Chapter 115: Unlocking the Artifact

The weight of the Shadow Stone's power pressed against me, a force both tangible and terrifying.

My fingers hovered over its dark surface, trembling. I knew I was about to cross a line—one I could never uncross.

“Don’t do it, Sera!” Nora’s voice rang out, desperate and pleading. “You don’t know what it’ll do to you!”

I glanced back at her, at the fear in her eyes, the uncertainty. She was right; I didn’t know. But I also didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t act now, we would all be lost.

“I have to,” I said softly, more to myself than to her. “For Silverwood.”

Before I could second-guess myself, I reached out and grasped the Shadow Stone. A jolt of energy shot through me, burning through my veins like wildfire.

I gasped, my vision blurring as the power surged within me, coiling around my heart, my mind, my very soul.

A chorus of voices filled my ears, whispering, chanting, screaming in a language I didn’t understand. They spoke of power, of destiny, of sacrifice.

I could feel the arti