Kael's POV
The soft singing of the gentle breeze danced through the shutters, carrying with it a faint smell of earth and trees. The steady creaking of the rocking chair nearby was soothing, enough to soothe me into complacency. Almost. My parents were still processing the information that was dropped on them. They sat facing each other in a hushed conversation, their voices kept low but urgent.
And then there is her.
Serum, who stood by the door with her arms crossed still at this point, observed the room whilst sending glances at me here and there. Each time, it felt like she was staring into my soul, unraveling my secrets. Not that there was much I was hiding in the first place. I was an overgrown adult trapped in a child's body, after all.
The weight of her earlier words still lingers in the back of my mind: "This child... There is something special about him."
Special. Right. If by "special," she meant I'd seem to have been cursed with some cosmic connection to these corruption-spreading artifacts, then sure, sign me up.
But who would he even still use the word "resonance"? The fuck does does that even mean?
Elias's POV
My mind was a mess. The stranger's words were still etched into the back of my mind, refusing to be silenced. "A chain reaction that could destroy the village," she had said.
I glanced over to check on Mira, my heart ached with worry. Her eyes were seemingly unfocused as if dazed from staring at Kael, which she had been doing for some time now. Her protective motherly instinct showed in her every move. I wanted to comfort her, telling her we'd be alright. That we will protect our son no matter what. But Serin's arrival had thrown those plans out, even I now wasn't too sure of things yet.
"I need to see this artifact for myself," I said in a low voice finally breaking the silence. "If it's as dangerous as you say then we can't afford to waste time."
Serin nodded in agreement having a grim but determined expression. "I can guide you there but it won't be an easy journey. The artifact had changed the forest, making the creatures more hostile by the day." So we'll need to move quickly."
Mira stepped forward, her voice firm. "You're not going alone."
"I can't leave you and Kael unprotected," I argued, though her determination left no room for anything else.
We'll be fine," she replied her tone firm. "Ana will stay with Kael until we come back. The guards can keep watch as well. Plus you'll need me if the artifact is as powerful as you say it is"
I sighed, knowing that this was a losing battle, I agreed.
The Forest - Elias's POV
The forest was darker than before; the sunlight struggledd to make it through the gaps to let in light. The corruption had spread further than I'd expected, expanding its destruction and thick, eerie air everywhere.
The four of us stood tall-Serin, Mira, Thorne and I moved in the dead silent forest. The familiar blackened trees with skeletal branches that seem unnatural slowly come into view.
"It's close," Serin murmured, her hand resting on her curved daggers at her side. " I can feel it."
Mira frowned, and I watched as the grip tightened around the staff she carried. The artifact's energy pulsated as its dark energy was coursing through the very ground we walked on.
The hairs don't. The back of my neck stood on end as we entered a clearing. There was, larger than the other fragments that I had destroyed, menacingly glowing with an ominous red light. Tendrils of shadows coiled around it, pulsing in time with its energy.
"Mother of stars..." Mira breathed, her voice filled with shock as she observed the sight in front of her.
"It's feeding," Serin said grimly. "The corruption spreads as it grows stronger."
I quickly drew my sword, channeling aetheric energy into it. "How do we destroy it?"
"It won't be as easy as just shattering it," Serin replied. "This one is tethered to something or someone. By severing that connection will take more than just brute force."
Before I could give a response, the ground suddenly trembled beneath our feet. Dark tendrils erupted from the earth, writhing and lashing violently at us.
"Get ready!" Thorne shouted, moving to cut down the first wave.
Kael's POV
Back in the village, I was in my crib, staring at the cast shadows on the walls. I hated being left behind. Not knowing what's happening around. But more than anything else I hated the feeling of being powerless.
That's when I felt it, A faint heartbeat a distance away. It wasn't coming from me, but it was a familiar sensation to me. What is it?
Bringing my tiny body to the edge of the crib, I tried to focus on this pulse, trying to tune into it. This energy felt as if it were a thread. Leading off into the distance.
And shockingly I saw it. Well not exactly with my eyes, but in my mind. A clearing was described by my father as where he had found the artifacts. I was looking at the battle that my parents were having with dark, long coil-like things. My father moved far faster than I could imagine at first, skillfully wielding his sword to cut through the darkness; my mother now had a staff looking like a mage from some fantasy world with a glowing protective energy.
At that moment, I felt connected to them. To the artifacts. To something far greater than myself.
Elias's POV
The battle was a chaos. The tendrils seem to be endless, regenerating as soon as they were cut down. Mira stood behind us, casting barriers and healing spells quickly as her staff was glowing brightly.
"We're being overwhelmed!" Thorne shouted, cutting through thick tendrils that had wrapped itself around his leg.
Serin was moving gracefully slashing through the tendrils with her daggers. "We need to sever the connection! That's the only way to stop this!"
I nodded gripping my sword tightly as I rushed forward, cutting anything that was in my way. The closer I got to the artifact, the stronger the resistance became. As if the artifact itself was fighting back, trying to push me back.
When I had finally reached it, I could feel its energy vibrating through the air.
I raised my sword, channeling all my remaining aetheric energy into one strike.
The blade connected, cracking the artifact and sending A large shockwave of energy as it repealed the world around it. As it slowly calmed down, the shards of the once artifact littered the ground. The tendrils dissolved, leaving just silence behind.
Back at Eldrim
By the time we had returned to the village, the sun had already set, leaving the world in darkness, only eliminated by fire or Aether.
Mira clutched my arm as we walked slowly; she looked exhausted because of how many times she had cast healing and created barriers.
Serin followed along behind us, her expression unreadable. Thorne up ahead led us back to the village.
As we approached our home, I felt guilty for leaving Kael for so long, even though Ana was there to look after him while we were away.
When we stepped inside, I thought that he would be fast asleep. But instead, he was wide awake, looking happy that we were back.
'Hey there little warrior," I said softly, caressing his hair.
His tiny hands grabbed onto my tunic; for a moment, I could have sworn I saw a hint of understanding within his golden eyes.
Kael's POV
I watched my father's face as he spoke, with his soft yet tired voice. There was a weight in his words, A burden which he had to carry for our sake.
I wanted to tell him what I had seen, but I couldn't.
I lay back, my hand brushing against the wooden bar of my prison, thinking of what would come next.