THE LAST DREAMER

Ethan's breath came in shallow gasps as he and Maya approached the pedestal, the stone looming like a dark sentinel at the heart of the room. The energy in the air felt heavier, suffocating—every step they took seemed to weigh them down further, as though the mansion itself was pushing back against them.

Behind them, Henry's words echoed in their minds: Destroy the stone. Only then will the curse lift. But how? The stone pulsed with an almost sentient rhythm, its black surface gleaming as if mocking them, daring them to try.

Ethan reached out, his hand trembling, barely able to touch the cold, smooth surface. The stone hummed with a low, sinister growl, vibrating beneath his fingers. A ripple of energy surged through him, almost pulling him in, threatening to swallow him whole. He recoiled, his stomach lurching with dread.

Maya stepped beside him, her eyes wide with terror and determination. "It's not just a rock, Ethan. It's alive." Her voice shook, but there was no fear in her gaze now—only resolve. "We have to end this. For Henry, for everyone who's been taken."

The rift above them howled, the wind picking up with a terrible force, but they didn't flinch. This wasn't just about survival anymore—it was about breaking the cycle. About freeing everyone who had been lost to the mansion and the curse. 

Ethan reached for Maya's hand, squeezing it tightly. "We're not giving up. We're doing this, together."

The energy in the room flickered, and the sound of faint whispers filled the air—like voices trapped in the walls, pleading for release. Ethan's heart clenched, but he forced himself to stay focused. He had to destroy the stone. It was their only chance to break free.

Suddenly, the shadows in the room shifted again, but this time, it wasn't just the shape of the house twisting—it was him. Jake's broken form, still lingering in the darkness, now fully materialized in front of them. His hollow eyes glowed with the dark energy from the rift, a twisted reflection of the person he had once been.

"Ethan…" Jake's voice was hoarse, the remnants of his humanity barely recognizable. "You don't know what you're dealing with. You can't destroy it. You can't escape."

Ethan's pulse quickened, the grief of seeing his friend reduced to a shell of himself threatening to overtake him. He gritted his teeth and stepped closer to the pedestal, his voice raw with emotion. "I don't care what you've become. We're ending this. Now."

Jake's lips curled into a grotesque smile. "You think it's that easy? This place… it's already taken too much from you. You're all part of it now. Just like I am."

"No." Maya's voice was steady, though her hands trembled. "We're not like you. We're not going to let this place destroy us."

The creature—Jake—moved closer, his form shifting unnaturally. The ground beneath them cracked open with a deafening sound, a deep rumble that seemed to shake the very foundation of the mansion. The rift above them roared to life, and the stone began to glow with a blinding light.

They didn't have much time.

"Maya, do you have the shard?" Ethan asked, his voice frantic.

She nodded, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small, jagged piece of crystal—a shard from the stone they had found earlier in the mansion. The crystal hummed with a dark energy, but its glow was different, faintly shimmering with the possibility of light.

"This is the key," Maya said, her voice tight with tension. "We have to place it into the stone. It's the only way."

But before they could move, Jake lunged. His broken body was faster than they could react. Maya screamed as she was knocked back, crashing to the ground with a sickening thud.

"Maya!" Ethan yelled, reaching out, but the creature had already pinned her down, its cold, dead hands wrapped around her throat.

The stone's hum grew louder, more erratic, like it was feeding off their fear. The rift twisted, the edges of the room warping, as if reality itself was being torn apart.

"You can't stop it," Jake growled, his voice a distorted mockery of the friend Ethan had once known. "You can't win."

Ethan's heart raced as he struggled to think. He couldn't lose her—not now, not after everything they'd been through. "Maya!" he shouted again, his voice cracking.

With everything in him, Ethan shoved forward, tackling the creature that had once been his best friend. The impact sent them both sprawling across the ground, but Jake was strong—unnaturally so. Ethan felt the cold weight of despair settle in his chest as Jake grabbed his wrist, pulling him down.

Maya's voice broke through the chaos. "Ethan… the shard! Use the shard!"

Ethan's hand shot to the shard in his pocket, the jagged crystal pressing against his palm. He twisted it in his fingers, feeling the coldness seep through him as he raised it above his head.

With all the strength he could muster, he plunged the shard into the black stone. A violent shockwave of energy shot out from the stone, crashing through the room, throwing Ethan and Maya backwards. The walls of the mansion cracked, pieces of the ceiling falling as the air thickened, the rift screeching louder than ever before.

Jake let out an agonizing scream as the energy surged around him, his body convulsing as the dark force that had consumed him tried to resist the destruction of the stone.

But it was too late.

With a final, deafening crack, the stone shattered, sending a wave of light and darkness cascading through the room, and the world itself seemed to shudder. The rift above them exploded in a violent burst of energy, and for a moment, everything went silent.

Ethan blinked, his head spinning, his body aching. His vision blurred as he looked around, seeing Maya lying beside him, breathless but alive. The air was still, heavy with the lingering remnants of the dark energy that had consumed them.

Jake's twisted form was gone. The mansion groaned, the weight of the curse beginning to lift as the foundation of the place began to crumble.

"It's over…" Maya whispered, sitting up, her hand reaching out to Ethan. Her voice was soft, but the relief in it was unmistakable. "We did it."

Ethan looked at her, the tears that had threatened to spill finally breaking free. His body felt numb, his mind struggling to process the horror they had just endured. But one thing was certain: they had survived. They had destroyed the heart of the curse, the source of the darkness that had bound them all.

The mansion around them began to collapse, the walls cracking and shifting. The floor buckled beneath them, and the rift above them twisted into nothingness, leaving only silence in its wake.

Ethan took Maya's hand, pulling her to her feet. The escape was clear now. They just had to survive the aftermath. As the mansion crumbled around them, they ran—together—out into the unknown world beyond the shadows.

But even as they made their way toward freedom, Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that their fight wasn't truly over. The darkness might be gone, but its echoes would linger in their memories, haunting them forever.

The curse might have been broken, but the scars would remain.