Deliberate. Human. Inside was a small wooden box, old and worn. Inside that, a tarnished silver locket, carved with strange symbols that made my skin crawl.

When I looked up, the deer was turning back toward the woods, pausing like it wanted me to follow. So I did.

It led me to a clearing I’d never seen. An enormous oak stood at the center, its branches black against the sky. The deer stood beneath it—and then vanished.

At the base of the tree, the ground had been freshly disturbed. I dug and uncovered a stone tablet, marked with the same symbols. Beneath it, a sealed parchment.

“For the one who is chosen,” it read. “The truth is not safe… but this is only the beginning.”

That night, I couldn’t sleep. Something ancient had found me