Run: 2026-02-19-01KHTXVDWGP7GJH3X336TJRRD7

Aurora Carter pushed through the thick undergrowth of Richmond Park, the beam of her torch cutting through the darkness. The crescent moon offered little illumination, casting twisted shadows across the path. She clutched the Heartstone Pendant beneath her jacket, feeling its faint warmth against her palm. The pendant had been pulsing more insistently all day, leading her here to the Fae Grove. The air grew heavy as she approached the ancient oak standing stones that marked the boundary. Rory paused, her breath fogging in the chill night air. Something felt wrong. The usual chorus of nocturnal creatures had fallen silent, leaving only the crunch of gravel under her boots. She stepped between the standing stones, and the atmosphere shifted. The temperature dropped several degrees. The wildflowers that should have been closed at night instead stood open, their petals shimmering with an unnatural sheen in the torchlight. "This is definitely the place," she whispered to herself, the sound swallowed by the oppressive quiet. The Heartstone Pendant grew warmer against her skin. Its faint crimson glow intensified, casting red shadows across her knuckles. She pulled it out, holding it like a compass. The gemstone pointed deeper into the grove. Rory ventured further into the clearing, torch beam sweeping across the surreal landscape. Time moved differently in the Fae Grove, and she had no intention of staying long. An hour here could mean minutes or days outside. She needed to find what had drawn the pendant and leave. A twig snapped somewhere to her left. She froze, extinguishing her torch. Darkness enveloped her, save for the pendant's glow. She held her breath, listening. Nothing. Just the pounding of her own heart. Her fingers instinctively touched the small crescent-shaped scar on her left wrist, a childhood habit that surfaced in moments of stress. "Hello?" she called into the darkness. "Is someone there?" Only silence answered. She clicked the torch back on, sweeping the beam across the tree line. The shadows seemed deeper than before, twisting into shapes that vanished when she focused on them. The pendant's warmth spread up her arm, a tingling sensation that raised the hairs on her neck. She followed its pull toward the center of the grove, where an ancient oak tree stood alone among the wildflowers. As she approached, something flickered at the edge of her vision. Rory spun around, torch beam slicing through the darkness. Nothing. Just flowers and trees. "You're imagining things," she muttered, though she didn't believe it. The pendant grew hot, almost uncomfortable. Its crimson glow illuminated her face in eerie red light. She reached the ancient oak and noticed something she hadn't seen before—a symbol carved into its bark, matching the pattern on the pendant. Rory reached out to touch it, but stopped. A low hum vibrated through the air, resonating in her bones. The wildflowers began to sway, though no wind blew. "Show yourself," she said, her voice steady despite the quickening of her pulse. The hum grew louder, resolving into a melody that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. It was beautiful and terrible, a sound that made her want to weep and scream simultaneously. The pendant burned against her skin now, its glow bright enough to light the entire clearing. From the corner of her eye, movement. Rory turned to see a figure standing at the edge of the grove, just beyond the standing stones. Human-shaped but wrong, its limbs too long, its face featureless in the torchlight. "What do you want?" she called, backing away toward the oak. The figure tilted its head, then took a step forward. As it crossed the boundary into the grove, its form shifted, resolving into something more solid. Still wrong, but recognizably human now. A man—or what appeared to be a man—with eyes that reflected no light. The pendant's heat intensified, becoming painful. Rory clutched it in her fist, the chain biting into her fingers. The melody grew louder, seeming to emanate from the figure itself. "You shouldn't have come here," the figure said, its voice layered with hundreds of others speaking at once. "I had no choice," Rory replied, her voice shaking despite her efforts to remain calm. "The pendant brought me." The figure smiled, revealing teeth that were too sharp, too numerous. "It always does." Another figure emerged from the darkness beyond the stones. Then another. Soon, the entire perimeter was lined with them, each as wrong as the first. Rory pressed her back against the ancient oak, scanning the clearing for an escape route. The pendant blazed in her hand, its crimson light casting long, dancing shadows. The wildflowers at her feet began to wither and turn black. The figures advanced slowly, their movements synchronized, their voices merging into that terrible, beautiful melody. The air grew thick with the scent of ozone and something else—something ancient and wrong. Rory's eyes darted around the clearing, looking for anything that might help. The symbol on the oak tree glowed faintly, pulsing in time with the pendant. An idea formed in her mind, desperate and likely foolish, but better than standing still. She pressed the pendant against the symbol on the oak. The effect was immediate and violent. A shockwave of crimson energy exploded outward, throwing the figures back. The melody turned into a collective shriek of rage and pain. Rory didn't wait to see more. She turned and ran, the pendant still clutched in her hand, its light guiding her through the darkness. The standing stones seemed farther away than before, the path twisting and turning as if the grove itself worked against her. Time stretched and compressed around her, minutes feeling like hours then seconds again. Behind her, the figures recovered, their movements now hurried, their voices raised in a chorus of anger. The ground shook with their advance. The wildflowers crumbled to dust beneath their feet. Rory pushed herself faster, lungs burning, legs aching. The pendant grew hotter with each step, its light flickering as if struggling against some unseen force. The standing stones receded into the distance, then suddenly rushed closer as the grove's strange time distortion shifted. She burst through the standing stones, stumbling and falling onto the grass beyond. The sounds of pursuit ceased immediately. The night air of Richmond Park felt cool and normal compared to the grove's oppressive atmosphere. Rory pushed herself up and turned to look back. The Fae Grove appeared unchanged—just a clearing surrounded by ancient oaks, with no sign of the figures that had pursued her. The pendant in her hand had cooled, its crimson glow faded to a faint shimmer. But as she stared, a figure emerged from between the standing stones. Not one of the faceless entities from before, but a woman with eyes like starlight and hair made of shadows. She extended a hand toward Rory, palm upward. "The game has begun," the woman said, her voice carrying clearly across the distance. Before Rory could respond, the woman vanished, leaving nothing but a scattering of luminescent dust that caught the moonlight before dissolving into nothing. Rory looked down at the pendant in her hand. Its faint glow pulsed once, warmth spreading through her fingers. She closed her fist around it, the silver chain cool against her skin. The moon climbed higher in the sky, indifferent to what had just transpired in the hidden grove.