Screams echoed through the vast halls of the Montgomery estate. Agonized wails, filled with sheer torment, seeped through the walls, making even the guards outside shift uncomfortably. The source? A certain skinwalker—currently at the mercy of Valen, the Grim Reaper of the Montgomery family.
Down below, far removed from the chaos, Palmer led Damien and Sarah into the hidden chamber beneath their mansion.
"Tsk. That guy was acting all tough earlier," Damien mused, stuffing his hands into his pockets. A smirk played at his lips. "Now, he sounds like he'd spill his entire family's lineage just to make it stop."
Sarah glanced sideways, her mischievous eyes glinting. "Between you both, I wonder who screamed louder back then."
Damien visibly flinched. "H-Hey! That was supposed to stay between us!"
Palmer, walking ahead, looked away to avoid any eye contact between them.
Sarah turned her attention to their surroundings, her steps slowing as awe settled in. "Still… I never knew this place even existed right below us."
"You probably never would've if things weren't this bad," Damien muttered.
After what felt like thirty minutes of walking, they arrived at a vast underground sanctum. The air felt different here—ancient, as if it carried the weight of forgotten eras. Towering bookshelves lined the walls, filled with texts so old their spines had faded beyond recognition. Stone pillars stretched high into the darkness, supporting a ceiling carved with intricate patterns of swirling constellations.
But at the far end of the chamber stood something else entirely.
A glass casing, reinforced with divine sigils, housed a sealed black box—the Orb the Montgomery ancestors have spent their life protecting.
"Just… what is this place?" Sarah whispered, her voice barely audible.
"A legacy," Palmer replied. "This chamber was built by Josh Montgomery, the first Guardian." His voice held an unfamiliar softness, as if he were reminiscing about something distant.
Sarah, still overwhelmed, ran her fingers along the spines of the ancient books. One, in particular, caught her eye—Josh Montgomery's personal journal. The cover was thick, dark, and coated in dust, as though it had been untouched for centuries.
"He… kept a journal?" she murmured, carefully pulling it free.
Palmer nodded. "He wrote about so many things. He claims he sees visions and jots them down, though sometimes, he doesn't remember writing some. The elders dismissed it as madness… but I think otherwise."
Sarah frowned, flipping through the yellowed pages. "Then I definitely need to read this."
Meanwhile, Palmer approached the sealed orb, his steps slowing.
His scarlet eyes darkened.
A faint pulse resonated in the air.
"Can you hear it?" he asked, his voice quieter.
Damien, standing beside him, frowned. "Hear what?"
"The orb." Palmer's fingers hovered just above the casing. "Like It's screaming—begging to be free."
Damien squinted at the sealed box, unimpressed. "All I see is a dusty antique that could fetch millions at an auction—Oops" He froze, realizing his mistake. "Bad habit,"
Palmer gave him a side glance and a soft chuckle. He reached for a lever embedded in the stone wall. With a pull, another compartment opened, revealing more identical sealed boxes.
"We'll encase the Orb you took with one of these," Palmer stated. "It won't stop the signal completely, but it'll suppress it long enough to buy us time."
Damien swallowed thickly, pushing down the discomfort creeping up his throat. "Alright."
" Let get back to Valen before he turns that guy into minced meat." Palmer jested
Sarah clutched the journal close to her chest. "Can I keep this? I want to read through it."
Palmer's expression softened. "It's yours. He is your ancestor, after all."
Sarah beamed. "Yes! Thank you!"
With that settled, they turned toward the exit.
Just before reaching the it, a voice whispered to Damien.
Hey… Heyy hey…
His body stiffened. The voice slithered into his ears, wrapping around his thoughts like a coiling serpent.
"You're just going to let your friend die?"
His breath hitched.
"They killed your parents… took your best friend from you… How many more will they take before you finally wake up?"
His fingers twitched.
"Sarah."
His head snapped up.
"She could be next."
Damien clenched his jaw. His fists tightened.
"The vampire lies."
The voice was inside him now, whispering like a lover's breath against his ear.
"Nothing is stopping you from wielding the orbs' power. You won't need his protection anymore."
He turned, staring at the sealed Black Orb. It sat motionless, yet it felt as though something inside was grinning at him.
"The fear you've always wanted to instill in the world… you can do it without him."
"…mien!"
"Damien!"
His head snapped up.
Sarah was staring at him, concern etched into her features. "Damien? What's wrong? You spaced out."
Palmer watched him, his piercing gaze unreadable.
Damien forced a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "Nah, I'm good. Just… lost in thought, I guess."
Palmer didn't respond. Instead, he turned back to the Orb's sealed box.
A flicker of something crossed his face.
Then—
A sharp pain stabbed into his skull. His long buried memories of torment and torture resurfacing-
His hand instinctively flew to his temple.
Sarah's brow furrowed. "Palmer?"
He shook his head slightly, forcing his usual calm demeanor. "…It's nothing."
For the first time, Palmer looked disturbed.
Palmer exhaled, glancing once more at the sealed boxes before walking toward the exit. "Let's go."
As they stepped out of the chamber—
The Orb's box trembled.
Then, ever so slightly—
A thin, jagged crack formed along its surface. The Orb's colour, ash.