Shadows of Hollow Hill

e ghostly veils. At its heart, the mansion that would one day become synonymous with terror was but a skeletal frame of s

tion, his piercing gray eyes surveying the workers below. They moved like ants, hauling stone and wood, their faces gaunt with exhaustion. To them

his will unyielding. But to Cornelius, the mansion was more than a home. It was his monument-a testament to his defiance of the mediocrity that plagued his youth. Born the second son of an unremarkable merchant, he had always been overshadowed by his elder brother, a favored heir who

n long shadows. The workers had left hours ago, and all that remained were the ghosts of the forest's whispers, the sound of his bo

e mansion itself-a reflection of Cornelius's ever-present hunger for more. His lantern cast a weak, flickering light, but it barely illuminated th

one was cold, yet the moment he placed his hand upon it, a shiver crawled up his spine, as if something beneath the earth had recognized him. The discovery

ce more unsettling than comforting. She claimed to have descended from a long line of seers, though whispers in nearby villages suggested

hum as she spoke, "Are you certain this will work, C

t here. I won't stop now." His words dripped with cold determination, his grip tightening around the lantern

n her expression, something hidden beneath her carefully veiled facade. "Power al

inder of every slight, every moment he had been dismissed as lesser. His brother had always been the favored son, the one who inherited their fathe

he declared, his voic

t. The symbols on the altar began to glow with an otherworldly light, casting eerie shadows that danced across the unfinished

d open with a thunderous roar, revealing a chasm of utter darkness. F

clouded in the sudden chill, but he did not flinch. His eyes were locked on the opening i

s, with eyes that burned like twin embers in a void. When it spoke, its voice wa

e thick, like the rumbling of distant thunder,

was steady as he responded, "I seek power. Wealth. Infl

ze piercing through him. "Such desires are...

voice steady despite the cold

elius's body. "Your bloodline. From this night forward, the Blackwood name will be bound to me. Every descendant shal

ick with malice, and for the first time, doubt gnawed at his resolve. The essence of t

beast, and it devoured h

mber, a sound that seemed to rattle the very

t withdrew, a fragment of its essence-a pulsing, writhing shard of darkness-remained within him. Cornelius gasped, his vision sw

e. "You have made your pact, Mr. Blackwood. Pray that you

vincible. The mansion above would become the crown jewel of his legacy, a symbol of his newfo

, as the Blackwood family flourished, the mansion grew notorious for its tragedies: disappearances, madness, and deat