The group emerged from the ruins under the dim light of an overcast sky. The forest greeted them with an eerie silence, its usual hum of life subdued as though it, too, had been affected by the fragment's energy. Caden's legs trembled as he trudged forward, the shard's once-familiar hum now quiet—a silence that felt unnatural.
"We're stopping," Garrick said, his tone brooking no argument. He gestured toward a rocky outcrop a short distance from the ruins. "That'll give us cover for now."
Kael shot him a sharp look. "Stopping here? Near those ruins? Do you want more beasts crawling out of the shadows?"
Garrick's expression didn't waver. "Caden's at his limit. If we push on, he won't make it."
Kael glanced at Caden, who was struggling to steady himself, his breath coming in uneven gasps. She let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. But if anything comes at us, don't expect me to stay quiet about this."
The outcrop provided modest shelter—a small hollow at its base where they could rest hidden from view. Garrick sat against the rocky wall, carefully examining his staff, while Kael scouted the perimeter.
Caden dropped heavily to the ground, his sword clattering beside him. Every muscle in his body screamed for rest, but his mind churned with unease. The shard might have been quiet now, but its weight hadn't lessened.
[User energy depleted. Recovery required to restore functionality.]
"I'm fine," he muttered under his breath, though the words felt hollow.
Garrick turned toward him, his gaze sharp. "You're not. The shard took a toll on you in that fight, and the fragment's integration isn't as seamless as you want it to be."
Caden looked away, his jaw tightening. "It's not like I had a choice. That thing—whatever it was—would have killed us."
"You're right," Garrick admitted, his tone softening. "You did what you had to. But that doesn't mean you can keep doing it without consequence."
Kael returned, crouching by the fire Garrick had just coaxed to life. "He's right, boy. I don't care how strong you think you are—if you burn yourself out, you'll just be a corpse with a fancy glow stick in your pocket."
"I get it," Caden snapped, though the anger in his voice was more at himself than them.
The hours passed in uneasy quiet, the fire crackling softly as night fell over the forest. Kael dozed lightly against the rocks, her dagger still in hand, while Garrick sat nearby, his eyes closed but his breathing measured—too controlled to truly be asleep.
Caden lay on his back, staring up at the starless sky. Sleep teased at the edges of his mind, but every time he closed his eyes, flickers of the Warden's glowing eyes and the void of his vision returned.
The shard's silence was unnerving, a reminder that the power he had come to rely on was as much a curse as it was a tool.
The whispers had stopped for now, but their promises lingered.
"You don't control me," he muttered to himself, repeating the words he'd spoken in the void.
"You keep saying that," Garrick's voice came from the shadows, calm but questioning. "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"
Caden sat up, glaring at the older man. "What's your point?"
Garrick shifted, leaning forward slightly. "The shard's influence is insidious. It doesn't take over all at once—it creeps in. A whisper here, a nudge there. Every time you use its power, you give it a little more space in your mind. If you're not careful, you'll wake up one day and realize you're not in control anymore."
"And what am I supposed to do?" Caden asked, his voice sharp. "Just stop using it? Let the Reclaimers take the fragments and destroy everything?"
"No," Garrick said firmly. "You use it, but with caution. You learn its limits, and you find your own. And when it tries to take more than you're willing to give, you push back."
Caden stared at the fire, his mind churning. The weight of Garrick's words pressed against him, but so did the memory of the shard's power—the raw, exhilarating strength that had saved them more than once.
"I don't even know if I can push back," he admitted quietly.
"You can," Garrick said. "You already have. But it's a fight you'll have to face again and again. The shard will never stop testing you."
The next day dawned cold and gray. The group moved slowly, Caden's body still aching from the battle and the fragment's toll. They made their way northward, the forest thinning as the terrain grew rockier.
Kael walked ahead, her movements sharp and confident as she scouted the path. Garrick followed, his staff tapping softly against the ground.
Caden lagged behind, his hand brushing the shard in his pocket. The energy within was still subdued, but he could feel its presence—a quiet, constant hum that reminded him it was always there.
"Another fragment," he murmured to himself, his gaze distant. "Another step closer."
But closer to what, he didn't know.
And that uncertainty was more terrifying than any beast he had faced so far.