The jagged peaks of the eastern mountains rose before Kael, Rhea, and Adrin like the teeth of a vast predator. The air grew colder as they approached, each step carrying them closer to the next fragment and the dangers it surely held.
Kael felt the fragment in his possession pulse faintly, guiding him forward. The wilds' energy surged through his veins, bolstering his resolve, but a lingering unease gnawed at him. The creature they had faced earlier was unlike anything he had encountered before—a twisted amalgamation of beast and something darker. It was a harbinger of what lay ahead.
Adrin broke the silence. "We're walking into a trap. You realize that, right?"
Kael didn't look back. "If it's a trap, we'll break it."
"Bold words," Rhea said, her tone cautious. "But Adrin's not wrong. We don't know what's waiting for us up there."
"Then we'll find out," Kael said simply, his grip tightening on his spear.
As they neared the mountain's base, a shadow flickered in the distance, moving too quickly to be natural. Kael halted, his senses on high alert.
"Something's watching us," he said.
Rhea and Adrin drew their weapons, their gazes scanning the rocky terrain. The shadow appeared again, this time closer—a figure darting between the rocks with inhuman speed.
"Show yourself!" Kael shouted, his voice echoing through the mountain pass.
The figure stopped, stepping into view. It was a man, tall and lean, clad in dark, weathered armor. His face was obscured by a hood, but his eyes gleamed with a predatory light.
"You've come far," the stranger said, his voice cold and sharp. "Too far."
"Who are you?" Kael demanded, raising his spear.
The man tilted his head. "A warden of this place. And you are trespassing."
Kael felt the fragment pulse again, as if reacting to the man's presence. "We're here for the fragment. If you stand in our way, you'll regret it."
The warden chuckled, a low, humorless sound. "You think the fragment is yours to take? You don't understand its power. Its cost."
"I understand enough," Kael shot back. "More than you think."
The warden's gaze shifted to Rhea and Adrin, his expression unreadable. "You travel with allies, yet the burden you carry is yours alone. The fragment is not a gift—it is a curse. And you are already marked."
Kael stepped forward, his voice hard. "If you're here to stop me, you can try. But I won't turn back."
The warden regarded him for a long moment before speaking. "I am not your enemy, Kael. Not yet. The wilds have chosen you, but their choice is not absolute. Prove yourself, and I will allow you to pass."
"And if I refuse?" Kael asked.
The warden's eyes narrowed. "Then you will fall."
Rhea stepped forward, her blade at the ready. "If this is a challenge, then we're ready."
The warden raised a hand, and the ground beneath them trembled. Shadows coalesced around him, forming the shapes of beasts—dark, twisted echoes of the wilds' creatures.
Kael tightened his grip on his spear, his pulse quickening. This was no ordinary foe. The warden's power was unlike anything he had faced before, and the battle ahead would test him in ways he could not yet fathom.
But Kael was ready. He had to be.
The wilds demanded it.