The next morning, another villager was gone.
This time it was Mara, Elias's wife.
Her bed was empty. The door still locked.
Only one thing remained behind.
A single black feather.
Elias felt the world collapse around him.
The villagers stared at him with fear now, not sympathy.
"You brought this upon us," one man shouted.
"You dug up the curse!" another cried.
Even Elias began to wonder if they were right.
That night he swore something to himself.
"I will end this… even if it kills me."