Kael pushed himself upright, every muscle in his body protesting the motion. The shard in his hand had dimmed, its glow reduced to a faint pulse, but it still carried a warmth that reassured him. For now, he was alive, and the assassin was gone—at least for the moment.
The ground beneath him vibrated faintly, a subtle tremor that kept him on edge. He glanced around the clearing, his eyes drawn once more to the obelisk. Its faint blue glow seemed less ominous now, though the energy radiating from it still carried a strange weight.
Kael's breath came in short, shallow bursts. He leaned against one of the jagged rocks surrounding the clearing, letting the tension in his body ease, if only for a moment. His thoughts raced, each question more pressing than the last.
The shard. The obelisk. The assassin.
And that voice—the one that had saved him time and again.
"You cannot linger," the voice said, breaking through the haze of his thoughts.
Kael grimaced, gripping the shard tighter. "Why not? The assassin is gone."
"Gone does not mean safe."
As if on cue, the vibrations beneath the ground intensified, growing into a low rumble. Kael steadied himself against the rock, his instincts screaming at him to move. From the edge of the clearing, cracks began to spiderweb outward, glowing faintly with a red light.
His stomach twisted. That wasn't the blue energy of the obelisk or the shard—it was something else. Something wrong.
Kael scrambled away from the cracks as they spread rapidly, consuming the symbols etched into the clearing. The glowing lines faded one by one, the obelisk's light dimming as the red energy encroached.
Then the ground gave way.
Kael fell, the sharp drop stealing the breath from his lungs as the floor of the clearing crumbled beneath him. He landed hard, tumbling down a jagged slope of rock and debris until he came to an abrupt stop at the base of a cavern.
Pain shot through his ribs, and for a moment, he couldn't move. His fingers brushed against the shard, still clutched tightly in his hand, its faint pulse a small comfort in the darkness.
He groaned, rolling onto his side. Above him, the clearing was gone, replaced by a jagged hole through which faint light filtered. Dust and debris rained down, and Kael coughed as he tried to get his bearings.
The cavern was vast, its walls carved with intricate patterns that glowed faintly in the dim light. The blue symbols were still present, but they were faint, as if whatever power sustained them was fading.
Kael's gaze was drawn to a faint glow deeper in the cavern. A strange, crystalline structure jutted from the ground, its surface smooth and angular, unlike the rough stone surrounding it. The shard in his hand pulsed in response, its light syncing with the faint glow of the crystal.
"Move forward."
The voice was quieter now, less commanding, but still insistent. Kael hesitated. The last time he'd followed the voice, he'd nearly been killed by the assassin. But ignoring it felt equally dangerous.
With a sigh, he rose to his feet, wincing at the sharp pain in his side. The shard's glow provided just enough light to navigate the uneven terrain as he moved toward the crystal.
The cavern's atmosphere grew heavier as Kael approached the crystalline structure. The air hummed faintly, carrying an almost musical resonance that vibrated through his chest. The shard's glow intensified, casting his shadow against the jagged walls.
Kael reached out cautiously, his fingers brushing the surface of the crystal. The instant they made contact, a surge of energy coursed through him.
Visions flooded his mind—flashes of places and moments he couldn't comprehend. A sprawling city built atop floating platforms, its towers reaching into a fractured sky. A massive battle between figures wreathed in glowing energy, their forms blurred and indistinct. And at the center of it all, a dark figure standing over a shattered obelisk, their hand outstretched as the Nexus itself seemed to collapse around them.
Kael jerked his hand back, gasping for air. The visions faded, leaving him disoriented and shaken.
"What was that?" he whispered.
The voice answered, calm but grave.
"Fragments of what was. Echoes of what may come."
Kael's grip on the shard tightened. "I don't understand any of this. What's happening to me?"
The voice didn't respond immediately. When it did, there was a faint trace of sadness in its tone.
"You are awakening."
Kael had no time to dwell on the answer. The red glow from the cracks above had spread, bleeding into the cavern walls. The hum in the air grew sharper, carrying with it an oppressive weight that made it hard to breathe.
The ground trembled, and Kael turned toward the source of the disturbance. From the far side of the cavern, shadows began to coalesce, forming into dark, indistinct shapes. They moved with a jerky, unnatural rhythm, their glowing red eyes fixed on Kael.
The shard pulsed violently in his hand, its light flaring as though reacting to the approaching threat.
"Run."
Kael didn't need to be told twice. He turned and bolted, his boots pounding against the uneven ground as the shadowy figures gave chase. Their movements were inhumanly fast, and the distance between them closed with every step.
The shard's light flickered, and Kael could feel its energy surging, but it was unstable—uncontrolled.
"Not now," he muttered under his breath, clutching it tighter.
Ahead, the cavern narrowed into a tunnel, its walls lined with faint blue symbols. Kael sprinted toward it, the hum of the shard syncing with the patterns on the walls. As he passed through the tunnel's entrance, a sudden burst of energy erupted from the shard, creating a barrier of blue light that sealed the opening behind him.
The shadowy figures collided with the barrier, their forms dispersing into wisps of smoke before reforming. Kael didn't stop to watch. He kept running, his breath ragged and his body on the verge of collapse.
The tunnel opened into a smaller chamber, and Kael collapsed against the wall, his chest heaving. The shard's glow dimmed, its energy spent, but the barrier held. The shadowy figures clawed at it, their red eyes burning with malice, but they couldn't break through.
For now, Kael was safe.
He slid to the ground, the shard still clutched in his hand. His mind raced, replaying the visions and the voice's cryptic words. The Nexus. The Prime Echo. The fragments of what was and what might come.
Kael exhaled shakily, closing his eyes. He didn't have the answers yet, but he knew one thing for certain: whatever lay ahead, the shard—and the resonance it awakened within him—was the only thing keeping him alive.