Chapter 12

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 I stumbled back from the altar, breathing heavily

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I stumbled back from the altar, breathing heavily.

Solaris reached out, steadying me as I retreated, away from the altar, away from Gaia, and everything she had told me. His voice was a distant murmur as Gaia's words echoed in my mind.

Gaia is dying. And with her death comes the death of everyone and everything.

How was I supposed to retrieve the necklace? It was as if knowing that Solaris and I were part of the prophecy was the easy part. We hadn't gone on an adventure to find each other; we had simply met.

So how were we supposed to retrieve the necklace without knowing where to find it?

Solaris' grip on my arm tightened, grounding me.

I nodded, though my mind raced with questions and doubts. The weight of the prophecy pressed on me, threatening to crush my resolve. I looked around, taking in the darkened heart of the church, the oppressive shadows that seemed to seep from every corner. The once vibrant layout now lay shrouded in an unnatural gloom, the air thick with foreboding.

I felt something tingle within my chest, pulling me out of the church. With no hesitation, I let it take lead and left the church. The outside air stung even worse, but something else was calling me. Something was luring me into the heart of the kingdom.

We moved cautiously through the darkened city, the eerie silence only broken by the occasional distant rumble of something unseen. Every shadow seemed to watch us, every corner held the promise of danger. The church loomed behind us, a stark reminder of the task ahead.

As we walked, I found myself trying to resist the urge to tell Solaris the truth. I didn't know what was keeping me from doing it but for some reason, I couldn't tell him.

At the city's center, where life once thrived, there now lay a festering wound. The ground was scarred and scorched, blackened veins of corruption spreading out like a malignant disease. The air was thicker here with the acrid smell of decay and something more sinister, a scent that spoke of ancient, malevolent forces at play.

A thick, unnatural fog clung to the ground, swirling around like a living entity, masking the devastation and adding an oppressive weight to the air. Lamp posts flickered intermittently, casting ghostly shadows that danced across the broken pavement.

In the distance, faint, haunting whispers carried on the wind, the voices of those lost to the darkness, echoing their despair and warning of the dangers that lurked unseen. The heart of the city, now a desolate and haunted place, stood as a grim testament to the destruction that had befallen it, a reminder of the peril that awaited anyone who dared to venture into its depths.

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