The air felt different as Luna and her companions made their way down the path the magicians had uncovered. The heavy fog had cleared, revealing jagged rocks that jutted out like teeth, their surfaces slick and smooth, almost unnaturally so. The temperature had dropped, and a deep, bone-chilling cold began to settle in, despite the fact that it was still the middle of the afternoon.
The group of magicians had fallen silent, their concentration evident as they kept their hands outstretched, channeling their ancient magic. Every step they took seemed to cause the ground beneath them to tremble slightly, as if the very land resented their presence. Luna glanced back at them. Meren and his companions were muttering under their breath, their eyes alight with golden and amber magic. Their power was palpable, and yet even with their aid, Luna could feel the weight of something ancient and dark pressing on them from all sides.
Talia, walking beside Luna, whispered, "This doesn't feel right. It feels like we're being watched."
Luna nodded in agreement. Her instincts were on high alert, every nerve thrumming with the sense that they were being drawn into something much bigger than the missing bows. Something that had been sealed away for far too long.
"You're right," Luna said softly. "Just stay alert. I don't trust this place."
Alma, always the skeptic, shot Luna a look. "What? You mean you don't trust the magicians? Or the whole 'we're about to unleash a primordial darkness' thing?"
"Both," Luna said with a wry grin, but the tension in her voice was undeniable.
Up ahead, the path curved sharply, leading them into a narrow valley flanked by towering stone pillars that seemed to reach up toward the sky. The air felt thick here, and Luna could feel the magic swirling around them—both familiar and foreign at once. It wasn't just the magicians' power that clung to the air. It was something much older, something tied to the very fabric of the earth itself.
Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet shook with a violent force, throwing them off balance. Luna staggered but caught herself on a nearby rock. Alma let out a curse, and Finn grabbed her arm to steady her. The magicians faltered, their concentration wavering.
"Stay back!" Meren barked, his voice sharp. "We've disturbed something."
Before anyone could react, the valley before them split open with a deafening crack. The sky darkened, and a rumbling noise reverberated from deep within the earth, like the growl of a sleeping beast being roused. A portal opened in the center of the valley, glowing with a strange, violet light that flickered like fire.
And then—there it was.
The bows.
Luna's breath caught in her throat as the sight before her almost took her breath away.
Suspended in the air, just inches above the ground, were two identical bows. But they weren't just any bows—they were works of art. Long, slender, and made of the purest silver, their limbs curved in elegant arcs, shining with an ethereal glow that illuminated the valley around them. The strings, shimmering like threads of moonlight, pulsed with an otherworldly energy. And beside each bow was a quiver, made of sleek, dark leather. Silver arrows, gleaming like stars, were nestled inside, their tips sharp as obsidian.
The moment Luna laid eyes on the bows, she knew—they were the bows. The ones she had been sent to find. The ones that would either save or doom them all.
"We found them," Luna whispered, almost in awe.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, the ground shook again, more violently this time. The violet portal flared with an ominous energy, and a voice—deep and resonant—boomed from the darkness beyond.
