The fog hugged the marsh like a living thing, curling around the roots and reeds, thick enough to make Liora's lantern a pale halo in the darkness. Every step she took was uncertain; the soft squelch of mud underfoot seemed to echo like whispers in the cold air. She felt the Circle's pulse in her veins, a rhythmic thrum that set her heart racing.
Corren was at her side, spear raised, eyes scanning the murk. Behind them, Dren's patrol was struggling to maintain formation, torches swinging as the fog distorted their shapes. Soldiers whispered nervously, nerves fraying under the unseen pressure of the marsh.
"They're here," Liora whispered. Her gaze darted to the water, to the reeds, to the air above. The Shadows moved with unnatural grace, slipping silently between the mist like smoke. Their blackened fingers stretched and recoiled, leaving frost in their wake.
A sudden shriek tore through the night, and a Shade rose from the shallow water, eyes blazing shards of icy blue. Soldiers stumbled back, some tripping into the mud. Dren barked orders, but their weapons passed uselessly through the ghostly figure. Panic spread like wildfire.
"They're drawn to the bond!" Liora shouted, gripping Corren's arm. "We have to lead them back to the shrine!"
Corren hesitated. "And if they overwhelm us before we get there?"
Liora's voice was firm. "Then we die trying—but at least the village survives."
She sprinted forward, splashing through the mud and shallow water. The Shades shifted their focus toward her almost immediately, gliding silently through the fog. Behind them, soldiers cried out as the first touched them, leaving black frost that spread across armor and skin.
Corren fell into step beside her. "This way," he said, pointing toward the faint silhouette of the shrine in the distance. The broken pillars rose like jagged teeth through the mist, faint moonlight glinting on cracked stone.
The Shades followed, moving faster now, drawn by the Circle's bond pulsing through Liora. They multiplied, emerging from the reeds in shapes that shimmered and twisted, each more terrifying than the last. One leapt from a tree branch, ice erupting where it landed. Another hovered over the ruined footbridge, its eyes fixed on Liora with patient malice.
Liora's breath came in ragged gasps. She raised her hands instinctively, feeling the thrum of the Circle strengthen beneath her palms. "Maren, we need you!" she called, though the granary was far behind. The bond responded, a whispering tug in the marrow of her bones. Somewhere, in the depths of the shrine, the Beast stirred.
A deep, resonant growl carried across the fog, shaking the mist like thunder. The Shades faltered, recoiling as the Beast emerged from the shrine's shadow. Its antlers pierced the darkness, and its eyes—part human, part forest spirit—glimmered with intelligence and fury.
The soldiers froze in awe and terror. Dren barked, "Hold your ground!" but even he could not mask the tremor in his voice.
The Beast moved like liquid shadow, its claws raking through mud, scattering Shades. One struck the ground and froze mid-air, a shard of icy frost scattering in the torchlight. Another hissed and dissolved into the fog, leaving only the faint echo of its scream.
Liora felt the bond surge. She lifted her hands and spoke the Circle's phrase, the words flowing unbidden. The Shades screamed as the energy pulsed outward, tugging them toward the broken shrine.
But it was not over. From the depths of the marsh came a new, heavier presence. A massive Shade, older, larger, its form jagged and half-formed, moved like a tide against the night. Its eyes were voids, empty yet filled with hunger. Liora stumbled, nearly falling in the mud, and Corren caught her arm.
"It's the echo," he said grimly. "The one Maren warned us about."
The massive Shade advanced, indifferent to the Beast or the soldiers. It seemed to test the bond itself, rippling the air as it approached. The Circle's pulse faltered under its presence, and Liora felt her knees weaken.
"Corren!" she shouted. "Keep it away from the village!"
Corren planted his spear, bracing against the Shade. "I'll hold it as long as I can. Lead the others!"
Liora ran toward the shrine, the fog thickening, obscuring her path. The massive Shade moved faster than she expected, frost forming in its wake. The air smelled of cold iron and rot. As she approached the shrine, the Beast turned to face the entity. Its roar carried across the marsh, a low vibration that resonated through stone and bone alike.
The massive Shade halted. A tense silence fell over the marsh, broken only by the hiss of fog curling over reeds. Liora's heart pounded. She knew that this was not a creature that could be defeated by steel alone.
The Beast lowered its head, antlers scraping against the broken stone of the shrine. Liora stepped forward and pressed her hand to the altar, feeling the Circle's energy thrumming violently beneath her fingers. She spoke the binding words, voice shaking but firm.
"By the Circle, by the bond, by blood and sacrifice, I call you back!"
The Shades shrieked and recoiled. The massive Shade thrashed, black frost swirling in violent gusts, but the Beast leapt forward, claws slashing through the fog. The bond flared outward, pulsing through the marsh, through the shattered altar, through the trembling hands of Liora.
For a heartbeat, everything seemed to hang suspended — the fog, the shadows, the very heartbeat of the marsh itself. Then, as if unwilling to be contained, the massive Shade recoiled, vanishing into the mist with a scream that shook Liora to her core.
The smaller Shades fled with it, dissolving like smoke in the rising dawn. The marsh grew still. The frost receded. The Beast stood at the shrine's edge, heaving, antlers low, eyes flickering between human and forest spirit. Liora collapsed to her knees, exhausted, trembling, but alive.
Corren appeared at her side, bloodied but unbroken. "Did… did it work?" he asked, voice low.
Liora looked toward the Beast, which now lowered itself to all fours, watching the marsh as though guarding an invisible threshold. "For now," she said. "The bond held. But the echoes will return. And next time…"
She did not finish the sentence. She didn't need to.
The sun broke through the fog, pale and weak, casting light on the broken shrine, the scarred marsh, and the silent watchers in the reeds. The battle was over, but the war between the Circle and what lay beneath the marsh had only just begun.