Chapter 9: Heart of Shadows

The transformed Richard moved with a predatory grace, his focus solely on me. The love and warmth I knew so well were replaced with an empty coldness. The townspeople-turned-creatures formed a ring around us, their haunting whispers filling the air.

"Elain," the shadowy Richard rasped, his voice dripping with malice, "give me the pendant."

I instinctively clutched it, the warmth from the pendant serving as a stark contrast to the growing cold around us. "Richard, it's me. Please, fight it!"

He sneered, the transformation distorting his once-familiar features. "There is no Richard. Only darkness."

Selene, wielding a staff that glowed with a radiant light, stepped protectively between us. "The Heartstone's power is not for you, creature of the eclipse."

The shadowy beings hissed, recoiling from the staff's glow. But the transformed Richard remained undeterred, his focus unwavering.

A sharp cry from the side caught our attention. A group of children, seemingly unaffected by the transform