Kael and Morgana pushed their horses hard, the frostbitten air of the Highlands biting at their faces. The cliffs and jagged peaks loomed behind them, the oppressive energy of the caves fading but not forgotten. Kael's grip on the fragment was tight, the jagged shard pulsing faintly in sync with the Heart within him.
Morgana broke the silence first, her voice hoarse. "That was worse than anything we've faced before."
Kael nodded, his gaze fixed on the path ahead. "It's not going to get easier. This fragment feels... alive. And it's not just the Heart reacting to it—something else is watching us."
Morgana glanced back, her hand instinctively brushing the hilt of her sword. "You think it was the figure at the cave?"
Kael hesitated, then shook his head. "I don't know. But it felt familiar, like the Shadowsoul itself was there."
They rode in silence for a while, the wind carrying the faint howls of wolves from the distant mountains.
