Even as the skies cleared and Moonshine rejoiced, something trembled beneath the earth. Not the Shroud. Not the shadow beast. Something older.
Tara awoke that night in a cold sweat.
She could *hear* it.
A voice, like ancient stone scraping against bone. It whispered her name from the abyss. Jasmine, sensing Tara's unease, summoned the Moon Seers.
The Forgotten Chamber
According to the Seers, Moonshine was built on a seal—one that held back The Deep One, an entity so ancient it was erased from memory. The shadow beast was merely its echo.
"The seal is weakening," said the High Seer. "Your battle in the realm beyond cracked it."
Tara gritted her teeth. "Then we seal it again."
But the only way was to descend into the Chamber of Roots, buried beneath the palace—a place no one had entered in centuries.
A Descent into Madness
Tara, Jasmine, and Neha descended through tunnels older than language. The walls pulsed like veins. Faint whispers echoed—not in words, but feelings. Regret. Loneliness. Hunger.
They reached the ancient seal—a massive stone disc, etched with forgotten runes.
It was bleeding.
Neha knelt beside it. "It's alive... and it's afraid."
Suddenly, the air split. A *sliver* opened in the seal.
The Voice Escapes
From the crack emerged... fog? No—*thought*. It coiled into their minds. Tara staggered as it spoke inside her:
> *"You do not belong here, little spark. You are only borrowed light."*
She screamed. Jasmine held her, eyes wide with terror. "We need to get out!"
But the door behind them slammed shut.
From the seal, a hand of bone and black ichor *reached through*.
The Beginning of the End
It wasn't fully awakened, but it had seen them.
And now it knew Tara's name.
They fled, the chamber collapsing behind them. Back in the palace, the High Seer looked pale. "It has begun."
Above the castle, the moon turned crimson for the first time in a thousand years.