The air shimmered with heat and tension. On one side, Zara stood with her fists clenched, the shadows around her flaring like living tendrils. Behind her, Eira gathered frost along her arms, preparing to counter any incoming fire.
On the other side, Commander Vael raised a hand—and his troops opened fire.
Zara moved like a blade through smoke.
Bullets vanished into her cloak of darkness. She twisted, rolled, and flung a spear of solid shadow into the nearest soldier's weapon, disarming him instantly. Eira raised a wall of ice that flashed into place just as another volley struck, ricocheting harmlessly into the burning rubble.
The Ashborn stood motionless in the center of it all, chains still smoldering. His gaze tracked Zara, but his flames dimmed, as though waiting to see what she would do next.
Vael stalked forward, swinging a curved Aether blade. "You don't belong here, Kane."
"I belong everywhere the Shards do," she snarled, clashing against him. The impact sent a shockwave through the broken temple floor. Sparks flew.
"You're too late," he growled, driving her back. "The Order has already found the next three locations."
Zara gritted her teeth and shoved him away with a blast of shadow. "Then I guess I'll take this one while you run."
The Ashborn watched the exchange—his molten eyes shifting between Zara and Vael. He looked… conflicted.
Zara took a step toward him. "You've been trapped here too long. But you don't have to be their weapon."
The Ashborn hissed, the chains around him tightening. "I was made to burn. I remember nothing but fire."
She extended a hand. "Then let me give you something else. A choice."
Vael lunged forward—but this time Eira was ready. A spear of ice pinned him to the wall by the shoulder, and he roared in fury.
"Now, Zara!" Eira shouted.
Zara reached for the Shard.
The moment her fingers brushed it, fire exploded through her body—but not in pain. It was a memory. A scream. The life of the man who had once borne the Ashborn Shard—a protector, a father, consumed by the flames when he tried to resist the Order. His soul still lingered inside the artifact.
Zara's voice cracked. "You were never meant to be a weapon…"
The fire surged one last time—then vanished.
The Shard stopped spinning.
And gently, like a falling feather, it drifted into her chest and vanished inside her.
Zara staggered, catching herself. Shadows and flame curled together across her skin, glowing with molten etchings. The Shard didn't fight her. It had chosen her.
The Ashborn stood in stunned silence. His chains disintegrated. The fire that once consumed him died away, revealing a gaunt, scarred man beneath the embers.
He fell to his knees. "It's… gone."
Zara approached and knelt beside him. "No. You're free."
He looked up at her with hollow eyes. "Then let me help you free the others."
Behind them, Vael snarled and activated a failsafe beacon—but Eira was faster. With a flash of frost, she shattered the beacon and froze his other arm to the wall.
"You're not going anywhere."
---
Location: Silver City – Nightbound HQ, Hours Later
Zara sat alone in the meditation chamber. Three Shards now lived within her. Each one was heavy with history—power, yes, but pain too. She felt them stirring sometimes, like voices just beneath thought.
Helena entered quietly. "How's your mind?"
"Loud," Zara murmured. "But manageable."
Helena handed her a file. "While you were gone, we confirmed another location. A Shard beneath the ruins of Neo-Tokyo."
Zara glanced up. "What kind?"
Myles' voice came through the intercom. "A storm elemental. The Thunderheart. Unstable. It leveled a city once."
Zara stood, her shadow-flame aura flickering gently. "Then we move now."
Helena raised an eyebrow. "No rest?"
Zara smiled faintly. "Rest is for when the world isn't ending."
They turned toward the hangar.
The hunt continued.
---