The moment Callista's fingertips grazed the shimmering box upon its obsidian pedestal, a shockwave of magic rippled through the catacomb. The rune-covered stones trembled, and a chorus of ghostly voices filled the chamber — echoes from a past that many hoped remained buried.
Ezra tightened his grip on Felton Harper's journal. His knuckles grew white, his pulse a wild staccato in his ears. The box — the Eye of Felthurn — glowed faintly, its magic a purple-black aura that seemed alive. The ghosts that rose up from its aura began to circle him and Callista, whispering in a language older than time itself.
"That's the curse Felton feared." Callista pressed forward, placing her hand alongside Ezra's on the box. "The curse of knowledge — the punishment for unlocking what was meant to remain forgotten. The ghosts… they remember the wars… the sacrifices… the magic that nearly destroyed the world."
Ezra forced himself to stay calm, to ground his magic, to remain a beacon in the growing chaos. His magic flowed into Callista's, their two auras intertwining, strengthening their defenses. "We must break it. We must redeem magic… or we'll become its victims ourselves."
The ghosts began to form into shimmering, semi-corporeal figures — soldiers, priests, mage-counselors — a legion of the past. They raised their voices in a chorus, their words unintelligible but piercing directly into Ezra's mind. Each spirit was a piece of a greater tragedy — wars, power struggles, catastrophic magic gone awry — a tragedy Felton Harper tried to avoid repeating.
Callista fell to her knees under the pressure of their collective will. "Ezra… I can't hold… much… longer…"
He pressed his magic forward, adding his own power to stabilize her, to ease her agony. The rune forged by their Pact glowed boldly upon their skin, tying their fates together and strengthening their resistance.
Slowly, the ghosts grew quieter — their chorus fading, their forms growing less defined — until, at last, silence fell.
"It's done." Callista whispered, reluctantly. "We've appeased the ghosts… but we've awoken something greater. The curse isn't gone. We've opened a path toward a fate we can't yet see."
Ezra nodded quietly. "Whatever comes… we face it together." His grip tightened on Felton Harper's journal. "For Felton… for magic… for the future."