The flickering candlelight in Vivienne's chambers cast ominous shadows against the stone walls, but it wasn't the dim light that was causing her unease. It was the searing pain running up her arm. She had felt it first during the battle at Ashridge—a burning sensation, like cold fire licking her skin. At the time, she had dismissed it as fatigue or a battle wound. But now, as she pulled back her sleeve, the truth became undeniable.
A strange mark had appeared on her forearm. It shimmered faintly, an intricate design that seemed almost alive. Dark tendrils weaved into a circular pattern, with a jagged tear at its center. The mark pulsed faintly, mirroring her heartbeat.
Vivienne pressed her fingers against it, and an icy shock shot through her body. Her vision blurred, and the room around her faded.
When her eyes finally cleared, Vivienne was no longer in her chambers. She stood in a great expanse of darkness, the air thick with oppressive energy. Around her, fragments of the world she knew floated aimlessly: pieces of buildings, faces of people she recognized, shattered moments of time.
And then she saw it—the shadow entity. It stood at the center of the void, a formless mass of shifting darkness. Its presence was overwhelming, a malevolent force that seemed to consume everything it touched.
"You are but a fragment," a voice whispered, low and resonant. It wasn't her voice or even the entity's, but something more primal. "Yet you hold the power to disrupt. Why do you resist?"
Before she could answer, the scene shifted. The void became a battlefield, one that Vivienne didn't recognize. Figures clashed in the distance, their movements blurred and frantic. Among them, she saw herself-or someone who looked like her.
The figure had the same mark on their arm, but it was glowing brighter, emanating power. They raised a sword, slashing through the shadowy tendrils, but with each strike, they seemed to be draining further. The scene abruptly ended, and Vivienne was jolted back to reality.
Vivienne gasped, clutching her arm as she collapsed onto her bed. Her body felt heavy, as if the vision had drained her of energy. The mark on her arm pulsed faintly, a reminder of what she had seen.
A knock at the door broke through her haze. "Vivienne? Are you alright?" It was Magnus.
"Come in," she said, her voice weaker than she intended.
Magnus entered, his sharp eyes immediately catching the tension in her posture. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Not a ghost," Vivienne said, pulling her sleeve back to reveal the mark. "This."
Magnus approached cautiously, his brow furrowing as he examined the mark. "That's no ordinary wound."
"It appeared after our battle at Ashridge," Vivienne explained. "I ignored it at first, but now. I think it's connected to the shadow entity. I saw things, Magnus! Visions of its plans. But it's not just showing me—it's taking something from me."
Magnus' face darkened. "We need answers, and fast. This could be a weapon, or it could be a curse. Either way, it's not something you can fight alone."
Magnus and Vivienne sought out Alaric, whose knowledge of the shadow entity had proved invaluable before. They found him in the castle's library, poring over ancient tomes.
When Vivienne revealed the mark, Alaric's reaction was immediate. "The Shadow's Mark," he said, his voice heavy with recognition.
"You know what this is?" Vivienne asked.
Alaric nodded. "I've read about it in the oldest texts, remnants of stories that were never finished. The shadow entity uses the mark to tether itself to individuals it deems. significant. It's both a curse and a gift. It grants visions, yes, but at a cost. The more you use its power, the more it consumes you."
"Consumes me how?" Vivienne asked, her voice steady despite the fear gnawing at her.
"Your strength, your essence," Alaric said grimly. "The mark feeds on it, growing stronger as you grow weaker. Eventually, it could take everything."
Vivienne leaned against the table, the weight of Alaric's words pressing down on her. "Is there a way to remove it?"
Alaric hesitated. "The mark is tied to the shadow entity itself. To remove it, you'd need to sever its connection at the source. But doing so would require a direct confrontation, and I don't need to tell you how dangerous that would be."
Magnus crossed his arms. "Then we don't wait for it to drain her completely. We take the fight to this entity before it gets any stronger."
"That's easier said than done," Alaric warned. "The shadow entity is not bound by the same rules as we are. It exists between worlds, feeding on the instability of fractured narratives. Finding it would require more than just courage. It would require power—power we might not have."
Vivienne straightened, her resolve hardening. "Then we'll find that power. I won't let this thing control me. If the mark is a curse, I'll bear it. If it's a weapon, I'll wield it. But I won't let it break me."
Over the next few days, Vivienne began to experiment with the mark's abilities. Every time she touched it, she was drawn into visions of the shadow entity's plans: its forces expanding, rewriting characters and stories, turning them into mindless puppets. But she also saw its vulnerabilities-brief moments where its form wavered, cracks appearing in its otherwise impenetrable facade.
However, every vision came at a price. Vivienne grew weaker, her movements slower, her strength diminishing. Magnus and Dahlia took notice, their concern growing with each passing day.
"You're pushing yourself too hard," Dahlia said one evening as they prepared for another battle against the shadow entity's minions.
"I have no choice," Vivienne retorted, strapping herself even more tightly into the armor. "If I don't use this mark, we're never going to find any way to stop it."
"But if you do, you won't last much longer to stop it anyway," Dahlia opposed.
One night, while Vivienne was sleeping restlessly, the mark flared brighter than ever. The vision this time was different; instead of the shadow entity, she saw a figure against it-a figure who radiated light, his presence being a beacon of hope in darkness.
The figure turned to her, and Vivienne gasped- it was Cedric.
And when she awoke, the vision remained with her. His role in this story was more than she had known. If she could find him and convince him to embrace his fate, they might stand a chance against the shadow entity.
Vivienne shared her vision with Magnus and Dahlia the next morning.
"Cedric's the key," she said. "I don't know how, but he has a part to play in this. We need to find him."
Magnus nodded. "Then we split up. I'll gather what forces we can to hold the line here. Dahlia and I will continue fighting the rifts. You go to Cedric. Convince him to join us."
Vivienne hesitated. "And if I fail?"
"You won't," Magnus said firmly. "You've come too far to let this story end in defeat."
With those words, Vivienne set out, her resolve unshaken despite the growing toll of the mark.