Sins of the Ancestorz

Eliza sat by the fireplace in the study, her thoughts racing. Daniel had explained what he could, but the answers only left her with more questions. The curse, the Watcher, the locked room—it all felt like a nightmare she couldn't wake up from.

Daniel leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. "The Watcher is bound to this house, but it can reach beyond it. The longer you stay here, the stronger it gets."

"Then why not just leave?" Eliza asked, her voice sharp with desperation.

"You can't run from it," he said grimly. "It'll follow you, and it'll use your fear against you. The only way to break the curse is to face it."

She shivered, the weight of his words settling heavily on her shoulders. "And how do I do that?"

Daniel hesitated. "There's a ritual. It's dangerous, and it requires something most people aren't willing to give."

"What?"

"Your trust," he said, his gaze steady. "And your willingness to confront the darkest parts of yourself."

Eliza scoffed, shaking her head. "This is insane. I don't even know if I can trust you."

"I don't blame you for feeling that way," Daniel said. "But you need to make a choice. Either you fight this thing, or you let it destroy you."

The fire crackled, filling the silence between them. Eliza stared into the flames, her mind racing. She thought of the journal, the whispers, the locked room, and the way the Watcher's presence had seeped into every corner of her life.

"I'll do it," she said finally, her voice steady despite the fear gnawing at her. "I'll fight it."

Daniel nodded, his expression softening. "Then we start tomorrow. But tonight, you need to rest."

Eliza wasn't sure rest was possible, but she agreed. She climbed the stairs to her bedroom, her body heavy with exhaustion. As she settled into bed, she tried to push the day's events from her mind.

But sleep didn't come easily. The whispers returned, louder than before, and with them came visions—flashes of faces she didn't recognize, screams of pain, and blood pooling on the floor of the locked room.

She woke with a start, her heart racing. The room was silent, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something had been watching her.

And somewhere, in the distance, the whispers began again.

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