The living room of Rossie Carter's home buzzed with a tense energy. The rescue team - Rossie, her father Detective James Carter, Ethan, Becky, and a new figure, an old yet vibrant woman named Mara Vex—gathered around a table strewn with maps and Becky's photos.
Mara, with her silver hair cascading in waves and eyes sharp with decades of vigilante experience, exuded a commanding presence despite her age.
Her weathered hands traced the symbol from Becky's photo - the jagged circle with radiating lines - her expression darkening.
"This symbol," Mara began, her voice rich and authoritative,
"represents a demonic enchantment, a ritual to summon human souls. It's used to control them, drawing them into an underground dungeon. But it requires human hands to activate - someone is wielding this power deliberately."James Carter, his face lined with concern from recent injuries, leaned forward.
"That sounds like the occultic group's work.
They've been quiet, but this fits their pattern."Mara nodded, her gaze steady. "It does.
But I warn you—this is no simple mission. The dungeon is a labyrinth of deadly traps, designed to kill intruders. It's a suicide mission for the unprepared."Rossie's jaw tightened, her bracelet pulsing as she stood.
"If I don't go, no one else will. I've faced this entity before—I can handle it."James shook his head, his voice firm but laced with paternal worry.
"Rossie, you're not going alone. Others can stay back and join later if we need extra help.
I'll stay at the opening with my team, coordinating and ready to back you up."Mara smiled, a glint of mischief in her eyes despite the gravity.
"I'm old now my dears. I've lived a full life, fought many battles. I think I'll join Rossie." Her smile widened, a spark of youthful defiance lighting her face as she adjusted the sword strapped to her side.
The room fell silent, the weight of their decision settling over them. Ethan exchanged a glance with Becky, who clutched her Vine Codex, while James nodded reluctantly, trusting his daughter's resolve.
04:00 PM , and the eastern edge of the woods near Haul Academy was shrouded in a heavy mist.
Rossie, Mara, and a small team had located the symbol carved into a tree, its greenish glow barely visible beneath a curtain of leaves. Pushing the foliage aside, they discovered a hidden entrance—a stone slab that slid open to reveal a dark, cobweb-draped underground passage. The air was thick with the stench of decay, scattered with the skeletal remains of wild animals, their bones crunching underfoot as they descended.
Deeper inside, the passage widened into a cavernous chamber, its walls slick with moss. Rossie's flashlight caught sight of body bags lined against the wall - twenty in total - each containing a figure that twitched faintly, unconscious but alive.
"They're the missing teens," she whispered, her heart sinking.
Mara, leading with her sword drawn, scanned the room.
"Stay sharp—" Her warning was cut off as a sudden whoosh filled the air. Twenty poisoned pins shot toward them with arrow-like speed. Mara dodged with a swift sidestep, her agility belying her age, while Rossie executed two perfect side flips, her enhanced reflexes kicking in. The pins embedded into the wall behind them, their source unseen.
Ahead, a massive enchantment wheel loomed, its surface studded with over a hundred pins, glowing with a sickly green light.
"The Wheel of Enchantment," Mara said, her voice low.
"It summons souls, binds them here. There may not be anyone here now, but I know someone's behind this—controlling it remotely."Rossie moved to the body bags, her hands trembling as she began untying the first.
The teens inside stirred faintly, their souls tethered to the wheel. As she worked, the wheel hummed to life, firing ten poisoned pins in rapid succession.
Mara leapt forward, her sword flashing as she blocked and deflected each pin, the metal clanging with precision.With nineteen bags open, Rossie reached the last. The wheel spun faster, releasing another volley.
One pin pierced Mara's shoulder, and she staggered, a gasp escaping her lips. Rossie rushed to catch her before she collapsed, her green eyes glowing intensely as adrenaline surged.
"Mara!"The wheel continued its assault, pins whizzing through the air. Rossie's unmatched speed took over—she flipped ten times in a blur, maneuvering with supernatural grace. Spotting an axe embedded in the wall, she seized it and hurled it with all her strength. The blade struck the wheel's center, shattering it with a deafening crack.
An aura of souls erupted, swirling back into the teens' bodies as they began to stir.Rossie pulled out her phone, her voice urgent.
"Dad, we found them! They are still alive, but we need backup to move everyone out—now!"
The cavern echoed with the teens' faint moans, the air clearing as the enchantment broke, leaving Rossie and Mara amidst the chaos, the old vigilante's sacrifice a testament to their resolve.
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Michael's Discovery in the Library
It was a crisp morning, and the Haul Academy library stood quiet, its tall shelves casting long shadows across the polished wooden floor. Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, painting the room in hues of blue and gold.
Michael Thompson, his mind restless after days of tension, had agreed to meet Angela here, a rare moment of normalcy amid the recent chaos. He wandered the aisles, his footsteps soft, until he spotted her usual spot near the history section.
But before joining her, his curiosity drew him to a dusty corner shelf, where an odd, tiny book caught his eye—untitled, its leather cover worn and unmarked, its pages yellowed with age.He pulled it free, the book fitting snugly in his palm, and flipped it open.
The text was a jumble of unfamiliar symbols and script, nothing he recognized - no English, no Latin, just a flowing, cryptic language that seemed to dance off the page.
Yet, as he traced the lines with his finger, a strange warmth spread through him, a sense that this held rare texts, lost wisdom, and stories that offered a flicker of hope amid the darkness they'd faced. His pulse quickened—could this be connected to the entity, the moonflower, or Rossie's transformation?
The sound of footsteps snapped him out of his thoughts. Angela approached, her dark hair catching the light, a smile on her face as she carried a stack of notes. Panicking, Michael shoved the tiny book into his back pocket, the edge pressing against his leg as he tried to act casual. She didn't notice, her attention on him as she set her books down.
"Hey," she said, her voice warm. "I was thinking—you should join me and my mom for dinner tonight.
She's been asking about you, and… well, since you don't have a dad around, it might be nice.
Family stuff, you know?"Michael forced a smile, his mind still reeling from the book's mystery.
"Yeah, sure, that sounds great. Thanks." His words were automatic, his thoughts elsewhere -on the cryptic pages, the hope they seemed to promise, and the nagging question.
What does this actually hold? As Angela chatted about dinner plans, he nodded along, but his hand brushed the book in his pocket, its presence a silent pull, hinting at secrets that might change everything.