The silence was deafening.
Kai floated in an endless void, weightless and suspended in time. He couldn't move, couldn't think clearly just drifting in the aftermath of the explosion. His mind was hazy, memories flashing in and out like fleeting shadows. Lysandra's face, her tortured expression, and the sudden eruption of light it all seemed like a distant nightmare.
He tried to call out, to scream her name, but no sound came from his lips. The void wrapped around him like a suffocating shroud, pressing in on all sides, drowning him in its nothingness.
For a moment, Kai wondered if this was death. If the explosion had taken them both, and now he was lost in this eternal abyss, trapped between life and the next world.
But then he heard something.
A heartbeat.
Faint, almost imperceptible, but there. The steady rhythm grew louder, more insistent, pounding in his ears. Kai strained to focus, to follow the sound. It wasn't his heart it was something else. Something pulling him back.
With a sudden jolt, Kai gasped for breath, his chest heaving as he was pulled from the void and back into reality.
The air was thick with smoke, the acrid scent of burning energy lingering in his nostrils. His body ached, every muscle screaming in protest as he tried to sit up. His vision swam, disorienting him for a moment, but slowly, the world around him came into focus.
The battlefield was unrecognizable.
The ground, once solid and firm beneath his feet, was now cracked and shattered, jagged pieces of the earth jutting up like broken teeth. The abyss that had surrounded them was gone, replaced by a gaping chasm that stretched far into the distance, its dark depths seemingly endless.
And Lysandra…
Kai's heart clenched in his chest as he searched frantically for her, the memory of her being consumed by the light still fresh in his mind. He stumbled to his feet, ignoring the searing pain that shot through his legs.
There, lying amidst the rubble, was her motionless form.
"Lysandra!" Kai cried, his voice hoarse as he staggered toward her. He dropped to his knees beside her, hands trembling as he gently reached for her shoulder. "Please… please be okay…"
She didn't respond. Her eyes were closed, her face pale and lifeless. The shard of light that had been embedded in her chest was gone, leaving only a faint, glowing scar where it had once been.
Kai's breath hitched as he pressed his fingers to her neck, searching desperately for a pulse. For a moment, he felt nothing no sign of life.
But then… there it was.
Faint. Weak. But still there.
Kai exhaled shakily, relief flooding his senses. She was alive, but just barely.
"I've got you," he whispered, his voice shaking as he cradled her in his arms. "I'm going to fix this. I promise."
But even as he spoke the words, doubt gnawed at the edges of his mind. The light inside Lysandra had been corrupted, twisted beyond recognition. And now, with the shard gone, Kai had no idea what kind of damage had been done to her.
He glanced around the desolate battlefield, searching for any sign of help, but there was nothing just the endless void that stretched out in every direction.
They were alone.
And Lysandra was slipping away.
Kai clenched his fists, anger and frustration boiling inside him. He had tried everything risked everything and yet it still wasn't enough. The forces that had taken control of her were far stronger than he'd realized. And now, she was paying the price.
"No," Kai muttered, his jaw set in determination. "I'm not giving up. Not yet."
His mind raced, trying to recall anything anything at all that could help him save her. The shard of light was gone, but maybe there was still a way to tap into its energy, to draw out the last remnants of her power and sever the corruption once and for all.
Kai placed his hand over Lysandra's chest, right where the scar from the shard glowed faintly. He closed his eyes, focusing all his will into the shadows that surrounded him, willing them to reach deep within her, to find the last traces of her light.
At first, there was nothing. Just the cold, empty void that lingered around them.
But then, slowly, he felt something a flicker of warmth, a faint pulse of energy hidden deep within her core. It was weak, fragile, but it was there. And it was fighting to survive.
Kai's heart pounded as he poured everything he had into the connection, channeling his shadow powers into Lysandra's body. He could feel the corruption that had taken hold of her, a dark force that resisted him at every turn. But he pressed on, refusing to back down.
"Come on, Lysandra," he whispered through gritted teeth. "Fight it. I know you're stronger than this."
The shadows and light inside her began to clash, the energies swirling and spiraling as Kai tried to pull them apart. It was like trying to separate oil from water, the two forces so intertwined that it seemed impossible to break them apart.
But he had no other choice.
He grit his teeth and pushed harder, feeling the strain on his own body as he funneled more and more of his power into the effort. His vision blurred, exhaustion threatening to pull him under, but he refused to give up.
Just when he thought he couldn't take any more, there was a sudden, violent surge of energy.
Kai was thrown back, his body crashing against the jagged rocks behind him as the force of the blast sent shockwaves through the air. He coughed, struggling to catch his breath as the dust settled around them.
When he looked up, his heart skipped a beat.
Lysandra was standing.
But something was wrong.
Her body was surrounded by a swirling vortex of light and shadow, the energies fighting for dominance. Her eyes were open now, but they glowed with an unnatural brightness, as if both forces inside her were battling for control.
"Lysandra…" Kai breathed, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "What… what's happening?"
She didn't respond. Her gaze was distant, unfocused, as if she were trapped in some kind of internal struggle. The power around her pulsed erratically, surging and then retreating like the tide.
Kai took a cautious step forward, his hands raised in a gesture of peace. "It's okay," he said softly. "I'm here. We can fix this, together."
But as soon as he spoke, Lysandra's eyes snapped toward him, her expression twisted with pain and confusion.
"Kai…" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I… I can't…"
Before she could finish, the light and shadow around her exploded outward, and her scream tore through the air, filled with agony.
Kai's heart froze in his chest as the vortex around her grew stronger, more unstable, and he realized, with chilling certainty, what was happening.
Lysandra was losing control.
And if he didn't act fast, the corruption inside her would consume them both.