The Underground Chambers
1134 Words
Chapter 7
No one moved.
The ancient voice echoed through the academy walls like a living thing.
“Bring me the child of shadow and light.”
The temperature dropped instantly.
Frost spread slowly across the corridor floor while the academy lights flickered weakly overhead.
Nyra stepped closer to Aretha.
“Tell me everyone else heard that too.”
“We heard it,” Caspian answered quietly.
Even Liam looked unsettled now.
Which frightened Aretha more than anything.
Because until this moment, he had seemed fearless.
Headmaster Orion tightened his grip around his silver blade.
“The underground seal should never have opened.”
Another low tremor shook the academy.
Dust fell from the ceiling again.
Then came the screams.
Students.
Professors.
Somewhere outside the corridor, another attack had begun.
Orion cursed under his breath.
“We’re out of time.”
Liam immediately understood what that meant.
“You can’t seriously be considering this.”
Orion looked toward Aretha slowly.
His expression was unreadable.
“I don’t know what awakened beneath the academy,” he admitted. “But it’s tied to the Tree of Life.”
“And to her,” Elias added quietly.
Aretha hated how everyone kept saying that.
Like she was some disaster waiting to happen.
Selene stepped forward weakly despite the curse draining her strength.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
“She’s not going underground.”
“Selene—”
“I said no.”
Dark veins briefly spread beneath Selene’s neck again before fading.
Pain flashed across her face.
But her eyes remained firm.
“She has spent nineteen years hidden from this world because people feared what she might become.” Selene’s voice trembled slightly. “I will not throw her into darkness because of a prophecy.”
The corridor fell silent again.
Then Aretha spoke quietly.
“What if I’m the reason this is happening?”
Selene turned sharply.
“You are not responsible for this.”
“But the creatures are following me.”
Another distant explosion shook the academy.
“The roots reacted to me.”
The whispers inside her head returned softly.
Calling her.
Pulling her downward.
“I think…” Aretha swallowed hard. “I think something down there knows me.”
Liam stepped closer immediately.
“Then that’s exactly why you shouldn’t go alone.”
Their eyes met briefly.
And for the first time since arriving in Lumierre…
Aretha felt safe.
Only for a second.
Then Orion made his decision.
“We go together.”
Selene looked furious.
“Orion—”
“If whatever awakened reaches the Tree of Life completely, the corruption could spread through all of Lumierre by sunrise.”
Even he sounded grim saying it.
Nyra unfolded her metallic wings slightly.
“Well,” she sighed dramatically, “this is definitely the worst school year I’ve ever had.”
Caspian gave a nervous laugh.
“No argument there.”
Elias remained pale and quiet.
Because his visions still hadn’t stopped.
Every few seconds he saw flashes of death beneath the earth.
And every vision ended the same way—
With Aretha standing before something ancient.
Something waiting for her.
---
The entrance to the underground chambers was hidden beneath the academy library.
Massive stone doors carved with ancient symbols blocked the stairway leading downward.
Orion placed his hand against the center seal.
The glowing wolf crest on the doors flickered weakly.
Then slowly opened.
Cold air rushed upward immediately.
Darkness waited below.
The stairway stretched endlessly beneath the academy, disappearing deep underground.
Nyra peered downward.
“…Absolutely not.”
Liam ignored her and stepped forward first.
Golden wolf energy glowed faintly around his claws.
“I’ll lead.”
“No,” Orion answered immediately. “I will.”
But before either could move—
Aretha suddenly froze.
The whispers grew louder than ever.
“Come to us…”
“Daughter of shadow…”
“Child of the roots…”
Pain shot through her shoulder again.
The birthmark beneath her skin glowed brightly through her sleeve.
Everyone saw it.
Then the underground stairway began glowing in response.
Ancient symbols along the walls lit up one by one.
Like the chambers themselves recognized her.
Caspian looked uneasy.
“That’s not creepy at all.”
Orion’s face darkened heavily.
“The underground pathways are reacting to her bloodline.”
Selene grabbed Aretha’s hand tightly.
“You stay beside me.”
Aretha nodded silently.
Together, they descended.
---
The deeper they traveled underground, the stranger everything became.
The walls were no longer stone.
They were roots.
Massive ancient roots twisted together to form tunnels beneath the academy. Golden energy pulsed beneath the bark like veins carrying magic through the earth.
Or at least—
It used to be golden.
Now black corruption spread through many of the roots.
The deeper they went, the darker the corruption became.
Elias touched one carefully.
Instantly—
A vision slammed into him.
Screaming.
Fire.
A man with silver eyes kneeling before the Tree of Life.
Blood covering his hands.
Then a voice whispered:
“You failed us…”
Elias stumbled backward sharply.
Liam caught him.
“What did you see?”
Elias shook his head quickly.
“Nothing good.”
They continued downward.
Soon the air itself felt heavier.
Ancient.
Alive.
The whispers surrounding Aretha became almost unbearable now.
And then—
They reached the chamber.
Everyone froze.
The underground chamber beneath the academy was enormous.
Large enough to fit an entire city inside.
Ancient roots covered every wall while glowing symbols floated in the darkness above them.
At the center stood a giant circular platform carved from black stone.
And surrounding it—
Hundreds of broken chains.
Orion’s expression changed instantly.
“No…”
Nyra frowned.
“What is this place?”
Orion stared at the broken chains with horror.
“A prison.”
Silence.
Then slowly—
A massive shadow moved in the darkness beyond the chamber.
Everyone stepped back instinctively.
Heavy breathing echoed through the underground cavern.
Something enormous was hidden among the roots.
Watching them.
Waiting.
Liam’s claws extended immediately.
“Show yourself.”
For several seconds—
Nothing happened.
Then two enormous silver eyes opened within the darkness.
Ancient.
Cold.
Inhuman.
The creature slowly stepped forward.
Aretha’s breath caught in her throat.
It resembled a wolf.
But impossibly large.
Its body was made of black roots and shadows intertwined together while glowing silver markings covered its skin.
Chains still hung from parts of its body.
Broken.
Ancient.
Its eyes locked onto Aretha instantly.
Not with hatred.
Recognition.
Then the creature spoke.
And its voice shook the entire chamber.
“At last…”
Everyone stared in disbelief.
Because the creature was speaking their language.
The giant wolf lowered its massive head slightly toward Aretha.
“You carry his blood.”
- Writer
