NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6: The cursed road
Kael and Erya stumbled out of the temple, gasping for air as the heavy magic from within the ruins continued to haunt the air around them. The sky had darkened, and the winds seemed colder now, heavier with an unnatural chill. As they moved away from the temple's entrance, the ground beneath them seemed to tremble with the echoes of the force they had unleashed.
Kael's mind raced as he struggled to make sense of what had just happened. The map had disappeared, disintegrating into nothingness the moment the magic had been awakened. But the temple... the ancient magic it contained... that was still very real. And now it seemed to be following them, or perhaps, just beginning.
"We need to find shelter," Erya said, her voice low but steady. She kept her eyes on the horizon, her every sense alert to any sign of danger. "If the magic has awakened, the land will start to change. We can't stay out in the open."
Kael nodded, his chest tight. He wanted to argue, to question why she was so certain of what would happen, but the truth was, he wasn't sure of anything anymore. He had opened a door, and he didn't know how to close it.
The path ahead of them was obscured by mist, and the trees seemed to press in from all sides. The shadows felt thicker now, darker. Even the ground beneath their feet seemed less solid, shifting as they walked. Kael felt it then—a presence—something watching them from the mist.
"Keep moving," Erya whispered. "Don't look back."
They hurried through the woods, the weight of the unknown pressing down on them. In the distance, Kael could hear the distant crash of thunder, though the sky had no clouds. The storm that had followed them out of the temple was unnatural, growing in strength, just as the magic seemed to.
Suddenly, a shape darted through the trees ahead of them. Kael froze, his hand instinctively reaching for the dagger at his side. Erya tensed beside him, her hand moving to her sword hilt.
From the mist emerged a figure—a hooded traveler, moving with unnatural speed and silence. As it approached, Kael's breath caught in his throat. The figure's face was shrouded, but the presence around it was suffocating.
"You've disturbed something," the figure said, its voice deep and low, reverberating in the air like a warning. "And now you will face the consequences."