The ruins were quiet, the echoes of the last battle fading like a distant memory. Noona, Lisa, and Akin stepped carefully over the moss-covered stones, exhausted yet alert.
But the calm was deceptive. The forest seemed to breathe around them, shadows shifting in unnatural ways. A faint hum resonated through the air, almost like a heartbeat… but not theirs.
Noona frowned. "The seal… it's mended. Why do I feel it… watching?"
Lisa placed a hand on the altar, sensing residual energy. "The curse isn't gone. Parts of it linger… fragments of its will survived the ritual. Something waits."
A cold wind swept through the ruins, carrying whispers more urgent than before. Noona shivered as a realization struck her—the true source of the curse had never been confronted. They had fought the sentinel, not the heart of darkness itself.
Akin's eyes narrowed. "Then this was just the beginning. Whoever—or whatever—created the seal… it's still out there."
Suddenly, the ground trembled, faint cracks forming in the stone around the altar. The shadows grew darker, coalescing into shapes not seen before: faces twisted in pain, hands reaching with silent accusation.
Noona gripped her blade tightly. "We need to know the truth… the origin of this curse. Only then can it end for good."
Lisa nodded. "And the blood moon… it will return. The next time it rises, it may awaken more than just shadows."
Akin stepped beside them, fists clenched. "Then we prepare. We find the source, whatever it takes. No turning back."
The whispers faded into a low hum, leaving only the tension of the forest and the lingering pulse of the sealed darkness. Their journey was far from over—what they had faced was only the first shadow of a far greater evil.