The stream's gentle murmur provided a fragile sense of calm. Kael leaned against a moss-covered rock, his eyes heavy with exhaustion but his mind racing. The fragment in his hand thrummed faintly, its pulse matching his heartbeat. It was as if the wilds themselves were alive within him, guiding him forward while tethering him to the earth beneath his feet.
Rhea returned from the shadows, her expression grim. "No sign of pursuit, but we can't trust the quiet. Whatever sent the Keepers won't stop."
Kael nodded, his grip tightening on the fragment. "The closer we get, the more desperate they'll become."
Adrin sat nearby, sharpening his blade with methodical strokes. The rhythmic sound filled the silence. "What about the next fragment? Do we even know where to start looking?"
Kael glanced toward the horizon, where the first light of dawn was beginning to pierce the canopy. The wilds spoke to him in whispers, guiding him through instinct rather than reason. He didn't fully understand it, but he trusted it.
"There's a ruin," he said. "Deep in the northern wilds. The fragments call to each other, and the next one... it's there. I can feel it."
Rhea frowned. "A ruin? That doesn't sound promising. If it's been abandoned, who knows what might be waiting for us."
Kael met her gaze, unflinching. "We don't have a choice."
The fire crackled between them, casting shadows that danced like specters on the trees. The weight of their mission pressed on them all, but there was no room for hesitation. The fragments weren't just the key to the Heart—they were a lifeline for a world on the brink of collapse.
By midday, they were moving again, weaving through dense undergrowth and jagged terrain. The wilds grew wilder the farther north they traveled, the air thick with an ancient, oppressive energy. The trees here were older, their gnarled branches clawing at the sky like skeletal hands. Every step felt like a challenge, as though the land itself was testing their resolve.
Kael led the way, his senses heightened by the fragment's power. The connection between him and the wilds had deepened since the battle, and now he could feel the land breathing around him. It was alive, watching, waiting.
"This place is wrong," Adrin muttered, his voice low. "It feels... cursed."
Rhea shot him a glance. "It's not cursed. It's scared. The wilds know what's coming, and they're reacting."
Kael didn't respond. His focus was ahead, where a faint glow was just barely visible through the trees. The ruin was close, and with it, the next fragment.
But as they approached, a low growl echoed through the forest, stopping them in their tracks. Kael's grip tightened on his spear, his eyes scanning the shadows.
"Something's here," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
The growl grew louder, more guttural, and from the darkness emerged a creature unlike any Kael had seen. Its body was twisted and grotesque, its eyes burning with unnatural light. It was as if the wilds themselves had spawned a nightmare to guard their secrets.
"Stay back," Kael ordered, stepping forward.
The creature lunged, its speed defying its size. Kael met it head-on, his spear a blur as it struck. The impact sent a shockwave through the air, but the creature barely flinched. Its claws raked at him, and Kael barely managed to dodge, his body moving on instinct.
Rhea and Adrin joined the fray, their attacks coordinated and precise. But the creature was relentless, its every movement fueled by raw, chaotic energy. Kael could feel it—the same energy as the fragments, but corrupted, twisted into something monstrous.
"Kael!" Rhea shouted. "The fragment—it's reacting!"
Kael glanced at the fragment in his hand, its glow intensifying. Without hesitation, he pressed it against the creature, the power surging through him like a tidal wave. The creature screamed, its body writhing as the energy consumed it.
In an instant, it was over. The creature dissolved into ash, its form scattering on the wind. Kael dropped to one knee, the fragment still pulsing in his hand.
"What was that?" Adrin asked, his voice shaking.
Rhea knelt beside Kael, her expression grim. "A guardian. The wilds aren't just protecting the fragments—they're fighting back."
Kael looked up, his eyes blazing with determination. "Then we fight too. Until the Heart is whole."
The ruin loomed ahead, its dark silhouette a testament to the challenges yet to come. The wilds were alive, and so was their resolve. The next fragment awaited, and with it, the next piece of the truth.