The rift sky glowed faintly above Alex as he pushed forward, his body aching but his resolve unbroken. His grip on the Enerion shard in his hand tightened as he navigated the treacherous terrain. The ground around him shimmered faintly with Enerion veins, their light pulsing like a heartbeat. Every now and then, a crackle of energy would leap from the veins, reminding Alex of the dangerous, volatile nature of this mutated world.
Enerion.
It wasn't just a fuel or an element. It was alive. Alex could feel it coursing through his body, whispering promises of strength and destruction. The shard in his hand wasn't just a weapon—it was a piece of this power, a fragment of the force that had changed everything.
Ahead, the faint outline of the spire rose above the horizon, jagged and foreboding. It wasn't like the glowing Enerion crystals scattered across the rift—it was darker, more sinister. Lightning arced across its surface, illuminating the twisted, corrupted forms of creatures circling its base.
Alex stopped, his chest heaving as he surveyed the landscape. He could feel the pull of the spire, a magnetic tug that resonated with the shard in his hand.
"That's where we're going, huh?" he muttered.
Raze growled low, her glowing eyes fixed on the creatures ahead.
"Yeah, I don't like it either," Alex said, patting her side. "But it's the only lead we've got."
As Alex moved closer to the spire, the ground beneath his feet began to shift. Enerion veins pulsed brighter, and the air grew thick with static. His shard began to glow, the energy within it resonating with the storm forming above.
A bolt of Enerion lightning struck a nearby outcrop, sending shards of crystal flying. Alex shielded his face as a surge of energy rushed through him. When he looked down at his hands, they were glowing faintly, blue energy crackling along his veins.
"What the hell?" he muttered, flexing his fingers.
The power was stronger now, more focused. He could feel it responding to his thoughts, ready to explode outward if he let it.
Raze barked sharply, snapping him out of his trance. The wolf was staring at a nearby crystal formation, where a small creature had emerged. It looked like a mutated lizard, its body lined with glowing Enerion veins. Its eyes burned red, and its movements were jittery, erratic.
Alex held up the shard, watching as the creature hissed and backed away.
"Looks like you don't like this thing," Alex said, stepping closer. "But let's see if it works."
Focusing on the shard, Alex willed the energy within it to extend outward. The blue glow flared, sending a wave of light across the creature. The lizard screeched, its body trembling as it froze in place. Slowly, cautiously, Alex reached out with his other hand.
The moment his fingers touched its skin, the Enerion in his shard surged. The creature let out a final hiss before falling limp, its body dissolving into light that flowed into the shard.
Alex stared at the shard in awe. The lizard's energy now pulsed within it, faint but distinct.
"So that's how it works," he muttered, glancing at Raze. "We can use this stuff to tame them."
Raze huffed in approval, her tail flicking once.
The path to the spire grew more treacherous as Alex pressed on. The terrain became jagged and unstable, with fissures crackling with Enerion energy. The air itself felt heavier, pressing against his chest with each step.
And then he saw them.
A group of humanoid figures moved through the glowing mist ahead, their bodies grotesquely mutated. Their skin was marred by glowing Enerion veins, and their eyes burned with a sickly green light. Each carried weapons fused with Enerion crystals, their jagged forms pulsing with energy.
Alex crouched low, watching as the group scavenged from a cluster of crystalline remains.
"Ravagers," he muttered.
Raze growled softly, her body tense.
These weren't rogues or survivors—they were something else. Humans so deeply corrupted by Enerion that they were barely recognizable. Whatever humanity they'd once had was gone, replaced by an insatiable hunger for power.
Alex gritted his teeth. He could feel the pull of the shard in his hand, urging him forward.
"We can't avoid them," he said, his voice low. "Let's make this quick."
Alex moved like a shadow, keeping low as he approached the group. The Ravagers seemed distracted, their attention focused on tearing apart the crystalline remains.
The first one didn't see him coming. Alex's shard flared as he drove it into the creature's back. The energy surged, and the Ravager let out a guttural scream before collapsing.
The others turned, their eyes blazing with fury.
"Raze, go!" Alex shouted.
The wolf sprang into action, darting between the Ravagers with blinding speed. Her jaws clamped onto the nearest one, tearing through its mutated flesh.
Alex ducked under a wild swing from another, driving his glowing fist into its ribs. The impact sent a shockwave through its body, cracking the Enerion veins running along its skin. The creature staggered, but Alex didn't let up. He grabbed its arm, twisting it violently before slamming the shard into its chest.
The final Ravager lunged, its Enerion weapon crackling with energy. Alex barely dodged the strike, the blade slicing through the air inches from his face. He retaliated with a vicious kick to the creature's knee, dropping it to the ground.
"Not so tough," Alex muttered, raising the shard.
Before he could strike, the creature let out a deafening roar. Its body began to glow, the Enerion veins pulsing wildly.
"Shit," Alex said, stepping back.
The Ravager exploded in a burst of energy, the force throwing Alex and Raze to the ground. When the dust settled, the only trace of the creature was a faintly glowing crystal.
Alex groaned, pushing himself to his feet. His body ached, but the shard in his hand pulsed steadily, stronger than before.
"That was… new," he said, glancing at Raze.
The wolf shook herself, her fur streaked with dirt but otherwise unharmed.
Alex pocketed the crystal and turned toward the spire, now closer than ever.
"Let's keep moving," he said. "We're almost there.
The towering spire loomed ahead, its dark, jagged structure clawing at the swirling sky. Lightning arced from its surface, illuminating the fractured landscape in bursts of eerie light. The ground beneath Alex's feet was no longer the cracked, glowing terrain he had grown accustomed to—it was darker, pulsing with veins of raw Enerion that radiated power.
Alex gripped the shard tightly, his glowing fist a faint beacon in the oppressive gloom. Raze prowled silently beside him, her fur bristling with tension. Every step closer to the spire made the air feel heavier, pressing against his chest like an unseen force.
"This place is wrong," Alex muttered, his voice barely audible over the distant hum of the spire.
Raze growled softly, her glowing blue eyes scanning the horizon.
The area surrounding the spire was far from empty. Twisted creatures roamed in the shadows—hulking forms with jagged limbs and glowing eyes. They moved in strange, jerky patterns, as if the Enerion coursing through them was too much for their bodies to handle.
Alex crouched behind a cluster of blackened rocks, watching as one of the beasts lumbered past. Its body was massive, its scales cracked and oozing with faintly glowing liquid.
"These things are on another level," Alex whispered, gripping the shard. "We can't fight them head-on."
He scanned the area, noting the clusters of smaller Enerion crystals scattered across the ground. Their faint glow cast shifting patterns on the surrounding rocks.
"Maybe we don't have to," he murmured, an idea forming in his mind.
Alex moved cautiously, his steps light and deliberate. He circled the area, gathering smaller shards from the crystal formations. Each one pulsed faintly in his hand, the energy within them resonating with his own.
"Alright," he said, glancing at Raze. "Let's make some noise."
He placed the shards strategically, arranging them in a rough semicircle around a cluster of jagged rocks. The goal was simple: draw one of the creatures into the trap and overload the shards, using the raw energy to take it down.
Raze tilted her head, watching him work with a mix of curiosity and understanding.
"You're the bait," Alex said, scratching behind her ears. "Think you can handle it?"
The wolf huffed, her glowing eyes narrowing.
"Good girl," he said, patting her side.
Raze darted out from the rocks, her silver fur glowing brightly as she barked sharply. The sound echoed across the barren landscape, drawing the attention of a nearby beast.
The creature turned, its glowing eyes locking onto her. It let out a guttural roar, its lumbering body charging toward her with terrifying speed.
Raze led it straight into the trap, weaving through the shards with practiced ease.
"Come on," Alex muttered, gripping his shard tightly.
As the beast stepped into the trap, the shards began to pulse violently. Alex focused, channeling his energy into the central shard he held. The crystals flared, their light blinding as the energy surged outward.
The beast roared, its body convulsing as the energy tore through it. Cracks spidered across its scales, glowing with blinding intensity. With one final roar, the creature collapsed, its massive form dissolving into motes of light that swirled around Alex before fading into the shard.
Alex dropped to one knee, breathing heavily as the shard in his hand pulsed with new power.
"That worked better than I thought," he muttered, glancing at Raze.
The wolf trotted over, her tail wagging faintly.
"Good girl," Alex said, scratching behind her ears. "Let's keep moving."
The closer Alex got to the spire, the more the land around him changed. The ground was no longer cracked and glowing—it was twisted and deformed, littered with jagged crystalline formations and pools of liquid Enerion that hissed and bubbled.
The air itself seemed alive, shifting and crackling with static. Every breath Alex took felt heavy, the Enerion in the atmosphere saturating his lungs.
"This place is tearing itself apart," he muttered, stepping carefully around a bubbling pool.
Raze sniffed the air, her growl low and constant.
The creatures here were different. They weren't just mutated—they were something else entirely. Their bodies were barely recognizable, twisted into grotesque shapes that defied logic. One had multiple glowing limbs that sprouted at odd angles, while another dragged a crystalline tail that sparked as it moved.
Alex avoided them as best he could, sticking to the shadows and using the terrain to his advantage. But the deeper he ventured, the harder it became to stay unnoticed.
One of the creatures—a massive, hulking brute with glowing spikes protruding from its back—caught sight of him.
"Damn it," Alex hissed, gripping his shard as the beast let out a deafening roar.
The brute charged, its massive fists smashing into the ground where Alex had stood moments before. The impact sent shockwaves through the earth, knocking Alex off his feet.
He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding another strike. Raze darted in, snapping at the beast's legs to draw its attention.
"Keep it busy!" Alex shouted, scrambling to his feet.
The brute turned toward Raze, its spiked tail swinging wildly. The wolf ducked under the attack, her movements quick and precise.
Alex spotted a cluster of Enerion crystals nearby, their glow faint but steady. He sprinted toward them, channeling his energy into his shard as he ran.
"Let's see what this can do," he muttered, slamming the shard into the crystal.
The energy surged, the crystals flaring brightly as they resonated with his shard. The brute turned, its glowing eyes narrowing as it charged.
Alex waited until the last moment, then released the energy.
The resulting explosion was blinding, the shockwave throwing Alex backward. The brute roared in pain, its body cracking and splintering as the energy tore through it.
When the dust settled, the brute was gone, its remains dissolving into faintly glowing motes that drifted toward Alex's shard.
Alex groaned, pushing himself to his feet. His body ached, and his vision swam, but the shard in his hand pulsed with newfound strength.
"Worth it," he muttered, glancing at Raze.
The wolf trotted over, her tail wagging slightly.
"Come on," Alex said, looking toward the spire. "We're almost there."
As Alex climbed the final ridge before the spire, a strange sensation washed over him. The shard in his hand pulsed erratically, and the air around him shimmered.
When he reached the top, the sight before him stopped him in his tracks.
Floating above the spire was a fractured image—Earth.
But it wasn't the Earth Alex remembered. The cities were dark, their skylines jagged and broken. Fires burned in the distance, and massive creatures roamed the ruins. The land itself seemed alive, glowing with the same Enerion veins that pulsed beneath his feet.
"Earth's… gone," Alex whispered, his voice trembling.
Raze growled softly, pressing against his side.
The sight ignited something in Alex—a burning determination.
"I'm going back," he said, his voice firm. "Whatever's left, I'm going to fix it. This isn't over."
With renewed purpose, Alex turned toward the spire.
"Let's end this."