A silence hung heavy over the group as they descended from the rocky cliffside. The battle at the ruins had taken its toll. Though they had claimed the second fragment, the cost was more than physical exhaustion—it was emotional, lingering in their minds like the sting of smoke after a fire. The sky had dimmed to a deep, ash-gray hue, the sun veiled behind thick clouds that seemed to mourn with them.
Kael was the first to break the silence, his voice low. "That creature… it wasn't just guarding the fragment. It was hiding something else."
Liam turned, brows furrowed. "You mean the whispers?"
Kael nodded. "I felt something… pressing against my mind. A voice. Cold. Like it wanted me to believe I was alone."
Nyra, walking just behind them, looked pale. "Me too. I heard it say my name… and then it laughed. That laugh wasn't human."
Aeris slowed her pace, her gaze sharp as ever. "It's Nytherion. His influence is growing stronger. He's trying to break us before we even reach the third piece."
The name struck the air like a curse. Nytherion—an ancient malevolence, cloaked in mystery, orchestrator of the realm's ruin. Even in the realm's darkest corners, whispers of his name could turn warmth to frost.
They had yet to face him directly, but his presence lingered in every ruin, every twisted beast, and now—within their own thoughts.
Kael clenched his fists. "Then we have to be faster. Stronger. We can't let him keep getting into our heads."
Aeris gave a quick nod, but her mind drifted. She hadn't told the group yet—about the visions. About the woman she reported to in secret. About how that woman, once her guiding light, had started to feel… off. Mistrust crept in with each vision. But now wasn't the time.
Instead, she turned to Nyra. "How's your mana?"
Nyra looked sheepish. "I can still summon two familiars at most. I'm getting stronger, but it's draining. I need time to practice."
"You'll get it," Kael said reassuringly. "And maybe next time, don't summon a six-legged goat with wings."
"It was supposed to be a dragon," Nyra grumbled. "It's still learning."
Liam chuckled softly, the first real laugh in days. "A goat dragon… Not the worst backup I've had."
Despite the tension, the humor lightened their steps, if only for a moment.
As they approached a small grove nestled beside a crumbling temple wall, Aeris raised a hand to halt them. "We'll rest here for the night."
Kael scouted the perimeter while Liam helped Nyra gather dry wood for a fire. Aeris knelt by the stone wall, brushing moss aside. Her fingers traced ancient markings etched deep into the stone—forgotten runes of the realm's old protectors.
Liam wandered over. "What's that?"
"Insignia of the original guardians," Aeris replied without looking up. "Before the realms fell apart. Before the war."
"Did they succeed?"
Aeris paused. "For a time. But they made a mistake. Trusted the wrong people."
Liam looked at her closely. "You're not just talking about history, are you?"
She didn't answer.
That night, as the fire crackled and the stars blinked through shifting clouds, the group sat together, silently eating and nursing minor wounds. Sleep didn't come easy. Not with what lay ahead.
In her dreams, Aeris once again saw the woman—the supposed "heroine" guiding her from afar—only this time, her smile was wrong. Too wide. Too still. Behind her stood a shadow, its eyes glinting like knives.
"You serve me well," the heroine whispered. "But soon, Aeris… you must choose."
Aeris awoke with a start, her breath ragged. No one else stirred. But in the distance, beyond the trees, a faint flicker of light moved unnaturally, like a torch dancing against the wind.
She rose quietly and followed it, blades sheathed but ready.
She didn't see Liam open his eyes moments later and silently trail behind her.
The light led them to the temple's inner sanctum—long forgotten, but now glowing faintly with power.
And in the center of the room, floating above a cracked altar, was a shard of something strange—neither fragment nor relic, but something in-between. It pulsed gently, a heartbeat of its own.
Aeris stepped closer, drawn to it… when a voice echoed through the chamber:
"The second realm has remembered your name… Aeris Virelle. And it is watching."
Liam stumbled forward, catching her arm. "We shouldn't be here alone."
But it was too late.
The heartbeat pulsed once—twice—
And the ground beneath them shattered.