The Descent into Shadows
Emberfang returned to Stormclan's camp, her thoughts clouded by the prophecy. She didn't ask for this, didn't want this. But every time she closed her eyes, the ominous rhyme clawed at her mind.
"Claws of darkness... life is the cost..."
She pushed away the unease, throwing herself into her duties with ferocity. Hunting, patrolling, training apprentices—she did it all. But the strange occurrences persisted. Prey found mauled but uneaten, shadows slinking through the trees that vanished before you could blink. Stormclan was on edge, and Ashstar's faith in Emberfang wasn't helping her sleep at night.
The breaking point came when Ravenpaw, a young apprentice, disappeared during a border patrol. Emberfang was the first to volunteer for the search, leading a patrol of her closest allies: Stoneclaw, a battle-hardened tom, and Willowmist, a sharp-eyed tracker.
They trailed Ravenpaw's scent deep into the Hollow Pines, a forbidden part of the forest avoided by every clan. The air grew colder with every step, the silence unnatural. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
"I don't like this," Willowmist muttered, her fur bristling. "We shouldn't be here."
"Then stay behind if you're scared," Emberfang growled, though she felt the same unease gnawing at her.
The scent trail ended at a cavern mouth, jagged like a gaping maw. Emberfang hesitated, but the thought of leaving Ravenpaw to whatever lurked in the dark steeled her nerves.
"We go in together," she ordered, her voice firm despite the tremor in her paws.
The cave was pitch black, the air thick and damp. Their pawsteps echoed as they ventured deeper. Suddenly, Stoneclaw froze, his ears flattened.
"Do you hear that?"
A faint whisper echoed around them, a chilling chant that made their fur stand on end.
"Who dares disturb my domain?"
The voice was everywhere and nowhere. A figure emerged from the shadows—a skeletal cat, its eyes burning like cold fire. This was no ordinary cat; this was Nightshade, a spirit of the Dark Forest.
Emberfang snarled, stepping between the spirit and her clanmates. "Where is Ravenpaw?"
Nightshade grinned, its teeth gleaming unnaturally. "The apprentice is mine now. And soon, so shall you be, Emberfang. The prophecy... it is your destiny to face me."
