Everything around him was alive with celestial energy—an ethereal overlay on reality. The trees were wrapped in soft, green glows, their life forces intertwined with the earth below. The sky itself seemed to pulse with faint traces of energy, like veins of light coursing through the heavens. Kairos could even see the lingering traces of magic from the battle, remnants of the spells cast by Caelum still hovering in the air like wisps of smoke.
It was like seeing the world in infrared, but instead of heat, he was seeing the very essence of life and magic. The experience was both awe inspiring and terrifying. He could feel the immense power within him, but he also felt a deep sense of responsibility. This gift—or curse—was not something to be taken lightly.
Kairos turned his gaze to his own hands, watching as the celestial energy coursed through his veins, glowing with an intensity that matched the power within him. His black eyes, once cold and unremarkable, were now filled with swirling silver specks, like miniature galaxies swirling in the depths of his irises. The sight was mesmerizing, but it also made him feel exposed, as if the very essence of his being was laid bare for the world to see.
"Kairos... your eyes..." Lyra's voice was a whisper, filled with a mix of wonder and concern. She reached out, her fingers gently brushing against his cheek, her own celestial energy warm and soothing. "What happened to you?"
"I... I can see everything," Kairos murmured, his voice trembling slightly as he tried to find the right words. "The energy... the magic... it's all around us. I can see it all."
Orion stepped closer, his brow furrowed with concern. "Is this... part of the Star Child title?"
Kairos nodded slowly, his gaze still fixed on the glowing strands of celestial energy that connected them all. "Eclipse said it would activate, but I didn't know it would be like this. It's... overwhelming."
The group exchanged glances, their expressions a mixture of awe and uncertainty. None of them had ever heard of such a thing before. The title had granted Kairos a power that was both incredible and terrifying, and they could all sense the weight of the responsibility that came with it.
As the others continued to marvel at Kairos's transformation, Caelum remained silent, his gaze cold and distant. He watched Kairos with a mixture of envy and suspicion, his celestial energy dark and turbulent. The sight of his cousin's new eyes, filled with stars, only served to deepen the divide between them.
Kairos noticed Caelum's reaction, but he was too drained to address it. The pain in his eyes had subsided, but the lingering discomfort in his soul remained. He had been changed in ways he couldn't fully understand yet, and the burden of that change was already beginning to weigh on him.
Kairos collected the severed head of the Canyon Minotaur, its weight surprisingly light in his hands compared to the burden of the transformation he had just endured. The group continued down the path, the thick brush giving way to a clearing. Ahead, a grand oak tree, ancient and massive, loomed before them. Its bark was gnarled with age, and the tree seemed to hum with a life force that had persisted for thousands of years.
Stairs wound up its trunk, leading to a door that was embedded in the tree itself. To the left of the door, an iron scale sat, rusted but still functional, its purpose unclear.
The group exchanged puzzled glances, their eyes drawn to the scale. Before they could voice their questions, Eclipse's voice cut through the confusion in Kairos's mind. "Throw the head of the Minotaur onto the scale."
Kairos hesitated for a moment, then followed the instruction. The Minotaur's head thudded onto the iron scale, the weight of it causing the scale to plummet to the ground with a resounding clang. The ancient tree rumbled, the vibrations traveling up its trunk. The door creaked open slowly, revealing a dark room within.
The group cautiously stepped inside, their weapons at the ready. The room was dimly lit, the only source of light coming from a massive statue at its center. The statue depicted a dragon, its form carved from stone, with five different colored gems embedded in its chest. Each gem pulsed with a faint glow, casting eerie shadows across the chamber. Deep runes were etched into the dragon's scales, their meaning lost to time.
As the group began to investigate the statue, a soft glow emanated from the gems, growing brighter until the entire statue seemed to come alive. The dragon's stone eyes flickered with a semblance of consciousness, and ancient magic text appeared on the pedestal where the dragon rested. The words seemed to hover in the air, pulsing with power:
"To feed the beast, a sacrifice true,
Offer the present, for hunger renew.
No past, no future, only the now,
Will sate the hunger and make it bow."
The group stared at the riddle, their minds racing to decipher its meaning. Caelum, ever sharp and cunning, was the first to understand. His eyes lit up with realization, a smug grin curling his lips. "It's a Sigiled Skink," he said, his voice betraying a hint of excitement. "These creatures devour anything in the present, anything that exists in the moment. It's enhanced by the runes and gems embedded in its skin."
Kairos's eyes narrowed as he observed Caelum. With his newly awakened sight, he could see the celestial energy within his cousin, normally a vibrant red, now shifting to a murky, ominous hue. The sight of it made Kairos's skin crawl, an unsettling sensation that warned him of something darker at play.
As the group pondered the riddle, Caelum's intentions hidden behind his words. His gaze shifted to Kairos, a flicker of malevolence in his eyes.
"Kairos and I will fight the Sigiled Skink." Caelum expressed to his other cousins while pulling Kairos towards the Skink.