she pushed open the rusted gate. The sound was a death knell in the howling wind. The path leading to the manor was overgrown with weeds, their spindly fingers reaching out like grasping hands. The air hung heavy with the scent of damp earth and decay, a suffocating shroud that seemed to press down on her with every step. An unseen presence, ancient and malevolent, seemed to stir within the decaying walls, its awakening heralded by a low, ominous groan that vibrated through the very ground.

Finally, she stood before the massive oak doors of Blackwood Manor. Rain lashed against them, their aged surface slick and unwelcoming. Raising a trembling hand, Eliza knocked. The sound was swallowed by the storm, leaving an unsettling silence in its wake. She knocked again, this time harder, her knuckles rapping a frantic rhythm against the cold wood.

A long, agonizing moment stretched into eternity. Just as despair threatened to engulf her, a sound pierced the silence – a creaking groan, as if the very bones of the manor were awakening from a long slumber. With a heart that hammered against her ribs, Eliza held her breath, waiting for a response, a sign, anything to break the suffocating silence and the oppressive weight of dread that settled in her stomach.

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