The sealed forest entrance stands forebodingly. DAMIEN, hands pressed against the barrier, is desperate to reach LILIANA.
**ALEXANDER:** "We need to find another way."
Inside the ethereal palace, LILIANA is bound by shadowy chains. The FORGOTTEN QUEEN appears, a mix of anger and sorrow in her eyes.
**FORGOTTEN QUEEN:** "Your past finally catches up, sister."
CLARA, utilizing her newfound ability to commune with shadows, senses another entrance to the realm, guided by whispers from the dark.
**CLARA:** "The shadows speak of a hidden passage."
As they journey to find this entrance, LUCAN recounts legends of a sacred grove, a place where realms blur, potentially offering entry.
LILIANA confronts the QUEEN, trying to understand her imprisonment. The QUEEN speaks of an ancient ritual that requires a betrayal bond, hinting at a larger plot.
**FORGOTTEN QUEEN:** "Your return has awakened old powers, Liliana."
The group, following CLARA's guidance and LUCAN's knowledge, discovers the sacred grove. Ancient runes surround a shimmering portal.
As they step through, they're separated, each facing a distorted version of their reality, tailored to their insecurities and fears.
ALEXANDER envisions a world where he failed everyone, driving him to despair. CLARA's voice, distant yet familiar, guides him back to reality.
DAMIEN sees a timeline where he succumbed entirely to his vampiric nature, becoming a monster. He battles his darker self, ultimately rejecting that path.
LILIANA and the QUEEN's confrontation escalates. The QUEEN reveals the ritual will merge their realm with the mortal world, plunging both into eternal darkness.
**LILIANA:** "We must stop this. Together."
As the group navigates their twisted realities, they find one another, their bonds pulling them from the brink of despair.
Reunited, they confront the QUEEN, pleading with her to halt the ritual. LILIANA offers herself in place of the merging worlds.
**LILIANA:** "Let me be the sacrifice. Spare our worlds."
The QUEEN, after a tense pause, seems to consider the plea. Just as a resolution seems within reach, a loud, resonating chant fills the air.
An even more powerful entity, an ANCIENT SPIRIT, bound by the QUEEN's ancestors, emerges. Furious at being imprisoned, it intends to complete the ritual itself.
**ANCIENT SPIRIT:** "The merging cannot be stopped. All will be consumed."
With the ANCIENT SPIRIT initiating the ritual, the ground trembling, and a massive vortex forming in the sky, drawing both realms closer to chaos.