Chương 8: CHAPTER 8: SHADOWS OF LEGACY

 * The quiet that fills the alchemical chamber is thick, after the malevolent struggle to rid Damian of the tenebris malum. Nerrisa knelt down beside him, holding her breath as she looks at his face for any sign of recognition. As soon as his eyes open, they're clouded and distant, as if he's just returned from a place far beyond the chambers wall." Damian, Damian, Damian!!!!, She cried out his name multiple time and after a long agonizing pause, Damian's eye focused on her, looking onto her with a faint but genuine smile, "are you alright?, Nerrisa asked him, Damian was too tired and exhausted to speak, so he nods slowly, silently confirming that the ritual has worked. As Nerrisa helps Damian to his feet they both sense that something has fundamentally shifted. As Nerrisa tends to him, he feels a strange duality within himself, as if the remnants of his grandfather's spirit are still lingering within him. This feeling made Damian confused questioning whether the ritual fully succeeded. There's an eerie silence in the mansion increasing the thoughts and questions in Damian's mind about the uncertainty about what has changed or is yet to come. With Nerrisa's help Damian regains his strength in no time, he decides to take a walk around the mansion but something's became strange as he moved around the mansion. He starts to notice subtle changes with in the mansion itself, shadows moved around without hiding their presence, The once-dormant mansion seems to pulse with life; walls creak, and a faint whisper travels through the corridors as if sensing the absence of the Tenebris Malum. Portraits of his ancestors that line the hallway appear different, their eyes now gazing at Damian with an eerie, watchful intensity, the statues and structures in the mansion feels almost alive, as if shifting in reaction to Damian's action. The once-familiar mansion now feels foreign and even more ominous, filled with a new kind of energy, the curse may be lifted, but the remnants of his family's alchemical legacy still cling to every shadow. Damian rushed and make his way to Nerrisa, she was gathering herbs for protection charms, "Nerrisa something seems off, I think the ritual was a failure, he said. The ritual has drained him but Damian now feels something pulling him deeper into the mansion, like there jd more layers of secret he has only just begun to uncover. Damian took Nerrisa by the hand , and as they walk, Nerrisa feels the urge to tell Damian all that he needs to know. "damian stop!, There is something I need to tell you, she said, breaking the silence, revealing a piece of truth that she had withheld from him. "Damian," she begins cautiously, "this mansion, it was more than just a place for alchemical research. Your grandfather... he believed it was a bridge to the other side a sanctum that held the gateway between the realms of life and death." the alchemical chamber was what she now referred to as a sanctum, Damian absorbs her words, feeling the weight of his family's obsession settle over him. He asks her what this means for them now, especially with the Tenebris Malum expelled. Nerrisa explains that without the entity, the mansion has lost a source of dark energy that once empowered its mysterious passages and hidden rooms. However, this has also awakened another set of forces bound to the house... those his ancestors left behind to guard their knowledge and protect their secrets. She referred to these forces as the ancestral guardians, as Nerrisa speaks, a sudden chill fills the mansion, and the walls seem to stretch, making the room feel infinitely large. Damian sees faint, ghostly figures manifesting near the portraits of his ancestors shades of those who practiced alchemy before him. These spectral guardians appear neither hostile nor welcoming; rather, they watch him with a solemn, almost challenging gaze.