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"For belief," she whispered. With deliberate care, she placed each gemstone around Ben's photo.
First, she set a sapphire next to the top-left corner, followed by an emerald on the opposite side. She laid an amethyst and a ruby at the bottom corners, forming a mystical square. Finally, she placed a crystal-clear quartz right above the photo, like a guardian sentinel.
"As above, so below," she intoned softly, her eyes meeting mine as she stepped back, rejoining the circle.
I breathed in deeply. My voice shifted into an arcane tongue I had never spoken yet understood as if it were etched into my soul. Holly and Lucy's voices joined mine, creating a harmonious call and response.
Suddenly, the air in the circle turned ice-cold. My heart skipped a beat as the candles flickered wildly. Then, rising from the center of the circle, a formless shadow started to materialize. It wasn't a sudden appearance; it slowly clawed its way into our reality, oozing malevolence.
The shadow thickened, its outline twisting into unsettling shapes—faces contorted in agony, hands reaching out as if begging for release. It was like watching every nightmare I'd ever had coalesce into one monstrous form. And it expanded, its tendrils of darkness snaking outward, trying to breach the candle-lit boundaries of our sacred space.
Then it spoke—or rather, whispered—in a voice that sounded like shattered glass grinding against the floor. "Logan, why even try? You'll always be alone," it hissed, its words worming their way into my thoughts and exploiting my deepest fears.
"You're reaching for something that can never be yours," it continued. "What makes you think you deserve love?"
The more it spoke, the weaker I felt, each word grinding against my resolve. I started spiraling, drowning in a sea of insecurities I'd spent years trying to defeat.
This thing, whatever it was, knew precisely how to terrorize me. The dark spirit continued to grow. Our chanting escalated, voices desperate to fight back.
Ben emerged from the periphery of the circle, still translucent but now radiating a nearly blinding light that dimmed the malevolence of the shadow. “You have no place here,” he declared, his voice a commanding force that emanated from the very core of his being.
I had never heard anything so authoritative, so laden with ancient power.
The shadow snarled, quivering like it was trying to resist, but it faltered.
“Did you hear me?” Ben roared, extending his hand. Brilliant arcs of light shot from his fingertips, forming intricate symbols in the air—ancient runes that danced in the sacred circle. “I said you have no place here!”
With a wave of his hand, the runes rocketed toward the dark spirit, each one embedding itself into the shadow's form like a searing brand. The spirit shrieked, a sound like the wailing of a thousand souls.
Then, with a final flick of Ben's wrist, the spirit imploded, reduced to a wisp of smoke that drifted into the night sky. Ben lowered his head and retreated to his post, a sentinel guarding against any other disruptions.
Wasting no time, we picked up where we'd left off. The chant reached a crescendo, each syllable pounding in my chest.
And then it happened.
The tips of Ben's fingers flickered into view first. They wavered slightly as if deciding whether to continue with the process.
Slowly, the contours of his hand followed—each line and knuckle forming with painstaking detail. I glanced at Holly and Lucy, and they appeared absolutely spellbound. Holly's eyes were so wide, I thought they might pop out of her skull, her lips parted in a soundless “wow.” She clutched at her chest as if physically holding her heart in place.
Lucy was equally stunned, her mouth hanging open. She reached out instinctively, her fingers hovering an inch away from the sacred circle as if wanting to touch the miracle materializing before us but too reverent to make contact.
As Ben's wrists and then arms solidified, muscles and sinew coming together like the formation of a living sculpture, Lucy finally closed her mouth, replacing it with a look of pure wonder. She exchanged a quick glance with Holly—no words needed to be spoken. They both knew they were witnessing something inexplicable, something divine.
By the time his torso appeared—clothed in a simple white t-shirt stretched tight across his chest—I was breathless. And his legs, solid and sure, stitched themselves into reality, right down to a pair of worn jeans that looked as lived-in as any I'd seen.
But it was his face—oh, his face—that stopped my heart momentarily. First, the outline of his jaw came into focus, then the fullness of his lips, and finally, his eyes—those eyes that I'd lost myself in so many times. They blinked, adjusting to the earthly light, and locked onto mine.
A smile began to form on Ben's lips, stretching across his face and lighting up his entire being. It was like watching the dawn break, a crescendo of light and emotion that spread warmth through every fiber of my being.
His feet were the last to appear like he was stepping forward from the astral plane into our world. With that final piece in place, the air around him shimmered for a moment. The universe held its breath. And then, suddenly, he was fully, completely there. The last traces of translucency evaporated.
He took a step forward, the gravel on the rooftop crunching beneath his feet. Real feet. Real shoes. Real sound. It was the sweetest noise I'd ever heard.
"Logan!" Ben cried out. His voice was clear and strong, devoid of any ghostly quality—it was the voice of a man, not a specter.
I didn't have to bridge the distance; he did. He crossed the boundary of the circle as if it were the most natural thing in the world, pulling me into a massive hug that felt like home. The feel of Ben—warm, genuine, solid against me—made me weak in the knees.
Holly and Lucy broke the spell, rushing into our embrace with an exuberant explosion of pure joy. "Oh my God, you did it!" Holly screamed, her voice cracking with emotion.
