The forest grew quiet as Lena and Aiden pressed onward, the first light of dawn painting mist between the trunks. Lena's canvas bag felt heavier than usual... inside, the Loom tapestry's orb pulsed with faint, layered glow. Every breath of wind carried a charge, as though the woods themselves were aware of their quest.
They rounded a moss-clad boulder and halted at the edge of a clearing. There, half-shrouded in swirling mist, stood the Forgotten Shrine: a circle of ancient stones, each carved with weather-worn sigils that pulsed with a dull, uneasy light.
Lena's pulse quickened. "This is it," she whispered. "The heart of the rot."
Aiden nodded. He knelt to brush at the base of the nearest stone, revealing a fractured rune crackling with dark energy. "See the corruption bleeding into the earth," he said. "We must bind it before it spreads."
She stepped forward, retrieving the silver-laced charcoal stick from her bag. Kneeling, she opened her sketchbook and drew the outline of the shrine circle exactly upon the blank page... a mirror image. The orb glowed, synchronizing with her lines. Then she transferred those lines onto the soil, tracing a secondary protective ring around the stones.
"Keep the circle steady," Aiden murmured, drawing his own glyphs between hers. "I'll reinforce the wards."
Together they moved in careful tandem, Lena's spirals weaving threads of hope and memory, Aiden's runes sealing cracks of shadow. As they worked, the corruption hissed... a low, resonant growl that rattled the very ground.
Suddenly, a tendril of inky darkness soared up one stone, severing Lena's protective line. The charcoal in her hand snapped. Panic flared in her chest.
Aiden's hand shot out, catching the falling fragment. "Stay calm," he urged, pressing a fresh sigil into the stone with his palm. "We can hold it."
Lena swallowed her fear and reached into her bag for her last silver-bound stick. Selecting it with deliberate care, she drew a looping rune around the corrupt fracture, infusing it with the memory of her aunt's guiding voice. The darkness recoiled, but with a final convulsive shudder, it seeped into the ground, dissolving into motes of shadow that the sunrise burned away.
Silence fell. The stones' glow softened into gentle warmth, as though sighing in relief.
Lena exhaled, her shoulders trembling. "We did it."
Aiden placed his hand on her cheek, his golden eyes alight with pride. "You did it," he corrected. Then, his voice quieted. "But the cost... the ritual drained more than I expected. Are you all right?"
She nodded, breathing deeply. "I… I feel stronger, but part of me feels hollow." She pressed her hand over her heart. "Like a thread's been pulled too tight."
He drew her close. "I'm here." He brushed a strand of hair from her face. "We'll rest, then continue."
Lena looked around the shrine, the morning sun now fully risen, illuminating the carved runes with new clarity. Somewhere beyond the trees, Rowan's silver orb pulsed in echo of her own heartbeat... a reminder that more tests lay ahead.
She squared her shoulders. "Let's move on," she said, voice steady. "The Loom's tapestry still needs mending."
Together, they left the circle of stones, stepping back into the forest's embrace. The path forward was uncertain, but Lena walked with renewed purpose... each footfall echoing a promise that she would bind every tear in the Veil, one thread at a time.