The morning air in Arden's Hollow was crisp, carrying the faint scent of dew-covered grass and wood smoke. The town stirred slowly to life, its narrow streets filled with the quiet bustle of merchants setting up stalls and villagers tending to chores.
Caden sat at the small table in his room, staring at the shard in his hand. Its faint glow reflected off the rough wooden surface, casting shifting patterns across the walls. The energy within felt subdued but alive, like a coiled spring waiting for release.
His sleep had been mercifully dreamless, the first in what felt like weeks. The second fragment had brought balance, at least for now, but the shard's presence still lingered in his mind—a constant reminder of the burden he carried.
A knock at the door broke his thoughts.
"Come in," he said, slipping the shard back into his pocket.
Garrick entered, his staff tapping softly against the floor. His expression was calm but serious, a faint line of fatigue etched into his features.
"How are you feeling?" Garrick asked, closing the door behind him.
"Better," Caden said, though his voice carried an edge of doubt. "The dreams are gone, and the shard feels... quieter. But it's still there. Always there."
Garrick nodded, his gaze steady. "It will be. The shard's power isn't something you can ignore. But you've taken the first step—stabilizing it. That's no small feat."
Caden frowned, his fingers brushing the edge of the table. "It doesn't feel like enough. The Reclaimers are out there, moving toward the ruins, and we're sitting here, waiting."
"Rest isn't weakness," Garrick said firmly. "If you push yourself too hard, the shard will take advantage of it. And if that happens, you won't just be fighting the Reclaimers—you'll be fighting yourself."
Caden clenched his jaw but didn't argue.
Downstairs, Kael sat in a corner of the inn's common room, her chair tilted back on two legs as she toyed with her dagger. The room was mostly empty, save for a few locals nursing morning ales and a lone merchant hunched over a ledger.
When Garrick and Caden joined her, Kael's eyes flicked toward them, her smirk faint but present.
"Look who finally decided to show," she said. "Didn't think you'd make it out of bed, boy."
"I'm fine," Caden said, his tone sharper than he intended.
Kael raised an eyebrow but didn't press the issue. "Good. Because I've been hearing things."
"What things?" Garrick asked, his voice low.
"Rumors," Kael said, leaning forward slightly. "A few travelers passing through said the ruins aren't just old stones and overgrown paths. They've got... something alive in them. Something people don't come back from."
Caden's stomach tightened. "Echo beasts?"
Kael shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe worse. Whatever it is, the locals won't go near the place, and anyone who does either disappears or comes back... different."
"Different how?" Garrick asked, his brow furrowing.
"Paranoid," Kael said. "Raving about shadows that move on their own, whispers in the dark. Most of them don't last long after that."
The table fell silent, the weight of her words settling over them.
Caden finally spoke, his voice quiet but resolute. "We still have to go."
Garrick nodded. "We do. But not unprepared."
The day passed slowly as the group gathered supplies and information. Garrick spent time in the market, bartering for provisions and ensuring they had enough to sustain them on the road. Kael scouted the outskirts of the town, mapping the safest paths toward the ruins.
Caden stayed near the inn, practicing with the shard's abilities in the small courtyard behind the building. The restored Inventory System made summoning his sword seamless, and he experimented with storing and retrieving smaller items, growing more confident in its functionality.
As the sun dipped low in the sky, Garrick found him in the courtyard.
"How's it going?" Garrick asked, watching as Caden retrieved a dagger from the Inventory with a flicker of concentration.
"It's... getting easier," Caden said, wiping sweat from his brow. "But it's draining. Even small things take energy."
"That's part of the System's design," Garrick said. "The more you use it, the more it pushes back. It's a reminder that power always comes with a cost."
Caden nodded, though the weight of those words pressed heavily on him.
That evening, the group gathered in Caden's room to plan their next move. Garrick spread a rough map across the table, marking their current location and the ruins to the east.
"The ruins are a day's journey from here," Garrick said. "If we leave at first light, we can reach them by nightfall. But the closer we get, the more likely we are to run into Reclaimers—or worse."
Kael leaned over the map, her finger tracing the path Garrick had marked. "And what happens when we get there? You think they'll just hand over another fragment if we ask nicely?"
"No," Garrick said. "But if the Reclaimers are already there, they'll be dealing with whatever's inside the ruins. That might give us an opening."
Caden frowned. "Or it might get us killed."
"Every path we take is dangerous," Garrick said. "But we don't have the luxury of waiting. The fragments are the key to understanding the System—and stopping the Reclaimers."
Kael sat back, her smirk fading. "Fine. But if we're walking into a death trap, I'm expecting a bonus."
"You'll be paid," Garrick said evenly, his tone carrying a faint edge of finality.
Caden, already aware of their arrangement, glanced at Kael. Her confidence, while often irritating, was a strange source of reassurance. She knew the risks and stayed anyway—though likely for the coin more than camaraderie.
"Let's hope the ruins are worth it," Caden said quietly.
As night fell over Arden's Hollow, Caden stood by the window of his room, staring out at the lantern-lit streets below. The shard's faint hum was steady now, its presence a constant but manageable rhythm in the back of his mind.
The ruins loomed large in his thoughts. If the rumors Kael had heard were true, then the dangers ahead would test them all—physically and mentally.
But as the faint light of the shard reflected in the window, Caden felt his resolve harden. The path ahead was uncertain, but he would walk it.
The System's secrets were waiting, and he intended to uncover them—whatever the cost.