The corrupted beast stood motionless for a brief moment, its glowing red eyes locking onto Louis with an eerie intelligence. Then, without warning, it let out a guttural snarl and bounded into the darkness of the forest, its massive frame disappearing between the thick trees in an unnatural blur.
Betty swore under her breath, lowering her bow. "What the hell was that? It just… ran?"
Locob, still kneeling beside the monolith, wiped sweat from his brow. "It wasn't just a mindless monster. It knew something."
Louis remained silent, his gaze fixed in the direction the beast had vanished. The moment it locked eyes with him, he felt something—an echo of the vision from before, like a whisper in the back of his mind. The ruined temple. The carvings. The overwhelming sense of something waiting to be found.
He took a slow breath. "We need to start looking for clues. There's more to this than just a random corruption."
Betty shook her head. "And how exactly do we track something like that? It moved way too fast to follow."
Locob frowned, his fingers tracing the carvings on the monolith's surface. "We don't need to follow it. If this stone is a part of something bigger, then there should be traces of more."
Louis nodded. "We spread out. Look for anything—symbols, unnatural marks, anything that feels out of place."
---
The First Clues
The three split up, combing the area around the monolith. The deeper they searched, the more anomalies they uncovered—strange patterns scorched into the trees, the faint remains of an ancient pathway long consumed by nature, and odd arrangements of stones that didn't seem naturally placed.
After nearly an hour of searching, Betty called out, her voice laced with urgency. "I think I found something!"
Louis and Locob rushed to her side, where she pointed to a barely visible marking on a boulder. It was the same symbol they had seen glowing on the monolith, but here, it was faded, worn down by time and the elements.
Louis ran his fingers over the mark. A strange tingling sensation crawled up his arm, and for a brief second, his vision blurred. Images flooded his mind—the same ruined temple from before, but clearer this time. He could see the towering stone pillars, the half-buried statues, and something beyond it—something deep underground.
He staggered back, catching himself before he fell.
Betty grabbed his arm. "Louis? What just happened?"
He exhaled sharply. "I saw it again. The temple… it's real. And it's not far."
Locob's eyes widened. "You saw it? You mean, in a vision?"
Louis nodded. "Yeah. And I think I know where to go."
---
The Forgotten Temple
Following the faint impressions left in Louis' vision, the trio pressed forward. The deeper they ventured into the woods, the more the forest itself seemed to change. The air grew heavier, charged with something unseen yet unmistakable. The trees were older here, their bark twisted as if shaped by something unnatural.
Then, through a break in the dense foliage, they saw it.
A temple, half-swallowed by the earth, its stone walls cracked and weathered by time. Vines coiled around its pillars like serpents, and the grand entrance stood ajar, darkness yawning beyond its threshold.
Betty let out a low whistle. "Well, this doesn't look ominous at all."
Locob stepped forward, awe flickering in his lime-green eyes. "This place… it's ancient. The magic here feels different, like it's been waiting."
Louis took a cautious step closer, staring up at the temple's facade. The same carvings from the monolith decorated the walls, but here, they were untouched by time—sharp, deliberate, and full of meaning yet to be uncovered.
A cold breeze drifted from within the temple's depths, carrying the faintest whisper.
Something was here.
And it was waiting.
To be continued…