Chapter 7 The Shadows Reach

Strange things started happening in Willow Creek. Streetlights flickered at noon, and the air carried a metallic tang. Ethan noticed people acting off-his dad was moodier, teachers snapped at students, even Marcus seemed on edge. The journal warned that the shadow's influence grew when the ritual was delayed.Ethan, Marcus, and Lila returned to the chamber, armed with the journal and a plan to destroy the vial. "If it's the key, maybe breaking it stops everything," Marcus suggested.But when Ethan held the vial, the voice returned, louder: You cannot stop what is owed.

He dropped the vial, and it rolled across the altar, unbroken. The carvings on the walls glowed faintly, and the air grew thick. Shadows moved, not cast by their flashlights.Lila read from the journal, her voice shaking. "It says the guardian must choose-bind the shadow or let it consume.""Consume what?" Marcus asked."The town," Ethan said, his voice barely a whisper. "It's why everything's falling apart."They fled the chamber, but the shadows followed, seeping into Ethan's dreams that night. He saw Willow Creek burning, faces screaming, and himself standing on the altar, the vial in his hand. He woke gasping, the journal open on his bed to a new page: The choice is yours, but the debt is eternal.Ethan knew he couldn't run. He had to face it.