Kael stood over the unstable shard, its erratic glow casting flickering shadows across his face. His shadow twisted unnaturally, responding to the shard's pulsing energy as if drawn to it. Torran and Elira stood a few steps behind him, their expressions tense.
"You're not really going to touch that thing, are you?" Torran asked, his tone sharp.
Kael didn't reply immediately. The shard's energy pulled at him, the same pull he had felt with the first shard but magnified, chaotic and relentless. His chest tightened as the whispers of the Monolith returned, faint but unmistakable.
"It's waiting for you, Edgeweaver. The truth lies ahead."
Elira placed a hand on Kael's arm. "We don't know what that thing will do. The last shard barely reacted to us, but this one... it's different."
Kael turned to her, his expression resolute. "It's a risk we have to take. If this shard can show us more about the Monoliths, it might be our only way to stop them."
"Or it could turn you into one of them," Torran snapped, his sword gleaming faintly in the crimson light. "You don't know what you're dealing with, Kael. None of us do."
Kael hesitated, the weight of Torran's words pressing against his resolve. But the pull of the shard was too strong to ignore. "We don't have time to debate this," he said firmly. "Whatever happens, we need answers."
Before anyone could stop him, Kael reached out and grasped the shard.
The reaction was immediate. The shard flared brightly, its unstable energy surging through Kael's hand and into his body. His shadow coiled tightly around him, twisting and writhing as it merged with the shard's chaotic power.
"Kael!" Elira shouted, stepping forward, but a pulse of energy erupted from the shard, forcing her and Torran to shield their eyes.
Kael gasped as his vision blurred, the world around him dissolving into darkness. The Monolith's hum filled his ears, growing louder and louder until it became a deafening roar. Then the darkness shifted, replaced by fragmented, chaotic images.
He saw a vast network of Monoliths, their tendrils of energy stretching across the System like veins. Each Monolith pulsed with corrupted power, their rhythms syncing and clashing in chaotic unison. At the center of it all was a massive core, larger than any Monolith he had seen before. Its light was blinding, its energy overwhelming, and its tendrils reached far beyond the edges of his vision.
The whispers returned, clearer and more insistent. "The network is breaking. The Reset is failing. Only you can restore balance."
Kael staggered, his grip on the shard tightening as the visions grew sharper. He saw himself standing before the core, his shadow fully entwined with its tendrils. The image twisted, and he saw the System collapsing, the Nodes shattering as waves of corruption spread unchecked.
"No," Kael murmured, his voice trembling. "That's not who I am."
"It is who you were made to be," the voice replied coldly. "You cannot escape your purpose, Edgeweaver."
The vision shattered, and Kael collapsed to his knees, the shard clutched tightly in his hand. His shadow flickered violently, coiling around him like a living thing.
Elira knelt beside him, her hand steadying his shoulder. "Kael, what happened? What did you see?"
Kael's breathing was ragged as he forced himself to look up at her. "The network... it's bigger than we thought. And the corruption isn't just spreading—it's accelerating. There's a core at the center of it all. If we don't stop it..."
Torran stepped closer, his expression grim. "If we don't stop it, what?"
Kael's shadow stilled for a moment, dark and heavy beneath him. "The System will fall. And I'll be the one to destroy it."
The chamber fell silent, the weight of Kael's words pressing heavily on them all.
Kael sat on the ground, his hands trembling as he placed the unstable shard in front of him. Its erratic glow cast dancing shadows across the jagged walls of the chamber. His shadow twisted unnaturally, coiling tightly around him as if trying to anchor him to the spot.
Torran paced nearby, his frustration evident in the sharp clink of his armor with each step. "You touched it. Now what? All we've got is more riddles and doom."
"Calm down, Torran," Elira said, kneeling beside the shard. "Kael just saw... something. We need to figure out what this thing is trying to show us."
Kael took a deep breath, steadying himself. "It's not just a piece of the Monolith. It's connected to all of them. The network, the corruption—it's all tied together. And this shard is a part of it."
Before Torran could reply, the shard pulsed brightly, its glow spilling across the chamber. Patterns of light stretched outward, forming intricate, shifting runes that hovered in the air. The group stepped back as the runes began to align, creating a map suspended in midair.
Elira's eyes widened as she studied the projection. "It's showing us... Monoliths. Two of them."
The map displayed two glowing points. One was nearby, its faint glow steady and rhythmic. The second was far to the north, deep in an uncharted, hostile region. The light around it flickered violently, like a fire on the verge of extinguishing.
Kael moved closer, his shadow reaching toward the map. "The nearby Monolith," he said, his voice heavy. "It's weaker. Easier to reach."
"And the other one?" Torran asked, his arms crossed.
Kael pointed to the flickering light. "Stronger. More corrupted. But it's also unstable. If we could reach it, we might learn more—maybe even stop whatever's at the core."
Torran shook his head. "We don't even know if we can survive the second one. We should deal with the one we know we can handle first."
"That might not be enough," Kael countered. "The corruption is spreading faster than we thought. If the unstable Monolith collapses before we get to it, it could take a huge part of the System down with it."
Elira stepped between them, her calm voice cutting through the tension. "We need to think this through. If we go after the unstable Monolith, we're taking a bigger risk, but we might get closer to the truth. If we deal with the weaker one first, it buys us time, but it might not be enough to stop the corruption."
Torran glared at Kael, his frustration simmering. "Every time you touch one of these things, you get pulled deeper into whatever the Monolith wants. How do we know you're not leading us straight into its trap?"
Kael met Torran's gaze, his shadow flaring slightly. "You don't," he admitted. "But we can't ignore this. The System isn't going to wait for us to feel safe."
Elira sighed, rubbing her temples. "We don't have to decide now," she said. "Let's get out of this dungeon alive first."
The shard flickered, its energy dimming as the map dissolved into fragments of light. Kael picked it up carefully, his shadow steadying around him.
As the hum of the Monolith grew louder in the distance, Elira turned toward the exit. "If this place reacts to the shard like the last chamber did, we're not going to like what's waiting for us next."
Torran tightened his grip on his sword, his jaw clenched. "We'll deal with it. But after this, Kael, you'd better figure out whose side you're really on."
Kael didn't respond. He couldn't shake the image of the unstable Monolith from his mind, its flickering light burned into his thoughts.
As they moved deeper into the dungeon, the weight of the shard in his pack grew heavier, and the pull of the Monolith became impossible to ignore.
The corridor beyond the shard's chamber was wide and ominous, its walls glowing faintly with pulsing crimson veins. The oppressive hum of the Monolith was louder now, reverberating through the walls and floor like a heartbeat. Kael led the group cautiously, his shadow flickering at his feet.
"It's getting stronger," Kael muttered, his voice tight.
Elira glanced at him, her bow drawn. "What do you mean, stronger?"
Kael hesitated, gripping the shard in his pack as it pulsed faintly against his back. "The energy. It's reacting to the shard. The dungeon knows we have it."
Torran raised his shield, his expression grim. "Then it's only a matter of time before it sends something worse."
His words were punctuated by a deep, resonant rumble that shook the corridor. Cracks spiderwebbed across the walls, and bursts of crimson light flared from the veins. The air grew heavier, the hum turning into a deafening roar.
"Something's coming!" Elira shouted, stepping back as the ground beneath them trembled.
The walls at the far end of the corridor exploded outward in a shower of debris, and a wave of corrupted creatures surged forward. These were larger and more grotesque than the ones they had faced before, their bodies twisted amalgamations of flesh and metal, their glowing red eyes locked on the group.
"Here we go again!" Torran bellowed, raising his shield to block the first creature's lunge. The impact sent him staggering back, but he held his ground, countering with a powerful slash that cut through the beast's corrupted form.
Elira loosed an arrow, the projectile striking another creature in the eye and sending it crashing to the ground. "There's too many of them!" she called, drawing another arrow as the wave pressed closer.
Kael's shadow writhed violently, reacting to the overwhelming energy in the air. He raised his hand, summoning a tendril of darkness that lashed out at one of the creatures, binding it in place.
[Skill Activated: Shadow Bind]
Effect: Temporarily immobilizes a single target.
"Keep moving!" Kael shouted, his voice strained as he fought to control the chaotic energy surging through his shadow.
Torran cut down another creature, his sword glowing faintly as he activated a skill. "I'm not leaving you behind, Kael!" he growled, deflecting a clawed swipe with his shield.
Elira sidestepped an attacking creature, her dagger flashing as she drove it into the beast's side. "We can't hold this position! We have to get out of here!"
Kael focused on the creatures ahead, his shadow forming a lance of dark energy that he hurled into their ranks. The blast sent several of them reeling, but more surged forward to take their place.
"They're not stopping!" Kael shouted, his shadow flaring as he stumbled back.
Torran glanced at Elira. "Cover him! I'll hold them off!"
Elira nodded, firing another arrow that struck a creature lunging for Kael. "I've got him!"
The shard in Kael's pack pulsed violently, and the creatures seemed to hesitate for a moment, their glowing eyes flickering. The Monolith's hum intensified, its energy surging through the corridor as if responding to the shard's instability.
Kael seized the moment, summoning his strength as his shadow lashed out in a wide arc, cutting through several of the creatures. "Now's our chance!"
The group pushed forward, cutting a path through the chaos as the corridor began to collapse around them. Torran shielded Kael and Elira from falling debris, his shield absorbing the brunt of the impacts.
Ahead, the corridor opened into a smaller chamber, its walls lined with pulsating runes. The group stumbled inside, their breathing ragged as the creatures were momentarily held back by the narrowing passage.
"This won't hold them for long," Torran said, lowering his shield.
Kael pulled the shard from his pack, its flickering light casting erratic shadows across the chamber. The unstable energy within it surged, projecting an image into the air—a massive Monolith, its tendrils entwined with a glowing core. The image pulsed faintly, its light dimming and flickering like a dying flame.
A deep, resonant voice filled the chamber, cold and unyielding. "You cannot deny your purpose, Edgeweaver. The System's future depends on your submission."
Kael staggered, the voice pressing heavily against his thoughts. His shadow writhed violently, reacting to the words.
Elira grabbed his arm, her voice steady. "Kael, don't listen to it. It's trying to get inside your head."
Torran stepped forward, his sword at the ready. "We need to destroy that thing, whatever it takes. No more waiting, no more visions—just action."
The voice echoed again, its tone sharper. "Every step you take binds you further to the System's will. You are not its savior. You are its weapon."
The shard's light flared, and the creatures outside the chamber let out a collective roar, their claws and bodies slamming against the narrowing passage.
"We don't have time for this!" Elira shouted. "We need to move!"
Kael stared at the shard, its light dimming as the voice faded. He clenched his fist, tucking it back into his pack. "Then let's go. We'll find the next Monolith—and stop this, for good."
As the creatures began to break through, the group sprinted for the next corridor, their path lit by the faint, flickering glow of the Monolith's unstable energy.