As we continued to try and unlock the door, the air around us began to distort and ripple. The door seemed to be pulling us in, drawing us closer with an otherworldly force.
Before we could react, we were sucked in, the door slamming shut behind us. We found ourselves in a surreal room, the walls and floor made of a strange, glowing material.
The room was filled with a faint, pulsating hum, and the air was thick with an eerie, unnatural silence. We looked around, trying to get our bearings.
And then, we saw it. A mechanized coffin, adorned with intricate carvings and symbols of dark magic. Inside the coffin lay the body of a man, his eyes closed, his face pale and gaunt.
Lunaria's voice was barely above a whisper. "Who is this?" she asked.
I shook my head. "I don't know," I said. "But I think this is the source of the forbidden magic."
Thane's eyes narrowed. "Let's be careful," he said. "We don't know what kind of power this thing has."
Zarek's hand was on the hilt of his sword. "I'll keep watch," he said.
I nodded, my eyes fixed on the coffin. I reached out, my hand hesitating for a moment before touching the lid.
As soon as I made contact, the coffin began to glow, the symbols etched into its surface pulsing with energy. The air around us seemed to charged with electricity.
And then, a vision burst into my mind. A fragment of memory, torn from the mind of the man in the coffin.
I saw a flash of a great, sprawling city, its towers and spires reaching for the sky. I saw a figure, a man with a crown on his head, standing atop a great, stone dais.
The man's eyes locked onto mine, and I felt a jolt of recognition. This was the previous ruler of the mountain, the one who had wielded the forbidden magic.
The vision faded, leaving me gasping for breath. I looked around, seeing the concern etched on the faces of my friends.
"What did you see?" Lunaria asked, her voice soft with concern.
I took a deep breath, trying to process what I had just seen. "I saw the previous ruler of the mountain," I said. "I think he's the one who created the forbidden magic."
Thane's eyes narrowed. "What else did you see?" he asked.
I hesitated, unsure of how to reveal what I had seen. "I saw a city," I said. "A great, sprawling city. And I saw the ruler, standing atop a great, stone dais."
Zarek's face was grim. "We need to be careful," he said. "We don't know what kind of power this thing has."
I steeled myself and reached out to touch the coffin again, hoping to unlock more memories and gain a deeper understanding of the forbidden magic. As soon as I made contact, the coffin began to glow once more, and the symbols etched into its surface pulsed with energy.
The air around us seemed to grow colder, and I could feel a malevolent presence emanating from the coffin. I gritted my teeth and focused on unlocking the memories, but as the visions began to flood my mind, I realized that I was not prepared for what I was about to see.
The man's memories were a jumbled mix of ancient rituals, dark magic, and unspeakable horrors. I saw him standing atop a great, stone dais, surrounded by a circle of robed figures. They were chanting and swaying, their eyes closed in ecstasy, as the man raised his hands to the sky and unleashed a blast of dark energy.
I saw the city, sprawling and magnificent, but also twisted and corrupted. The buildings seemed to writhe and twist, like living serpents, and the streets were filled with strange, otherworldly creatures.
But it was the man's final memory that was the most terrifying. I saw him lying on a cold, stone slab, his body twisted and contorted. His eyes were open, staring up at the ceiling, and his skin was deathly pale.
As I watched, his body began to change. His skin turned gray and decaying, his eyes sunken and empty. His mouth opened, revealing jagged, yellowed teeth, and a voice that was not his own spoke in a language that was not of this world.
I stumbled backward, horrified by what I had seen. The others were staring at me, concern etched on their faces.
"What did you see?" Lunaria asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
I shook my head, trying to clear the memories from my mind. "I saw the man's memories," I said. "I saw the city, and the rituals, and...and the horrors."
Thane's face was grim. "We need to get out of here," he said. "Now."
But as we turned to leave, we saw that the room had changed. The walls were now lined with ancient scrolls, and the floor was covered in magical artifacts. The air was thick with the scent of old parchment and dust.
Zarek's eyes widened as he scanned the room. "This is incredible," he said. "These artifacts are ancient, some of them dating back thousands of years."
Lunaria's eyes were shining with excitement. "We could learn so much from these scrolls and artifacts," she said.
But I was hesitant. I knew that the man's memories were still locked in my mind, waiting to be unleashed. And I knew that the artifacts and scrolls in this room were not just simple relics of the past, but were instead keys to unlocking the secrets of the forbidden magic.