The chamber shook as the flow of Kaelor's dark energy collided with Gustos' searing blade. Their power equaled a violent storm that fractured stone walls and sent debris tumbling from the ceiling. Kaelor channeled the shard's power into his staff, deflecting Gustos' relentless strikes.
"You are unworthy of such power!" Gustos roared. His blade swung again, with its arc leaving trails of molten light in the air.
Kaelor gritted his teeth, and his body trembled under the strain of controlling the shard. The markings on his hand were dark and sinister, pulsed with each strike of magic.
"If I'm unworthy, then why does it answer to me?" he shot back, thrusting his staff forward to unleash another wave of destructive energy.
The blast struck Gustos aggressively, sending him crashing into a nearby wall. The ancient stones crumbled under the impact, and for a brief moment, there was silence. Kaelor lowered his staff a bit, panting as the talisman's sounds grew louder in his ears.
Finish him, it urged him. Prove your dominance.
But Gustos was far from defeated. He rose from the rubble, and his armor was scorched, but his gaze remained unyielding.
"That shard is a curse," he snarled, raising his blade once more. "It will devour you, just as it did those before you."
Kaelor's lips curled into a defiant sneer.
"Let it try."
The battle resumed, fiercer than before. Gustos' strikes were unrelenting, forcing Kaelor to tap into the power in ways he had never dared. Shadows twisted and writhed around him, forming barriers and tendrils that lashed out at his opponent. But with every move of magic, Kaelor felt its grip tighten… its presence clawed deeper into his soul.
Gustos' blade sliced through the air, narrowly missing Kaelor's side as he spun to evade it. The shard's voice became very insistent, pushing him to consider a dark solution.
End this now. Tear the veil and send him back to the void.
He hesitated for only a moment. Then, gripping his staff with both hands, he focused all his energy into a single, devastating spell. The atmosphere grew heavy, vibrating with raw power, as black tendrils erupted from it and spiraled toward Gustos.
Gustos' eyes widened in realization.
"You fool—"
The tendrils wrapped around him, binding him in place as Kaelor muttered an incantation in a language he didn't fully understand. The markings on his hand burned fiercely, their glow illuminated the chamber. With a final, explosive burst, he unleashed the spell, tearing a rift in the fabric of reality.
The portal yawned open, a swirling void of darkness that pulled at everything around it. Gustos struggled against the tendrils, as his face twisted in fury.
"This isn't over, Kaelor," he spat. His voice faded as the portal's pull grew stronger.
He watched as Gustos was dragged into the void, his form disappearing into the swirling abyss. With a wave of his staff, he sealed the rift, the chamber falling silent once more.
He staggered, as his knees nearly buckled under exhaustion. The shard's voice was quieter now, but its presence was no less menacing. Lyle rushed to his side, catching him before he could collapse.
"You're insane," he said, half in awe, half in exasperation. "You just tore a hole in reality!"
He managed a weak smirk.
"And it worked, didn't it?"
Lyle shook his head, helping him to his feet.
"Come on. You need to rest. And you need to learn how to stop drawing attention to yourself. If spirits like Gustos keep finding you, it's only a matter of time before someone stronger shows up."
They made their way back to Lyle's apartment, a modest but surprisingly well-kept space hidden within the city's maze-like streets. Lyle guided him inside, motioning for him to sit on the worn leather couch.
"You look like you've been hit by a freight train," Lyle muttered, tossing a first-aid kit onto the coffee table.
Kaelor leaned back, closing his eyes.
"Feels like it, too."
He began rummaging through the cabinets, muttering under his breath.
"You need to blend in, Kaelor. All this brooding and dramatic magic isn't going to cut it in the human world. Spirits will sniff you out from a mile away."
Kaelor opened one eye, watching Lyle with mild amusement.
"And how do you propose I 'blend in'? Pretend to be some mundane city dweller while I have a shard of pure chaos strapped to my neck?"
Lyle turned to face him, hands on his hips.
"Exactly. Learn to keep your head down, act normal. The less attention you draw, the safer you'll be."
As he lectured, the sound of a door opening interrupted them. A young woman stepped into the room, her presence immediately commanded attention. She had Lyle's sharp features but carried an elegance and warmth that was uniquely her own. Her dark hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, and her piercing gaze locked onto Kaelor with curiosity.
"Lyle, who's this?" she asked in an inquisitive tone.
He turned whilst wearing a sheepish smile on his face.
"Kaelor, this is my sister, Joan. Joan, this is…uh…a friend."
He pushed himself upright, offering a polite nod. "Kaelor."
Joan raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by his lack of enthusiasm.
"You look like you've been through hell," she said, crossing her arms.
"Something like that," he replied.
She fixed her eyes on him, with an unreadable expression. Then, with a small shrug, she moved toward the kitchen.
"Well, try not to wreck the place," she said. "Lyle's not much of a housekeeper as it is."
He smirked, but his amusement faded as he felt the shard stir again, its presence brushed against his consciousness. He took a quick glance at Joan, with a hint of unease in his eyes. There was something about her— something he couldn't quite place.
"Don't even think about it," Lyle warned in a hush tone.
He tore his gaze away, frowning.
"Think about what?"
"You know exactly what," he said, narrowing his eyes at Kaelor. "Stay away from her."
He leaned back, crossing his arms.
"Relax. I'm not planning anything."
Lyle didn't look convinced, but he dropped it, and didn't push further. He moved to the kitchen, leaving him alone in the living room.
As Kaelor sat there, his thoughts wandered through the events of the day, he couldn't shake the feeling that Joan was more than she seemed. And judging by the talisman's reaction, he was right.
Joan returned moments later, carrying a cup of tea. She set it down on the table in front of him,
"You've got a lot of secrets, don't you?" she said in a casual but probing manner.
He locked eyes with hers, staying guarded.
"Don't we all?"
Her lips curved into a faint smile, but there was a glint of something sharper in her eyes.
"Fair enough."
She turned to leave, but before she could step away, the shard flared to life, its energy rose unexpectedly. He shot his hand on his chest, and his breath hitched as the markings on his skin burned fiercely.
She froze, narrowing her eyes as she turned back to him.
"What was that?"
He struggled to suppress its energy, "Nothing," he said quickly, although his voice betrayed him.
But Joan wasn't buying it. She stepped closer,
"You're hiding something," she said in an accusatory tone.
He forced a smirk, trying to deflect.
"You're imagining things."
An attempt to gaslight her.
But as their eyes locked, the shard moved again, its energy reached out toward her. She gasped, stepping back in alarm, and his heart sank.
"What…are you?" she whispered in a trembling voice.
But he didn't answer. He just couldn't.
And in that moment, as the magical force of the notorious talisman swayed between them, he knew that their fragile anonymity was already at risk.