The air inside the ruined tavern was thick with smoke and the acrid scent of burning timber. A heavy silence followed the explosion of power that Nolan had unwittingly unleashed. The dust in the air hung like a shroud, mingling with the soft glow of embers that still flickered from the scattered debris. The once warm and inviting tavern was now a shattered shell, with jagged wooden beams crumbling from the ceiling and splintered tables littering the floor.
Nolan lay sprawled across the cold, broken wood, blinking through the haze, trying to regain his bearings. His hands still radiated with a faint golden glow, though the light had become more erratic—pulsing weakly as if the power within him had exhausted itself for the moment.
The impact of his outburst was felt beyond the walls of the tavern. Outside, the snow-covered streets of Glacier's Rest were streaked with the glow of the auroras, twisting violently across the sky like fractured beams of light from an unseen source. The wind howled through the cracks in the building, whipping snow into swirling gusts. Everything was changing. The air felt heavy, thick with the weight of something momentous unfolding.
Finn's voice cut through the fog of Nolan's thoughts, raw and urgent. "Get up!" he shouted, his hand reaching down toward Nolan.
Nolan blinked, his vision swimming. He reached for Finn's hand, feeling the tremble in his brother's grip as he was pulled up from the floor. The remnants of the tavern seemed to groan under their weight, the floorboards creaking ominously, threatening to collapse further into the chasm of destruction they had caused.
Nolan's chest heaved with shallow breaths. His heart pounded in his ears, drowning out all other sound. The power inside him felt like a live wire now—too much, too volatile, too overwhelming. His hands shook, the glow pulsing erratically, as if they were connected to a machine that was malfunctioning. He clenched his fists, trying to suppress it, but the force inside him felt like it was too close to breaking loose again.
"What… happened?" Nolan muttered, his voice raw, his throat tight.
Finn, who was crouched next to him, looked at him with wide, desperate eyes. "I don't know, Nolan. But whatever it was, you just destroyed the whole tavern." He paused, looking down at the destruction around them. "And you almost killed us, man."
Nolan's eyes were locked on his brother, his thoughts in a haze. He wanted to respond, to explain what had happened, but it was like trying to speak through a fog. His head was spinning.
"Where is mom...?" he whispered, the words tasting bitter in his mouth. "I don't see her anywhere..."
The pressure inside him surged again, a sharp pain in his chest as though his very soul was being pulled apart. He gasped, clutching at his chest, feeling his heartbeat thrum against his ribs like a drumbeat.
Finn's voice was frantic now. "Nolan, don't—"
Before Finn could finish his sentence, the walls of the tavern groaned ominously, and there was a low rumble. Something was coming. The sound of boots crunching against snow outside, growing louder by the second, filled the air.
Nolan's pulse quickened. His instincts flared. Something was wrong. He had felt that power surge through him, a violent eruption that had torn apart the tavern, but now—now it felt like something darker was coming.
The door, what little remained of it, swung inward with a violent crack, and four more figures stormed into the ruin. They were heavily armored, their black combat suits gleaming ominously in the dim light, their faces hidden behind sleek, angular helmets. The light from Nolan's hands danced across their reflective surfaces like a strobe, the shadows stretching unnaturally in the broken room.
"Move!" one of them barked, their voice amplified through their helmet. They stepped forward, their boots cracking against the floor like thunder. "Get them on the ground! We've got a Fractured one in here."
"Don't let them get away!" another voice ordered.
Nolan's heart raced as they advanced, their heavy footsteps shaking the floor beneath them. He felt it again—the power pulsing inside him, responding to the threat. His hands glowed brighter, the golden light swirling around his fingers in frantic arcs. He clenched his fists, his body tensing as he braced for whatever came next.
Finn stepped in front of him, his body a protective barrier. "Stay back!" he shouted, his voice hoarse.
One of the soldiers reached for a weapon—something sleek and mechanical, humming with a dangerous energy. The barrel of the weapon pulsed with an eerie blue glow, as though it were drawing in the very air around them.
"Move!" the soldier yelled, raising the weapon.
Time seemed to stretch. Nolan's heart pounded louder, a drumbeat that seemed to reverberate through the air. Without thinking, he raised his hands. A blast of golden light exploded from his palms, the energy arcing toward the soldiers. The shockwave rippled through the room, sending the armored soldiers flying backward, their bodies slamming into the walls with bone-shaking force.
The ground beneath them cracked as the force of the energy collided with the walls, sending chunks of stone and wood flying through the air. The soldiers groaned, their bodies writhing in the debris, struggling to rise. Nolan's body was trembling with the intensity of what he had just unleashed. His vision blurred as the strain from the burst of power threatened to overwhelm him.
"Nolan!" Finn cried, his voice cutting through the haze of Nolan's panic.
Nolan blinked, his hands still crackling with energy. He looked around at the ruined tavern, the broken furniture and crumbling walls, the soldiers that lay unconscious or struggling to move. His heart raced in his chest. He had done that.
But what now? What was next?
"Stay down!" the soldier leader shouted from beneath the wreckage, his voice metallic and garbled by the helmet's static. He rose slowly, brushing debris off his body, his weapon still clutched in his gloved hands.
Nolan's body tensed as the leader rose, his cold eyes flicking over to the two brothers. His lip curled into a sneer as he adjusted his weapon. "You think you can take on the Mountain Guard, kid? You're a liability. We're here to contain you."
Finn stood between Nolan and the soldier, his fists clenched. "We don't even know who you people are."
The leader's gaze darkened. He raised his hand, signaling to the other soldiers to approach. "You've already seen what he's capable of," the leader said coldly. "You can't fight this. We're just doing our job."
Suddenly, the ground beneath them shifted. The world seemed to tilt and spin as Nolan's head swam with dizziness. It felt like the entire tavern was going to collapse in on itself, and for a moment, Nolan thought he might lose control again.
But then… there was a tug—a strange, magnetic pull at the back of his mind. His hands flared, the golden light intensifying, and his body felt lighter, almost weightless. The pressure inside him shifted, transforming from panic into focus. His breath slowed, and the power began to settle. His eyes began to glow a bright white. It was like a halo formed around his iris.
The leader lunged forward, his weapon crackling with energy, but before he could strike, Nolan's hands shot out. A golden arc of power exploded outward, slamming into the soldier. His weapon discharged, but the energy blast went wild, striking the ground in a shower of sparks.
Nolan wasn't finished. His mind surged with the clarity he had never known, his body moving on instinct as the energy swirled around him. He moved faster, sending wave after wave of golden power toward the soldiers, forcing them back, one by one.
But they didn't stop. The Mountain Guard kept advancing, their bodies surrounded by a faint blue glow as they activated their armor's countermeasures. They were relentless, their movements precise and coordinated.
Nolan's heart thundered in his chest as he released another burst of power, but this time it wasn't a blast—it was a concentrated beam of light, sharp and focused. The beam cut through the air, slamming into the soldier's armor, tearing it apart with ease. The soldier crumpled to the ground in a heap, and the others hesitated.
The leader stood at the back of the room, watching Nolan intently. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the destruction around them. "He is getting control of his powers that fast?..." he muttered, almost to himself. "But you still don't understand what you're up against."
Nolan wiped sweat from his forehead, his body trembling with exertion, but he was aware now—aware of the power he commanded, aware of the weight of it. The Fracture had chosen him, and it was only the beginning.
He could feel it. The Fracture wasn't just about power—it was about something deeper, something darker. Something that was spreading, reaching for him. The soldiers were just the beginning.
"Nolan, let's go!" Finn shouted, his voice breaking through Nolan's thoughts. "We can't stay here!"
The world seemed to snap back into focus. The urgency in his brother's voice pierced through the fog of power clouding his mind. Nolan nodded, swallowing hard, and turned to follow Finn.
"What about mom?" Nolan said
Finn pushing forward not looking back with tears in his eyes. "She died in your arms we both saw it"
They had to run. But Nolan knew—this was just the start of something far bigger than either of them could comprehend.