The air still hummed with residual energy from the fissure as Raven disappeared once again into the shadows, leaving a cold, unsettling silence behind. The glow of the rift illuminated the rough stone walls, casting long shadows that danced and flickered as if mocking their attempts to control the chaos. The room felt smaller now, as if Raven's presence had warped the space and made it difficult to breathe.
Jon shuffled nervously, his eyes darting between the crackling fissure and the dark tunnel where Raven had vanished. "So, um… anyone else starting to think we might be in over our heads?"
Amara ignored him, her eyes fixed on the fissure. She was calculating, always planning, just as Raven had suggested—but this time, even she seemed uncertain. "We can't leave it like this. If the Sovereign's using these to strengthen his forces, then—"
"We're running out of time," Ubuntu interrupted, his tone far more casual than the situation demanded. He took a step toward the fissure, his sabre still drawn. "So, what's the plan, Princess? We're not exactly equipped to play with whatever black magic is powering this thing."
Amara bit her lip, her mind racing. "If we disrupt the flow of magic—just for a moment—it might destabilize the fissure long enough for it to collapse. But... there's a risk."
"Of course there's a risk," Jon muttered, eyeing the volatile energy warily. "There's always a risk."
Ubuntu looked at Amara, eyes narrowed. "You're saying this thing could blow, aren't you?"
Amara didn't meet his gaze, instead focusing on the patterns of magic swirling around the fissure. "If we're not careful, yes. The magic here is already unstable."
Jon let out a nervous laugh. "So… you're saying it could explode? Like, kill-everyone-in-the-room explode?"
Ubuntu shrugged, stepping closer to the fissure, feeling the static energy pulling at his skin. "Eh, we've been in worse situations, right?"
"No," Jon replied immediately. "This is definitely worse."
Ignoring Jon's growing panic, Ubuntu knelt beside the fissure, studying the strange symbols carved into the stone floor around it. They pulsed with energy, feeding into the rift like veins carrying blood to a beating heart. He tapped one with the tip of his sabre, watching the energy ripple outward in response.
"Interesting," Ubuntu muttered, mostly to himself.
Amara stepped closer, her face tightening. "What are you doing?"
"Testing something," Ubuntu replied nonchalantly, eyes fixed on the glowing symbols. He tapped another with the blade, this time harder. The fissure pulsed, the crackling energy intensifying.
"Ubuntu," Amara warned, taking a step back. "Stop."
But he didn't stop. Instead, he drew one of his newly acquired arbalètes portatives and aimed it directly at the fissure's center, grinning like he was about to pull the greatest prank of all time.
"Let's see what happens when we poke the bear, shall we?"
Before Amara could shout a protest, Ubuntu squeezed the trigger. The arrow flew straight into the heart of the fissure, disappearing into the swirling chaos. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the air itself seemed to recoil, a loud crack reverberating through the chamber.
The fissure reacted violently, flaring bright with a burst of wild energy that sent shockwaves across the room. Jon let out a yelp, diving for cover behind a nearby rock formation, while Amara staggered backward, shielding her face from the force of the blast.
"Seriously?!" Amara yelled over the roar of the fissure. "This is your idea of a plan?!"
Ubuntu, still standing unbothered by the chaos, grinned wider. "Improvisation, Amara. You should try it sometime!"
The fissure continued to pulse, the energy now lashing out in erratic bursts. It was clear that the rift was destabilizing, but instead of collapsing, the swirling mass seemed to be growing, feeding off the wild magic coursing through it.
Amara scrambled to her feet, her face pale as she realized what was happening. "It's pulling in more energy! It's going to tear open if we don't stop it!"
"Oh, now you're worried," Ubuntu muttered, glancing at the fissure as it swelled larger. "Got any actual plans, or should we just run?"
"There's no time!" Amara shouted. "If we don't shut it down now—"
But before she could finish her sentence, another voice echoed from the shadows. A calm, measured voice that sent a chill down all their spines.
"Bold move, Ubuntu. But not very wise."
Raven reappeared, as if materializing from the darkness itself, his eyes gleaming with cold amusement. He watched the unstable fissure with a detached curiosity, as if it were nothing more than an experiment to him.
Ubuntu spun to face him, sabres ready, his grin never faltering. "You're back! I was wondering when you'd show up to gloat."
Raven's expression didn't change. He walked toward the fissure, seemingly unaffected by the swirling chaos around them. "I must admit, your recklessness is... fascinating. You truly believe you can fight this? The fissures are beyond your control. They are the Sovereign's will made manifest."
"Yeah, yeah, I heard the sales pitch already," Ubuntu quipped. "So, what? You're here to tell us how doomed we are, then disappear again?"
Raven stopped, just a few paces away from the fissure, his hands clasped behind his back. "No. I'm here to remind you of your place in this game, Ubuntu. Every move you make only pushes you further into my web."
Amara's eyes flashed with anger. "You're behind this, aren't you? The fissures, the Sovereign's plans—this is all you."
Raven's gaze flicked to her, as calm as ever. "I serve only one master: the future. And the future does not belong to those who act without thought."
Ubuntu stepped forward, his sabres gleaming in the chaotic light of the fissure. "You talk a big game, Raven. But you're just another lackey in someone else's plan."
Raven's smile was chilling. "You misunderstand, Ubuntu. I am not a lackey. I am the one who shapes the board. The Sovereign may be the face of power, but I am the one who controls the pieces."
Before Ubuntu could retort, the fissure flared again, this time with such intensity that the entire chamber shook. Raven glanced at the rift, as if considering something, then turned back to them.
"You can't stop this," he said softly. "The fissures are part of the natural order now. They will tear through worlds, and the Sovereign will harness that power to reshape everything."
Ubuntu gripped his sabres tighter. "We'll see about that."
Without warning, he lunged at Raven, his sabres flashing through the air. But Raven was already moving, faster than should've been possible. He sidestepped the strike with effortless grace, his movements fluid and precise. With a flick of his wrist, he conjured an illusion, and the entire room seemed to warp around them.
The walls of the chamber twisted and stretched, reality itself bending under Raven's influence. Ubuntu's surroundings distorted, the stone floor turning into a shifting labyrinth, the fissure pulsing like a living heart. Jon, now caught in the illusion, stumbled backward, his eyes wide with panic as the walls closed in around him.
"Uh... what's happening?!" Jon shouted, looking around frantically.
"An illusion," Amara said, her voice strained. "He's trying to trap us!"
Raven's cold laughter echoed through the distorted chamber. "This is the power of control, Ubuntu. You cannot fight what you cannot perceive."
Ubuntu narrowed his eyes, focusing on Raven's shifting figure. "I don't need to see straight to hit you."
He lunged again, swinging his sabres in rapid, unpredictable strikes. But every time he thought he had Raven, the man slipped through his grasp like smoke, his form flickering in and out of existence. The illusion warped reality, making it impossible to tell where Raven truly was.
"I've had enough of this," Ubuntu growled, spinning on his heel and firing one of his arbalètes into the shifting walls. The arrow struck something solid, and for a brief moment, the illusion flickered, revealing Raven's true position.
"Got you," Ubuntu said with a savage grin, charging at Raven again.
But Raven, ever calm, simply raised a hand. The air around him shimmered, and with a whisper of magic, he vanished once more into the shadows, his voice lingering like a ghost.
"We'll meet again, Ubuntu. And next time, the board will be mine."
As the illusion faded and the room returned to its normal state, the fissure crackled ominously behind them. Amara stepped forward, her expression hard. "We need to shut this down—now."
Ubuntu glanced at her, still on edge after Raven's sudden disappearance. "Alright, Princess. Your show. How do we close this thing?"
Amara quickly examined the symbols on the floor, muttering under her breath. "We need to reverse the flow of magic. If we can disrupt the connection to the Sovereign's forces, the fissure will collapse on its own."
Jon, still shaken, nodded weakly. "And... no explosions, right?"
Amara shot him a tired look. "No explosions. Hopefully."
With her guidance, they began the delicate process of disrupting the fissure's magic, carefully avoiding any sudden movements that might trigger another violent reaction. Slowly but surely, the rift began to shrink, its wild energy stabilizing as the connection to the Sovereign's power weakened.
Finally, with a low hum, the fissure collapsed in on itself, leaving nothing but the faint glow of the etched symbols behind.
They stood in silence for a moment, the weight of the encounter with Raven still heavy in the air. Ubuntu sheathed his sabres, his usual grin nowhere to be found.
"Raven's not going to stop, is he?" Jon asked quietly.
"No," Ubuntu replied, his voice uncharacteristically serious. "He's just getting started."