Shadows Of Blackridge Part 4

Chapter 4: The Ritual

Emily and Sarah's hearts were pounding after they left the cave. The few hours they spent in Shadow Hill Caves were like a nightmare to them. Seeing Alex's name engraved on the stone altar and the presence of the Shadows made it clear that they were not investigating a simple case. This was connected to some ancient, dangerous ritual.

Emily tried to calm herself down after returning to the hotel room. She placed Alex's notebook and the ritual book she found in the cave on the table. Sarah was sitting in the corner of the room, fear clearly visible in her eyes.

"Emily, we should leave this all behind," Sarah said softly.

Emily looked at her. "If we stop now, what will happen to Alex? He is caught up in all this. We can't just leave him like this."

Sarah took a deep breath. "But those Shadows… they were real. I can still see their shadows."

Emily explained to her, “We have to understand this mystery. Alex’s notebook and this book can give us the answer.”

Emily began to read the pages of the ritual book carefully. It had some instructions written along with old symbols and spells. At the end of the book, there was a page that read:

**“The Shadows demand a life to awaken. Only then shall the power be revealed.”**

Emily’s mind started racing as she read this. She pulled out the page from Alex’s notebook where she had copied the symbols from the cave. That symbol and the symbols shown in the book were the same.

“Shadows awaken only through sacrifice,” Emily said in a serious tone.

Sarah asked nervously, “Does this mean that Alex…?”

Emily stopped her. “We can’t jump to that conclusion. But it’s clear that Alex was brought here for some ritual.”


That night, Emily had a strange dream. She was standing inside the Shadow Hill Caves. It was dark, and suddenly the Shadows started hovering around her. The voices of the Shadows echoed in her ears:
**“You cannot save him. Leave, or you will join him.”**

Emily opened her eyes in fear. Her whole body was drenched in sweat. She understood that the Shadows had warned her. But she was determined to do everything possible to save Alex.

The next morning, Emily shared her plan with Sarah.

“We have to go to the cave again, but this time with full preparation. We have to do something to defend ourselves against the Shadows,” she said.

Sarah reluctantly agreed. The two of them went to meet the town priest, who told them that they would need an ancient amulet to deal with the Shadows.

“It can weaken the power of the Shadows,” the priest said. She gave Emily and Sarah a small amulet, which had the effect of ancient mantras.

Emily and Sarah reached Shadow Hill Caves for the third time. This time the cave looked even more frightening. As soon as they went inside, they realized that the Shadows were following their every step.

As soon as they reached inside the cave, they went to the same room where there was a stone altar. This time a strange light was shining there. Shadows were hovering around the altar. Alex was lying unconscious among them.

“Alex!” Emily screamed. But the Shadows drowned her voice.

Emily took out the amulet she was carrying and extended it towards the Shadows. The Shadows started screaming. It seemed as if the power of the amulet was weakening them.



Sarah quickly reached Alex and tried to revive him. “Alex, wake up! We are taking you out of here.”

As they picked up Alex and tried to get out of the cave, the Shadows surrounded their path. The temperature inside the cave began to drop rapidly, and darkness engulfed everything.

The Shadows' voices echoed:
**“You cannot take him. The ritual is incomplete.”**

Emily looked at the Shadows and screamed, “We are not leaving him with you!”

The Shadows' shadows began to come even closer. Then Emily took out the book they had found in the cave. She began to read aloud a spell written in it. The Shadows suddenly stopped.

The Shadows said, **“If you break the ritual, the price will be yours to pay.”**

It did not take long for Emily to understand that the Shadows could give them a way out of the cave, but she would have to pay the price for it. She saw the shadows coming towards her and decided that she was willing to do anything to save Alex and Sarah.

The shadows opened the way, and Emily, Sarah, and Alex managed to get out of the cave. But as soon as they came out, Emily felt like she was losing energy. The shadows' warnings were still ringing in her ears.

Alex slowly regained consciousness and said, "They chose me to be the sacrifice. But you saved me."

Emily gave a slight smile. "It's not over. The shadows warned me. We have to put an end to all this."

Sarah supported Emily and said, "We will find a solution to this mystery together."