The storm that Kael had conjured slowly began to subside, but the effects were far from gone. The wind had died down, but the ocean churned with restless waves, still reflecting the fury of his power. The ship creaked beneath them as they steered toward the distant coastline of Telmaris, the great port city that had long been a hub of trade and secrets. Its towering cliffs loomed ahead, bathed in the dimming light of the setting sun.
Kael stood at the prow of the ship, eyes scanning the horizon. His pulse had not slowed since the battle. His body ached, his muscles strained from the effort of controlling the shards. The Earth shard still hummed softly in his grip, the echoes of his power reverberating through him, but it felt distant now. The cost of wielding such force was beginning to settle in. His control had been almost instinctual, but the backlash was inevitable.
He could hear Tess barking orders to the crew, her usual sharpness tempered by the exhaustion of the fight. Aro and Mira had retreated below deck to rest, though Kael knew they were no less affected by the violence of the skirmish.
"We made it," Tess said as she approached Kael, her eyes scanning the waves. "Barely."
"Don't celebrate yet," Kael muttered, his gaze still fixed ahead. "The Council won't give up so easily."
"I'm not celebrating," Tess shot back with a half-smile. "I'm just glad you didn't kill us all by summoning the ocean."
Kael chuckled weakly, but his thoughts remained dark. The Council had only shown a fraction of their strength. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were being hunted—not just by the Council but by something larger, something darker. And the closer they got to Telmaris, the more that sense of danger grew.
As they neared the cliffs of Telmaris, the ship's sails catching the last remnants of the fading light, Kael felt a strange tug at the back of his mind—a pull that was both familiar and foreign at once. It was like a distant whisper, like the first stirrings of a dream just before waking.
"Tess," he said quietly, turning to her. "Do you ever get the feeling we're being watched?"
She raised an eyebrow but didn't turn to him immediately. "You've been through a lot, Kael. First a ship battle, then you nearly drowned the whole crew, and now you're hearing voices in your head. I think you need some rest."
But Kael was not convinced. The pull wasn't just in his mind—it was in the air around them, a strange pressure that hung heavy. His connection to the shards felt… different. Stronger, yes, but also more insistent, like something was calling to him.
He turned back to the water, focusing on the sensation. It was faint, but it was there—something beneath the waves, something ancient, pulling at him.
"What if… What if it's a shard?" Kael murmured to himself.
Tess, catching the seriousness in his voice, looked over at him. "A shard? Out here?"
Kael's brow furrowed. "Not just any shard. Something deeper—older."
"Kael, stop," Tess warned. "We're close to Telmaris. We'll be safe there, at least for a while. Whatever you're feeling, we can investigate it once we're docked."
But Kael couldn't shake the feeling. He felt like he was being drawn toward something—something buried beneath the waves, hidden from the world. The shards had a way of revealing themselves when the time was right, but this… this felt different. Almost like an invitation.
Without a word, Kael turned from the deck and made his way toward the bow of the ship. Tess called after him, but he ignored her, his steps driven by an unseen force.
"Kael, what are you doing?" Tess's voice followed him as he reached the edge of the ship. "Get back here!"
But it was too late. Kael had already stepped up to the railing, his feet braced firmly on the deck. His eyes locked onto the dark, churning waters below, the pull stronger now, more insistent. Something was down there, something waiting.
A strange feeling washed over him, as if the world itself had gone quiet. The battle, the storm, the crew—everything seemed to fade into the background as Kael's focus narrowed. He couldn't explain it, but his body moved of its own accord, as if guided by some primal instinct. His hands reached for the shard in his pack, pulling it free and holding it before him.
The Earth shard pulsed in his grip, its power aligning with the strange force beneath the water. He could feel it now—feel the hidden power, the shard calling to him from the depths.
Without thinking, Kael stepped forward, the edge of the ship looming beneath his feet. He could hear Tess shouting behind him, but it was distant, muffled. His mind was elsewhere, consumed by the whisper of the ocean, the tug of the unknown.
Then, with a single, determined movement, Kael leaped.
The cold hit him like a shockwave as he plunged into the sea, the water swallowing him whole. For a moment, there was only darkness and the rush of liquid against his skin. His lungs burned, but the shard in his hand was still alight, guiding him, pulling him down deeper.
Deeper into the abyss.
The ocean felt alive, as if it were a living entity, an ancient being that had been waiting for him. The pressure increased as he descended, the water growing colder, the darkness deeper. But there, in the black depths, Kael could see something—something glowing.
It was a faint light, distant at first, but then it grew brighter. A shard. A shard of pure, radiant energy, pulsing with a power far greater than any Kael had ever felt.
He reached for it, his hand trembling as it neared the glowing object. It was beautiful, like a star trapped beneath the waves, and it called to him with a force that made everything else feel insignificant.
The moment his fingers brushed against the shard, a surge of power coursed through him. His body convulsed with the intensity of the energy, but the pain was overwhelming, unlike anything he had experienced before. His vision blurred, and he could feel the fabric of reality around him stretching, twisting, warping.
He tried to pull away, to resist, but it was too late. The shard was no ordinary shard—it was a True Shard.
The world shattered around him.