Damien and Brian walked silently through the courtyard, their minds racing. "The Key of Witches," Brian muttered. "Do you think it's real?" he added. "It reacted to me when I held it, it felt like it's been waiting for me," Damien said, holding the pendant in his palm. "It's not just a necklace.", "Should we check the book first to see if we can find something about the key?" Brian asked, "I don't think that will be necessary, the door is right here," Damien said and walked away.
They didn't speak again until they reached the statue, the towering figure of the mother of Eri-doria, her stone arms in the air, she was meditating, the statue had been there for 17 years. The clouds above thickened, turning the late afternoon into an eerie dusk.
"Do you think this is it?" Brian asked. Immediately, a sudden gust of wind blew across the courtyard, scattering leaves like whispers on the wind.
"What a sudden weather", Brian said, looking above his head as the clouds kept on gathering
Damien stepped closer to the base of the statue. "Look," he said, pointing to a small circular indentation near the foot of the statue, barely visible unless you were looking for it. It was the exact size of the pendant.
"Don't tell me…" Brian said, inching forward. Without hesitation, Damien pressed the Key into the indentation. A moment of stillness. Then Click.
A deep rumble echoed through the courtyard. The ground trembled beneath their feet as cracks formed in a ring around the statue. Revealing a spiral staircase shrouded in mist, just then a door opened slowly, they bent their head and entered inside.
"This is insane," Brian whispered. "Let's go," Damien said, already stepping down. Each step took them deeper underground. The air grew colder, damper. Strange etchings lined the walls, runes and markings that pulsed faintly with red light. At the bottom, they reached a stone chamber, ancient and untouched by time.
Torches on the walls burst to life as they stepped inside, "Oh my god!" Brian shouted, revealing a large stone pedestal in the center. Upon it sat a sealed scroll, bound by a red ribbon and marked with a wax emblem, the same one burned into the front of the Blood Prophecy book.
Damien reached out, but before he could touch the scroll, a blast of icy wind swirled through the chamber. The torches flickered violently. From the shadows emerged a creature, a tall, cloaked figure with glowing eyes and a sword made of fire. "You who seek the truth," the creature hissed, "must prove thy blood." Brian instinctively raised his hand, sending out a defensive wave from his palm, but the creature barely flinched. Then the creature faced his sword towards Brian alone, as he flew across the room and landed on the floor so hard, "What do you mean, 'prove'?" Damien asked, his voice shaking.
The creature extended a bony finger toward the scroll. "Only one of the Heir Line may unlock the Seal. Only one who carries both blood and burden.", "I am her descendant," Damien said boldly. "I'm the grandson of Lady Cassandra." The creature tilted its head. "Then show me."
Damien hesitated, then pulled a small pin from his jacket and pricked his finger. A drop of blood fell onto the emblem. The scroll pulsed once, then suddenly unraveled itself in midair, floating gently as the words burned into visibility across the parchment. Lines of crimson text wrote themselves out as if the scroll were alive.
Brian stood up from the floor, a bit weak, and stepped closer, trying to read. "It's another prophecy…"
Damien read aloud:
"When the Key is turned and the seal undone,
A second scroll shall call the sun.
Born of light but forged in the dark,
A third bloodline shall leave its mark.
Not of Cassandra, not of a twin,
But of the one who lies within."
Brian's voice shook. "What does that mean?"
"It means… there's someone else," Damien whispered. "A third bloodline. Someone even the book didn't mention."
Suddenly, the scroll burned into ash and vanished. The creature lowered its weapon and bowed. "The path is open."
Before they could ask anything else, all the lights went off, a total darkness enveloped them, and it all went dark in their minds.